freedom?

Taken from inside me,
It was ripped out.
I was so numbed, that
I didn't even notice.

But now I mourn.
I weep over my loss.
Stolen from within me,
and I gladly consented.

Under the pretense of
freedom of choice,
that which was my own
organic creativity

was strangled,
mutilated,
killed,
disposed of.

Only His love can
breathe new life into my dead
Imagination, aborted by
consumerism's imperial priests.

by Jeff Bergeson

written Jan. 5, 2008



What has happened to our imaginations when the majority of the average American's leisure time is spent in front of the television? Commercial television is less than a century old; is there really 'nothing else to do,' or have our imaginations been taken captive and we can't imagine doing anything else?

I don't have the answer, but I continue to pray...
How do we "take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ," and how do we go about being "transformed by the renewing of our minds"? 2 Cor 10:5; Rom 12:2

caesar, colossians, poetry, and things...

So I just recently finished reading Colossians Remixed by Brian Walsh and Sylvia Keesmaat. It is an incredible book by this Canadian husband and wife duo who work extensively on developing students who will live out a biblical worldview through Christian Reformed Campus Ministries. There was one or two chapters in the book that I'm still trying to think through (i.e. I'm not 100% if I understand or agree with), but largely, I can recommend this book hands down to anybody who is a Christian living in a consumeristic society.
While reading this book, poetry welled up within me, and I wrote it down. I haven't written poetry in years! The following blog posts are all poems inspired from reading Colossians Remixed, in response the all pervasive "empire" -- as Walsh and Keesmaat say -- of consumerism. The subtitle of the book is: Subverting the Empire. Basically, it takes the Epistle of Paul to the Colossians as a very subversive text within the context of the Roman Empire. It discusses what "empire" is, exactly, and how following Christ is -- necessarily -- in conflict with empires and their violent domination. Jesus, quoting Isaiah (who in turn was using Jubilee imagery from Leviticus), said in his first sermon,
"The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
because he has anointed me
to preach good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
and recovery of sight for the blind,
to release the oppressed,
to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor."

He preached this in the midst of an empire who claimed that its leader brought prosperity to all -- but expanded its territory by conquest and had slaves from the conquests. This Pax Romana supposedly brought peace to all the many, many different kinds of people it brought together, and yet, Jesus was subject to capital punishment on the cross...and so were many of his followers. We must ask why? If Caesar was god and offered peace and prosperity...then anybody else claiming to have peace and fruitfulness from another claiming to be God was committing treason! But who was God, and who gave freedom, peace, and fruitfulness?

Anyway...the next few posts will be some of the poems that resulted from me reading Colossians Remixed.

Christ's Shalom to you!