Let's Not Think About the Election! Let's Listen to Music!—Songs Telling the Story of God

Let's not think about the election! Let's listen to music! 

It's the week before the 2016 presidential election but let's pretend it's not happening. Instead, if you happen to find yourself reading this article, please take a few moments to stop what you're doing, click play on the tracks below, and take in some beauty, truth, and goodness. I have curated a play list worthy of your consideration. May they work their way into your soul, embed themselves into your mind, and stir your strength into edifying action.

Today's list (Part 3 of 3):
Songs Telling the Story of Redemption
There is a story being told in our world that gets heard more than all the others. It is a story that makes you afraid. It tells you that if you don't do all you can you will lose everything. It is the kind of story that makes you want to win at all costs. It is a story of power and dominance and progress and accumulation. In this story we pick sides and if you aren't on my side, well, get ready to face the consequences.

But there is an alternate story being told. It is the way of Christ. It is the laying down of our lives willingly for the sake of others. Christ poured himself out and gave life to all the world. This is the story of new creation, of rebirth, of redemption. This is where justice reigns and truth finally wins. God is sovereign in this story and he has told us how the story ends. "Your mercies are new, new every morning..."

Featuring the songs of Rich Mullins, Fernando Ortega, Sara Groves Keith Green/Annie Herring, Andrew Peterson, Matt Redman, and Audrey Assad

Let's Not Think About the Election! Let's Listen to Music!—Songs of Hope & Peace

Let's not think about the election! Let's listen to music! 

It's the week before the 2016 presidential election but let's pretend it's not happening. Instead, if you happen to find yourself reading this article, please take a few moments to stop what you're doing, click play on the tracks below, and take in some beauty, truth, and goodness. I have curated a play list worthy of your consideration. May they work their way into your soul, embed themselves into your mind, and stir your strength into edifying action.

Today's list (Part 2 of 3):
Songs of Hope & Peace
When the whole earth is shifting beneath our feet, when everything around us seems to be crumbling, we desperately need a sure foundation on which to stand and a refuge from the chaos. These are songs that root us in the hope of Christ, of finding peace in him through times of trouble. Allow yourself to rest in these songs, but even more than that, allow yourself to rest in God our Savior in whom all things were made and in whom we live and move and have our being. Featuring the songs of Switchfoot, Rich Mullins, Phil Keaggy, Newsboys, Matt Redman, Delirious?, and Fernando Ortega.

Let's Not Think About the Election! Let's Listen to Music!—Songs of Protest, Satire, & the Apocalypse

The current political season leaves bloggers like me with a dilemma. In what can only be viewed as the most polemicized election of our lifetime(s) do we even bother with bothering people about our piddly little blog posts? Personally, I have a few articles I've been working hard at for the past several weeks, but at the moment I hardly see any point in adding to the noise. I'd like my thoughts to actually get heard and considered, so why waste the effort of putting out another article when people's psyches are already over-saturated with the latest scandal or with attempting to sift through what is fact and fiction in the media's neverending truth manipulation game? 

More than anything, I believe people are increasingly weary of the whole thing. We are tired of fighting each other. Tired of the lies and cover ups and conspicuous tactics of both sides. We've all been spun by the media's spin and I believe if we slow down enough we'll become horrified that often we are the ones doing the spinning ourselves. Having been spun we continue on spinning others... That is, if we are wounded as a nation, a lot of the wounds are self-inflicted...

With all this in mind, I have decided to hold off on my "important" articles for a couple of weeks (or more....We'll see where everything settles in the aftermath of the election). Instead, as a blogger, with something of a public forum for propagating the importance of art and faith in our culture, I am asking us to slow down and listen and ponder and take in some truth, beauty, and goodness. So...

Let's not think about the election! Let's listen to music! 

This is a sincere call. If you happen to find yourself reading this article, please take a few moments to stop what you're doing and click play on the tracks below. I have curated a play list worthy of your consideration. May they work their way into your soul, embed themselves into your mind, and stir your strength into edifying action.

Today's list (Part 1 of 3):
Songs of Protest, Satire, & the Apocalypse
"Listen to the words of the prophet..." These are finger-pointing songs. These are songs that hurt us to our core. They catch us at our most hypocritical. At first we think they are singing about Someone Else, but if we keep on listening we come to find that no, they are singing about us too. Yes, we are culpable for the same crimes we accused others of committing. It would seem some repentance is in order.

But these are also songs that make us laugh...uncomfortably so...at the horror of it all. Sometimes a good bellyache can help us see the world differently and in seeing the world differently we begin to live differently and thus a laugh is never just a laugh. Sometimes a joke can change the world. 

Today's list includes: Bob Dylan, Larry Norman, Keith Green, Randy Newman, Arcade Fire, and Steve Taylor.

A Letter To Christians Who Still Support Donald Trump

To those in Christ who still defend Donald Trump and see him as a viable candidate for president of the United States,

I too am highly suspicious of why the tape of Donald Trump's conversation with Billy Bush was released now, as this article by Ben Carson points out ("I cannot Condone Donald Trump's Comment. But Let's Recognize What Progressives Are Doing Here"). Maybe one day the truth of where the leak came from will come out, but for now how can we help but believe it can all be traced to Clinton's camp or someone who is an ardent supporter of her? As many Americans have said already, this whole election is a mess and America is in a sad and troubled state with the choices before them.

Nonetheless, when people we know and prominent Christian leaders keep defending their vote of Mr. Trump you need to realize it makes us lose respect for you and makes us not take what you say seriously any more. We are done. We are ashamed of our Christian brothers and sisters who do not denounce this man. We are grieved. We do not understand why you hold so dearly to a political ideology. That means nothing to us compared to who we are in Christ. We ask again: Please take away any support for him and refrain from showing any confidence in his ability to lead our nation justly and competently.

PCR Podcast Episode 25: The Speeches of Eisenhower and Kennedy

This episode features rare interviews from Presidents Dwight D. Eisenhower and John F. Kennedy taken from the Presidential Profiles record series. In preparation for the 2016 election it is time to start considering politics at a deeper level. These speech excerpts and brief bios offer insights into the actions and lives of our presidents and in so doing act as a somewhat sober counter to our currently manic political culture. Also, there is still time to support the Kickstarter campaign for the book "Why Every President Sucked" (You can listen to my interview with the book's author here). Follow these links to find out more: 
http://www.whyeverypresidentsucked.com/
or
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1929635985/why-every-president-sucked-hardcover-book

Subscribe to the podcast on itunes 
Check out the podcast page to subscribe on Stitcher, Tunein, and PocketCasts.

Related Articles:
Lost in the Swirl of the Gun Control Debate
The Walking Dead, Gun Control, and the Syrian Refugee Crisis: Linking Zombies to Current Events
"I've been thinking of getting into politics...": N.T. Wright's Understanding of the Kingdom of God

PCR Podcast Episode 24: Eric Olsen, Author of "Why Every President Sucked"

Eric Olsen is the author of Why Every President Sucked, and is putting on a Kickstarter campaign until the end of August in order to get the book published. In our conversation we talk about looking at America's presidents with fresh eyes, even the ones we love the most. The book isn't as negative as it sounds, but is an attempt open us up to the simple idea that our presidents were people too and they all made mistakes. To find out more and to support the Kickstarter campaign please visit: http://www.whyeverypresidentsucked.com/
or
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1929635985/why-every-president-sucked-hardcover-book



Subscribe to the podcast on itunes 
Check out the podcast page to subscribe on Stitcher, Tunein, and PocketCasts.

Related Episode:
Ep25: The Speeches of Eisenhower and Kennedy

Quick Review: South Park Season 19 Ep. 1 & 2: Which is more insane: militant political correctness or Donald Trump's presidential candidacy?

Don't mess with the PC Bros brah!

Please realize that I fully realize South Park is not for the faint of heart. I fully admit it is a vulgar show and as each episode's pre-show disclaimer warns, it in actuality "should not be viewed by anyone." All that said, as far as I am concerned South Park contains the most visceral, scathing, impacting satire of our times—you will need to wade through all the vulgarity however, in order to see it. Actually, no. Let me say this: America is a vulgar place already and though I do not necessarily agree with their means, Trey Parker and Matt Stone (the show's writer/creators/actors) use vulgarity to show us how vulgar our time and place and people truly are.