God and Astronomy – Study Project

It is sad that our everyday experiences do not enrich our spirituality, much less our theology. We don’t look at the star-littered night sky and make theological assertions as much as we do on a Sunday morning service during ‘praise and worship’ (at least this is my experience). But, the psalmist could sing God’s praises when he looked at the night sky: “ The heavens declare the glory of God and the firmament his handiwork” (Ps 19:1); When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; …O LORD our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth!” (Psalm 8:3,9); “He telleth [counts] the number of the stars; he calleth them all by their names.” (Psalm 147:4). The grandeur and the complexity of the universe do not evoke the sense of wonder. Are we losing our humanity? Hugh Ross contends, “Gazing at the night sky seems to raise profound questions not only about the Universe but also about ourselves”. Why is it that we don’t get into a reflective mood when we gaze into the night sky? No wonder, our spirituality is shortsighted, dull and boring.

The bible affirms that, “ In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth [ Gen 1:1]. Why is that we have resigned the study of the universe to those with “ God-is-not-necessary-to-explain-anything” persuasions. Actually, it is Christians who should be the first to engage in the study of astronomy because it tells us much about God’s vast creation and his daily care for us. George Roche contends, “ it really does matter and matter very much, how we think about the cosmos”. Today we know a lot amore about the universe than we did a century back. Ironically, we know that we don’t know much about the universe. However, the discoveries in the last century have brought “God” into mainstream academic discussion. Astronomers are now talking a lot about God and new findings make for the case for a universe designed by God so compelling. In the book, Creator and Cosmos, Hugh Ross writes,” No other generation has witnessed so many discoveries about the universe…Not only can we measure certain aspects of the universe, but in these measurements we are discovering some of the characteristics of the one who fashioned it all”

The study of the universe informs our worldview – how we look at all of life, how we answer questions of origin, identity, meaning, morality, salvation, history and destiny and how we live and order our lives. Historically, anyone who accepted a particular cosmological model has had to re-orient his thoughts drastically in many areas. We live in an age where the dominance of science is felt in every arena of life. Worse, their influence has spilled over into the entertainment arena. Atheistic scientists/filmmakers/storywriters are vocal in their “god-less” pronouncements about the universe. Our kids are watching their sci-fi films and serials, reading science fiction books, and reading other published material about the universe. It is time we stand up to “ declare the glory of God revealed through the cosmos”.

At the wisdomtree – the academy of the faithful, we have begun a study project on God and astronomy. Hopefully, this would evolve into some publishing material. We are also involved in the production of presentations for young people titled; The story of the Universe, Is there someone out there?, and An Earth made for life. For more information contact writespace4sam@gmail.com

Wake-up! The world has changed – (just in case you didn’t know!)

As Story-keepers, we are called to communicate the gospel to screenagers. Communication is not data transfer. So, it is important that we recognize the inner dynamics of the ‘image-culture’ and understand how it is changing the way we ‘see’ and ‘listen’ and ‘think’. I needn’t remind you that the world has changed. The best metaphor to describe the change we are experiencing is T20 cricket (although it arrived late in the scene).

If you had followed the T20 format, you’d agree with me that the face of the game has changed so much.  The ‘hit and giggle’ game ( as it is referred to) is so much different from what it once used to be – Test Cricket which is a slow game played for 5 whole days and with no guarantee of a result. T20  is also different from the one-day game wherein the ‘start’ and the ‘finish’ provide for both ‘excitement’ and ‘aggression’ that people crave for. The T20 version of the game speaks the ‘Generation Next’ language. It promises electrifying entertainment through a shorter format to cater to the changing tastes, needs and aspirations of the spectators.

Did you know Cricket would have lost its sway over people had it not kept itself in-step with the changing times? Test cricket became one-day cricket in an attempt to capture the imagination of sports lovers. When one-day cricket was plagued by ‘predictability’, ‘politics’, ‘match fixing’ and ‘boring middle overs’  and our interest in the game was slowly dying out, cricket managers have bowled us over with a ‘googly’ (or maybe it’s doosra). T20 cricket has changed the way we played (and watched) cricket. We live in a changing world. Wake-up! Our world has already changed – (just in case you didn’t know!)

Divine Invasion

Samuel Thambusamy was invited to speak at the Christmas programme organized by the Young Leaders For Christ (YLFC).  The meeting was attended by close to 100 people.  Sam spoke to the young people on the theme: Divine Invasion. The evening was packed with music, testimony and message. Sam has spoken at YLFC meetings on earlier three occasions. Wisdomtree enjoys the friendship of YLFC as they continue to nurture young leaders for Christ.

Engaging with cultural products

- by Samuel Thambusamy

I am often asked the question: Why do you write on music videos and movies? I have always often the querry interesting. The question is “Why?” rather than “how?”. My response has always been ” “Why not?”. The question ” Why not?” has provided me the drive to do a lot of things.

I often ask sunday school teachers if they are aware of the 10 most popular songs of the week. The answer always is a resounding “NO”. I also ask them if they are aware of the movies that kids are watching and what it is all about. The answer is always a resounding ‘No’. Whether we like it or not, believe it or not, accept it or not Kids are listening to the songs and watching movies. They are talking about it to their friends. They are reading about it in magazines. They are searching for it on the net. They are looking around to get them.

Music/movies/magazines have a way of finding us and entering our ‘mind-space’. Internet connectivity makes music (and videos) available, accessible and afordable. You don’t have to wait endlessly till it becomes outdated in the West to reach India. Today, you get it instantly on the net. Sugababes song ” About you now” is the No 1 song in the UK charts. YOu can watch it on youtube.

Music is not just Music. Movies are not just movies. Magazines are not just magazines. They present (and promote) a philosophy of life. Musicians are increasingly becoming the philosophers of our times. Popular culture brings “cultural moments” closer to our lifespace. What is a cultural moment? A cultural moment is when a movie, song or a television show becomes extremely popular. We must help our young people to engage with it.

Often times, the teaching that young people receive is of no consequence to their lifespace. It is almost as if we have nothing to say about their world or everything to say about their world. We get into a condemnatory mode and demand that they throw everything out of their lifespace. We do not let the gospel enter their lifespace, encounter the alternate visions presented by music videos/movies etc and engage them in a conversation with these competing voices and make an evaluation for themselves.

I believe that is why it is important to follow the music that finds cultural prominence and help young people ‘encounter-engage and evalate’ the music that enters their lifespace. Wisdomtree is mindful of its calling to ‘resource’ and “engage” in cultural apologetics (dismantling the philosophies of this world) and disentangling people from its effects. A wide range of resources are available at cogwheel.wordpress.com

The Call for Revolutionary Revivalism and Peaceful Revolution

On 15 November, I presented a paper on ” Reconciling Ambedkar and Mahatma Gandhi” at the Liturgical Center, Chennai as part of the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church in India convocation. In the paper I highlighted the need for ‘peaceful revolution’ and ‘ revolutionary revivalism’. I also impressed upon the people that the gospel of Jesus Christ as a pursuit of truth (satyagraha) is a tool for social freedom. The paper was followed by Rev. Dr. Lewis Logan presented a paper on Martin Luther King Jr. About 200 people both from AME church, USA and AME India attended these presentations. The 100 odd African American Pastors (and their Spouses) and AME Indian pastors (and their families) were blessed by these discussions on Nonviolence and Truth. I urged AME to push forward in their commitment to the underside of India, particularly the marginalized in their struggle for justice. A discussion on women’s issues through the film Lajja was also prepared by wisdomtree.