Nonviolent Action in the Middle East

On Tuesday evening (Dec. 2nd), Vanderbilt Students for Nonviolence, Jewish Studies, and The Office of Religious Life will be hosting both James Lawson and Rabbi Everett Gendler. Both are well known practitioners of nonviolence in the Civil Rights Movement and have been a well needed voice for nonviolent resistance for social change. Rabbi Gendler was influential in Georgia, Selma, and Montgomery and has recently been involved in community organizing for Tibetan exiles as well as initiating the Active Nonviolence Education Center in Dharmasala, India. He and Lawson will be discussing the possibility of nonviolent action within the Middle East, examining the social structures, history, and repetitive violence desolating the families and land. If you are in the Nashville area on Tuesday evening, head over to Wilson Hall (Room 126). It should be an edifying experience.

"The making of a great compilation..."

Joy and I went to the Exit/In on Thursday evening to take in the music of Sleeping at Last. While I was there, I started thinking about the top five bands I would see if they were in town. It is a list of bands that I have seen and haven't seen, but if they came to Nashville I would have to see them. I thought some would make it on the list, but obviously couldn't make the cut because they have already been through town in the few short months I've been here: like Ray Lamontagne and even Ben Folds. I have to admit that I didn't go see either because we were short on cash, but that's what makes the list better. If you go see this musician or band even when you are squeaking by, they deserve consideration. Without further ado:

5. Sleeping at Last: I have Levi and Katie Holland to thank for this one. They introduced me to this Wheaton/Chicago band while in college. I have now seen them four different times.

4. Death Cab for Cutie: I was introduced to this band by Chris Allison my freshmen year in College. I have yet to see them live but are a must on my daily play lists.

3. Coldplay: Nashville is almost too small of a venue for Coldplay. The closest they get to us in there Vida tour is Atlanta, and that is unfortunate. I would love to experience 'Lost' and 'Fix-You' in person.

2. Over the Rhine: Brilliant lyrics, amazing vocals, and majestic sound. I'm considering driving to Louisville, KY to catch this band on Dec. 12. (Shout out to Marcus who introduced me to OTR)

1. U2: If they are in a 5 hour radius of where you live, you need to go regardless of price. I saw them live in Chicago when they came through for the Vertigo Tour. If I made a top five list for my life's best experiences, a U2 concert would be in the top three. (My brother Doug has been influential in the maturation process of this particular band).

Why do I vote?

In the course of the primaries and the months leading up to this day, I have been pushing the idea of voting further back in my mind. I have always been told that voting is the number one way of making your voice heard. It is intricate in democracy. It is a national past-time and a privilege that others do not share. It is down-right American. And yet, I ask myself, is it Christian?

The James Dobson's and Pat Robertsons of the world would tell you that voting is intricately linked to our lives as Christians. Being involved in the political process is like being involved in the Kingdom of God. Jim Wallis would say that we have an obligation to vote our conscience but making a clear distinction between the difference between the nation and the Kingdom of God. And yet, I am haunted by the memory of the early church refusing any participation in imperial society. They would not defecate themselves by offering a pinch of incense to either party.

The relationship between the church and state has become extremely murky. Conservatives seem to scream about no prayer in schools and try to break down the barriers between the church and state, trying their best to build a theocracy with the Bush administration. But I wonder if the separation of church and state isn't so much to protect government as it is to allow the church the freedom to be what it ought. Christian citizenship has never been about aquiescing to the state. It has always been about courageous, community altering, unqiue set-apartness. Blending the church with the nation-state always ends up altering the church, never the other way around.

So how does this uniqueness look like when we go to the polls, acting as good Americans? I went to the Art Music Justice Tour the other week. Derek Webb took some time to talk about voting and started to question why voting seems like such a 'christian' thing to do. My wife looked at me and asked, "Did he just tell us not to vote?" Yeah, he did. And while I'm still working this out, I still took the time to submit my early vote. Maybe I should take some more time before the next election, but I'm interested in hearing what others think about this great American christianized voting mechanism.