My review of Wicked

I spent last weekend in snowstruck Cleveland to catch Melissa's debut weekend in Wicked. To be honest, I was a little nervous going to see the show. I'd heard so many good things that I was convinced it couldn't be as good as people were saying. I was definitely excited to see it (not least because my wife was on stage) but I was also a little ready to be disappointed.

I wasn't. I was thoroughly entertained throughout the show. I've read the book, and we own the soundtrack, so I was pretty familiar with the plot and the music, but there is no substitute for seeing it performed. It has some really funny moments, but also some moving scenes, and the talent is just incredible. I especially liked the girl playing Elphaba. Her voice is amazing, but what she really did was make you feel her desparation, her passion, her pain and the conflict between wanting to be accepted and wanting to make a difference. There is a song she sings when they are about to kill Fiyero, the guy she loves, and you get totally swept up in her panic/desperation/impotence.

I guess I don't know if everyone would like it....if you really don't like musicals or live theater, it might not be your thing...but I'd recommend it to pretty much anyone. The story is just really good. The characters are deep...you pretty much feel for everyone, even the Wizard (who is sort of the bad guy in this version), and you are torn for both Elphaba and Glinda, who have to make difficult choices in the midst of circumstances beyond their control. Its also just kind of cool to see all of the connections between this story and The Wizard of Oz, like the origin of the Tin Man and the red slippers.

The show is in Florida for the next several weeks, which will be much more fun to visit than Cleveland. If you live in the area, I'd recommend seeing it. Maybe you'll even catch Melissa going on for Glinda...if not, she's in the chorus, and has a bit part as Dorothy. I have to say it is pretty cool to watch a show that is as good as that and see my wife up there doing her thing. She certainly never ceases to amaze!

A case in point

So I ran across an article in World magazine yesterday that relates precisely to the issues I raised in my last post. Its the kind of article I probably would have completely agreed with a year ago, and now I find it troubling.

The short article is written by Gene Edward Veith, and emphasizes the importance of social conservatism, in contrast to economic or political conservatism. In other words, he urges Christians to continue to fight for moral issues in addition to traditional republican concerns for capitalism and small governmnet. The reason for this is because "the true agenda of the left is not so much economic or big-government as cultural. And someone needs to oppose it." Veith goes on to quote some guy, Jeffrey Bell, who says that the goal of the left is "the liberation of mankind from traditional institutions and codes of behavior, especially moral codes. It seeks...universal happiness without the need for laws"

I guess one of the things that troubles me about this is the obsessions politically motivated Christians have with moral laws. I mean, what exactly is the purpose of God's law, according to the "religious right?" Is it to provide a guide for living in harmony with other people? Is it to allow us to show our obedience so that we may be accepted by God? Or is it to illuminate our sinful condition, showing us our need for a Savior? I think we continue to make the same mistake of thinking that being a Christian is mostly about following rules, as if by following them we could somehow become more acceptable to God. If all we needed was rules to follow, then what need would there be for Jesus? I am reminded that when Jesus gave us his template for prayer, one of the things he said was "thy Kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven." I wonder what it would look like if that happened.....if the kingdom of heaven was established on earth....would it look something like "universal happiness without the need for laws"? I mean, instead of being repulsed by this description of a possible world, shouldn't we rather say, "Great, you are totally right to desire a world like that! That's the kind of world that Christ is bringing with him!"

And probably the most immediate reply is that we don't live in heaven, we live in a fallen world. And that brings me to my biggest problem with the article. The thing that disturbs me the most about Veith's sentiment is the pedestal from which it is delivered. It positions Christians as the good, moral citizens, and the rest of civilization as ignorant, sinful perverters of God's law. Its exactly the kind of statement that makes people hate Christians.

On multiple occasions I've heard Christians justify behavior that makes people hate them by quoting John 15:18, in which Jesus says, "If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first." But this prompts the question, who was it that hated Jesus? Was it the nonreligious, the sinners, the wayward and lost? Or was it the religious, the moral, the rule followers, the ones who thought they had it together? If Jesus came back today and conducted his ministry as he did 2000 years ago, who would be offended? Would it be the culture of sin that is eroding our country's values? Or would it be the self-righteous, the religious, the ones who stress morality and adherence to laws?

I think we need to be careful when we make morality the priority. It is easy to look around and say that the world has turned its back on God without the humility of realizing that it is ME who has turned my back on God. It is me who is unworthy of His favor, me who has fallen short. I need to recognize that the thing that is so terribly corrupt in the world is the same thing that is so terribly corrupt in me, and that the solution lies not in closer adherence to a moral code, but in a deeper knowledge of my own sin and a more desperate reliance on the grace of a God who loves me despite that sin.

Faith and Politics

For several reasons, I've been recently spending a lot of time thinking about the way that my religious beliefs intersect with my views about society and government. I've been paying close attention to the current presidential race for the first time in my life, I think because my awareness about societal issues has been raised during the last year and a half in my Ph. D. program. This new interest actually started a family email debate with my brothers and parents, which made me realize the wide range of views even in my immediate family. I've also been in a Sunday school class which is addressing Christian views of the world; today the question we debated was whether or not people had a right (according to the Bible) to a government provided education. The diversity of opinions in the class was almost as surprising to me as the fact that I found myself in the minority when responding to that question, and several others. I'm finding that in some ways, I don't think like a lot of other Christians.

I think it really comes down to a central issue about how we think about America. I was raised to a certain extent believing that the United States is a Christian nation, or at least it is supposed to be. And that's the sense that I get from other Christians...most of them talk about the decay of morality, how the government is aligned against Christianity (by banning school prayer, the posting of the Ten Commandments, etc), how the nation has "turned its back on God." Today a woman in my Sunday school class told me that the nation was founded on Christianity, that when the founding fathers provided for freedom of religious expression, that they really were only considering differences between Catholicism and Protestantism.

My only response was, "really?" I mean, was this country originally intended to be only for Christians? I mean, maybe the founding fathers really only considered versions of Christianity when they wrote the Bill of Rights, but maybe that's because they didn't have exposure to many (or any) other religious views, including atheism. I do know that in addition to the freedom of religious expression, the Constitution also prohibits the establishment of any state religion, and I think that is the key here. That's why I think it is pretty safe to say that the United States was not founded on Christianity. And I for one am glad that it wasn't. The founding fathers knew exactly what it was like to live in a land where religious beliefs were "mandated" by the government; they put the non-establishment clause in our founding documents for a very important reason--faith is not supposed to be a matter to be decided by the government. The government is not supposed to uphold particular Christian ideals. I mean, how could we seriously expect that? There are millions of Americans who aren't Christians. Would we be okay saying that the government should uphold Muslim or Jewish or athiest ideals? The government remains, or should remain, beyond direct religious influence.

Now, there certainly are "American values" that are upheld by the government. Some of these run parallel to Christianity (all human beings are created equal, stealing and killing are illegal, etc), and some do not. These depend, for the most part, on the values of the culture at large....and the church does have some influence here. In fact, I think that is the influence that we Christians should be concerned about, but I'll get to that later... Suffice it to say, declaring that the nation was founded on Christian values is an overattribution....it was founded on values, but not values that are exclusively Christian, and certainly not on Christianity itself. At least, I don't believe so.

I think this is the reason why I don't think that prayer should be a part of public schooling, that I think that the government has some obligations that are not specified by the Bible (our Sunday school teacher said that the only obligations that governments are to follow, according to the Bible, are justice and defense), and why I could conceiveably vote for a non-Christian president. Government doesn't operate as an arm of the church, and for good reasons...not the least of which is that there are a lot of American citizens who are not Christian, and expecting them to adhere to particular Christian principles is as wrong as expecting "us Christians" to adhere to, say, Islamic principles. We can, however, expect people to adhere to democratic principles, such as equality, freedom of speech, and basic human rights. I think there is some overlap here, and this is where the church needs to be a force for influence and change. If government policies are extensions of American values, then if we want things to change, we don't elect Christian leaders who impose their views on the public; instead, we influence values by going into communities and introducing people to Jesus. We make high quality films that convict and inspire. We write books that connect with people's lives. We help out at the local homeless shelter. It's like witnessing...if you want to share your faith, you don't start by telling a stranger that they are a sinner who needs to repent or they are going to hell, or making them follow "Christian rules." You start by going over to their house and helping them move some furniture, or watching their kids on a Friday night. In other words, substantive change doesn't come from the top down, it comes from the inside out.

I saw a poll on MSNBC the other weak that said that one of the most critical political issues for a certain population of republicans was deteriorating morality. I don't know, I just don't think its productive to see government as a vehicle for spiritual revival or for restoration of moral values. Surely that's the role of the church, right?

So that's where I'm at right now....I sorta feel guilty, though, like I'm a bad Christian or something....

My "Wicked" Wife

Melissa was recently cast in the national tour of Wicked! We are both really excited about this opportunity...she'll be the first cover for one of the leads, Glinda. If you'd like to catch the show, follow this link:

http://www.wickedthemusicaltour.com/tour_cities.htm

She begins rehearsals next week and gets "put in" later this month (February).

Kids

I wanted to write this blog awhile ago, but then I went home for a month and came back and got very busy getting ready for this math conference I had to present at.

Anyway, BEFORE we went home for a month, Melissa and I helped out with the vacation bible school at church. Its the first time I've spent that much time with 10 year-olds in...well, I think ever. And then while I was home my brother was talking about kids, about why you would ever want to have them. They take up so much time, he said, and you can never really escape them. Many of my friends at church have kids, young kids, and I know that that is true. It seems like so much responsibility, and to be very cynical, you don't get anything out of it. You just have your life constrained.

But while I was with the VBS kids, I guess I sort of tried to imagine what it would be like to have kids, just for fun. I think its true, your life really isn't your own anymore, but I think that is maybe the point of it. What is the point of a life that only seeks to serve itself? Humans find their worth in impacting each other. In a sense, that's one of the amazing things I have discovered about marriage. That just reminded me of a great quote from the movie, Shall we Dance, where Susan Sarandon talks about why people get married. She says something like, its so we have a witness to our lives. All of the mundane details that normally wouldn't be important, they become important because we share them with someone...someone witnesses them and says, yes, they matter. You matter. Your life matters, because I choose to care about it.

I guess I'm starting to realize the value of a life lived for someone else. I don't know if that makes sense if you are on the other side of it. But that's what I think is great about families....it forces you, it forces men to live their lives for someone else. Some men probably resent that, because they haven't made the realization that living for yourself won't make you happy. What could be better than summer evenings playing ball with the kids in the yard, or taking them to the park or the pool and letting them sit on your shoulders while you walk through DisneyWorld?

I'm often humbled by my parents, especially my mom, who has spent the majority of her life doing nothing but caring for her four children, praying for them, loving them and supporting them in all their endeavors. That was her job....and I can tell every time we say goodbye how much of a sacrifice it was...and also how good of a sacrifice. I'm looking forward to being a daddy. Not for a few years yet...but I really think it will be great.

Rain

I love rain. Today Melissa and I got up to do our morning jog, got outside and realized it was raining. I stayed out for several minutes and took Bailey for a walk, just letting the rain soak through my hair and clothes. It was so refreshing. I think Bailey likes it too.

I love the way that rain can turn us back into kids. I remember in college, some days it would rain, and you would see students skipping class just to play in mud puddles outside the dorms. Their backpacks would be piled up underneath a concrete awning, they'd be down to t-shirts, and they'd be running and diving through the puddle and sliding down the wet grass as if it was a giant slip-n-slide.

I don't want to lose that. It reminds me of an Andrew Peterson song that talks about how Americans are so comfortable, how rain is simply an annoyance to them. To many people around the world, rain is a harbinger of life, a renewer of the earth...and instead of rejoicing when it rains, we grumble and complain. He implies that Americans actually experience less of the joy of life, as we sit "shackled by the comfort of our couches."

I love the way rain cools off the day. I love how thunder makes me feel small and weak. Its one of the only times in my oh so comfortable life where I feel that way, that I might not really be so powerfully in control of the world around me. It always makes me think about cavemen, hovering inside their caves in wonder at the power of nature, and it makes me stand in awe of a God who is so much more powerful.

We used to sing this song at a camp I went to, how the Lord comes like the spring rain, watering the earth. I loved that. I feel like the Lord is using this summer to water me. To renew me. To help me see outside of myself, to see beyond my immediate needs, to look at the world and other people through the eyes of the Lord. In the process I've been realizing how selfish I have become, and how much thought and energy I put in to making myself comfortable. The amazing thing about the Lord is that he doesn't ask before he brings change. Like the rain, he comes unexpectedly, cooling the heat and causing things to grow...and I don't feel pressured to DO anything about it, you know? I feel like I'm simply supposed to stand in the rain, let it fall around me, soaking through my hair and clothes, into my soul. As silly as it sounds, I can believe, when it rains, that I am a creation of a sovereign God, who can turn even me into something beautiful.

Marriage

Its so hard to believe I'm coming up on my one year wedding anniversary. Melissa and I were just talking about it the other day...how on one hand it feels like we just got married--we can remember the wedding day, the honeymoon, every detail like it was yesterday. We still feel the excitement and newness of being together. On the other hand, we fit so comfortably together that its hard to remember a time when we were apart. It almost feels like we've always been together.

I remember taking part in a discussion between a few newly married couples last summer about whether or not marriage was hard. Some said it was incredibly hard but incredibly rewarding, and another couple kept saying how they didn't understanding why people think marriage is difficult. I think that for us, we have a marriage that is remarkably smooth, but I don't think that's what makes it good.

In the latest Pirates of the Caribbean movie, Will Turner asks Elizabeth Swan the question, "If you make your decisions alone, how can I trust you?" Now I don't normally pull inspirational ideas out of fun summer pirate movies, but that question really struck me. It seemed to me that this was the biggest practical difference that marriage has made in my life. I no longer make decisions alone. Everything from what we are going to have for dinner to whether or not Melissa is going to take a two month long job in Japan is a decision we make together. I don't decide what I'm going to do and inform her about it. When we talk about the future, we don't talk about it in terms of what either of us wants, but in terms of the life we envision making for each other.

In order for it to work, you have to give up the autonomy that our culture upholds. It is hard, sometimes. The musical, "The Last Five Years" by Jason Robert Brown, is an autobiographical story of the birth and death of a relationship between Brown and his (now) ex-wife. The lyrics of one of the songs go something like...

"All that I ask for is one little corner
one private room at the back of my heart
Tell her I found one, she brings out battalions
To claim it and blow it apart."

It hurts to think that people feel like that in marriages. Wanting to keep a part separate from each other, feeling threatened that the other person might claim that private place...its not supposed to be like that. I think the reason why I love being married to Melissa is that there are no private corners. Like a relationship with God, it isn't authentic if you don't allow yourself to become transparent, to LISTEN, to be vulnerable. You have to get there, if you want a marriage to be the thing it is supposed to be. And I really think that it coalesces in the idea of making decisions together, dreaming together.... I love listening to my wife dream about the future, about our kids, about our jobs...

It has been an amazing year. I love my wife and I love being married. I know people say that you start to get disillusioned after the first year of marriage or so, but I just don't see it happening with us. Maybe my brother was right when he said that our relationship had something of a fairy tale about it....but I hope not. I hope this kind of experience is for everyone...