Some very interesting articles over the last few days, impossible to really absorb them all, but thought I’d pass them on for the interest of others:
* An amazing editorial over at CT regarding the Crystal Cathedral bankruptcy – they don’t get everything right, but make this amazing admission:
The lesson is that our attempts to find and exploit a point of cultural contact inevitably end in bankruptcy.
This does not deny the need to talk about the gospel in language and thought forms that a culture understands. In fact, we cannot avoid doing this—we are culturally and linguistically bound, ultimately unable to get out of our own skin and see the world in any other way. But we must repress every fearful thought that suggests that making the gospel relevant and meaningful rests on our shoulders.
* On the subject of music, several articles out about a new study published at McGill University (Montreal) – when a musical piece builds tension, then resolves it, the brain releases dopamine, the ‘pleasure juice’ that is also stimulated by things like food, drugs, and sex.
-
Musical pleasure at TheScientist.com
-
Emotion and Music at McGill University – links to several pertinent pdfs also.
-
Music produces a natural high, McGill study finds at the Montreal Gazette
Some quotes from the Gazette article:
…the feel-good neurotransmitter dopamine is released when people listen to their favourite music, be it rock, jazz or classical.
…
"Because it [music] gives us pleasure, we can use it to our advantage to modulate our state of mind."
…
The music that generated dopamine release depended on the listeners’ tastes and preferences.
"All types of music activated the same part of the brain," Zatorre says. "It doesn’t matter if it’s punk, classical, tango or even bagpipes."
Very interesting stuff. I sent the links to Scott Aniol. I wonder what he’ll make of all that.
* Don’t miss the audio files and most of the notes for the Preserving the Truth Conference. I’m reading Mike Riley right now. Very interesting.
* And last, for Bibleworks users, a recent announcement tells us of a partnership between WORDsearch and BW. You can now buy some pretty interesting titles to add on to BW. This could be a welcome gift for someone. (No idea who that could be…)
Comments