Does your mom think Napoleon Dynamite is funny? Your boss? Can you think of anyone over 32 years old that finds the movie hilarious? Now, I know everyone will think of an exception to this 32-year-cut-off-rule, but the rule is true in general.
But why? Why don't they find Napoleon funny. My brother and I were discussing this the other day and decided that our generation finds TONE humorous moreso than CONTENT. The WAY someone says something is more important than WHAT they say. The line DELIVERY is more important than the line ITSELF. Ok, I'm out of ways to say the same thing.
My question is...does this generational characteristic affect how we view church, politics, sports, etc?
3 comments:
some older people find it funny--for instance, peter travers of rolling stone loved the movie, and he's like 8 million years old. of course, he's a movie critic and so his life is movies. but normal old people? hhmmmmm.... can't think of anyone. my father in law cracks up at it quite a bit, but he doesn't really understand it. so yes, i agree. it's all about delivery and not content. because old people certianly don't understand the content that is napoleon.
i think yes, it does affect how we judge things in the church. think about it: our generation is easily amused by a dramatic, vivacious preacher---we pay very little regard to the message s/he is actually saying. We are easily swayed to believe by the conviction and dramatic emphasis of his/her voice. I think this is scary about us. We like to have our "ears tickled." If we do recognize the value of content, we are in more danger of becoming heretical. Just think about who people label a "good preacher." Usually it's someone with a strong speaking voice and a confident manner. The person that I would label a "good preacher" would be the person who researched his/her stuff, put together a convincing and correctly exegeted orderly argument- using words that we can all understand to illuminate truth and make it applicable to our current situation. Another thing about the way we are impressed as a generation is that communication must be short and concise; we don't want to have to put too much time or effort into understanding--because understanding isn't a value that our generation seems to hold.
I agree Jo...exactly my thoughts on the religious side of things.
In politics I noticed this election that more emphasis was placed on who sounded best in the debates instead of who had the bests answers.
In sports I notice this b/c nowadays its not about scoring touchdowns or baskets, it's about the end-zone dance and the style of dunk.
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