Driscoll, Cardigans And Kicking People In The Head

When a friend emailed to ask my thoughts on Mark Driscoll’s “theology” I groaned. My natural inclination is try and give a vibrant answer. But, I couldn’t help wondering if my progression of posts, twelve to eighteen months ago, encapsulated all I had to say on the subject (especially here and here). However, some calendar management while checking future events in Hong Kong threw up a delicious contrast that explains my feelings on the question of mission and kicking people in the head (our friend Driscoll is rather fond of aggressive metaphors)).

On the one hand, we have the upcoming MuayThai event in Hong Kong. On the other hand, we have the Luxury Week series of fashion shows. One of these is directly relevant to my personal identity as a guy, to my local context and to understanding the cultural milieu I inhabit. It’s obvious which one to choose.

I’ll be going to the fashion week.

Of course, in Driscoll’s eyes this move is worthy of an Angel Valodia Matos style riposte. That’s why the Wittenburg Door’s satire was so cutting – it spoke to the insecurity that inhabits the hearts of men who can only resort to violent metaphors to describe their responses to the world.

A few years back, some thinkers that I had (previously) respected were pushing Driscoll as a role-model and I was initially sucked in. But, I found myself wondering what the church would look like if everyone acted the way he did, spoke the way he did and treated people the way he did. At the risk of sounding Randian, I made up my own mind. Upon reflection, it became clear that what I hearing was another angry white guy bottling up his fears, resentments and narrow cultural horizons and labelling them “Christianity.” It’s religion for the people who think the movie 300 is an analogy for the Gospel.

Or, to put it another way, it’s idolatry.

See, I’ll admit to being a cardigan wearer, which is why I welcomed Wess’ reflection on Barth’s comment on fashion (not to mention his sartorial tendencies).

[tags] Missional, Barth, Driscoll, Curmudgeon [/tags]