The Language of Faith - Tim Regan-Porter

04/10/09 • 62 min

FFM 2009

How do we talk about faith to those outside the faith community, as well as within it, in ways that promote understanding? It’s not just the vocal firebrands of “the religious right” that alienate. Too often, the language we use in everyday conversation comes across as foreign or inauthentic. The co-founder of Paste magazine explores the thorny semantics of faith, starting with the often-overlooked language divide between evangelical and mainline Christianity.

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Music & Meaning - Robert Nordling & Benita Wolters-Fredlund

We are saturated with music, and not only from what we intentionally listen to. Advertisements, sound tracks, commercials, car radio, our iPods set on shuffle as we work out...all these sources of music feed (force feed?) us an almost constant stream of music. But just what is music telling us? Lyrics and text aside, what is going into our ears, as we listen either actively or passively to music? Two Calvin music professors consider several points of view around the issue of music and meaning, including whether music is language; how music communicates meaning and mediates communication; and how we might take responsibility for how we listen. The presentation includes examples of music, both recorded and played live.

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Music + Faith + Commerce? - Trey Many

In this workshop, Trey Many discusses the odd impact of having one’s faith associated with their music career, mainly focusing on Christianity and its role in popular music. Topics include the demonization of secular music within the church, the possible motivations for musicians have for publicly declaring their faith, and why Christian Rock’s dream of mainstream acceptance being realized may eventually destroy its market share.