Earlier today on Facebook I
made two quick observations on the social media responses to David Bowie’s death, with the intention of reflecting on them more fully. Of the outpouring
itself, it is worth noting the need to stop and express gratitude and mark
loss that is personal if not relational, but beyond that I am struck by
the clearly recurring content of the responses.
I wrote:
‘Firstly, Bowie created
environments that gave people permission to be themselves, to be creative, and
to not be alone in the world. Secondly, he demonstrated that
in order to remain fundamentally the same person over time we must change our
perspective again and again. Both insights feel profoundly
biblical. Yet the Church is not known for creating such environments, nor for
demonstrating repentance; is not a community people look to, in relation to
these fundamental human longings...’
What might we learn through
doing some thoughtful cultural exegesis here?
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