RLT

The Road Less Traveled is a blog which addresses concerns relating to culture, faith, and cinema. It is written by a Christian who addresses the culture from his perspective; he goes beyond that and addresses his perspective as it has evolved in culture. He grew up in the faith, went to seminary, and had expectations about life and faith which have not always worked out and have consequently matured. This produces a balanced attitude toward faith as it regards culture, which is really not that common. Many who are concerned with culture either put so much emphasis on relating to it that they forget where they come from and are assimilated into it, or they treat culture as an enemy which should be feared and reviled. Neither of these attitudes is useful to a person of faith, but they are common, and so it is always good to find someone who is able to balance his attitude in order to remain true to his faith, and be useful outside of it.

The author, Aaron Saufley, posts a few times a week. When he discusses media, he posts a clip from that media and organizes it in a section called RLT (Road Less Traveled) Cinema. It is notable that he does not put up clips that support claims that he has made, neither does he attack things that he disagrees with. The purpose of RLT cinema is to process and analyze culture. One post that really embodies an interrogation of religious culture, examining it from an outside source is the post titled, “RLT Cinema: George Carlin’s 'Religion is B.S.'” 

The clip is a direct attack on Christianity from the perspective of George Carlin, a former Catholic who at the time of the clip despised and mocked his former faith. Saufley responds that,

“He brings up some legit concerns with 'organized religion' that turn many people off.”

He challenges people of faith to listen to what Carlin is saying rather than shut him out. This is a fresh alternative to the church simply condemning anyone in disagreement without regard to what reasoning they may have.

Saufley has also posted about a Toyota ad campaign for their Sienna minivan line. The ad campaign features a series of videos starring a family which promote the style of the minivan. It works really well, and the music video is a blast. Saufley's critique of the music video is the sense of consumerism, and how that is counter to his faith. He makes a valid point that is often made in America today, but he does it in a way to make the reader think about it, and not just to point fingers or lament. His statement is useful rather than irritable.

There is some interaction on this blog, though not a whole lot. Obviously it is a target to people who despise Christianity. The author does not denigrate these in debate, he does not blow them off, and he gives them respect, treating their concerns as legitimate.

There are many similarities between The Road Less Traveled and this blog. It is a blog concerned about the relationship between culture and religion. It is more broad, however, since this blog is more concerned with that relationship through media. The Road Less Traveled is a simple, easy to follow blog which raises interesting questions and critiques of modern culture and Christianity and sometimes, how they interact through media.