Hello strangers,

We're changing this "letter from an editor" feature to what it should have been all along: a short intro to the new issue, with some aspect of Stranger Things' mission thrown in for good measure. Ever since we started this endeavour over a year ago, we've been grappling with writing a well-rounded, complete statement on who we are and what we want to do...and it hasn't happened yet. There are just too many angles to make a simple square essay out of. At least not with our current word-smithing abilities. So we'll use this intro each month to talk about a single ST quirk, and maybe eventually we'll be able to roll them all into one brilliant manifesto.

This month, along with the usual rock 'n' roll and film and a new essay on the perils of postmodern parenting, we're starting a little column called (for now) Christianity Deconstructed. Each installment will highlight a different Christian tradition, behavior, or thought that many people think is part of the package...but in reality, is not. We'll tell you why not, and how we think it distracts from the core truth to be experienced by seeking the man called Christ. Topics will range from this month's church buildings to preaching styles to holidays like Christmas and Easter.

We're adding this because Stranger Things is not just about pop culture. We're after truth. Truth that bounds through the world free and naked as it did in the beginning, not clothed in needless tradition. We do believe that the man Jesus Christ was also God. But we do not believe most of what bears his name in today's world has anything to do with who he really was/is and how we are to know him.

Religion has been spiritually bankrupt since it started, because it draws its energy not from Mr. Energy Himself, but from fear, laziness, and pride. Those three things in particular are the actual Trinity of Christianity -- Christianity being the weed-like religion which sprang up around Christ and has grown into a forest hiding him from sight. Like everyone else, we get caught in the thicket. But if we can (and we have our doubts), we will forget fear, crucify laziness, and mock pride in our search for the Real Deal.

Now, we know this is all incredibly idealistic and pretentious. Some of you are gagging right now (clean that up). People have thought they could strip away unnecessary culture from truth for centuries. Don't be so cynical -- that's our job. The truth is that what we do and think is always bound to culture and tradition, because culture and tradition are just the expression of humanity. So, are we just hacks with computers, thinking our own slant on things is the best because we can put our words and pictures online for the world to be enlightened by? Yeah, we are, if humanity is all there is. But -- and this is a very big BUT -- we think truth is from Beyond. It's covered in culture and tradition, and we're trying to figure out what should be discarded and what is eternal.

At the very least, we hope we can put questions in your minds. Which could lead to thinking...which could lead to some sense of truth. That'll be enough. Actually, that's not the very least; the very least would be that no one reads this and we're just organizing our own thoughts and answering out own questions. We'll even be happy with that.

Josh Spencer, co-producer/editor-in-chief
October 2000