There’s a new documentary film coming out soon that I’m looking forward to seeing.
Kumaré
Continuing the thought line from my last post (“If you talk to God, it’s prayer…”), I heard a great interview on NPR recently. It was on Terri Gross’ Fresh Air and the subject was an anthropologist, T.M. Luhrmann. She wrote a book When God Talks Back, which is based on an anthropological study she did at The Vineyard church.
It’s a fascinating discussion about how the devout perceive their Lord talking to them. Give a listen…
Yeah, I just coined that. Think Punk’d, the hidden camera / practical joke / reality MTV Ashton Kutcher series, but set exclusively inside churches to debunk the silly, manipulative things that Christians do. Bunk’d ™.
I wish I had the guts to actually pull something like this off, but I don’t. I also don’t have the means or anonymity. But what a great project it would make! In terms of tone, I’m thinking that the following scene from the Borat movie pretty much captures it perfectly:
I was rolling when I first saw this a few years ago! I’ve sat in services like that one, and that energy is infectious (which is the whole point, after all). I absolutely love the subversive effect Cohen achieved here. However, the scene was — I feel — likely lost on his core un-churched audience. I think there is an untapped market of backsliders out there that would eat this shit up, and it’s high time that churches swallow some humble pie and acknowledge that their “normal” sure does look like fucking crazy sometimes.
There’s an interesting dissection of the Borat scene here. Especially telling is this excerpt (emphasis mine):
Echoing the thoughts of some other church members, one female poster on the Good News Cafe, an apostolic discussion board, had the following to say about the film. “I explained that, while Sacha Baron Cohen’s (Borat) foray into a house of worship to serve his own comedic purposes “crossed the line” and should not have happened in any faith’s place of worship, the most troubling thing to me was the complete absence of an important Gift of the Spirit: that would be “discerning of spirits.” …How could it be that one of the UPCI’s premier, very much in demand evangelists (Godwin) and another strong very conservative voice (Dillon) in one of its “districts” be so incredibly clueless as to who was among them? None of those “big-timers” could even tell that “Borat” wasn’t even authentically speaking in tongues!“
There’s a great article on Good Men Project, although it not really a topic exclusive only to men. Here’s a great quote I like in particular:
I think that we are far too attached to who we are by the small pains of ritual and habit. We are bound to what we do by what we do. In order to change we must be willing to actively subvert who we are through the little things in our lives.
This is what is so repellent about dogma itself. It discourages the seeker from experimentation with truth in order to come to one’s own conclusions. This, in turn, is what individuals find difficult about faith itself.
This second installment of our series was gathered from a couple different posts by our new friend, Mark P. Knowles. (I use the term friend loosely as I just found his blog today, but anyone this funny and irreverent earns automatic Backslidden Friend status.) Be sure to check out his site for more hilarity. Enjoy!!
Credits: Jesus H. Christ Creationism Atheism
The Passion of the Larry
Wired magazine has a wonderful article up on deranged wannabe messiahs that discover their revelation while visiting the Holy Land. The condition has even been christened “Jerusalem syndrome.”
There’s a few notable quotes that struck me.
The whole act of pilgrimage is deliberately intended as a kind of disorientation.
Here’s another:
There’s a joke in psychiatry: If you talk to God, it’s called prayer; if God talks to you, you’re nuts.
You have to wonder — what was it like when the Christ himself spouted such things? He had revelation, and enough people believed him. Am I like one of the Pharisees? I know I would have had a hard time believing him then, as I would today when one of these modern day wackos professes he’s returned for his people.
And now for a new feature where we travel back in time and I take a look at current events through the eyes of myself, 10 years ago. Today, 2002 BC Talk will be reviewing a trailer for a documentary slated to open in theaters on Feb. 11, Wish Me Away. Watch the trailer and then read my review.
Here’s my review, blurb-style and ready to be splashed all over the back cover of a current issue of CCM Magazine!
“This movie makes Jesus sad.”
“It’s so sad to see so much talent go to waste. Just imagine what the Lord could do through her if she gave her life to Jesus!”
“This is liberal propaganda, designed to steal our children’s souls and turn them gay.”
If, like me, you disagree with Christian me from the past and would like to help get the message of this film out, click here to learn more and make a contribution.
Okay, so maybe not “God”, but they are continuing to find evidence of the elusive “God particle”. I’ve been fascinated by this for a while and I saw this article a while ago in USA Today and I’ve been meaning to post it. It’s a short read, but you can link to other articles as well if you are interested in reading more. I think I’ve heard Dawkins articulate this far better than I can, but this is a perfect example of the type of science that Evangelicals tend to, if not fear, at very least shy away from. The more that science uncovers, the less gaps for “God” and “miracles” to fill. Most would rather “sit in awe and wonder at the majesty and mystery of God” then discover the natural phenomenon behind what is happening. Thus the eternal battle between science and religion.
Here’s the thing…if you are an Evangelical and you are reading this, you’re probably already pissed off just from the title of this post. Before you get too far down that road, I want you to think about all the Bible stories you grew up hearing as a child. Now pick one and play it back in your head, only without the coercive persuasion that most Evangelicals drown their children in from the day they are born and that I most certainly experienced. It might be impossible for you to do that, but have no fear! Here is what it sounds like! Here’s a clip from Louis CK’s show on FX…take it away Louis…
