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The Jesus Smackdown
Feb. 26th, 2004 12:25 amLike a good theology student I went and saw The Passion tonight. So many thoughts. I will fire them off, in no coherent order, and just see where this goes.
*How we portray Jesus often says more about us than about him. Mel Gibson has some serious issues. I can't begin to imagine carrying around that amount of violence, suffering, or guilt.
*The power went out during a lightening storm and I missed the last 4 mins of the film. Thankfully I know how it ends (resurrection!), but after a film that violent and intense we need more than 4 minutes of reurrection.
*I understood a goodly chunk of the un-subtitled Latin. Whee!
*I do not think Jesus would have known Latin.
*I know the New Testament better than I thought I did. I also know my symbols quite well and understood a lot of the art history references. Watch me be educated.
*I do not blame anyone for thinking about Jesus and Christianity and deciding its a load of crap.
*I do not believe in Yahweh or a chosen people. Since those concepts underlie the NT and Jesus' context, I am forced to revisit certain of my issues. Difficult after coming to some great conclusions last semester: Christ is the great Revealer, the resurrection is the point of the passion and of Christianity. So, now what do I do with the OT and its contents? Am I really that liberal that I will throw it out?
Ugh. I have a headache. I don't want to go class tomorrow and discuss ascetism and the desert monastics for three hours. Enough with the suffering, people!! If you feel guilty, free a sweatshop! Stop domestic and sexual violence! Quit objectifying one another! Quit destroying the earth!
Will the questioning ever end? My faith is strong, but if faith could be drawn or photographed, mine I think would have a very different pattern. Sometimes I wish I could just be formulaic; I wish I could just follow along. It would be much easier. But really, how does easy translate into the confusion and mess of life? If God isn't involved in our mess, then we are lost. God will just have to be patient. I know I've been.
*How we portray Jesus often says more about us than about him. Mel Gibson has some serious issues. I can't begin to imagine carrying around that amount of violence, suffering, or guilt.
*The power went out during a lightening storm and I missed the last 4 mins of the film. Thankfully I know how it ends (resurrection!), but after a film that violent and intense we need more than 4 minutes of reurrection.
*I understood a goodly chunk of the un-subtitled Latin. Whee!
*I do not think Jesus would have known Latin.
*I know the New Testament better than I thought I did. I also know my symbols quite well and understood a lot of the art history references. Watch me be educated.
*I do not blame anyone for thinking about Jesus and Christianity and deciding its a load of crap.
*I do not believe in Yahweh or a chosen people. Since those concepts underlie the NT and Jesus' context, I am forced to revisit certain of my issues. Difficult after coming to some great conclusions last semester: Christ is the great Revealer, the resurrection is the point of the passion and of Christianity. So, now what do I do with the OT and its contents? Am I really that liberal that I will throw it out?
Ugh. I have a headache. I don't want to go class tomorrow and discuss ascetism and the desert monastics for three hours. Enough with the suffering, people!! If you feel guilty, free a sweatshop! Stop domestic and sexual violence! Quit objectifying one another! Quit destroying the earth!
Will the questioning ever end? My faith is strong, but if faith could be drawn or photographed, mine I think would have a very different pattern. Sometimes I wish I could just be formulaic; I wish I could just follow along. It would be much easier. But really, how does easy translate into the confusion and mess of life? If God isn't involved in our mess, then we are lost. God will just have to be patient. I know I've been.