One of the goals on my “bucket list” is to make a movie. My wife is on board with the project. We are both fans of movies, well, good movies – movies that show in every scene that there was a great deal of time, and effort, and thought put into them. I am currently in a class learning how to use the latest technology for teaching online classes and the instructor keeps emphasizing what many of us already know and what the younger generation is now demanding in educational environments: using movies, and music, and modern technology is more interesting! The days of standing in front of the class with a piece of chalk or a dry erase marker and talking are numbered – we need to take our communication to a new level.
So back to the movie. My wife and I have several ideas in mind, and we have even more “scenes” that are based on things we have experienced or witnessed that we think would make epic movie moments. Yesterday I added a new one to the list. Picture this: the movie is about Jesus and understanding him in a new way – an authentic way, a human way. The scene is the tomb, after the crucifixion, large boulder blocking the entrance. Suddenly the boulder explodes “ka-bloom” light and fire and bits of rock flying, and at the same moment the guitar rip from the beginning of “Back in Black,” by ACDC starts. The music continues until Jesus appears amid the smoke and filtered light in the entrance of the tomb – posed and ready to shock the world with his reappearance. Would that be awesome, or what? Well, who’s with me? Any investors?
My point here is not to poke fun, to be sarcastic, or to blaspheme. Far from it! I really think that theme song would work for Jesus. He was the original rebel – the outlaw – the epitome of what it means to speak up for the truth, regardless of the consequences – and he came back to life! I liked the idea of his resurrection theme song so much that I listened to “Back in Black” three times in my car imagining the various ways the boulder would explode and Jesus could make his grand appearance. Does this make me strange? Probably, but I prefer to think that I have these thoughts because I am a bit more open to various views and opinions about Jesus, God, and the origins of the universe than others may be.
One of the reasons for my openness to this modernization of God’s word and influence on society today traces back to the last church we attended with some regularity. They used newer forms of media in their services. They had an awesome band – it would be considered a Christian rock band, I guess, that started and ended each service like a concert – lights, lots of pounding bass, and occasional smoke machine for effect. The first time we went to that church was on Easter, and the band was pumping out “It’s a Beautiful Day” by U2. It was a great choice for Easter Morning. The church also regularly incorporated video segments in the sermons, and they also had an active blogging area and Twitter account for staying involved in the church during the week. They opened up in multiple sites, and began to broadcast the service on the internet and on television. As I researched their approach to “churching”, I learned that this is how many, many churches in other areas of the country are “rolling” now – they are putting on a show for the audience: lights, camera, action! This tendency developed in the south, and it is very common in the “Bible Belt” of our country, where single services held in sports arenas can draw thousands of people. Now the trend is spreading to the northeast. And it seems to be working. These churches report that their congregations are growing in number, while the majority of churches report continuing declines in attendance.
So here is another example that technology is good. Wonderful, in fact, because it allows us to deliver really important messages in a way that is relevant, accurate, and entertaining. I remain dumbfounded by the amount of information we can find with such little effort. The arguments for using this technology in schools, churches, the workplace, and any area of our lives where we need to learn new information are strong, and they make sense. I think Jesus would have loved this stuff – I wonder if he would blog, tweet, and carry a smart phone? By the way, there are multiple Facebook accounts for Jesus and for God, and all of them seem to have many “friends”. The church I mentioned before used to occasionally ask the question “What would Jesus think if he came into our church, and saw the way we are teaching his word?” That was a really good question.
And that is where my difficulties have always begun and ended when it comes to religion. All the information from the Bible, or Koran, or Talmud, or any other writing that we have designated as having a “divine touch” is open to interpretation, and too often this interpretation does not make sense to me, regardless of the source or technology it is transferred through. Here is a glaring example: The earth was created in seven days. O.K. that seems strait forward. After all, God can do anything, right? So why not seven days? But over and over, I read and hear about religious people who try desperately to explain that the definition of a “day” needs to be changed. After all, we do not live by God’s calendar, we live by our own. So many religious leaders tell us that the seven days may, in fact, be longer than our days – actually, it probably was. Actually, we, really, really think it was. It was, alright – it just was, so get over it and move on. The “time” problem in the Bible has always been a difficult nut to crack for religions. People living for centuries, the exact dates when things described in the New Testament happened, and, of course, the exact age of the world itself. Not to mention the whole “dinosaur thing” and how that fits into the age of the earth.
And this is where I struggle the most with trusting those who have devoted their lives to interpreting what I consider to be the most important information about our existence and purpose during this brief time on the planet. Given all of the information, and science, and wonderful technology we now have to help answer these questions – given all of these resources, some religions continue to chose to ignore it – and to encourage their followers to do the same! They make science the enemy – the devil. Ironically, many of these same people and religions embrace and preach and shout out any discoveries that support their beliefs and agendas, while vehemently opposing any views, research, or hard evidence against what they believe to be true. And that angers me. In truth, it scares me. The abuse of power seems always to begin by an individual or small group of people deciding for a larger group of people what “facts” they will be allowed to believe. The history of every religion I can think of has been guilty of this practice. Not only have the “facts” been filtered by religious leaders, but in most cases the sources of history and information have been carefully selected as well. If you have the time, and the interest, do some “Googling” on how the selections were made for what writings would be allowed in the New Testament. It may surprise you! It may also surprise you to pick up various editions of the Bible and to see how the same passages use different words! When we are dealing with a book upon which every word is scrutinized, dissected, and pontificated about, this variation in wording can cause a variety of interpretations. And who is mainly responsible for that interpretation? If your answer is our friends and leaders behind the pulpits, I agree, but I think it makes more sense for us to be responsible for the interpretation ourselves. I believe that is the only true way to establish an intimate relationship with God.
I have another scene in mind for my movie. In this one, we see someone preaching. Not just preaching, but REALLY preaching! Loud, inspired, fired up! And the speaker’s message can be about one of two subjects “you can substitute another if you have a good one”. The first that comes to mind for me is homosexuality. The preacher is assuring the congregation about the sinful nature of this biological condition – oopps, I mean conscious and evil choice; and how, without a REAL reference in the New Testament to attach his position to, Jesus really, really hated homosexuals and assured them that none would be allowed into the Kingdom unless they repented about their genetic wiring – oopps, there I go again; I mean about their sinful transgressions, and forced themselves to lead lives of the holy and upstanding heterosexual. The preacher does not mention during this sermon that virtually every study done about homosexuality supports a scientific, genetic predisposition towards our sexual preferences and where we end up on the “Gender Continuum.” In fact, this particular preacher, who has been around for some time, simply changed some of the wording in this sermon to fit the topic – the sermon was originally written in support of segregation of the races, which, he continues to believe, Jesus also supported. Being the “wrong” color is also sinful, you see…
My second idea for the preacher would be a sermon on how only people of his religious denomination are going to Heaven. Again, the cornerstone of this sermon will hinge on a scant few quotes from the Bible, that don’t REALLY say that, but given the right version of the text, and with enough fire and brimstone, he knows it will sell. For me, these two messages, which have resurfaced in one form or another in every pew I have knelt in, have never digested very well. I am not pointing these messages out to “bash” any church, religion, or spiritual speaker – I simply do not believe they are true, or valid, or based on the writings or principles of the God I believe in.
Which brings me to the second scene in my movie. After we see the preacher shouting, and yelling, and carrying on about one of these messages, we cut to Jesus – looking down, or maybe sitting somewhere in the church, rubbing his forehead slowly with his palm and mumbling to himself “That is SO not what I meant!”
Maybe I’m the one who has it all wrong. I’ve been wrong before, many times, actually, so it certainly is a possibility. All I know for sure is that I feel connected to God – to my God – to the God I believe in, and that was not always the case. For me, it took a lot of work – most of which was not done in the seats, and pews, and various worship halls, but in reading the Bible and in prayer, and in talking and listening to people that God has put in my life. Channels of His love – spiritual advisors, and many, many people who seem far less fortunate than me, but are far more grateful for what they have. They know that they will be taken care of each day. It was this “homework” rather than the “church work” that helped me the most.
I saw a great t-shirt the other day, but I am not brave enough to wear it. “Jesus is my homey”. I like that. I feel that way. I know he has my back, and that is all I need to know, I guess. During this Easter season, this season of renewal and growth and warm light, I hope that you will do some “home work”. I think a great start would be dusting off your ACDC cassette and blasting “Back in Black” while thinking that maybe, just maybe, it fits…
Well, Brian, I am supposed to be doing WORK today but your email (indicating your blog led to laughter) drew me to it this morning.
I have to say that when I read your suggestion of how Jesus would react in church, I chuckled too. LOVE it. I have long felt that the true meaning of God has been lost in the establishment of man-made religious sects, all of whom declare to know “the truth” and judge those who don’t ascribe to the same religion. I would love to send your blog to some relatives who belong to a religion that considers itself the only true path, part of the chosen # of people mentioned in the bible who will be allowed into the “kingdom.” I always wondered what made them think they were the only ones who would be judged worthy? Why the elitism? They are the same ones who told me, when I referred to Nicholas and other babies who have died as “angels”, that there are no such thing as angels, no afterlife. In their mind they were attempting to “educate” me about “the truth.” I felt sad for them, for a religion that teaches them they will be forever apart from loved ones they don’t convert, that enables them to feel justified in confronting bereaved parents about where they perceive their children to be. I don’t envision my child as a cherub with wings, but rather in a Heavenly place of warmth and love.
I’ve come to believe we all perceive God to be what/who we are comfortable with. To me, he is all-loving and certainly would not reject any of his “children” because of their gender identity, skin color, etc. But, this is a conversation that could continue for pages and pages…and I just wanted you to know you made me smile, your perception of religion and God is so closely aligned to mine, and although that shirt may evoke stares, there’s no shame in wearing it :). It reminds me of one of the songs I listen to on the radio – “What would they do if they knew I was a Jesus freak?” As I change the station from Christian Rock, to jazz, to traditional rock, to folk and blues…I realize I am comfortable with them all because I know what God means to me.
Enjoy your Easter. 🙂
Michelle