If Jesus can heal,
Then maybe He needs to heal this!
Tag: Christianity
Must See Portrait of Christ! AMAZING!
Wow, this is spectacular! For those of you who do not understand what is going on, the artist, Jeremy Cowart, is creating a portrait of Christ with both drawings and photographs of people! He is using Adobe Photoshop to blend the features of his basic drawing with other elements he has chosen. The result is quite beautiful!
A Portrait of Christ from Jeremy Cowart on Vimeo.
Beautiful And Tragic And What Lies In Between
I awoke this morning to the sound of an email being delivered to my account. Yes, I sleep next to my computer! Any way, the email is a daily meditation that I get. Today’s message really resonated with me. It was written in such a way that I can actually wrap my head around the fuller meaning of what Christ did for humanity, the example that He became to the world. His life is both beautiful and tragic, admired and yet feared. In the words of Richard Rohr, “he became what we are all afraid of and what we all deny: nakedness, exposure, vulnerability and failure.”
Here is the meditation in its entirety.
On this Palm Sunday, picture yourself before the crucified Jesus and recognize that he became what we are all afraid of and what we all deny: nakedness, exposure, vulnerability and failure. He became “sin” (Romans 8:3) to free us from repeating that sin (ignorant killing of anything— thinking it will solve our problem), Jesus became the cosmic Scapegoat who reveals our very worst and our very best to those who will gaze on the Crucified long enough. Jesus became what humanity hates—to tell us to stop hating, to love that which we fear, and how wrong we can be about who is good and who is bad.
Jesus became the pleading image of what humans do to creation—so we could see it in stark outline, with the curtain of denial and illusion withdrawn. God in Jesus became the crucified so we would stop crucifying. He became the crucified, who refused to crucify back, and thus stopped the universal pattern of death. As Sebastian Moore said many years ago, “the crucified Jesus is no stranger,” he is no stranger to anyone who has lived and loved, no stranger to the universal experience of suffering, despair, and loneliness. In that, he saves us.
From Hope Against Darkness, p. 37
Issues of Morality
“We might not like it, but it’s in the Bible, so…” « Undeception.
The Death of Morality
Morality is a Culturally Conditioned Response
Jesse Prinz argues that the source of our moral inclinations is merely cultural. Found at Philosophy Now
Sex, Violence, Slaughter: No Soap Opera Can Rival The Old Testament
Most of you know that I have spent the better part of this past year enrolled in a class sponsored by Suwannee called EfM (Education For Ministry). Wow! It’s been an eye-opening experience for sure! I have been attending church all of my life, and yet, l NEVER knew so much illicit sex, violence, warfare, and the general slaughter of animals and people existed in the Bible! I joked with my classmates that I no longer needed my soap opera, (General Hospital) because I now have the Old Testament as a replacement!
What a rich source of literature for the mind and the imagination to romp free through. Not only did my questions become more abundant over the past year, but my imagination has been filled with what the events of Old Testament theology truly look like; that is to say, what these events look like to my imagination. The closest visual interpretations that I can identify whole heartedly with come from two unlikely sources, The Bible Illuminated : Robert Crumb‘s The Book of Genesis and Basil Wolverton‘s, The Bible Story.
Crumb’s book is the ultimate graphic novel. It consists of 224 pages of text and imagery that depict his interpretation of creation, Noah’s’ flood, Sodom and Gomorrah, the life of Abraham , and the story of Joseph, his brothers, and Pharoah. Because Crumb professes that he does not believe the Bible is the word of God (“I take it all for myth from start to finish, with probably some faint relation to historical reality”) he is given more freedom to illustrate what is actually printed rather than falling prey to the idealization of what we are accustomed to seeing. The illustrations, like the ancient text, are graphic, sensual, emotional, violent, and devoid of “fluff”.
The other unlikely source for biblical illustrations comes from “Mad” magazine illustrator, Basil Wolverton. 
Wolverton is said to have been a deeply religious man, and unlike Crumb, Wolverton did believe the Bible to be the inspired word of God. He was commissioned to write and illustrate a narrative of the Old Testament (including over 550 illustrations), some 20 apocalyptic illustrations inspired by the book of Revelation, and dozens of cartoons and humorous illustrations for various Worldwide Church publications.
Both illustrators are refreshing from where I stand. I know that there has been a back lash from the Christian conservatives, especially regarding Robert Crumb’s book. The argument seems to be that Crumb took too much “artistic liscense” in his interpretation of the biblical readings. He is seen by many to be lacking in sensitivity regarding the faith of others. I simply do not understand the premise of the argument, especially given that the words are right there in plain text, sacred or not.
Links of Interest
Biblical sex row over explicit illustrated Book of Genesis – Telegraph.
http://www.thedirtfloor.com/2010/01/02/robert-crumb-does-the-bible/
God in 100 Words
This is an interesting post from Patheos in which a number of bloggers from different faiths were asked to describe Who or What God is to them in 100 words or less. The similarities are striking!
Guilty Of Picking and Choosing? I Am
I recently read an article in the Huffington Post by Phil Zuckerman and Dan Cady titled “Why Evangelicals Hate Jesus“. As you might suspect, the article contrasts the political and religious views of white evangelical Christians to that of the actual teachings of Christ.
I am not going to comment on the article here other than to say that towards the end I was struck by the following quote,
“In addition to such historical developments, there may very well simply be an underlying, all-too-human social-psychological process at root, one that probably plays itself out among all religious individuals: they see in their religion what they want to see, and deny or despise the rest. That is, religion is one big Rorschach test. People look at the content of their religious tradition — its teachings, its creeds, its prophet’s proclamations — and they basically pick and choose what suits their own secular outlook. They see in their faith what they want to see as they live their daily lives, and simultaneously ignore the rest.”
I know that I am certainly guilty of this, and I suspect most are to a lesser or greater degree. Seems to me that how we interpret our faith depends largely on our experience of life, our culture, and the particular community we associate with. When one or more of these factors change, our beliefs are transformed accordingly. While I acknowledge that the authors are probably referring to more immediate ways we “bend” the text or tradition to fit our needs, the word syncretism comes to mind. Syncretism is the reconciliation or fusion of differing systems of belief that usually results in a new teaching or belief system. I am reminded of the ancient Israelites en route from Egypt to the promised land and their constant battle to serve YHWH while also maintaining previous practices of worshipping pagan Assyrian Gods. Amos 5:25 asks the question “Did you present Me with sacrifices and grain offerings in the wilderness for forty years?” The answer from the Israelites is, “Yes”. The next verse states “you also carried along Sikkuth your king and Kiyyun, your images, the star of your gods which you made for yourselves.” These two sentences effectively show the Hebrews mixing two belief systems. II Kings 17:33 says, “They worshipped the Lord, but they also served their own gods in accordance with the customs of the nations from which they had been brought.”
In the New Testament, the early church found itself wrapped up in syncretism as well. Paul wrote the book of Galatians to sort out the confusion caused by the transition from the Law of Moses to the New Covenant. The book of Colossians and the first epistle of John were written for a similar purpose, this time having to do with a mixing of Gnosticism and the Bible. While it is evident throughout the Old and New Testaments that syncretism was continuously fought against, it is also obvious that many pagan concepts and beliefs remained firmly entrenched and now have become part of accepted tradition. So the questions become ” How do we not “pick and choose” what we believe, at least to some extent? It seems very human and maybe even necessary for survival and assimilation into culture and community. This is going to be heresy for many, but might syncretism be God’s revelation of God’s self through history? Might it very well be a means of God revealing God’s self in a way that makes sense and speaks to a particular culture or community in a particular time period in history? I am wondering if we took all of the religions of the world and sought out their commonalities, would we find something more universal and therefore more “truthful” in our experiences of God?
Related Articles
- short thoughts about religious change and culture (alekswashere.wordpress.com)
- Zuckerman on Why Evangelicals Hate Jesus (frozenclocks.wordpress.com)
Seeing Others Through The Eyes of Christ
American Jesus by fashion photographer David LaChappelle struck a chord in me today as I was reading an essay given to me by a friend entitled Live Welcoming To All. In the essay Sue Monk Kidd, the author, paints a picture of her encounter with a woman on a long train ride home one night. The woman whom she did not know, sat across from her crying. From time to time the woman would look up at Kidd as if she were wanting and needing some act of compassion or tenderness. The author states that she knew this by the look on the woman’s face but was consumed by other thoughts and found it easier to mind her own business.
The thought of this woman and what she was asking for on that train ride home so late at night continued to haunt Kidd. She dreamt that the two were in a boat together. The woman would not stop crying. The boat was quickly filling up with tears. Kidd, in an attempt to save them both, began bailing buckets of tears, but to no avail. Finally, Kidd stops bailing and looks into this woman’s eyes. She notices that as long as she is looking into this woman’s eyes, the tears don’t flow. As soon as she looks away, they begin again. Kidd’s interpretation of this dream was that it wasn’t necessary for her to try and fix the woman’s pain, but simply to be available and present with her heart. What was required was that she look into this womans eyes and truly see her; that she unwaveringly take her in.
I see this concept at work in David LaChappelle’s photograph. Jesus replaces Mary as the figure-head of the Pieta. He holds non other than troubled pop star Michael Jackson in his arms while looking to God as if to say, ” forgive this man, accept his humanness. He was troubled but now he is not. He is yours, love him the way he deserves.” Now, of course that is my interpretation, but unlike the traditional Pieta where we have Mary holding Christ and weeping in agony, Christ simply looks to the heavens as if he is presenting the broken body of Jackson for healing.
Both of these illustrations bring about the idea of respect. So much of our lives are spent in the busyness of day-to-day tasks. Often we forget to be as respectful of others as we know we should. I am guilty of this very thing on a daily basis. However, if I could learn to see all people through the eyes of Christ, I would see their worth and dignity no matter who they are or what they have done. I wonder what the world would look like if we could all live welcoming to all?
Related Articles
- Participating In Compassion (lynnwright00.wordpress.com)
Participating In Compassion
Christianity is the most popular religion in the world. However, its popularity is declining and has been for a number of years. Estimates claim that there are roughly 2 billion participants of Christianity making up 33% of the global community (http://www.adherents.com/Religions_By_Adherents.html). There are numerous reasons for this decline ranging from interests in newer religious movements like that of New Age and Neopaganism to an overall lack of confidence in religious institutions that represent the ideals of the Christian faith. What is clear is that there is a definite interest in pursuing one’s spirituality. This interest however, is not being translated into church attendance.
My personal thoughts are that the Church is not doing the job necessary to bridge the past and the present. In other words, the Church has been slow to evolve itself. It has been slow in determining how to reach out to a generation that is rebelling against it, and it has been slow to shed the perception of “who/what it is against” rather than promote “what it is for.”
The answer is complicated and yet simple from where I sit. The answer can be found in the identity of Christ. Jesus Christ, a simple carpenter laid the foundation of what has become the largest faith movement in the world. How did He do this? How did this one man and a few lowly followers make their faith worthwhile and everlasting? Simply by doing. By participating in the world! Jesus was out and about roaming the streets and the village towns reaching out to those in need. They, in turn, reached out to Him. It didn’t matter whether Jew or Gentile, woman or man, rich or poor. Jesus demonstrated compassion and Godliness to all He encountered. More significantly, Jesus instructed his band of unlikely disciples to do the same commanding them to eat with the people that they preached to and healed. These people were considered sinners and the dredges of society by most, and yet Christ saw them for who they were, God’s creation. When the Pharisees objected to Jesus eating with sinners and tax collectors, Jesus made this comment, “ It is the sick who need a physician, not the healthy.” [Mt 9:9-13]
Compassion for people without moral judgment is one step toward bringing people back into the faith we say we hold dear. Compassion, and I mean real compassion, the type of compassion that Christ practiced – compassion for the poor, the downtrodden, the outcasts, and the persecuted is where Christ focused his attention. So, then, it stands to reason that the Church should do the same. But do we? Do we get involved in the lives of those we find “less” than ourselves? Do we sit at the table and dine with those society has deemed” the dredges of society” If we do, is it with the same steadfastness Christ exemplified? Because you see, that is key.
Christians need to understand that the world is constantly changing, but in the midst of this change Christ’s teachings of compassion and love remain central to the success of mankind. Christ’s teachings point us directly to Peace and Union with ourselves and with the world.
David LaChappel’s photographs bridge our historical understanding of Christ with contemporary society. His photographs confront us with the reality of what is and what always has been. Some of the moral dilemmas our society faces today are different from those experienced by the ancients, and some are no different at all. Jesus practiced true love and compassion 2000 years ago, and he practices it the same today.
This is a video interview that is somewhat related to this posting.
http://abcnews.go.com/US/video/face-american-evangelicalism-10744135
Jesus Wept
Picturing Life 