Let's have a bit bit of a think and a chat, shall we?
So over easter, I was sitting around, watching TV, and I happened to come across Jesus Christ, Superstar, which is basically a really embarassing retelling of the story of Jesus's death and ressurection - IN SUPER SEXY DISCO-VISION!
Whilst I was having a bit of a chuckle, it struck me that every generation and culture re interprets and reinvents Jesus according the those values that it holds dear.
Chapels in ethiopia and other african countries have a black jesus smiling down on them, just as Churchs in the bible belt of america has a delicate looking aryan.
In the west, as Religion has it's last gasp, the only people left to recreate the jesus image are the hardcore and conservative extremists, who will inevitably project their own inadequate spite and paranoia onto him, which is a shame, because although I am a heathen and irreligious child, I appreciate the idea of Jesus as someone who offered an alternative to just steamrollering over all opposition
I think the idea of jesus transcends religion and religious thought. It doesn't matter who you are, everyone should be able to get behind the idea of someone who basically said "Chill the fuck out yeah? let's all just get along."
In a way, jesus is like Superman, too big an idea to merely be confined to comics or the narrow reach of miserable churchs populated with the old, the scared and the intolerant. He's become like a Super-cultural idea, a meta-brand, beyond even the crass marketing of Coke or Microsoft. A deep image/idea that's built into the fabric of our culture
All of which made me wonder, what does our idea of jesus look like?
So over easter, I was sitting around, watching TV, and I happened to come across Jesus Christ, Superstar, which is basically a really embarassing retelling of the story of Jesus's death and ressurection - IN SUPER SEXY DISCO-VISION!
Whilst I was having a bit of a chuckle, it struck me that every generation and culture re interprets and reinvents Jesus according the those values that it holds dear.
Chapels in ethiopia and other african countries have a black jesus smiling down on them, just as Churchs in the bible belt of america has a delicate looking aryan.
In the west, as Religion has it's last gasp, the only people left to recreate the jesus image are the hardcore and conservative extremists, who will inevitably project their own inadequate spite and paranoia onto him, which is a shame, because although I am a heathen and irreligious child, I appreciate the idea of Jesus as someone who offered an alternative to just steamrollering over all opposition
I think the idea of jesus transcends religion and religious thought. It doesn't matter who you are, everyone should be able to get behind the idea of someone who basically said "Chill the fuck out yeah? let's all just get along."
In a way, jesus is like Superman, too big an idea to merely be confined to comics or the narrow reach of miserable churchs populated with the old, the scared and the intolerant. He's become like a Super-cultural idea, a meta-brand, beyond even the crass marketing of Coke or Microsoft. A deep image/idea that's built into the fabric of our culture
All of which made me wonder, what does our idea of jesus look like?
Its a shame how people pin there insane ideals on their gods. i cant think of a single god who ever said 'kill everyone that disagrees with me' yet somewhere along the line, some idiot has interpreted some quite innocent passage of their holy book to mean that. surely the best thing would to achieve peace now on earth while we are living than constantly state how much better things are going to be when you die.