The Best Church Of God

Apr 10, 2009 21:44

A family friend is a member of a comedy ensamble called The Best Church Of God (BCOG for short) and on Wednesday evening I went to a special show they were having at the Chopin Theater.

Earlier that day (the first day of Passover no less) I’d mentioned that I rather missed the religious rituals of Holy Week.  BCOG ended up providing me with a ( ( Read more... )

religion, stage

Leave a comment

Comments 11

lawless523 April 11 2009, 04:23:18 UTC
Hey - sounds amusing.

Sometime we should have an off-LJ discussion of religion, because my take on it is different from yours. I am still in the church (after having drifted away for awhile while in college) and even went so far as to tell a Jewish friend that mine was the feminist religion. And I'm looking forward to Easter - of course it's my favorite holiday, as it's far more important theologically than Christmas.

I don't know if you've ever heard of the Christian satire magazine The Door, formerly The Wittenburg Door. I've read pieces there defending pornography (it wasn't entirely satire either), exposes of various televangelists, and some really good interviews. Here's a link to a report on a talk by various well-known atheists like Richard Dawkins, et al. http://www.wittenburgdoor.com/joe-bob-parties-atheists... )

Reply

bitterfig April 11 2009, 11:50:50 UTC
I've never heard of The Door, I'll be sure to check out the link. I was very much involved in the church up until a few years ago when I began to get deeply discouraged by anti-homosexual views expressed among my fellow members of the congregation. They always cited scripture as the basis for these belief and eventually I had to admit to myself that I didn't recognize the divine authority of the scriptures. Since then I've felt like it's wrong for me to consider myself a Chrisitan or to attend church because if I do I'm doing what my father (a lay pastor) calls "cherry picking", taking the parts of Christianity that appeal to me while not really surrendering to Christ or something like that. That said, I continue to be very interested in theological concerns. I regularly listen to the NPR program "Speaking of Faith" which is great because it shows how diverse religious communities can be and really reaches beyond a lot of the stereotypes of people of faith as intolerant bigots. It's a real, substantial discussion on these ( ... )

Reply

lawless523 April 11 2009, 13:50:01 UTC
Now I really have to get back to you off LJ but I'll give you a taste here.

Don't let anyone tell you you're "cherry-picking". You're interpreting. So are they.

I know of no Christian who believes we're obligated by all 614 (or whatever the number is) laws. If they ignore the ones about not eating shellfish and pork, why can't you do the same for the ones about homosexuality?

Of course their reasoning will be that Jesus and Paul said that the dietary laws weren't important. And everyone agrees that what Jesus said is the most important and supersedes everything else.

When did Jesus ever talk about or condemn homosexuality? What did he say to the woman at the well? The woman taken in adultery? What did he say to the men who intended to enforce the Law and stone the woman taken in adultery ( ... )

Reply


redsnake05 April 11 2009, 04:45:32 UTC
This was fascinating. It sounds like you had an enthralling time.

I hope you don't mind me jumping in on just one thing instead of responding to the whole, but I just wanted to engage in more dialogue over one point. While agreeing with the main thrust of the rest of your paragraph, I really don't think that you can describe a comment like "Mao's China was liberating to Women" as wacky. I have to say that, imperfect as Communist China is, it did, and does (as limited as it is) offer ordinary Chinese more freedom and a better life than they have ever had before. So, I guess I'm saying, would you really call that a wacky thing to say? Rather than, for example, ideologically motivated?

Reply

bitterfig April 11 2009, 12:01:35 UTC
I do agree, wacky is probably too lite, too dismissive a word. I guess I let the comedy tone influence my choice. Wrong-headed or misguided might be more to the point and I probably should have gone into more detail in my objections to this statement. Many years ago when I was a student I did a research paper on the Cultural Revolution. My research was very eye-opening and absolutely terrifying. It basically took away peoples lives and choices, consigning them to what was essentially forced labor. This is what I equate with Mao's China and I can't see it as liberating for either men or women. Further, in Mao's China women were forced into conforming to a narrow standard of behavior which, while very different than what had come before was still restrictive, limiting. This standard was strictly enforced and allowed for almost no personal expression or freedom which is what I equate with liberation.

Reply


lookfar April 11 2009, 13:30:44 UTC
I wish I could see this; it sounds hilarious. You might know that I am a devout...Unitarian, which means I have no dogma at all. Yet I, too, have been embarrassed by the excruciatingly earnest liturgical dance at church. The difference is, in Unitarianism, it's okay to think it's hokey because God won't punish you for your thoughts.

Reply

lawless523 April 11 2009, 14:01:05 UTC
I think it's okay to think it's hokey in pretty much any mainline Protestant denomination. However, it would be considered tacky to say anything about it to anyone at church. The people who do liturgical dance (and I've seen some non-hokey liturgical dance as a child, but then again the dancer was Native American and it was an interpretive dance based on Native American dance forms) and those who like it don't deserve to have their feelings hurt.

Also, most Protestant mainline denominations encourage, rather than discourage, doubt. If God didn't want you to talk back, or think for yourself, then what the heck is Job doing in the Bible, or the account of Abraham's or Moses' arguments with God?

Reply

lookfar April 11 2009, 17:10:19 UTC
However, it would be considered tacky to say anything about it to anyone at church. How true; that's why you need to lean forward in the pew and give your husband a look that speaks volumes.

Not sure about Job. Isn't the punchline there that God basically says, Because I'm God, that's why I can do these things, and who are you to question me? I'm not sure about this but I think some fundamentalists take the story to mean that you have to have complete faith and not question.

Reply

lawless523 April 11 2009, 21:47:22 UTC
Fundies take everything at face value. Yes, God's answer is to provide no answer and say we can't understand where he's coming from since he's created all these awesome (in the original meaning) things that are beyond our control (Leviathan, etc.). It reminds me of William Blake's poem "Tyger, Tyger" ("Tyger tyger burning bright/In the forests of the night/What immortal hand or eye/Dare frame thy fearful symmetry?", ending with "Did he who made the Lamb make thee?")

But what does God actually do at the end of Job? He rewards Job and Job gets back what he lost plus more. To me and most interpreters, that indicates God believes Job was more right than his friends. He certainly doesn't punish him for complaining.

Plus most thoughtful interpreters consider the God and Satan bet to be a framing device, not something to be taken seriously theologically. Just like God asking Abraham to sacrifice Isaac was a test, not something God intended to carry through on.

Reply


purplefluffycat April 14 2009, 15:22:30 UTC
That sounds hilarious. Any idea if the company are planning to tour outside of the USA?

PurpleFluffyCat xx

Reply

bitterfig April 15 2009, 14:05:10 UTC
Unfortunately I don't know that BCOG has any plans for touring. I'm not even positive if they're going to be performing in Chicago on a regular basis again however I"ll keep an eye on their website and let you know if there are any developments.

Reply


Leave a comment

Up