Wednesday, July 05, 2006

KARN EVIL 9 (1ST IMPRESSION, PART 2)

Posted by Reverend Ref + at 9:25 AM

For those who know me, especially this guy, you know that every once in awhile I will title my post with Styx songs or lyrics. And one time awhile back, he challenged me to title every post that way. My musical tastes are not limited to that fine band, and every so often my mind is given a reason to be filled with the lyrics from some other band.

This is one of those times. I ran across this article today in the NYT (if you aren't registered, you probably won't be able to read it -- but don't worry, you'll get the gist of it in a minute).

Yesterday, July 4, "the congregation of the World Overcomers Outreach Ministries Church looked on and its pastor, Apostle Alton R. Williams, presided, a brown shroud much like a burqa was pulled away to reveal a giant statue of the Lady, but with the Ten Commandments under one arm and "Jehovah" inscribed on her crown.

And in place of a torch, she held aloft a large gold cross, as if to ward off the pawnshops, the car dealerships and the discount furniture outlets at the busy corner of Kirby Parkway and Winchester that is her home. A single tear graced her cheek."

I was temporarily speechless. Um .... WTF??? (sorry, every so often I channel a classmate of mine) And then this song floated into my head:

Welcome back my friends to the show that never ends
We're so glad you could attend, come inside, come inside

As I kept reading, the song got louder and louder.

"The Statue of Liberation Through Christ, as she is called, stands 72 feet tall from the base of her pedestal to the tip of her cross. She was the idea of Mr. Williams, a very successful pastor whose church, World Overcomers, qualifies as mega: it has a school, a bowling alley, a roller rink, a bookstore and, he said, 12,000 members."

Come inside, the show's about to start
Guaranteed to blow your head apart
Rest assured you'll get your money's worth
The greatest show in Heaven, Hell or Earth

The whole thing is just ... almost beyond words (although I seem to be doing okay now). And when I finished reading it, a few statements seemed seared upon my mind.

"It was not clear if she was crying because of her new home, her new identity as a symbol of religion or, as the pastor said, America's increasing godlessness.

"This statue proves that Jesus Christ is Lord over America, he is Lord over Tennessee, he is Lord over Memphis."

I wasn't sure whether to laugh or cry or .... something else. And looking back on this post, I realize I really am speechless, because I haven't said anything really worthwhile (wow, that was a lot of "really's" just then). I'm sort of venting out my shock and awe at the audacity of the whole thing. How did we get to this point? Introvert that I am, I often wonder whatever happened to praying in your closet and not letting your left hand know what your right hand is doing. And since I don't have any other theological statement other than, "WTF?" I'll let you all try to figure it out.

Right before your eyes see the laughter from the skies
And he laughs until he cries, then he dies, then he dies

Indeed.

8 comments:

Servant | 7:56 PM, July 05, 2006  

And since I don't have any other theological statement other than, "WTF?" I'll let you all try to figure it out.

I want my money back. Here I thought the clergy class was going to explain the meaning of that fascist permutation Ms. Liberty.

Badump bump. Least you offered some righteous tunage with that non-sense. And you call yoursef a preacher?

You aren't allowed to criticize a colleague in your business? Or are you conceding to irrationality?

You got to pardon me. Not very often I get a chance to beat on a man of the cloth without mercy. But you got it coming. You know you do.

The article also states that the good Reverend spends his congregation's funds buying advertisements against homosexuality. The least you can do is try provide some preacherly sociological explanation for why the black community feels so strongly God hates homosexuals, when it wasn't more than fifty or sixty years ago that most whites believed that God hates niggers. How does that work? Is there any biblical footnotery you kin provide us stupid hillbillies that would prove who God hates?

Reverend Ref + | 10:21 PM, July 05, 2006  

Well, let's see ... since I've had some time to mull this over.

I am allowed to criticize a colleague in my business (although I'm not sure I would call him a colleague). I guess it's here that my lack of debating skills shows, not to mention my fed-up-edness with the whole "troubles" in the Anglican Communion, and I simply shake my head.

The least you can do is try provide some preacherly sociological explanation for why the black community feels so strongly God hates homosexuals, . . .

I have no idea why the black community hates homosexuals. Is this really a "black" thing, or a Southern thing? Seems to me that regardless of race, it's the fundagelical party line that states "God hates fags."

As to who God hates, I think it would be presumptious of me to state who God hates. However, I'm pretty sure he doesn't much care for those who abuse the widow and orphan, homeless and destitute, hungry and imprisoned, or those who shun the outsider.

The least you can do is try provide some preacherly sociological explanation for why the black community feels so strongly God hates homosexuals, when it wasn't more than fifty or sixty years ago that most whites believed that God hates niggers. How does that work?

How does that work? I think it works through a sense of entitlement. Once a person or a class is given a taste of power, then it is almost mandatory that they find another person or class to beat down. In this way they can deflect criticism and show themselves to be just as superior as the previous dominant class.

Servant | 1:25 AM, July 06, 2006  

Thanks for taking the time to clear those things up for me, Rev. Your challenge to let me figure it out for myself just hit me the wrong way, because I have been trying diligently to figure it out without much luck. And I figured any man of the cloth who would write WTF gotta know his business.

I know we in the cheap seats put a lot of pressure on the leadership to figure stuff out for us. That's probably the reason we're in so much trouble with the fundamentalists.

It was Vernon Johns taught me to say "If you see a good fight, get in it." And I been looking for wise preachers ever since.

God Bless You and thanks again.

Whit+ | 9:55 AM, July 06, 2006  

Maybe Nigeria could use another bishop.

Reverend Ref + | 9:56 AM, July 06, 2006  

servant:

You are welcome. My "challenge to let [you] figure it out" is maybe the result of two things.

First, just because I am a priest does not mean that I have all the answers. My favorite professor in seminary is famous for saying, "It's more complicated than that." I learned he was right. God is a whole lot bigger than the box we try to put him in.

Second, because I am honest about that and never claim to have all the answers, my parish is a place where we are open to discussion. I may say something in a sermon that somebody disagrees with, and we talk about that. Or someone may have a question about something in scripture, and we talk about that. I honestly believe that we "need to work out our salvation with fear and trembling." That doesn't mean having an ordained person spouting off easy answers that justify marginalizing other people, or puffing up your own position in the church.

I don't want to figure stuff out for you; I want to figure stuff out with you. We are in this together; and as soon as we stop talking with each other, we've got problems. Witness the Anglican Communion and the Episcopal Church right now.

Prayers and blessings on your journey, and feel free to come back anytime.

Reverend Ref + | 9:58 AM, July 06, 2006  

Whit:

Another bishop? And just who would that be?

Not me, for sure.

Nice pic, btw.

Whit+ | 4:02 PM, July 06, 2006  

I was talking about Alton Williams. Nigeria elected Martin Minns in Virginia as a missionary bishop to the U.S.

http://www.dfms.org/3577_76484_ENG_HTM.htm

Servant | 8:21 PM, July 06, 2006  

Whit's link is way over my pay grade. But thanks for letting me realize that I interrupted a very quite conversation with exceptional arrogance. Pardon me.

I came back to this blog post to report that I've done some more thinking about the meaning of the desecration of Ms. Liberty the icon. And I am certain Reverend Ref's patience went a long way toward facilitating mine.

This what I wrote for my fellow Kossacks over at DailyKos today.

I am a very spiritual person and I dine at many tables. I am not what you call a joiner. Nevertheless I think the religious and their institutions are the recipients of much vitriol which is undeserved in most cases. I know. WTF? I wear a sign over my head that says "Example of How NOT to be."

~~~~

My $.02

We are taking these people way too seriously folks. Get a handle on this mess.

I been here long enough to know that outrage (and sometimes real close demagoguery) is a hot product at DailyKos and that those of us who serve as Kos's zombies need to have a healthy go anywhere smash anyone mentality. I understand all that so don't be all up in my face with that. This is war after all.

Having seen the video interviews with the black preacher who thought this up, I can hardly assign the role of Fountainhead of American Fascism to this man.

Now he may just very well be the next Jimmy Bakker, funneling the proceeds out the backdoor while he brings the sheeple in the front. But that remains to be seen.

I think you have to take him for his word that he really believes what he believes, and politely let him know his ass is hangin out the back of his suit. He's taking a rigid moral stand in an innercity neighborhood and he says he's going to change it by any means necessary. Good for him. You go girl! Why would I call him a liar if he's doing what he said he was going to do. I admire the man's grit. It's his misunderstanding of civics 101 I got a prollem wid.

"By any means necessary" is a particularly American form of Jingo-ism that you hear all the time in the movies. And most Americans, not having the benefit of a fine liberal arts education like yours truly, do know that "by any means necessary" is the philosophy equivalent of "your mother sucks cocks in hell."

The end never justifies the means. It's axiomatic in philosophy, like the associative property in Algebra. We don't know why it's true, but it makes all the equations work so we assume the axiom is valid.

But am I going to go down there to Tennesee and put up my pathetic little Philospher's Against Jesus sign? I most certainly am not. You all go without me. They won't learn nuthin and you will appear very much like a mindless harpie.

We have all seen the results of breaking the axiom "the ends do not justify the means" in Iraq. I could spell it out for you, but the example is almost self explanatory. You can't use evil to fight evil, because if you do it gets on you and there's no way to get it off. If you use evil, you evil too.

It's that simple.

So don't be using evil on that group of folks down there who are trying to pull themselves up by their own socks. You might want to stand with them and give em some coaching on what fascism is, but don't put the whole load on them for what the rest of the country is responsible.

You know exactly what that preacher is doing. He's selling outrage, just like you are.

Don't make this some sort of B movie fascist bodysnatcher flick.

You should be writing letters to engage the people in the congregation. One on one: you got some prollems with your stagedy. I know where you want to go. Let me help you with that.

Used High Horse for sale real cheap.

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