The jingoism of Jesus

[Scuba]

http://gracerector.wordpress.com/2013/02/21/the-american-jesus-reflections-on-djesus-uncrossed/

The American Jesus: Reflections on Djesus Uncrossed

Conservative Christians are outraged, outraged, by the SNL parody of Tarantino films: “Djesus Uncrossed.” Yes, it’s over the top as Saturday Night Live always is. It’s in poor taste, but how could it be otherwise, since it’s parodying the tasteless violence and gore of Tarantino. Still, I love the line: critics rave “A less violent Passion of the Christ.”

And a great deal of the outrage, I suspect, is because the parody hits rather too close to home. For many American Christians the image of Jesus Christ presented in the skit is very close to their own–a violent savior who will destroy his enemies. There’s some biblical warrant for such a view:

Then I looked, and there was a white cloud, and seated on the cloud was one like the Son of Man, with a golden crown on his head, and a sharp sickle in his hand! Another angel came out of the temple, calling with a loud voice to the one who sat on the cloud, ‘Use your sickle and reap, for the hour to reap has come, because the harvest of the earth is fully ripe.’ So the one who sat on the cloud swung his sickle over the earth, and the earth was reaped. Then another angel came out of the temple in heaven, and he too had a sharp sickle. Then another angel came out from the altar, the angel who has authority over fire, and he called with a loud voice to him who had the sharp sickle, ‘Use your sharp sickle and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth, for its grapes are ripe.’ So the angel swung his sickle over the earth and gathered the vintage of the earth, and he threw it into the great wine press of the wrath of God. And the wine press was trodden outside the city, and blood flowed from the wine press, as high as a horse’s bridle, for a distance of about two hundred miles. (Rev 14:14-20)

Or this image from popular American Christianity:

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...

Sure, the SNL parody was in poor taste but it also held a mirror up to the image of Jesus worshiped by much of conservative American Christianity. The more that image is exposed for the idol it is, the better.

[AzDar]

1. I was watching on Saturday night, and chuckled softly to myself...

not because it was funny (although it was...sort of), but because I knew it was gonna make the God-Botherer's heads explode.

Love it.

[WCGreen]

2. The fact that these "Christians" believe that God is some kind of vengeful spiritual monarchy

is really an assault on Democracy.

They say that God blesses America but if you really look at the way they view God through the prism of the Old Testament, God is petty, vindictive, punitive and jealous, great characteristics for a Divine Entity and all powerful.

Why then did he pick a country such as ours to be his vangaurd in the temporal world.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

3. "Great abs! Do you work out?" He didn't really give a Sermon on the Mount..he flexed.

[Uncle Joe]

4. He doesn't look like a man that would need help carrying his cross.