jesus christ superstar

As a child, I was raised in a Christian environment, but I was never a part of the "Christian culture." I did not own Veggie Tales movies, had no idea who David Crowder was until I moved to Waco, and never watched Jesus Christ Superstar.

Take a moment to catch your breath from all the gasping you just did.

While I was reading Mark, I was struck by how constantly Jesus was surrounded by crowds (in fact, I plan on posting about this on phpBB after this). Not crowds of dozens or even hundreds, but thousands. Jesus really was a superstar. Can you imagine? In a time where only the names of kings were known by thousands, Jesus was followed into the middle of nowhere by thousands, even when he wanted to be alone. Our celebrities often complain about a lack of privacy and the constant attention of fans, but which of them has ever been followed by a throng of that magnitude? It is incredible that Jesus was not arrested and killed by the authorities sooner. I can understand why he was seen as a threat by the authorities. The Pharisees have a song in JCS:

Priest
Good Caiaphas
The council waits for you
The Pharisees and priests
Are here for you

Caiaphas
Ah gentlemen, you know why we are here
With not much time, and quite a problem here

Crowd Outside
Hosanna! Superstar!

Annas
Listen to that howling mob
Of blockheads in the street
A trick or two with lepers
And the whole town's on its feet

All
He is dangerous! He is dangerous!

Crowd
Jesus Christ, Superstar
Tell us that you are who they say you are

Priests
He is dangerous, dangerous
That man is in town right now
To whip up some support
A rabble rousing mission
That I think we must abort
He is dangerous

Crowd
Jesus Christ, Superstar

Priests
He is dangerous
Look Caiaphas
They are right outside our yard
Quick Caiaphas
Go call the Roman guard

Caiaphas
No wait, we need a more permanent solution to our problem.

Annas
What shall we do about Jesus of Nazareth?
Miracle worker, pilgrim or fool

Priest
No riots, no Romans, no fighting, no slogans

Caiaphas
One thing to say for him, Jesus is cool

Annas
We dare not leave him to his own devices
His half-witted fans will get out of control

Priest
But how can we stop him, his glamour increases
With every minute, he's top of the pole

Caiaphas
I see bad things arising
The crowd crown him King
Which the Romans would ban
I see blood and destruction
Our elimination because of one man
Blood and destruction
Because of one man

Voices
What can we do about this Jesusmania?
How can we deal with the carpenter king?
Where do we start with a man who is bigger
Than John was when John did his baptism thing?

Caiaphas
Fools! You have no perception
The stakes we are gambling
Are frighteningly high
We must crush him completely
So like John before him
This Jesus must die
For the sake of the nation
This Jesus must die
Must die, must die
This Jesus must die


There is no doubt that Jesus was causing a commotion.

Judas sings:

But every word you say today
Gets twisted 'round some other way.
And they'll hurt you if they think you've lied.
Nazareth, your famous son should have stayed a great unknown
Like his father carving wood He'd have made good.
Tables, chairs, and oaken chests would have suited Jesus best.
He'd have caused nobody harm; no one alarm.

Listen, Jesus, do you care for your race?
Don't you see we must keep in our place?
We are occupied; have you forgotten how put down we are?

I am frightened by the crowd.
For we are getting much too loud.
And they'll crush us if we go too far.
If they go too far....

Listen, Jesus, to the warning I give.
Please remember that I want us to live.
But it's sad to see our chances weakening with every hour.
All your followers are blind.
Too much heaven on their minds.
It was beautiful, but now it's sour.
Yes it's all gone sour.

Judas only betrays Jesus because he fears the cause he joined had turned into a glamourized quest for fame and power. Judas' words ring true when both Caiaphas and Pilate call Jesus the Son of God and King of the Jews, prompting Jesus to say "You're words, not mine." His words became twisted. Jesus was not looking to be a king on earth, but with fame, his intentions became twisted in the eyes of many.

I could talk about this musical all day...

For now, I just want to say that if Judas' intentions were similar to the motives of the JCS Judas, I can sympathize. Fame is frightening, especially when others begin to twist the original cause or purpose. Judas did what he thought was right in the eyes of God, what he thought would save him from eternal damnation. He may have been a traitor, but in Judas' eyes, he was only betraying a lost and corrupted cause.

Do we corrupt Christianity when we popularize it? Do we lose the meaning when the faith is commercialized through slogan t-shirts (its you-who Christ died for)? Is the culture of Christianity hurting us rather than helping us?

Baylor is inundated with the culture of Christianity, and I intend to look for answers to those questions throughout this next week.

God's many hats

I've been thinking about Tuesday's discussion about God as a warrior and I think it makes sense for our perceptions of God to change with our culture. The Israeli people lived during a violent time, rife with war and conquering armies. In this culture, the people would need a God whom they could trust to keep them safe. In short, they needed a strict warrior who could keep an accumulation of tribes connected to one another and defeat their enemies. He is portrayed as no-nonsense, violent, powerful, fearful, strong, and fiercely loyal God.

In today's culture, there is less immediate need for a violent, merciless God. We are constantly overwhelmed with choices, decisions, information, and sensory information. The constant bombardment of information combined with the independence of the West often results in overwhelming loneliness and uncertainty that the right choices are being made. What this culture needs is a loving, forgiving, and present God. These are the attributes of God that are most emphasized in our culture because they are what we need most. We need to be forgiven when we sin in a world rife with sin. We need be loved by someone who will never fail us in a world where so many things and people are fleeting.

aha!

As if BIC wasn't interdisciplinary enough...

Being a PI in World Cultures I and a student in Biblical Heritage has opened my eyes to an entire world of shared/repeated slides...as well as the fact that I probably didn't pay nearly enough attention that first semester in cultures. It is interesting to be studying the same part of the Bible in two different BIC classes; I'm viewing the stories through two different lenses. As I read for BibHert, I cannot help but see the stories through a 'creation story' lens. The story of Adam and Eve, creation, Moses, Noah - they are all myths.

In a sense, I suppose that I always knew that the Bible stories I grew up hearing were not true stories, but I never put much thought into the fact that all other people groups have similar stories. This is a little disconcerting for me. Do I have enough faith to believe that my God and the stories about him are more true than stories about Sumerian gods?

The answer is yes, but I still don't know how to make sense of everything. Once I begin to consider other creation stories and hero tales, I begin to think of the religions of those other people. Were they all completely wrong, or did they just misinterpret God's presence and will? Are we misunderstanding just as much? Jews and Muslims believe in the same God, but there are still so many differences between the three religions. Which one is right? Where did the others go wrong? How can I be sure that I am a part of the right group?

It's a little scary to know that your entire religion relies on faith. It would be more comfortable to have factual evidence proving every attribute of God and each miracle he performed. However, that comfort would miss the point of faith and trust. I have to trust that God is who he says he is and that Christians keep getting it right. I have to learn what I can about the attributes and will of God from each story and be okay with the fact that I may not be reading factual truth. In a world of hard facts and science, its almost as though faith becomes a learned trait. We always want proof, but faith is about not having the proof. And that's hard.

so it begins...

I just submitted my paper topic and to be blunt, I am daunted.

I am not a biblical scholar, nor am I one the dedicated Christians who has memorized most, if not all, of the stories in the Bible.
This isn't just any other research paper; this is a paper over an ethical issue and my task is to discover how I am supposed to respond as my faith dictates.

What?!

Not only is the task of discovering the action I supposed to take concerning one ethical question daunting, but it overwhelms me because I feel like I should be searching for all of the answers to all ethical questions in the Bible.

Why don't I care enough to be constantly checking my actions with the word of God? Does this make me a complacent Christian? Or does the fact that I now understand how I should be searching and my desire to become a better-educated Christian who knows the word of God make it all okay? Is it the effort that counts? Is that another question I should be searching for at the same time??

Is this where faith comes in?

I have so many questions - questions that can never be answered alone or in one lifetime. Is this where I just step back and trust that God will show me what to do, as long I do my part in diligently pursuing him? I think so. I am not an expert in Bible stories or verse memorization, but I know that I have the love of a God who has pursued me diligently. I'm grateful for the call to diligently pursue him as well.

A Belated Beginning

I could pretend that entering a BIC class at the end of the second week doesn't phase me, but then I would be a liar. Paper topics have been chosen, chapters have been read, and discussions have been boarded.

I'm still reading the syllabus.




It's been a hectic week. On Tuesday I was enrolled in 4 social work classes and had a working laptop. Today, I am only taking 4 hours, have a minor, do not have a major, and my laptop has a damaged motherboard.

Translation: a new start. A fresh start.
...all at the cost of stress and a nice chunk of change.



Interpretation:
I cannot thank God enough. I have been blessed with the help of some incredible people, namely the fearless Dr. Nogalski. If anyone knows her favorite dessert, I'm making it for her.

In the midst of the crazy I now find myself in Biblical Heritage, a class in which I will be reading more of the Bible than I ever have. I would still consider myself a relatively new Christian, but that does not excuse my ignorance in many areas of the Bible and Christian thought in general. This class, I believe, will serve as a wake up call. God wants me to pursue him and seek to better understand his will.

I haven't even begun the readings, so perhaps I'm getting ahead of myself my blogging already... no matter, I'm excited for what comes next.