My How the Mighty Have Fallen!

In the church of my grandfather most folks could still not read so it was a generally accepted act of faith that what the preacher spoke from behind the pulpit had to be gospel. Drinkin', womanizin', gamblin' and other forms of debauchery were frowned upon but pretty much
overlooked so long as one didn't get caught with the preachers wife and showed up to pass (and help fill) the offering plate come Sunday mornin'! As I said most of 'em could not read so reading material was not much of an issue.

In the church of my father, the automobile was viewed as a sure sign of the devil incarnate but if properly used was allowed on a limited basis. That basis for proper use being mostly that if you had one the preacher had first dibs on its use should he decide to go evangelizn' for a day or week or two. It could not however be equipped with a radio for that was surely a tool of the evil one. More folks had learned their abc's by now and reading material was restricted to the King James Version of the bible and the Sears Roebuck catalog. The catalog was on the allowed list for it served a dual purposes.

In the church I grew up in most everone had cars and the majority could read. Radio was still suspect but allowed with proper supervision from ones elders. TV was now the devil incarnate and the restricted reading list had grown to be very specific. The classics were ok as long as one did not incorporate them too deeply into one's daily activities but anything that smacked of pagan, supernatural, or mystic would yeild you the task of reciting New Testament verses morning, noon, and night. I still can see clearly in my minds eye the 8th grade dance when someone sneaked in a copy of IN-A-GADDA-DA-VIDA and somehow managed to set it on the turntable and crank up the volume without getting caught. We did not however get to hear the selection in it's entirety. The dance ended shortly thereafter and you can guess what the rest of that quarters sunday school lessons revolved around.

A few short years later the christian owned downtown movie theater was sold to a non-christian and he promptly began to show more progressive selections including Jesus Christ Superstar.
The annual revival had to be moved up two weeks early to counter the onslaught.

So this morning I get a cup of coffee, pickup the Courier Journal and find this article staring me in the face:
The lion, the witch and the box officeThe marketing of 'Narnia' Christian market eager for Friday's opening
By Judith Egertonjegerton@courier-journal.comThe Courier-Journal

It would be facetious of me to say that I am shocked or confused. I am however angered. Not angered at my parents for they followed in good faith that which they believed to be true given the resources and education they had. Angry at myself because this nonsense still gets my goat. But mostly angered by those who keep the lie afloat and profit from it as well as those who go like lambs to the slaughter without question.

The Jesus that I learned about as a child was one whose primary care on this planet was for the poor and downtrodden. The fact that it was a tax writeoff concerned him not. For his efforts he was viciously murdered because the threatened the status quo. Not only of the oppresors but also of his own people.

Whether or not the story is fact or fiction I honestly do not know. What I do know is this. First, I have yet to see a better example of human interaction than that illustrated in the account of his life. The purpose of his death is a whole other debate. Second, his death has been the excuse used ever since to obliterate, inialate, subjugate, and otherwise destroy anything that was misunderstood or got in the way of profit. If he did exist as we have been told for centuries, I don't think this is what he had in mind! If it is then I am the chump!

This brings me back to the article in question where the statement is made that "Alsan, the supernatural lion in Narnia is symbolic of Jesus Christ." Sorry folks but that coupled with the fact that our good friends at Southest Christian Church across the river are geared up to sell trinkets in competition with McDonald's is more hypocrisy than I can bear.

Let the lie die and let's get on with solving the homeless, hungry, destitute problems in our own country. Seems to me that an outfit that takes in a quarter of a million a week could go far in solving that issue. Ooops! I forgot that profit thing again.

Damn! I need a beer!