krebabble

This was a very interesting article. Basically, the argument is that Protestants have a softened, friendly view of Jesus and God, which makes it odd that so many of them seem interested in Gibson’s new movie.

I must admit that this view of Jesus as your pal has always confused me. Especially the people who feel called upon to pray for assistance with every minor decision in their lives. To me, that seems rude. You don’t pester important people unless you have an important question, and if you truly believe Jesus is the son of God then I think he has better things to be doing with his time than dealing with your random questions.

Jesus Fangirl: OMG, should I wear the blue blouse or the yellow sweater?!?!?!
Jesus Fangirl: HELP ME JESUS!
Jesus Fangirl: *prays*
* a light comes on in Jesus’s office *
Jesus: *stops what he’s doing and some crops in Africa die*
Jesus: WTF? It’s that stalker girl again.
Jesus: *looks at the message*
Jesus: !!!! Holy crap you interrupted me for this you stupid cow?!
Jesus: *grrr*
Jesus: wait, I’m nice
Jesus: *flings an anvil at the girl*
Jesus: here’s a sign. See, it’s kinda blue.

Anyhow, back to my original point, which was that the article made me think of the “Buddy Christ” idea that came up in the movie Dogma. And, in fact, if you think of Jesus as your best pal, who you can pester at any time of the night or day… your image of him is already the Buddy Christ. Which is decidedly at odds with the view of him I was brought up with, as somewhat remote, not really inclined to intercede directly on someone’s behalf, as that, after all, is the job of Saints and other minions.

It also seems to me that this view of the universe feeds very well into the arrogant, privileged attitude that so many of our Protestant leaders have…