Today's kitsch reminds me of something in the vein of Jesus Laughing. If you don't know what it is, click the link; it's hilarious. Pieces like these attempt to humanize Jesus to us a little more. They want to make Him a little more down to earth, a little more accessible. Of course, the problem with that is, like the problem with the last post, is you're creating an image. The problem with creating an image, even of your true Lord and Savior, is that we can only portray a limited number of aspects of His being, while sacrificing the others. For instance, while scary, alien Jesus:
does a great job of portraying the, well, otherness of Jesus as fully God, it's kind of lacking in the humanity department. Also, don't get me started on Jesus being a white guy; that always infuriates me. On the other hand, however, jokin' Jesus:
is a little too reminiscent of Buddy Christ, and doesn't portray the idea of deity very well.
Well, now we've found a way to reduce Jesus again. Apparently now, Christopher Lloyd and Jesus are on about the same level.
I started thinking about what it would be like if we started doing this with other things too, so I used my horrible Photoshopping skills to create a couple prototypes. Actually...it was GIMP. I'm too cheap for Photoshop.
"Jesus Is My Coach" For Grown-Ups...With Weight Problems
So I guess my point is that maybe we should just stop trying to make pictures or sculptures of Jesus. We don't even know what He looked like, not to mention we're really bad at it, and we run the risk of setting up an idol, even though those things would make some really crappy idols.
8 comments:
Great stuff Greg! Ive been reading for a few days and I have to add a link you gotta check out. This church, http://www.crossrevconnect.com/ actually has Jesus greeting you on their website. I've heard Jesus likes some denominations more than others, but this is creepy.
That's...wrong, on so many levels. Thanks for bringing that little slice of creepiness to my attention, John.
That Jesus Laughing looks a lot like Bob Marley to me
Dr. Obvious:
That's because the Jesus in the picture in question is high, much like Bob Marley.
When you decide you are able make up what Jesus looked like, you also get to make up his pastimes, habits, and even his character. Little known rule!
Speaking of weird images of Jesus:
http://religion-cults.com/art/jesus-black-love.jpg
Wow. You know what they say about big hands. They have lots of love to give!
Did you see the copyright message on the site I referenced earlier?
http://www.crossrevconnect.com/
"This site was created and inspired by God through the Power Of The Holy Spirit."
Sheesh!
I see that you can have a print of "Jesus Laughing" sent to our troops. What sort of message does that send?
"That's right, you're putting your life on the line in service to your nation, and Jesus is laughing." "Things are pretty scary right now, and you may feel conflicted about your role in all this, but take heart! Jesus is laughing!"
I guess I just don't get it.
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