We run our website the way we wished the whole internet worked: we provide high quality original content with no ads. We are funded solely by your direct support. Please consider supporting this project.
Uncrossed
Did any of you catch SNL this weekend? They did a parody of Tarantino’s DJango Unchained called DJesus Uncrossed. Many were deeply offended by the depiction of Jesus in this, but David R. Henson blogged about how this skit revealed what we’ve already been doing for quite a while as a culture. In his blog post, entitled DJesus Uncrossed: Tarantino, Driscoll and the Violent Remaking of Jesus in America, he points out that “we’ve been trying to uncross Jesus for decades in this country, long before SNL got their pens into him.” This is why the cross is so central to who Jesus really is and what he came to do. When we uncross him, it’s very easy to bend him into our own violent imaginings. Although we disagree with the author’s assessment of the Jesus found in the book of Revelation (see Greg’s blog on this from 2010) we wholeheartedly agree with the rest of his thoughts.
Let’s pattern our lives after the God most truly revealed in his humble sacrifice out of love for all of us.
From David’s blog:
We have tried to arm him with our military-industrial complex, drape him with our xenophobia, outfit him with our weapons, and adorn him with our nationalism. We’ve turned the cross into a flagpole for the Stars and Stripes. We have no need for Tarantino to reimagine the story of Jesus into a fantasy of violent revenge. We’ve done it for him. We’ve already uncrossed him, transforming him from a servant into a triumphalist who holds the causes and interests of our country on his back rather than brutal execution.
Category: General
Tags: David R. Henson, Jesus, Mark Driscoll, Picture of God, Religious Idolatry, Violence
Related Reading
Quotes to Chew On: Conflicting Depictions of God
“This is something like the way I believe we should respond when we encounter biblical narratives that depict God doing things we can’t imagine Christ doing. For example, I can’t for a moment imagine Jesus—the one who made refusing violence and loving enemies a condition for being considered a child of God—commanding anyone to mercilessly…
When Jesus Questioned the Father
Though the sinless Son of God had perfect faith, we find him asking God the Father to alter the plan to redeem the world through his sacrifice—if it is “possible” (Matt. 26:42). As the nightmare of experiencing the sin and God-forsakenness of the world was encroaching upon him, Jesus was obviously, and understandably struggling. So,…
Sermon: The Twist
In this sermon clip, Greg Boyd discusses how when you read a book with a twist ending, the ending reframes the entire story. The Bible is no different. In this sermon, Greg shows how Jesus’ message reframes how we are to understand the Bible, and he shows us why the Anabaptists shared this belief. You…
What About the Contradictions Found in the Gospels?
It’s quite common for people to question the veracity of the Gospels because there are contradictions between them. In fact, an interaction between Steven Colbert and Bart Erhman, a scholar who makes a big deal of these contradictions, has become quite popular. While Colbert’s comedic response is entertaining, we must say more. And Greg has done…
Why Did Jesus Curse the Fig Tree?
One of the strangest episodes recorded in the Gospels is Jesus cursing a fig tree because he was hungry and it didn’t have any figs (Mk 11:12-14; Mt 21:18-19). It’s the only destructive miracle found in the New Testament. What’s particularly puzzling is that Mark tells us the reason the fig tree had no figs…
Podcast: What About Guns?
Greg shoots straight in this controversial episode on guns. He also tells the tale of the time he shot the German Luger. Also, Dan corrupts the youth (as per typical). http://traffic.libsyn.com/askgregboyd/Episode_0219.mp3 Image from www.quotecatalog.com