“Your lack of faith disturbs me.” - Darth Vader, Star Wars Episode IV

Let’s never take ourselves too seriously!

Tonight Katrina and I watched Jumper and What Would Jesus Buy?

Jumper is hardly worth mentioning.  Nice effects.  It had Anakin from the newer Star Wars movies.  I say again, it is hardly worth mentioning.

What Would Jesus Buy? Presented by Morgan Sperlock, (of Supersize Me fame), was a provocative and prophetic documentary that was released last Christmas.  It featured Reverend Billy and the Holy Church of Stop Shopping Gospel Choir.  At first I thought this whole thing was a big hoax for the documentary, but as I watched it, I realized that these people were just protesters who had left their picket signs in Washington and had hit the road to get the message out.  They drove two bio-diesel buses and dressed up in full Pentecostal flare.  They “preached” in churches, diners, even the Mall of America.  I don’t know how they had the guts to do everything they did, going into retail stores with megaphones warning consumers of a “Shopocaplypse,” and singing hymns denouncing capitalism as god,  but they did it.  Police were regulars on the tour, and “church members” regularly found themselves behind bars.

I found myself laughing in disbelief.  I had heard of Not Buying It, a great book about a lady who went a year without shopping, and Buy Nothing Day, a grassroots movement encouraging people to take a day off shopping and find meaning with family and friends rather than in consumption.  When I heard that the retail space in the United States could hold every North American, South American and European inside its doors all at once, and when I heard that every American (regardless of age/race/gender) holds an average of $13,000 in credit card debt, and 4.2 billion credit cards are mailed out to Americans EVERY YEAR - I realized the kind of power we’re up against.  My laughing wasn’t so much in disbelief as much as relief.

It is good to see someone finally take seriously the phrase “Jesus is the reason for the season,” and to do it with a little humor and performance.  Most street preachers with a megaphone rain down condemnation on passers by (I know, I’ve been pelted by some of it myself), but these guys went caroling with parodies of Christmas tunes!  I will listen to anyone who has a good joke and doesn’t take themselves too seriously.

While watching What Would Jesus Buy? I leaned over and said to Katrina, “Our kids are gonna be so weird.”  When I look at the state of the world today, and the direction its heading in - maybe ‘normal’ is what’s weird, and we’re just searching for sanity.  I’m not some crazy anarchist - I just think we’ve gone way overboard.  It’s high time someone called it for what it is.  God likes to use humor sometimes to do just that.

BTW - Amidst drunken credit card tomfoolery across the nation, Katrina and I have been receiving lots of financial peace from this guy.

Okay - everyone’s gotta check “Talk to Jesus” out.

Pointless avarice that defames our Lord? Or culturally relevant tool for Gen X?

Proof of Global Warming!  Hide your grandmother’s eyes!  (Admittedly found here).

I found this on YouTube - a p-unny parody of the Mac vs. PC commercials (of which we have all come to love and despise.)

I’m a Christ follower