|
geez, fta, you'd think this would be obvious--but given that xtian denominations position themselves against each other by generating differing amalgamations of interpretations of biblical texts--and so different priorities, different combinations--so evangelicals who happen as a denominational matter to also be reactionary tend to generate these strange analgamations of old and new testament texts in that selective-to-arbitrary reading kinda way that apparently is authorized by the descent of the holy spirit or whatever that emphasize the more martial aspects of the old testament processed through collages of prophetic texts--you know, revelations/apocalypse isiah, ezeliek about the end time that in turn get laid over the gospels in order to create the version of jesus that best suits their politics. so alot of evangelicals fancy themselves like the jesuits did in the 17th century, the army of jesus engaged in trench war against satan and his minions, holding down whatever they imagine themselves to be holding down until that dramatic moment when the Giant Vacuum gets turned on and the Righteous get hoovered into the Bag of Heaven and then the Shit Will Hit The Fan. the evangelical message--the conversion narratives--emphasis the peace love and understanding aspects--helping you or i to join the InCrowd and pitch ourselves toward various moments of Recognitions like you see in that fabulous film "freaks"--you're one of us, you're one of us....which presumably is then confirmed in a wholesale breakdown of musical taste and sudden affection for that particularly nasty strata of mediocre pop they call "christian music""---but in the stories that concern the relation of the Faitful to the evil fallen world, it's entirely adversarial.
you could connect this relation inside/outside to the interpretation of the bible to the reactionary politics to the relatively heightened support for torture.
fact is alot of evanglicals at the level of doctrine formal and informal already spend alot of time imagining themselves persecuted and take that persecution as an Index of their Monumental Faith.
but i suspect you know all this.
it's also self-evident that this is far from the only interpretation of the bible, far from the only collage, that is possible--and that different denominations emphasize different versions. connecting collage to organization to politics is an easy peasy way to position in the same generally xtian grid unitarian univeralists or quakers to catholics to methodists to southern baptist evangelicals.
it isn't rocket science.
so it's not exactly a cohrent way to proceed to abstract the gospels from everything else and pretend that what's at stake are different takes on the bromides jesus is supposed to have issued as if they're free standing---it's more accurate to see in the bromides and frame stories elements that are situated in broader readings/relations to the bible which are symmterical with committments that are outside the text.
the problem with the poll--and with it in more detailed form--is simply that it make no particular differentiations amongst xtians, treating them as a bloc--but that's methodologically a pretty suspect move, if you think about it---but whatever, i don't have an iron in that fire so don't particularly care about it. nor did i find the poll particularly interesting, but for the same reason. suspect method leads to suspect results. happens every day.
__________________
a gramophone its corrugated trumpet silver handle
spinning dog. such faithfulness it hear
it make you sick.
-kamau brathwaite
|