Glocal Christianity

Steampunk Jesus [Art]

Jesus: a mascot for every movement?

Interview by a Vampire

My friend John Morehead was recently interviewed on a vampire culture website for a scholarly Christian perspective on Bill Schnoebelen and Vampire religion. If that tweeks your interest you'll catch the interview at Vampire.com. 

The gospel according to Iron Maiden

Lyrics to For The Greater Good Of God:

Are you a man of peace
Or a man of holy war
Too many sides to you
Don’t know which anymore
So many full of life
But also filled with pain
Don’t know just how many
Will live to breathe again

A life that’s made to breath
Destruction or defense
A mind that’s vain corruption
Bad or good intent
A wolf in sheep’s clothing
Or saintly or sinner
Or some that would believe
A holy war winner

They fire off many shots
And many parting blows
There actions beyond a reasoning
Only god would know
And as he lies in heaven
Or it could be in hell
I feel he’s somewhere here
Or looking from below
But I don’t know, I don’t know

Please tell me now what life is
Please tell me now what love is
Well tell me now what war is
Again tell me what life is

More pain and misery in the history of mankind
Sometime it seems more like
The blind leading the blind
It brings upon us more famine, death and war
You know religion has a lot to answer for

And as they search to find the bodies in the sand
They find its ashes that are
Scattered across the land
And as the spirits seem to whistle on the wind
A shot is fired somewhere another war begins

And all because of it you’d think
That we would learn
But still the body count the city fires burn
Somewhere theres someone dying
In a foreign land
Meanwhile the world is crying stupidity of man
Tell me why, tell me why

Please tell me now what life is
Please tell me now what love is
Well tell me now what ware is
Again tell me what life is

Please tell me now what life is
Please tell me now what love is
Well tell me now what war is
Again tell me what life is

For the greater good of god (x 8)

Please tell me now what life is
Please tell me now what love is
Well tell me now what war is
Again tell me what life is

Please tell me now what life is
Please tell me now what love is
Well tell me now what war is
Again tell me what life is

For the greater good of god (x 8)

He gave his life for us he fell upon the cross
To die for all of those who never mourn him
It wasn’t meant for us to feel the pain again
Tell me why, tell me why

- Iron Maiden, For the Greater Good of God

If you liked this you might also want to check out The Gospel according to Black Sabbath,  Metallica and Philosophy, Goth Church, Goth Eucharist and some dark alternative Christian art.

The Last Supper of the Furries

"The Last Supper - Furrymania" by Contix.

How neo-tribes differ from traditional tribes

"The traditional tribe is bound by geography and kin-ship. It also has a historical tradition. However the neo-tribe is not bound by geography, and only exists for the duration of it's rituals. It does not rely on historical tradition, as it comes into being as the occasion arises." - Elia Morling at Tribaling

Digital culture and the Anonymous tactic

From one of the more intelligent commentaries I've seen about Anonymous

"... their tactics ... were a lot like high school pranks: sometimes silly, sometimes crude, often juvenile and always motivated by a strong sense of righteous indignation. The collective culture of Anonymous was born in the /b/ section 4chan, an internet forum worthy of its own lengthy article. Suffice it to say that 4chan thrives on trolling, griefing, digital bullying and generally offensiveness of all sorts.

"The targets of campaigns attributed by Anonymous suggest an eccentric unpredictably similar to the internet board it was born on."

"To understand the history of Anonymous I find it helpful to look at it as a tactic more then a group. That is, when there is a critical mass of outrage in 4chan and related gathering spaces, they pick up the Anonymous banner, dust it off and rally an ad-hoc group to the banner for the latest campaign. Over time, the Anonymous tactic has gained more and more recognition and it’s visibility has made it increasingly useful as a tool for gathering energy, raising visibility and pressuring those it targets."

"When it comes to morality, looking at Anonymous as a tactic makes the moral reasoning more complex. We can’t just pick out one example of how its been used and make a blanket judgement on every use in the future. But we can notice patterns. For example, it does seems to lend itself to large groups focusing their anger on one entity. Because it is not tied to any physical location it has limited accountability to traditional governing bodies. Indeed, it tends to set up its own governance system for any given operation or project, similar to a strike committee ... It also has clear parallels to traditional vigilante justice, though it is not physically violent."

"However the comparison to traditional nonviolence tactics has its limit. As a digital tactic it is connected the anonymity and collective consciousness of the internet culture that spawned it. Many of those shaping this tactic are teenagers who have never known a time without the internet. They take its tools for granted. If Clay Shirky is right they, like the generation born after the printing press, will be the ones who find ways to use these new tools in ways that are disruptive in ways that we can’t predict. In the end, it may be less like Lexington and more like Luther’s 95 thesis: nailed to the door of a 1500 year old institutions, but spread round the European world by the cutting edge technology of the printing press."

How neo-tribes differ from subcultures

"There are crucial differences between neo-tribes and subcultures. In a subculture identity is unified and fixed. It is seen as static, as members permanently carry one mask. However nowadays people belong to many tribes, and move effortlessly between them. They switch masks, as they assume temporary roles and identities." - Elia Morling at Tribaling

The gospel according to Black Sabbath

A word from the masters of metal:

Have you ever thought about your soul - can it be saved?
Or perhaps you think that when you're dead
you just stay in your grave
Is God just a thought within your head or is he a part of you?
Is Christ just a name that you read in a book
when you were in school?

When you think about death do you lose your breath
or do you keep your cool?
Would you like to see the Pope on the end of a rope
do you think he's a fool?
Well I have seen the truth, yes I've seen the light
and I've changed my ways
And I'll be prepared when you're lonely and scared
at the end of our days

Could it be you're afraid of what your friends might say
If they knew you believed in God above?
They should realize before they criticize
that God is the only way to love

Is your mind so small that you have to fall
In with the pack wherever they run
Will you still sneer when death is near
And say they may as well worship the sun?

I think it was true it was people like you that crucified Christ
I think it is sad the opinion you had was the only one voiced
Will you be so sure when your day is near, say you don't believe?
You had the chance but you turned it down, now you can't retrieve

Perhaps you'll think before you say that God is dead and gone
Open your eyes, just realize that he's the one
The only one who can save you now from all this sin and hate
Or will you jeer at all you hear? Yes! I think it's too late.

- Black Sabbath, After Forever

Listen to After Forever here.

Metallica and Philosophy: A Crash Course in Brain Surgery

Well, well, the things you find. Got some hits earlier today from someone searching for "Metallica and theology", undoubtedly due to some of my recent comments on Metallica's Judas Kiss and the buzz that generated. Anyways, I thought, Metallica and theology, what a cool thing to search for, so I did. And lo, I discovered "Metallica and Philosophy: A Crash Course in Brain Surgery". Prompts me to think, maybe there's a bigger conversation to be had on metal, dark alternative aesthetics and Christianity.

Furry Christianity

Having speculated about Christian mission to furries the other night it turns out the darn thing does exist.

Here are a just a few of the sites I found:

• Christian Furry Mission

• Furrs fur Christ

• Being a Christian Furry (video)

• Christian Furry Fellowship

That last one is actually a church. I think I am going to have to eat some of my words here. In my defense I can only say, only in America.

Actually, no, my argument that it helps not the furry isolated in Perth essentially holds.

Still, I am left gobsmacked that there's a church.

Encyclopedia Dramatica has this to say: "Rarely found in nature, the Christian furry is a bizarre mish-mash of ideals. It appears this exists only because the Narnia series had talking animals and Christian overtones. Unfortunately, the spiritual side only seems to make them more Batshit crazy, as they make claims about the Garden of Eden being a furry paradise "... because the animals were able to speak, clearly they were Furries." Are as likely to start preaching about Jesus as they are about the evils of fursecution. The only eventual outcome is for a Christian furry to begin whining about the lack of furry representation in the Bible, particularly the lack of detail regarding yiffing on Noah's Ark (also known to them as history's first furry convention). After all, they DID require one of each gender for "reproductive purposes"..."

I have to admire the audacity even as I shake my head.

Postscript: the above comments were written in the midst of my surprise at finding a Christian mission to furries and were not intended to slander furries. The Encyclopedia Dramatica quote is not an accurate portrayal of the subculture. Read the comments for further information.