26 Aug 99
My morning paper is rarely this amusing.
The evangelical community has gathered together to arrange that a
"well known film of the life of Jesus" ("a vivid portrayal" --Billy
Graham, "meticulous" --_Time Magazine_) appear in the mailbox of
every single household in Monroe County).
"The local effort is part of a nationwide plan to distribute
millions of the videos through the efforts of more than 10,000
churches. Locally they are attempting to raise $760,000 to cover
costs." [All quotations from the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle,
August 25, 1999, pgs 1 and 5A.]
When the news got out the Jewish community was "enraged" and
protested. "The message is, 'Your way of religious expression is
not valid. Come look at our way.' By sending it into people's
homes, you are invading their privacy. It is very limiting and
close-minded," said Rabbi Alan Katz.
Katz, who belongs to the community groups Interfaith Forum and
Commission on Christian Jewish Relations, said he has nothing
against Jesus as an historical figure. "It is the imposition of him
into Jewish people's lives that have had other implications for us
in the last 2,000 years," the rabbi said.
Pastor Arthur Brown of Pearce Memorial Church, North Chili, said,
"The last thing we want to do is offend folks or hurt them. We
understand the sensitivity of people of different faiths. We'd like
people to simply understand who Jesus is. Everyone has to decide
for themselves what to do with this video."
[The question of who Pearce might be and why it was desirable to
memorialize him was apparently not asked nor was it asked whether
bonfires of tapes with non Christians dancing about them might
conceivably offend the video mongers. Too many people have no
imagination.]
The mind boggles.
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SALLY SPRINGETT
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