Response to Gianni's post, "Get Out of Hell Free Card"

Gianni,

I agree with your thoughts about how religion is portrayed in popular media -- that Jesus will always be around to save someone in their time of need. Another example of this is shown in one of my favorite TV shows, Desperate Housewives. One of the main characters on the show is a woman, Bree Van de Kamp, who is a devout Christian. Throughout the show, she has turned to Christianity in times of need; whether it was when her son told her he was gay, when he accidentally ran over a woman, or she had an affair, she always turned to God and hoped he would forgive her. She makes sure that people know Christianity is a big part of her life and any time she has done something wrong, she will repent her sins - contrary to what Homer Simpson said.

The line, "I'll recant when I'm on my deathbed", does prove very fitting in today's world. As I mentioned in my post, I grew up in a nondenominational household, so I can't necessarily relate to that line. However, I do have many Christian and Catholic friends, who, like you, have not been attending Church regularly but hope to do so in the future. I've noticed that most of my friends have never attended a confessional and have said to each other, that they will repent later in life. The trend I've noticed - and maybe it's just with the people I know - is that as the generations go on, the less they go to Church or stay with a religion. My grandma attends Church every Sunday and freaks out if she accidentally sleeps in or has to miss it because something came up. My dad used to attend Church when he was younger, but as he got older, he slowly stopped. Then come my brother and I, who do not follow a belief. My mom grew up in a nondenominational household and as my dad stopped attending Church, he never brought us up with a religion. This case is common in many of my friends as well - either they do not follow a belief, or they simply do not attend Church regularly.

I'm glad you posted the "Get Out of Jail Free Card" photo - I've seen it a couple times before but I've forgotten about it until now. It was really suiting for the theme of lecture!

Heaven and Hell

As neither of my parents are nondenominational, I was raised without a religion. I wouldn't say we are Atheist, but we simply do not follow a religion.  That being said, I respect and am open minded to those who follow a belief, and the choices they make based on their beliefs. Being in a class about Christianity is probably the most I will ever be exposed to religion. I'm interested in learning more about Christianity, as well as it's connection with popular culture.

At the beginning of class, we watched the music video to Kanye West's song, 'Jesus Walks'. When this song came out, I was about 14 years old. I remember the impact the song and video had on everyone. It was a very in-your-face song about religion, but in a good way. At first, I was surprised that a song about religion became such a great hit, especially being a rap song. Rap music generally deals with lyrics about sex, drugs, money, women, and the such. It's a powerful song that speaks out to a lot of people and to not to be afraid of religion.

The video has a few different stories going on, but they all evidently have a separation of black and white. For example, all of the prisoners are black, while the guards are white. Something else I noticed in the video was in one scene at the beginning, Kanye is rapping in what seems to be a narrow, wooden room. Behind him are flames shooting forward, perhaps representing hell. Above his head is a flickering light in the shape of a circle, perhaps to represent a halo. This to me seems like a representation of heaven and hell, and as he raps the lyrics "God show me the way because the Devil trying to break me down," the halo disappears and the flames shoot forward.

The Simpsons has long been one of my favorite TV shows, ever since I was in middle school. I remember watching it after school, before eating dinner.

In the episode we watched in class, 'Homer the Heretic', Homer decides not to go to Church one Sunday and has, what he says, is the best day of his life. His decision to stop attending Church bothers his wife, Marge, and soon he is paying the consequences as he begins having dreams about God and how angry God is at him for not attending Church.



Later in the episode, Homer falls asleep and a cigarette falls out of his mouth onto a pile of magazines, causing a fire. He is in such deep sleep he does not realize the house is ablaze, and Ned Flanders, his devout Christian neighbour, has to rush in and save Homer. The fire being set off could easily be a depiction of Homer being sent to hell as a punishment for not going to Church. Ned saving Homer from the fire proves that being religious is a positive thing, and he decides to start attending Church again.

This episode of the Simpsons is definitely trying to show viewers the importance of attending Church, and the consequences if you do not. However, as I am nondenominational, the message has little impact on me. I do understand the importance of attending Church when you are religious, and if I was, I definitely would remain faithful to my religion and try my best to attend every week.