Borat - Modern day prophet?

Just a quick summary..

Borat, a TV reporter from Kazakhstan, is a character created by comedian Sacha Baron Cohen. Borat is filmed interviewing members of the public who are unaware that they are being set-up. By being incredibly sexist, racist and homophobic he somehow manages to draw the worst out of the people he meets, uncovering their own hidden poor attitudes. In this way I think he can be described as prophetic; he brings truth to light.

In Sacha Baron Cohen's own words:

Borat essentially works as a tool. By himself being anti-Semitic, he lets people lower their guard and expose their own prejudice, whether it's anti-Semitism or an acceptance of anti-Semitism.

Here are a few of the video clips we watched.

Hunting in America - Borat meets a worryingly racist Texan.

Country & Western bar - how easily do people join in with things that they know are wrong?

Baron Cohen on this clip:

'Throw the Jew Down the Well' was a very controversial sketch, and some members of the Jewish community thought that it was actually going to encourage anti-Semitism. But to me it revealed something about that bar in Tucson. And the question is: Did it reveal that they were anti-Semitic? Perhaps. But maybe it just revealed that they were indifferent to anti-Semitism.
I remember, when I was in university I studied history, and there was this one major historian of the Third Reich, Ian Kershaw. And his quote was, 'The path to Auschwitz was paved with indifference.' I know it's not very funny being a comedian talking about the Holocaust, but I think it's an interesting idea that not everyone in Germany had to be a raving anti-Semite. They just had to be apathetic.

Gun club
Hunting in England
These two clips reveal the absurdity of macho attitudes.

Yoga and New Age Dance
This clip reminded me strongly of Isaiah 44 where people who construct their own spirituality are challenged.

So, is Borat a modern day prophet...?

The Midweek Pint

Would anyone like to join me each week for about 60 to 90 mins for a chat over a pint? - whether that be lager, blackcurrant or what have you.

The point being: 'fellowship' - or in secular speak - meet with your mates!

I'll put details here of the times and locations.

Typically meeting at The Manor (Ye Olde Manor) on Nantwich Road at 9pm on Tuesdays - though this will change, and has variations.

Either make sure you mail me or leave a post here at least 12 hours in advance as I'd rather not sit by myself over a pint... :o)

Getting Crafty

This Thursday we'll be getting out creative materials for an informal evening of crafty activity, and chatting while we do. Last time we did this, it was hugely enjoyed, with all works accepted on their own merit as a way of thinking about a particular Bible passage. The evening flew by.

Church is about being the people of God, and this is a way in which creativity is expressed, and people just be together wherever their orbit of God takes them.

It's Church, but not as we know it.

What can we learn from Pingu?

In this week's SofaChurch we will hope to unravel the profound mysteries of faith contained in the absolute classic Children's programme, Pingu. For any Pingu purists, we will be using the original, unadulterated older series as our material.

Saved!

On the second Thursday of each month we plan to watch an interesting film together and discuss it afterwards. This month was Saved!, a controversial film about teenagers set in a Christian high school, produced by Michael Stipe of REM. You can read a plot summary here.

The film's makers said this about it:
'Saved presents authentic Christian teens who make poor choices, have a crisis of faith, seek answers, and ultimately emerge with a genuine faith made strong by the fire of life. This movie will also make people uncomfortable or possibly offend. It’s messy, portraying life with all its warts and confusion.'

I thought that the film had an amazing message of grace; how Jesus still loves us despite our shortcomings. I like this exchange at the end:

Mary: So everything that doesn’t fit into some stupid idea of what you think God wants, you just try to hide or fix or get rid of? Its just all too much to live up to. No-one fits in 100% of the time. Not even you.
Pastor Skip: I know that Mary....
Dean: I know in my heart... that Jesus still loves me
Mary: Why did God make us so different if he wanted us to be the same?

At the end of the movie Mary says,

“I mean, really, when you think about it, what would Jesus do? I don't know. But in the meantime we'll be trying to figure it out... together.”

New SofaChurch motto perhaps?

I also liked the attack on superficial, hypocritical faith. Anyway, enough of what I think (I chose the film after all...) What did you think? PS If you couldn't make it tonight the film is available for loan.

Banksy - modern day prophet?

I will add some more notes and pictures soon, but briefly for now we talked about how many of the themes that the graffiti artist Banksy uses are the same issues that God spoke about through the Biblical prophets, and indeed themes voiced by Jesus: peace, justice, hope and anti-consumerism.

We thought that the image here, of Jesus with shopping bags, highlighted the fact that many of Jesus' followers care more about possessions than following Jesus to the cross. The juxtaposition of the shopping bags and the crucifixion shows how incompatible the two things should be. Could this painting be a message from God to people caught up in prosperity gospel teachings (the belief that God's followers feel themselves entitled to be blessed with riches and health in this world) ?