Sunday, January 20, 2008

What I Saw On My Winter Vacation


"FAITH, the way it used to be",
but posted on a billboard advertisement.

I don't know about you, but this visual experience deep in the heartland of Indiana was a major disconnect for me. I was confused by what was meant by the slogan, but moreso when I considered that when faith WAS "the way it used to be", it never would have been advertised on a large billboard.
So, for me, this time at least, the medium was the message. I think I'm finally starting to get Marshall McCluhan!

As for the slogan itself, I would be shocked out of my mind if they didn't mean something along the lines of "We will beat you up with the Law until you cry 'MERCY'!" And, well, then call that the gospel.

But I could be wrong. There is always felicitous inconsistency to fall back upon.


3 comments:

Elephantschild said...

Ahhhh... Indiana. ::shudder:: But for Fort Wayne & the sem, IN would be the armpit of the Midwest.

Open Bible, except if the word says "wine" or "baptism now saves you." Those pages seem to be stuck together on every single KJV copy in the church... strange.

Friend of the Predigtamt said...

"The way it used to be"?

Returning to a sacramental view, acknowledging the Ecumenical Creeds, and 1500s Reformation Theology? Now that is worth looking at.

Alas, it means the same ol' hokey Finney/Wesley/Keswickian tomfoolery. Talk about false advertising!

When I hear "Give Me That Old Time Religion", I'd ask whether they were referring to worshipping Diana or the Druidic gods of old. Now...that's old time religion!

Bruce Gee said...

Funny, elephantschild!
Yes, Indiana is always on the way to someplace else. You want to get there? You have to cross Indiana. A real highway Dog-In-The-Manger, is Indiana.

Carol, you nail it, darlin'! Somehow though, I think the good people at that church aren't referring to EITHER of those kinds of religion. But it would be a fun conversation to have.