The Land of the Twee, and the Home of the Grave

Or, "why I skipped church this Sunday and had zero guilt."  Guilt is more Hublet's style, anyway.

I skipped because:

a) Apparently my body really, REALLY needed rest, since the combined efforts of both Hublet and The Boy were insufficient to rouse me before NOON.  I haven't slept past 9:30 a.m. since before The Boy was born. It. Was. FABULOUS.

and

b) We're studying Oprah.  In church.  Well, to be more specific we're studying Oprah in Sunday School, but coming as it does hot on the heels of a couple of weeks of soul-searching about what Starbucks can teach Christians about - what?  Better marketing? - my patience with this sort of thing is wearing thin, and I'm tired of sitting in class thinking snarky thoughts and trying very hard not to rain on the pop culture parade. So I will vent here instead.

Let me be clear. I can see why people would say, "Ooh, that's interesting!" when an author goes out of his or her way to demonstrate how you can find tenets of christianity among secular pop culture, but on the other hand, why is this news? If you're a practicing Christian, you tend to find the themes of redemption, salvation, grace and community everywhere, not just on television from 4 to 5 p.m. or while ensconced in a puffy velvet sofa and using the free wi-fi. Is pointing out the obvious really teaching us anything new?

And I can never escape the strange, underlying vibe of desperation in these efforts.  That somehow, we need to prove that religion is "relevant" to people, and that further, the best way to do it isn't by relying on teachings that have held up for thousands of years, but by emulating examples of 21st century consumer culture that, despite their popularity, are most often featured as punchlines to the "what's wrong with America?" joke.

It's almost as if we have to prove that it's okay to like vapid, throwaway crap by demonstrating that "there's plenty of God stuff in there, too!" Or the reverse, that it's okay to like God, because, see - it's cool and stuff! Just like Starbucks!

I don't think God is gonna hold that latte or being riveted by Oprah's latest book club selection against you, folks.  I like plenty of vapid, throwaway crap, too, and if I want a Grande Mocha, my butt's in the Starbucks line along with everyone else's. I'm not saying I'm somehow above pop culture, or that I'm some sort of lofty theologian - just that I don't see why I need to use Oprah to justify my religion, or why I should use my religion to justify my mocha.