Althouse: "Jesus shows up and says, be like Jesus, right? But if you look at the Old Testament..."

April 2, 2018

"Jesus shows up and says, be like Jesus, right? But if you look at the Old Testament..."

"... there's nobody there you want to be like.... They's all screwed up. They're duplicitous and angry and wrongheaded an arrogant — just like you and me."

Said David Mamet, talking to Marc Maron (at 39:57).

AND: Here's Alice Cooper as Herod, singing at Jesus, in last night's live TV "Jesus Christ Superstar":

33 comments:

JackWayne said...: Jesus said “be like Jesus”? Really?; 4/2/18, 6:35 PM
Rob said...: Jesus said, "Always be closing."; 4/2/18, 6:38 PM
bolivar di griz said...: Well Moses, elijah Jeremiah isiah, seriously Mr. Mamet, David the writer of proverbs,; 4/2/18, 6:44 PM
Jake said...: “Jesus said “be like Jesus”? Really?”

http://biblehub.com/esv/john/13.htm; 4/2/18, 6:46 PM
Jake said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 4/2/18, 6:51 PM
bolivar di griz said...: Here's a few examples

http://so4j.com/ways-we-are-to-be-like-jesus-christ; 4/2/18, 6:53 PM
Bill, Republic of Texas said...: Jesus always asked "what would I do."; 4/2/18, 6:55 PM
Otto said...: Ann in her full Sonatag camp mode - frivolous about the serious.; 4/2/18, 6:59 PM
BUMBLE BEE said...: excerpted college drinking song from the mid 60s: to Has Anybody Seen My Gal
Five foot nine - Palestine - changes water into wine
Has anybody seen my Lord?
He's so sharp - He's so cool - walks across my swimming pool
Has anybody seen my Lord?....; 4/2/18, 7:04 PM
bolivar di griz said...: The wider point is even Abraham merely men, whereas Jesus wee both.

I left out Joseph and daniel.; 4/2/18, 7:09 PM
Bilwick said...: Not that it was part of the original musical, but I would have liked it if Alice Cooper went off script and started singing "Hell is for Children." Just because.; 4/2/18, 7:20 PM
tcrosse said...: Jesus said, "Don't do anything I wouldn't do."; 4/2/18, 7:31 PM
n.n said...: The Old Testament is mostly about what not to do in order to avoid corruption and dysfunction. It was progressive (i.e. monotonic) in the extreme. Things like: Thou shalt not commit elective abortion. Thou shalt not conduct warlock hunts. Thou shalt not envy your neighbor's wealth. Thou shalt not be socially liberal. Over and over again.; 4/2/18, 7:33 PM
bolivar di griz said...: It was about gods instructions set out clearly and the failure of thud people to obey.; 4/2/18, 7:51 PM
Rabel said...: As was told in The Parable of the Abandoned Mother, there's nobody there you want to be like. They're duplicitous and angry and wrongheaded and arrogant — just like you and me.; 4/2/18, 7:53 PM
rcocean said...: Like Howard Dean, my Favorite New Testament Story is the Book of Job.; 4/2/18, 7:56 PM
rcocean said...: Has anyone ever asked John McCain about his favorite Bible story?

Does he even own a bible?; 4/2/18, 7:56 PM
Bill Peschel said...: The cheering crowds back then were on the wrong side of history too. What's they're excuse today?

(PS: Was that old Wesley Crusher in the front row?); 4/2/18, 8:02 PM
Mark said...: If we were to have a serious discussion on the matter, we might note that the Old Testament is filled with pre-cursors and people who pre-figure him. Joseph comes to mind, as does Moses, and if we look to the prophets, then the Suffering Servant of Isaiah is obvious.; 4/2/18, 8:22 PM
Ralph L said...: Has anyone ever asked John McCain about his favorite Bible story?
He went to two Episcopal high schools (one was, in fact, Episcopal High School) back when the Anglican Church was still more than nominally Christian.

Having attended the other 20 years later, I can say he once read at least some of the Bible. We had Theology class in grades 8, 10, and 12, but there was less Bible/religion as we went and more psychology. Strangely, the New Testament appeared mostly at weekly Chapel.; 4/2/18, 8:28 PM
Lewis Wetzel said...: Mamet (speaking of atheist Jews): "They say the Bible is just bullshit, which is just another way of being connected with the Bible."
Brilliant outlook.; 4/2/18, 8:29 PM
Lewis Wetzel said...: Blogger bolivar di griz said...
It was about gods instructions set out clearly and the failure of thud people to obey.
4/2/18, 7:51 PM
But they've always gone back to God after chastisement. The Jews did not abandon their God permanently, as virtually every other ancient people have done. You would think that after the 2nd Temple was pulled down, they would have become pagans, or Christians (I suppose some of them did), but they are still here, still holding on to the covenant.; 4/2/18, 8:37 PM
Sharc 65 said...: Alas, Alice Cooper's Herod is ... uninspired.; 4/2/18, 8:57 PM
Ralph L said...: Wasn't Herod originally done in drag, or was that the movie version?; 4/2/18, 8:59 PM
Robert Cook said...: Alice Cooper's father was an evangelical preacher.; 4/2/18, 9:00 PM
Robert Cook said...: Alice Cooper's father was an evangelical preacher.; 4/2/18, 9:02 PM
Bill Crawford said...: Alice Cooper himself is an evangelical Christian; 4/2/18, 9:22 PM
traditionalguy said...: That late in the game when Jesus was asking His Father to forgive the Jews, Jesus suddenly refused to even speak a word to Herod. Then all Herod got was to be eaten by the worms of death.But Herod's unfogiveable sin was only cutting off the head of Jesus's hero, cousin John the Baptizer, and showing off his trophy to the royal guests.

Kathy Griffith might want to ask forgiveness before it's too late. Trump is not as merciful as Jesus.; 4/2/18, 10:13 PM
Char Char Binks, Esq. said...: THAT is how rock music is done!; 4/2/18, 10:29 PM
Mark said...: Herod's unforgivable sin

There is no sin so great that Christ will not forgive if only the person is willing to accept it.; 4/2/18, 11:02 PM
The Vault Dweller said...: People have this odd idea that what is considered moral today was obviously considered moral throughout all time. This is dumb. Not too long ago the French used to burn cats alive as a parlor trick for entertainment, and this went on until the 1700's and in high society, so we are talking powdered face, powdered wig, powdered wherever, hoity toity people who did this. So people look at scriptures dealing with people thousands of years ago and can only view them through today's lens.

Dennis Praeger actually had a quick little snippet about this on Prager University ads he runs. I'm not sure how to do a proper link so I will just isolate it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UrakW1DjApo

He points out that at least a few of the TERRIBLE, EVIL, AWFUL scripture quotes from the old testament were actually very good, profound moral leaps forward. I wish less people would look at history and the bible for ways to make them feel better about how they behave themselves on their own in comparison and instead would look at it as a gradual progression in the improvement of the moral technology of human beings.; 4/2/18, 11:34 PM
tim in vermont said...: Not that it was part of the original musical, but ...

Apparently that wasn't important to them. WTF was that one song? Everything's Alright was such a beautiful song, that forgettable little ditty they threw in there? Not so much?; 4/3/18, 7:12 AM
Anonymous said...: Vault Dweller: People have this odd idea that what is considered moral today was obviously considered moral throughout all time.

Not quite. The "odd idea" here is the idea that what is moral now is the standard, against which all past times and people are to be judged (and mostly found wanting).

Another, related "odd idea": morality is relative, but us guys living now have got it right, and are in a position to announce our moral superiority over the people who came before us.

The idea that one should not only judge the past, but also measure oneself against the past, and allow oneself to be judged by it in turn, is alien.; 4/3/18, 9:05 AM