Since the start of 2024, I haven't had much time to read. This is a situation that gets to me in short order. I have had the chance to watch a couple of docu-series on Hulu. The first one I watched was Daughters of the Cult. This tells the stories of some of the children of Ervil LeBaron. LeBaron was the violent leader of a break-way Mormon polygamist cult. He became prominent in the late 1970s after he orchestrated the murder of another polygamist leader, Rulon Allred. In addition to Anna and Celia, who are the main subjects of the series, their brother and one of the women involved in the cult also feature in this retelling of a chilling story.
For those who do not know, I am a convert to Catholicism from the LDS Church. I have no direct experience of polygamy, except that growing up LDS it was still taught as an eternal principle. It is still taught today though, like a lot of LDS distinctives, greatly deemphasized. Setting aside distinctives began when Gordon B. Hinckley was LDS president. Hinckley was prone not only downplay but outright deny certain teachings in an effort to make the Mormons appear more mainstream (see "'Then shall they be gods, because they have no end' (D&C 132:20").
One of my great-great grandmothers on my mom's mother's side was more or less forced into a polygamist union with my great-great grandfather, who ran away from a seminary in France where he was studying to be a priest, went to Switzerland where he met and married his first wife and converted to Mormonism before emigrating. She was very much younger than he was and, even by the accounts I heard, never very happy.
In the past on this blog, I wrote about some of these things (see for example "'Oh, Say What Is Truth?'- Joseph Smith, Jr and polygamy"). Therefore, I don't have much to add. No longer being Mormon and later becoming Catholic were two distinct phases in my life.
I also watched The Secrets of Hillsong. Watching this I was appalled all over by the use of corporate means and entertainment methods in contemporary U.S. evangelicalism. I also have to say that I was quite bothered by the generous use of Catholic visuals throughout the series. It's difficult for me to imagine a less Catholic group than Hillsong, who are not in any way sacramental or liturgical. I found myself thinking (again), who wants to go to church in a studio, a sound stage? Apparently, a lot of people! Quantitatively, this seems to often be successful. What is succeeding, however, is pretty much a faux Christianity.
The preaching and theology in these organizations are thin gruel, with a lot of emoting, and fake vulnerability. It strikes me as attenuated prosperity Gospel fluff and b.s. Success, wealth, and good health are God's blessing on the obedient, the chosen, the faithful. This is not the Gospel of Jesus Christ, not even close. I mean, do these people even read the Bible beyond cherrypicking verses and employing them wildly out of context, using them as a launching pad for a TED talk or motivational speech?
As the late Joe Strummer said not long before unexpectedly passing away: "It's time to take humanity back into the center of the ring and follow that for a time." In the person of Jesus Christ, God became human, truly human, as human as you and I- this is what Christmas is (or should be) all about, not a sentimental timewarp adventure to a highly sanitized manger scene. This is the cornerstone AND foundation of Christian theology. Incarnation even comes before Trinity. Jesus of Nazareth was, in the words of the late Rich Mullins, "a man of no reputation, who loved the weak with relentless affection."
Therefore, our belated Friday traditio is Rich Mullins' "Man of No Reputation"-
Lord Jesus, make all those who follow you, especially those who lead those who follow you, want to be more like you in this regard. Give us the courage and the strength to want to be nobodies, servants in God's kingdom.
No comments:
Post a Comment