The Apostles' Creed

I may have caused some confusion, either to myself or others, with my last post in which I insinuated that the Apostles' Creed was a video game. I was sadly mistaken and I apologize. This is the video game I was thinking about:

The Apostles' Creed, as it turns out, looks more like this:

Now that we've got that out of the way, what is the Apostles' Creed anyway?

The Apostles' Creed, or the Symbol of the Apostles, is an early statement of Christian belief, based on the earlier Roman Creed, and is early Christian theologian understanding of the Gospels, the New Testament, and to a lesser extent, the Old Testament.

It's used widely today by Catholics and Protestants, and is even acceptable to Arians and Unitarians because it doesn't mention the divinity of Christ.

The Wikipedia article can be found here.

Where'd Jesus go on Saturday?

Ah, the Saturday before Easter. The birds are singing, the Easter eggs are ready to go, and I'm hurriedly finishing my Spring Break homework before I have to start making pavlovas. So what was Jesus doing all those years ago, on the day between Good Friday and Easter Sunday? As it turns out, this has been a bit of a hot topic for a while now. Even Augustine couldn't quite twiddle out this brain teaser.

As Catholics, Eastern Orthodox, and many Protestant traditions hold, Jesus spent his day off in hell, saving souls. This dramatic image of Jesus breaking down the doors of Hades has spawned countless works of fanart and fanfiction, including Dante's Inferno, and the delightful image below:

Indeed, Jesus's descent was even added to the Apostle's Creed, which is apparently not just a video game, by a chap named Rufinus in the 4th century.

In keeping with the historical side of Jesus, it's likely that his followers said he went to the Jewish underworld Sheol after he died, to ensure that his resurrection was not seen as a resuscitation. As people's understandings of hell became more complicated, the questions grew: which layer of hell did Jesus visit? Whom did he save? Did he suffer in hell to fully atone for the sins of humanity?

There's a modern movement to remove the "ad inferna" bit from the Apostle's Creed. I believe the video game I'm actually thinking of is called the Assassin's Creed, though, so at least there won't be that mix-up.

The full article can be found here.

The Devil as a Black Man

I've already done a post about the portrayal of Satan in History Channel's new series The Bible, though I mostly concentrated on the man's resemblance to President Obama. For those of you who don't remember, here's the picture.

The History Channel apologized for any resemblance the man has to the President, and the creators of the show expressed their admiration and respect for the President.

But this leaves a bigger question, why is the devil dark-skinned in the first place? Most of the other characters on the show, including Jesus, look to be of Northern European descent, and this image of light-skinned goodness and dark-skinned badness seems prevalent in many traditions.

As a Huffington Post article elaborated, this image of a dark-skinned bogeyman dates back to the Puritans, who tended to perceive any racial differences as rooted in evil, and extends to the white supremacist views in the 1800's that painted the devil black.

Interestingly, the Bible itself does not spend much time on Satan's appearance, nor does it elaborate on Jesus's skin color. The exploitation of religion to justify various racial and cultural prejudices is well exemplified in this case.

'Nones' as Church allies?

Pope Francis, in an ongoing pursuit of inter-faith cooperation, stated that those people who did not identify with any religion could still ally with the church to build peace and protect the environment. He said that both atheists and believers can "defend the dignity of man, in the building of a peaceful coexistence between peoples and in the careful protection of creation."

He also reached out to Jews, saying that the Jewish and Catholic traditions hold a spiritual bond.

Pope Francis has also met with the leader of the Eastern Orthodox tradition, Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople, who was the first Eastern leader to attend the inauguration of a Pope (Francis) in 900 years.

The full Huffington Post article can be read here.

Maundy Thursday

What is Maundy Thursday, exactly? It is lost among the many other pre-Easter days-- Fat Tuesday, Good Friday, etc. To be honest, I hadn't even heard of it until I read this Huffington Post article.

Apparently, the word "Maundy" comes from the Latin mandatum, which means "mandate." Maundy Thursday, then, is the time when Christ passed down his mandate to is disciples, telling them exactly what he wanted from them, as he knowingly went to his own death.

His mandate was this: "I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another."

An interesting little Easter tidbit.

Pope Washes Women's Feet

Pope Francis decided to wash two women's feet in the traditional Good Thursday ritual of washing of feet. In the past, popes have washed twelve priests' feet, as a symbol of the twelve apostles. Pope Benedict XVI extended this to twelve male prisoners, and the newest Pope has included women in the ceremony--one Italian Catholic and one Serbian Muslim.

The tradition of washing twelve men's feet stems back to the original twelve apostles, and interpretations of the gender of Christ's original followers have dictated church policies concerning women in the priesthood and in other pursuits within the church. It will be interesting to see if the new Pope's symbolic gesture is indicative of changing policies within the church.

The full Huffington Post article can be read here.

Mormons... support gay rights?

In a recent Huffington Post article, the startling revelation that the Mormon church may be refining its ideas on gay rights became apparent, though there was some disagreement on cause and effect.

The Mormon church has recently stated that being gay is not a choice, though it still supports the idea of traditional marriage. It has recently been in talks with Dustin Lance Black, the creator of the film "Milk", because of his more recent project "8: The Mormon Proposition" which focuses on California's Proposition 8 and the influence that the Mormons have in the anti-gay rights movement.

The Mormons are certainly still reeling from the bad press that Prop 8 brought them, and have reconcentrated their efforts on individuals and their relationships with God. Mormon donation to anti-gay rights legislature has decreased dramatically.

Their shift in actions, if not policy, is somewhat reflective of a wider conservative movement toward gay rights, which includes Senator Rob Portman of Ohio, a Republican who came out in favor of gay marriage because his son is gay. It'll be interesting to see how the Mormons evolve on this issue.

Remembering Biblical Women at Easter

In her Huffington Post article, April D. DeConick writes about remembering Biblical women during Easter celebrations, instead of concentrating on the men. She draws upon the Bible passage that mentions a group of women that watched Christ crucified and who annointed his body and buried him. Why do we not concentrate on the part these women played, instead focusing on his male disciples, on Judas's betrayal?

She mentions several women who she imagines would attend Jesus's execution: Mary, the mother of James and Joseph, the mother of the sons of Zebedee, Joanna, and Salome. Mary of Bethany, the sister of Lazarus. Mary Magdalene.There are other women who have not been given names, the woman Jesus met at the well in Samaria, the woman who annointed his head with nard. They are nameless and marginalized, and so we can imagine new life into them, resurrect them as silent observers to Jesus's fate.

I'm actually more interested by DeConick herself. She is a Professor of Biblical Studies at Rice University and wrote a book called 'Holy Misogyny: Why the Sex and Gender Conflicts in the Early Church Still Matter.' I may consult her work in my future paper on Mary Magdalene.

Easter for Atheists

Well, my family's not religious, but I gotta tell ya, we really do Easter. Brunch, an Easter egg hunt (even though my sister and I are well past the cutsie Easter-Sunday-dresses phase), and we usually have other people over as well. Once upon a time, we went to church, but now, as I like to say, we fully embrace the American consumerism and pagan sides of the holiday.

This is generally my justification for still celebrating most of the Christian holidays-- they all have Pagan root, I say, and these Pagan celebrations have a good reason for celebrating. Christmas, for example, is really just the Winter Solstice (fun fact: my family exchanged gifts on the 21st this year, go us) and Easter is right around the Spring (or Vernal) Equinox. Who doesn't want to celebrate the coming of Spring?

Since I didn't actually know exactly what the Vernal Equinox signified (maybe I did, but I've forgotten) I looked it up for all you fine, potentially imaginary readers. The Vernal Equinox signifies the start of Spring, is usually on March 20th or 21st (this year it's the 20th), and is astronomically significant in that the sun is directly over the equator, so that the day and the night are roughly equal. It's a point of inflection, if you will, on this grand sine curve that is our calendar year.

I'll probably post more about Easter for Atheists, including our guest list, Easter egg hunt plans, and menu. Stay tuned!

The Bible History Channel Series Redux

I haven't been watching the History Channel series The Bible, but I have heard a range of reviews. Several of my more religious friends have certainly approved, but some other parties have other opinions.

Huffington Post ran an article about how the Satan character looked awfully familiar. Take a look and decide who it look like...

Personally, I think it looks a lot more like the President than the creator of all evil, but I supposed in some minds, those might be the same thing.

The creators of the show rejected the accusations, but other concerns about racial issues have come up. Most of the cast is European, and characters that are played by people of color tend to be in baser or evil roles. Way to reinforce racial stereotypes, History Channel.

The Science of the Papal Enclave

Science? In the Papal Enclave? Blashphemy! But indeed, it's true. The different colors of smoke produced to signify whether a pope has been elected or not (black for not, white for pope) can be explained purely by using science.

As Chris Mocella, co-author of Chemistry of Pyrotechnics, said in this National Geographic article, there are two ways to make smoke: combustion and vaporization. Either could be responsible for the classic white smoke.

So what is the Vatican's methodology? Probably "metallic zinc dust with elemental sulfur, generating zinc sulfide gas that is a thick off-white cloud of smoke when generated." The black smoke is probably the product of a high carbon combustion (wood) in a low oxygen environment.

New Pope

As it turns out, there was indeed a Pope elected before I posted my last "hilarity" post. Drumroll please... aaaaaand the new Pope is Argentina's Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, who will be known as Pope Francis I.

Here is the complete story.

And here's another funny picture to add to my collection of Papal Enclave memes.

The Papal Conclave: Opportunity for Hilarity

Let's be honest, if it weren't for this class, I probably wouldn't pay much attention to the Papal Enclave. I'm not Catholic, or particularly religious, and so it doesn't matter much to me. I do, however, appreciate the many memes, satirical stories, and jokes that seem to be floating around the internet. Here are some of my favorites.

The Onion also had a satirical article criticizing the outfits of the Cardinals a la Fashion Police. I add an examle below.

Caption Reads: "CARDINAL MARTINEZ'S STYLISTS MUST HAVE TAKEN A DAY OFF, BECAUSE IT'S UNUSUAL FOR THIS HOLY FASHION MAVEN TO MAKE A FAUX PAS. WE'VE SAID IT BEFORE, AND WE'LL SAY IT AGAIN: BUSY EMBROIDERY IS CONCLAVE KRYPTONITE!"

I'll continue adding memes as I find them. Just hoping the conclave lasts!

History Channel--The Bible

History Channel is creating a new 5-part mini series based on Bible stories. The project seems mostly evangelical, telling the stories not from a historical point of view, but from a Bible-as-history point of view.

I have to say, this is yet another blow in a long line of disappointments from the History Channel. First came ancient aliens, now we're just going to present Bible stories as fact? This is another way of appealing to their red-neck, conservative viewer base, instead of trying to further the public's understanding of history.

The series will be promoted on a commercial basis, and has partnered with some of the nation's biggest churches, including Focus on the Family and the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference. The DVD's will come with books and a study guide, which indicates that it is supposed to be an educational tool. Joel Osteen, pastor of a megachurch in Houston, said he believed the mini-series would "reach believers and non-believers alike." Somehow, I have my doubts.

An article about the series can be found here.

Christian School Teachers-- held to a higher standard?

I recently read an article about a private Christian school teacher who was fired for having premarital sex. She was pregnant at the time.

Apparently this is not an uncommon issue. Many teachers are forced to sign contracts at religious schools that condemn premarital sex, and sometimes even extend to drinking in public and homosexuality.

The legal parameters are complicated in these cases. While the teacher might have violated the contract, there is some question as to whether the school fired her because they didn't want to pay her during maternity leave. Besides this, there is an uncomfortable overlap of church and state, where a person's livelihood can legally be deprived for a religious reason. This reminds me of religious objections to providing birth control coverage to employees; where does the power of the state overturn the autonomy of a religious organization?

Religion: En Vogue

Archbishop Georg Ganswein was recently featured on the cover of the Italian Vanity Fair magazine, earning him the nickname "Gorgeous Georg."

I found this really interesting-- this isn't just religion in pop culture, it's traditional religion as pop culture, in which the secretary of the soon-to-retire Pope is hailed for his beauty and his prominence, much like any other celebrity would be. In an increasingly secular world, is this how the Catholic Church will remain relevant? What does this say about the way the world wants to view religion-- as a spectacle?

I'm interested to see how this develops. With the church already in the spotlight because of the papal enclave, many smaller aspects of the church are on display too. This is certainly better than the sex scandals that have shaken the church in recent years, but I wonder how some Catholics react to this secular display of status.