Christian Art: Jon McNaughton

Before I feature the work of Jon McNaughton, I feel like I have to talk about nationalism. I always try to keep politics at bay, but politics are subtle. For instance, I label the work of Jon McNaughton under nationalism, next to Christianity. That is already a statement. I am not sure if many people would consider his work nationalist. I'm not even sure if he himself would consider it that. Patriotic at best perhaps. To me though, these works with American political figures so prominently featured seem explicitly nationalist where it in fact aims to link national myths and symbols with the broader Christian narrative. Moreover, in line with the definition of religion I choose to use for the context of this blog, I'd consider nationalism a form of it. Nationalism on an abstract level as a religious phenomenon is interesting in its own right but American nationalism specifically and the way it is interwoven with religious ideas is especially of interest to me. The work of Jon McNaughton illustrates very well the fusion of nationalism and Christianity, where George Washington and Abraham Lincoln are being portrayed almost as prophets and Christ could be also interpreted as a political founder. I can see ideas of Will Herberg also being illustrated here, where he supposes that respect for the American Way of Life is something that religions in the United States have in common. There is much more to be said about all of this, American nationalism is quite something, but first let us marvel at the works of McNaughton!

 "One Nation Under God"

"Peace Is Coming"

"The Forgotten Man"

"Via Dolorosa"

Website: http://www.mcnaughtonart.com/

Angel Hush A Bye

Dieting With Jesus

Food and faith are a favorite pair. Besides edible expressions of devotion, dietary laws and religion seem to get along fine too. This beyond the point of Halal and Kosher food where the dietary craze of modern times seems to have found an ally in religion.

This will be the first of many entries on the subject. The one I feature here actually sort of goes against the style of this blog because it clearly is a parody, of both Christ and diet, but it's a nice one to open the gates with. I liked the title especially.

This magnet set can be ordered from the BlueQ website.

My Mother's Bible

My Mother's Bible
by Charles Davis Tillman

There’s a dear and precious Book,
Though it’s worn and faded now,
Which recalls those happy days of long ago,
When I stood at mother’s knee,
With her hand upon my brow,
And I heard her voice in gentle tones and low.

Blessèd Book, precious Book,
On thy dear old tear stained leaves I love to look;
Thou art sweeter day by day, as I walk the narrow way
That leads at last to that bright home above.

As she read the stories o’er
Of those mighty men of old,
Of Joseph and of Daniel and their trials,
Of little David bold,
Who became a king at last,
Of Satan and his many wicked wiles.

Blessèd Book, precious Book,
On thy dear old tear stained leaves I love to look;
Thou art sweeter day by day, as I walk the narrow way
That leads at last to that bright home above.

Then she read of Jesus’ love,
As He blessed the children dear,
How He suffered, bled and died upon the tree;
Of His heavy load of care,
Then she dried my flowing tears
With her kisses as she said it was for me.

Blessèd Book, precious Book,
On thy dear old tear stained leaves I love to look;
Thou art sweeter day by day, as I walk the narrow way
That leads at last to that bright home above.

Lego: Amy Hughes' Abston Church of Christ

Today I am very pleased to write about this. A lot of people seem to have made it their lives work to make sacred buildings out of Lego. The first such buildings I'd would like to mention is Amy Hughes' Abston Church of Christ.

The builder also decided it was a good idea to make pictures of her cats in the giant church she built out of Lego. Life can be good.

The genius that built all this is called Amy Hughes and the website can be found here: http://www.amyhughes.org/lego/church/

There is more. Much more. But this specific example was so impressive that in stead of writing about sacred buildings made out of Lego in general, I decided to keep it at just this one specifically. Soon enough I'll write more about the other amazing buildings.

Bible and Roses

Goddess Art

Billy Graham

Since whenever I look at which blog entries are most popular Mr. Graham here is never absent from the top 10, I thought I'd honor him with a few words to accompany his marvelous pictures below. The thing is, this man has seen it all. One of the very first radio broadcast microphones was in front of his nose and now the man has a Facebook page. He's been around the block. And he was everywhere! Youth for Christ, he made it happen. A US President needed someone to whisper sweet words in his ear? Graham was his man! Think of this man what you will, you can't deny his central religious and perhaps even cultural presence in the United States. Most known for his wild revival talks perhaps though, in the best of tradition ever since Whitefield through Finney and Sunday. The modern-day face of evangelical Christianity. I especially love that first picture, even though fire isn't coming from his mouth too much on that one. But it's that innocent confidence, that good spirit... that made this country so great! Oh no wait, I'm in another country.

Present-day Graham. Still going strong. Well... still going anyway.

The Secret

The Secret is a book written by Rhonda Byrne, published in 2006. The book description on Amazon is very much the perfect (self help) salespitch:

"Fragments of a Great Secret have been found in the oral traditions, in literature, in religions and philosophies throughout the centuries. For the first time, all the pieces of The Secret come together in an incredible revelation that will be life-transforming for all who experience it. In this book, you'll learn how to use The Secret in every aspect of your life -- money, health, relationships, happiness, and in every interaction you have in the world. You'll begin to understand the hidden, untapped power that's within you, and this revelation can bring joy to every aspect of your life. The Secret contains wisdom from modern-day teachers -- men and women who have used it to achieve health, wealth, and happiness. By applying the knowledge of The Secret, they bring to light compelling stories of eradicating disease, acquiring massive wealth, overcoming obstacles, and achieving what many would regard as impossible."

Doesn't tell you much about what the Secret is supposed to be though, does it? Bloody marketing techniques! From what I understand, the Secret is supposed to be about the idea that if you really want something it will come true. That sounds a bit obvious, but it has some more religious connotations. I believe it puts emphasis on imagination for example. If you can imagine yourself be rich and famous, that will bring the realization of it closer. Something along the lines of a Law of Attraction that will see to the actualization of the way you imagine things to be. This is how the manipulation of the physical world is thought to be possible. It seems to draw heavily from diverse currents in what is known as Western esoteric traditions. It might also be considered to be sympathetic to certain mainstream American ideas.

It is also turned into a movie and the trailer is just fantastic. It suggests a whole lot more myth than I was aware of in fact. Who doesn't love a good whoosh wham bam flashy montage video with arbitrary "great men" being stuffed an opinion down their throat while some Carl Orff knockoff music is playing in the background?

Hunky Jesus Contest

An annual Easter contest at Dolores Park, San Francisco organized by the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence. This is footage from the 2011 edition.

Hanukkah Hat

Jesus was a...

What I think is interesting is that Jesus seems to have been a lot of things. I've read things like Jesus was a vegetarian, Jesus was gay, Jesus was a woman, etc. Jesus seems to have been a lot of things, but above anything he seems to have been and still is a favorite political tool. It also calls into question if anyone is able to say anything with certainty about this figure on a more theological level, since the judgments that are given in all sincerity not only differ but also occasionally seem to contradict each other radically. In contrast, I also tend to laugh when yet another study is being published about "who Jesus really was". I think we will really see those types of studies as long as the figure is of any interest to a large enough group to make the sales fly. For the moment it seems he can be anything and everything. I'll include a snapshot of some of the prime results you get when you enter "Jesus was a" on Google to better illustrate all of this.

Christian Art: Danny Hahlbohm

"Arms of an Angel"

 "Home at Last"

 "Precious Ones"

"Seek my face"

"Power of prayer"

Website: http://www.inspired-art.com

Guardian Angel on the Perilous Bridge

Self Help Literature

Heaven's Gate

This video makes me think about a lot of things but above all I wonder if "Do" was able to blink. I posted this a day before I write this and figured that I didn't do this post justice without saying something about the background of Heaven's Gate. It was known as a new religious movement in the nineties or more commonly as a new age/ufo cult. When the Hale Bopp comet was spotted in space during that decade the leader of the religious group figured that that in fact was an alien spacecraft that would come to pick up those who were ready for this transition to the next level of existence. In order to make that transition however the old "vessel" had to be disposed of, that vessel being the human body. A mass suicide was conducted in 1997. They made several tapes before doing this to document their story.

I was actually looking for the Heaven's Gate exit statement video, but I couldn't find it anymore. If you do have a link, please share!

Armor of God PJs

Family Bible

A part of Colleen McDannell's book Material Christianity deals with the Family Bible. From what I gather, this book is meant for a lot of purposes, but not for the purpose of being read. It is big. Huge in fact. People store things in it, like money or dried fauna for instance, write the family tree in the appendix in the back, read about all the animals mentioned in the Bible in a biological appendix, but the book is too big to really sit down and comfortably read. This is not a custom I am familiar with but I'd like to see one of these big boys in the flesh (or should I say in the paper?).

Mormon art

 Joseph Smith in Liberty Jail

 The First Vision

 Moroni Appears to Joseph Smith in His Room

 

Elijah Appearing in the Kirtland Temple

http://lds.org