Why, exactly, is this funny? UPDATE

I posted a link to a YouTube video, called "Virgilicious," created by students at Concordia University in Mequon. It features students dancing and prancing around, in the campus church in the chancel, at, and in front of, an altar, etc. to a rap song being sung by a guy dressed in vestments, wearing a crucifix, and engaged in various liturgical acts, such as making the sign of the cross and kissing an icon, and praying at the altar, and standing in the pulpit, even engaging in suggestive behavior with a young woman. The young people in the video were shown writhing on the floor around him, and at the communion rail while he used incense. It was, I'm told, supposed to be funny, a spoof, not intended to be shown to anyone else, a private joke, so I'm told. I saw no humor in it, only disrespect, irreverence and sacrilege.

University officials have sent me an "official statement" about the video. I've posted it following these comments. Based on what the university official communicated to me, I am fully confident that pastoral care of the students will result in genuine repentance and healing forgiveness for this kind of sinful behavior.

I would also hope the university might be led to say something just a bit more than that they are "saddened" and "disappointed" about "poor judgment exhibited" by the video. One would hope that a Lutheran university will speak clear words of rejection and condemnation of this kind of sacrilegious behavior. One can hope that another, more meaningful, statement will be forthcoming soon. 

The incident raises for us any number of important questions and issues. Have we lost all sense of the holy and the sacred? We need, collectively, to ask ourselves why any of us would chuckle over watching a person use sacred space and objects of worship and devotion as "humor." To me it is indicative of just how far we have all been desensitized to the sacred by the constant secularism that bombards us. It seems to me that if we expect others to take seriously the historic liturgy of the Lutheran Church, then we need to take it seriously ourselves.

Of course the students involved should be forgiven, but rather than defend their actions and dismiss the profoundly offensive nature of what they did, and try to explain it away, let's use this occasion as a chance to ask ourselves, "What's wrong with us that we could even think of doing something like this?" It is not "pietistic" or "legalistic" to call this what it is: sinful and irreverent. Just because some right-wing Baptist minister with an axe to grind takes advantage of the situation, and just because a fourth year student "blew the whistle" on this situation in such a wholly inappropriate way, we must not allow the real issue to be covered over and dismissed.

But if, as some are attempting to claim, this video was as inconsequential a situation as the student paper on the campus is trying to portray it, then let the video be put back up on YouTube, and let us all view it and come to our own conclusions. The May 8 issue of the paper contains the editor's assertion: "The video is intrinsically harmless. While it is not exactly the kind of thing we would show our donors and perspective students, the video is an illustration of how students who are serious about worship can have fun." I say let the video be posted for all to see, if in fact, it is as harmless and innocent.

My respectful and earnest suggestion is that people stop defending, excusing or trying to minimize it and just say, "It was terribly, terribly wrong. There is no excuse for it. We are sorry. We've learned a good lesson from this and nothing like this will ever happen again." That's the better way to go here. And then maybe more conversations can be taken up about how or why anything like this happened to begin with.

OFFICIAL STATEMENT
University officials are saddened by the poor judgment exhibited by a number of students in the making of a video posted on YouTube. We are truly disappointed with, and disapprove of, the content of this video. An inquiry into the production and dissemination of this video has been set into motion by the President’s office in connection with the Department of Theology and the office of the Vice President of Student Life. Decisions regarding discipline, counseling, etc. are pending the outcome of this inquiry.

Comments

[monte meyer]

Oh Paul - yes it's over the top - but it was clever.

But I distinctly remember some DQ parties at Fort Wayne, hosted by clergy that are now populating the LCMS, that were also over the top, almost blasphemous - and, at the time - extremely funny.

I also remember the day when people came into Scaer's class, fully vested with an incense burner - to give him a papal bull....

Don't you remember those days?

The difference is - we didn't have the video capability....

McCain: I never attended "Q" parties.

[Rev. Matt Ruesch]

Paul, as a CUW alum I am weeping the tears of an ashamed Falcon. What is Lutheran higher education producing these days?!?

[Pr. Dave Poedel]

Well, they did travel all over Milwaukee to make this thing. The Orthodox Church in the scenes is St. Sava's Serbian Orthodox Cathedral on the south east side (about 2 blocks from where I grew up). I think I also recognize the smaller chapel as one at CUW where I learned Liturgy while in the Diaconate (aka Lay Ministry) Program at CUW. Then, there is the large chapel with its excellent organ, awesome stained glass and premier chancel.Irreverent, part of youth, but not funny. I am amazed they were able to get the chapels that long without being caught....or.....perhaps a class project?

Interesting mix of religious symbols between Orthodox, Roman and Evangelical Catholic.

I hate rap, so I am immediately biased, but I was able to make out most of the lyrics. Disrespectful, yes.

[Rev. Matt Ruesch]

Paul, you have a point--we should pray that these kids will learn from this the inappropriateness of their actions. I'm sure they think it's funny now, but as I've learned from personal experience, things that seem funny in college aren't so funny once you've grown up a bit and the Law of God smacks you across the face. We should especially pray because I assume that this video involves pre-seminary students who may one day be pastors. I think even a pre-sem student represents the office of the Holy Ministry, since it is a vocation in which he desires to serve. This is the time when young men should be learning the value of being "above reproach."

That being said, I am very thankful that I never thought to record video of some of the things I did in college and broadcast them over the internet!

[Rev. Steve Schlund]

I have to go along with Paul on this. I just didn't get it and was offended by it. I, too, don't like rap to begin with, but if it was an attempt to present the Gospel in rap form, I could have at least understood it (still wouldn't have liked it but would have understood it).

I don't find the humor in it and was uncomfortable watching it. To me, it was a blasphemous mocking of many forms of piety. To say that squirting holy water into one's mouth while working out or swinging a censer around while people are flopping around the chancel is merely "over the top" is a gross understatement in my opinion.

The defenses of such behavior also disturb me. The fact that (a)it was clever; (b)others who are now pastors did similar offensive behavior when they were in college; (c)it was well done; etc. don't address the issue of whether it was blasphemous or not. I was also disturbed that a couple of CUW faculty sanctioned this video with their presence in it.

I think this connects with the previous discussion on sanctification. The popular thinking is that anything can be done or justified on the basis of "freedom in the Gospel". Any call to piety will be criticized as being pietistic (a criticism I'm waiting to hear of those who are offended by this video).

[Pr. Martin Diers]

A mosh pit at the altar of God. Pardon me, whoever had the bright idea of making this piece of crap, but this is nothing less than bringing pagan idols into the temple of the Lord, kneeling down before them, and worshiping them! If their purpose was to offend, then congratulations. I am offended!

These people need to be expelled, or at minimum flunked out of the semester.

[jWinters]

Far be it from me to let everyone get riled up about a YouTube video without my coming to the defense of the producers.

First of all - really folks, it doesn't matter if you "like rap" or not. I think it's an odd commentary on what some of you had to say to include that.

Secondly - yeah, it's not appropriate. And having gone to a Concordia, yeah, they'll probably get in a mess of trouble. I really hope none of you ratted them out though.

Third - ok, I'll admit it. I chuckled a little. There were certain things that made me laugh. There were others that made me say, "woah, no way..." It was sort of like watching Borat (and no, I had no idea it was going to be so offensive when I walked in to watch it). It's social commentary about Lutherans. I think the truly sad part about it was that they mixed Lutheran/Orthodox/Catholic. It would have been much better if they would have stuck to one particular denomination.

And since you asked Dr. McCain, here's what is funny about it: Many of us, as Lutherans, uplift our liturgy and the symbols of our faith to a point where other people can't tell if we're reading the liturgy like it's the Bible (and yes, I know it comes from the Bible), and to a point where it looks like we're engaged in Byzantine religiousity with our censers and icons. This video makes fun of that.

Perhaps the thing to do would be to put together a video that made fun of people without such items in their worship. I would probably laugh at that too.

Lastly, some very wise words from an old English teacher of mine: "You start becoming a fantatic when you start refusing to laugh at things."

[Rev. Al Bergstrazer]

Someone obviously got a clue, the video was removed from You Tube.

[Christine]

Please count me in the "fanatical" camp as well, Pastor McCain. This video speaks volumes about the dumbing down of our culture, spiritual and secular. As was said in the early Church, "Holy gifts for God's holy people." As far as I'm concerned that includes the liturgy, which I cherish.

[John]

Let me answer this question with another question. I've seen this video several times, even in its original form as it was posted on a MySpace page where it contained a disclaimer that may be worth noting. Disclaimer aside, I can certainly see why many Lutherans are upset about this. I think it's safe to say that these students are guilty of gross irreverence, and that wherever the line is, they crossed it. I certainly pray that they may all grow out of whatever phase they are in, and that Concordia may more effectively deter this sort of behavior from now on.

I must say however that I am also disturbed by the extreme reaction I've seen from this video. As I said, I've been following it from the beginning, and I keep seeing the word "Blasphemy" being tossed about. I've watched the video several times looking for this blasphemy, but I've yet to find it. It may be ignorance on my part, being but a layman, but I'm certain that blasphemy entails claiming divinity or denying that of the Holy Trinity. As I said, the video is grossly irreverent, but irreverence and blasphemy are two separate things. It seems to me that many people simply label things as blasphemous that they find offensive or don't like.

So my question is this: I beg to stand corrected, so can someone please explain to me, from Scripture, exactly how this video is "blasphemous?" I'm not looking to read about the parts you don't like along with simple assertions that "this is blasphemous." We've already got enough of those: calling something blasphemy doesn't make it blasphemy. It's a pretty serious charge, so I would like to hear some reasoning behind it.

[McCain: I would think that kissing a picture of Christ, in jest, or pretending to pray, in jest, is blasphemy.]

[GK]

Because all I have to say has been said, re: the video, except I would say it more strongly (which is why I probably shouldn't write anything), I want to comment on the university's response.

This is typical language from a legal entity. Until they talk to the people who did it they would be legally unwise to make any stronger statement than that. I would hope that a swift, decisive, public response would be made, and I don't see any reason to disbelieve on the basis of the comment. However, I don't really think the response will be strong enough because our synod seems to be under the impression that denying Christ and the Gospel is a private affair of the heart at worst...

[Matthew J. Surburg]

The answer to Pastor McCain's original question (Why is this (considered) funny?) lies in what it is: a spoof. Has anyone seen the video to “Fergalicious” by “Fergie”? This is what they are making fun of. For those that haven’t seen it, you needn’t go out of your way to do so: let it suffice to say that the last time someone gave a performance as lascivious as that, John the Baptist lost his head. Now, I may be working too hard to put the best construction on everything, but when I saw someone parodying such a contemptible display, yes, I thought it was funny (initially). I think we are all here agreed that what these students did was, politely put, well outside the bounds of good taste, and to parody one contemptible display with another hasn’t really accomplished anything – the longer it went, the less funny it became, until in the end it was just sad. I would that they had put more thought into their execution, though, because they actually were onto something.

The image of students rolling around on the floor of the chancel in front of the altar was reprehensible. Their point, though, (as I saw it) was that you see similar images in rap videos and hey, if it looks silly here, it looks just as silly when hip-hop “artists” do it in their Hollywood studios. The image of a student in robes in a pulpit aping rap gestures with an enormous crucifix around his neck was likewise shameful. The point (again, to me) was that it highlighted just how ludicrous “bling” is, as well as the fact that those wearing it usually include a cross without any notion of what they are wearing.

Without offering any defense of all that was offensive, the nugget hidden amidst all the dross was its mockery of hip-hop; that was what was, or at least had the potential to be, funny.

[organshoes]

I love that fallback position: call the outraged 'fanatics' and their reaction 'extreme'.
If it's such a good idea, such a harmless idea, just a bit loaded with 'parts you don't like', why not devote a Sunday school lesson to it?
Present it to the Bible class or to church elders, or at the next lock-in for the youth.
Promote rap video-making for Bible school. Ask Pastor's permission, of course, for use of the sanctuary and his vestments. (If he refuses, suggest he might have to get over himself/lighten up/use more caution in the terms he throws at you and your idea.)
To scold the outraged over denouncing the video is way troublesome.

[Rev. Dean M. Bell]

This evening is the first I have known about this episode. For a few more months I am still a member of the Board of Regents. We meet Thursday and Friday, and I will be asking questions if this matter is not addressed by President Ferry on his own.

[Erich Heidenreich]

Pr. McCain,

I saw the video via your link prior to its being removed from YouTube. You can put me down as a "fanatic" also. We MUST condemn this type of activity and not defend it as some kind of freedom of speech that just got out of hand. These students should have been expelled immediately, and their pastors should be counseling them to see if the further action of excommunication is necessary.

My first response to things like this, given the depressing state of affairs in our synod, is usually "I'm outta here!" However, then I remind myself of the perversions which existed in the church in Luther's time before he was excommunicated. He wouldn't jump ship over any of the things we are dealing with today. But he surely wouldn't be quiet or dismissive of these things either! No one on this thread has yet reached the level of outrage that the Reverend Father Luther would have expressed. I'd love to hear what he'd say!!!

Our synod is not only going down a path of destruction; it has already gone far down that path -- possibly to a point of no return.

Come, Lord Jesus, come!

[Patrick Kyle]

Oh come on, are we becoming the ranks of the professionally offended? Have we become a bunch of self righteous school marms,'tortured in our righteous souls' over what is clearly no more than youthful recklessness and indiscretion? Was the video in bad taste? Yes. Did the people involved show a lack of wisdom? Yes. Should they be disciplined? Yes. Should they be expelled and have their education and careers ruined? NO! That is foolishness. Thank God the people in charge of my education and later the Pastors whose care I was under had the wisdom to deal with the indiscretions of my youth without ruining my education or my faith. This uptight, overly serious reaction points to a real lack of grace and love. Though being professionally offended makes for great blogging, I really question its value in eliciting true repentance and restoration of the parties involved. Sometimes I think we Lutherans take ourselves too seriously.

[Rev. Steve Schlund]

To the person who wondered why so many people (myself included) admitted not liking rap to begin with, the answer is quite simple. I said it to indicate that I already had an inherent bias against rap. In other words, I was being upfront and admitting that I was predisposed to NOT liking this video even before even considering the content. I think its good to admit one's biases upfront so that the accusation "well, you just don't like/understand rap music" would not distract us from a discussion of the content of the video. I am saying, "Yes, I know I don't like rap, but let's move on beyond that and talk about the content."

Regarding the comment that "blasphemy" only regards a denial of the Holy Trinity, the Lutheran Cyclopedia gives this definition, "Speech, thought, writing, or action manifesting irreverence toward God or anything sacred." Granted, it's not a complete exegesis of the Biblical term, but its interesting with regards to the present discussion.

[Erich Heidenreich]

Without serious consequences for things like this, schools naturally degenerate. That's why we're in the mess we are today. People do things like this because they know they can get away with it.

There should be a code of conduct in our Concordia Universities, and the violation of that code should include expulsion for such conduct as this. The example of students getting away with something like this with anything less than expulsion is just asking for the next person to see how far he can go beyond this.

As a primary/secondary school founder and president I am not speaking from lack of knowledge and experience in such matters. Discipline requires tough measures, especially in this age when parents don't provide such measures themselves. This was not a momentary lack of judgment, for which I often recommend leniency. This was a well planned and executed stunt.

As for excommunication, how can you say: "certainly not?" Do you know the spiritual condition of these students? Do you know if they are repentant? It seems to me that their actions may well indicate a serious spiritual problem. If their actions are unrepentant, then such actions are unrepentant sin and would best be dealt with by at least the minor ban. Again, I said: "their pastors should be counseling them to see if the further action of excommunication is necessary."

Erich Heidenreich, DDS

[Tim the Enchanter]

I had planned on taking my confessional straight-A high schooler over to Wisconsin to look or perhaps glance at Mequon, to see if there is any reason to even consider a school in the Concordia system. We looked at the deaconness program at River Forest and the University of Chicago last November.

Now I don't even want to waste the gas money. I would rather keep her here in Hillsdale where she can get an excellent Liberal Arts education without the pretense of Lutheran orthodoxy.

God have mercy upon the LCMS.

Rob Olson
Hillsdale

[Erich Heidenreich, DDS]

Fred,

Please understand, what I am advocating first and foremost is a much-needed return to proper "left-hand kingdom" order in our Lutheran educational institutions. These actions were very public and require strong public action so that order may be maintained. Otherwise the door is left open for the next guy to see just how much farther he can go and still be tolerated.

As for the spiritual care of these young people, I'm not doing any "long-distance and self-righteous musing." I'm also not recommending stoning these students. I'm recommending loving discipline which may put them back on the right path. I simply suggested that "their pastors should be counseling them to see if the further action of excommunication is necessary."

Strong right- and left-hand kingdom discipline are both loving tools when used rightly -- and loving not only to those they are exercised directly upon. As Rob Olson's comment above reveals all too clearly, these actions have consequences for more than just the individuals who committed them.

Where can a Lutheran parent feel confident today in sending their child(ren) for a truly Lutheran secondary education in a disciplined and reverent environment where fools like this aren't tolerated? Pray tell.

Erich

[Valkyrie]

From the standpoint of a Lutheran layperson who has suffered for years under the shallow, 12 minute devotional sermons offered by Lutheran pastoral hirelings these days, I have to say that this video confirms what many of us have suspected for a long time. There are far too many pastors in the pulpit today who do not possess the faintest clue of what it means to hold the Office of the Holy Ministry. There has been a marked decline in the quality and piety of pastors in the last 30 years and it is growing worse all the time. When you compare the Lutheran preaching of the distant past with what passes for "preaching" today, it is downright alarming. The fire and biblical authority of the old time pastors, preaching the Word has been replaced with video clips from popular movies, to make the sermon "relevant", constant references to Hollywood and the world's entertainment as sermon illustrations, and redundant, inane and shallow sermons that most lay people could write with half their brain tied behind their backs. My kids call these kind of pastors we have experienced, "bearded ladies". All dressed up and nothing to say. Sadly, my kids are too close to the truth. The lack of virility and muscular piety in preaching is the result of a spiritual declension that can be seen in the fruit of the lives of the kids at Concordia in the video that was posted to the world. The doctrine of sanctification seems to be completely forgotten today in our Lutheran seminaries and churches. Scripture's injunction in Ephesians to not engage in coarse jesting, foolishness and filthiness was completely and utterly disobeyed in the video the students made. Dr. Maschke showed the video twice in his classes until he was called on the carpet. I fear for the future of this denomination, half of which has sold its soul for man-centered church growth initiatives, the other half far gone on life support in an environment of dead orthodoxy. Neither is the what God intended. Time for another Reformation.

[Sir Topum Hat]

I fail to see why such a big fuss is made over this video. First of all, it was originally called out by a Baptist microchurch “pastor” who would probably love nothing more than to see a sacramental church be wiped off the face of the earth. And you fell into the trap of following this up. Secondly, there is nothing “blasphemous” about this video. In the Bible, blasphemy is speaking ill about God, or pretending to be Him. In this situation, it appears to me that we are poking fun at the traditions of men. Is there a single line in the video where the name of God is spoken against?
It’s more disgusting to see such a vitriolic reaction where someone’s character is being judged on the basis of an inside joke which very few of you even get because you don’t even know who Fergie is. The real reason the LCMS is in such disarray is that you fight to protect the stupid little symbols of your religion much more than you worry about obeying the Word of God as it is written in the Scriptures as a witness to the graciousness of the Gospel. If you had only read Walther’s Law and Gospel maybe you’d understand how to do what God has called you to do.

[Rev. Matthew Thompson]

We need to learn again the lesson of Nadab and Abihu: "You are to distinguish between the holy and the common."
_____

Now Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, each took his censer and put fire in it and laid incense on it and offered unauthorized fire before the Lord, which he had not commanded them. And fire came out from before the Lord and consumed them, and they died before the Lord. Then Moses said to Aaron, “This is what the Lord has said, ‘Among those who are near me I will be sanctified, and before all the people I will be glorified.’ ” And Aaron held his peace. And Moses called Mishael and Elzaphan, the sons of Uzziel the uncle of Aaron, and said to them, “Come near; carry your brothers away from the front of the sanctuary and out of the camp.” So they came near and carried them in their coats out of the camp, as Moses had said. And Moses said to Aaron and to Eleazar and Ithamar his sons, “Do not let the hair of your heads hang loose, and do not tear your clothes, lest you die, and wrath come upon all the congregation; but let your brothers, the whole house of Israel, bewail the burning that the Lord has kindled. And do not go outside the entrance of the tent of meeting, lest you die, for the anointing oil of the Lord is upon you.” And they did according to the word of Moses. And the Lord spoke to Aaron, saying, “Drink no wine or strong drink, you or your sons with you, when you go into the tent of meeting, lest you die. It shall be a statute forever throughout your generations. You are to distinguish between the holy and the common, and between the unclean and the clean, and you are to teach the people of Israel all the statutes that the Lord has spoken to them by Moses.”

The Holy Bible : English standard version. 2001 (Le 10:1-11). Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.

[Patrick Kyle]

Oh No!!! Now the school where these students attended is a 'suspect institution'(According to Mr. Olsen) and these kids' parents haven't provided discipline.(so says Dr. Heidenreich) How do you people know this for certain? Do you know the families involved? Have you talked to faculty or staff at the school? Have you inquired of any alumni from Concordia Mequon as to the state of things on campus? Do you know anything about the kids that did this other than what you have seen on the web? This kind of self righteous attitude is also a sin and in my experience is far less likely to be repented of than making a stupid video or some other youthful folly. In fact this kind of judgementalism is often condoned and nurtured in churches. Lord have mercy on us all.

[Erich Heidenreich, DDS]

Mr. Kyle,

You have misrepresented my statements. I did not claim to know whether or not these kids' parents have provided proper discipline prior to these events. You are taking general statements I made and turning them into specific statements I have NOT.

What I said is that it is even more necessary today that educational institutions provide discipline because many parents are not disciplining their own. If more parents disciplined as they should, schools would have much less difficulty maintaining discipline. I'm very sorry if I left it unclear to you that I was not speaking specifically of the parents of these students when I made those statements, of whom you are correct that I have no personal knowledge.

However, if I were the parent of one of the students who instigated this blasphemy, I would be pulling my own child out of school and bringing him home for some serious discipline until he proves himself mature enough to go back out into the world of men. In fact, now that you've brought it up, I do wonder what the parents of "Virgilicious" are planning to do about their own child. It would, indeed, be interesting to hear their take on this.

As for Mr. Olson's comments, I happen to know that he is not basing his opinion on simply one isolated factoid as you imply. He is one of my best friends, and his has been investigating his children's options VERY carefully.

Those who call us "judgmental" are simply playing the silly Bible-believing-liberal "judge not lest you be judged" get-out-of-jail-free card. Yes, Jesus forgives the sins of all, but He who said "You who is without sin cast the first stone" is the same Jesus who made whips and drove the money changers out of the Temple.

Am I a sinner too? You betcha! But please do not ever speak of my sins lightly like you are of the sins of these students. And if I do not repent, please withhold forgiveness in an attempt to bring me to repentance. I'm sure everything I've thought and said on this issue is tainted with sin in some way. However, I do not as yet see where anything I've actually written can be shown in and of itself to be sinfully judgmental or unloving if understood in the way I meant it.

With regard to order and discipline in our Lutheran schools, universities, and seminaries, we must hold the standards high. In that regard we are talking only about the left-hand kingdom, keeping things orderly and reverent so that learning may occur in the proper environment. Do not confuse the kingdoms and think we must "forgive and forget" everything that happens in an institution of education.

There must be rules and rules must be enforced if we are to have institutions with integrity. Spiritual care of the individual must be left to the individual's pastor, but the question of repentance and forgiveness shouldn't stop an institution from taking whatever disciplinary action is required to maintain order.

No sin is beyond forgiveness, but all sin has temporal consequences. All three uses of the law have their proper role to play with regard to this issue. The antinomian leanings of many in our synod seem to be showing themselves -- and painfully so.

Erich

[jWinters]

Beyond the scope of the argument. Brothers and sisters in Christ, we may certainly agree and disagree with one another on topics such as if this is blasphemy or not and what should be done. It is good for us to discuss what blasphemy actually is and what it isn't.

This was a sin. Confession needs to happen. Repentance needs to happen. Forgiveness WILL happen. Reproving with gentleness needs to happen. That is how this should be dealt with amongst the students who caused the offense.

For us who posted here, perhaps it would be better for us to pray for these students and their families before we post too much more. Perhaps we should imagine how these students and their families feel. I'm sure there is a great deal of shame and a great burden upon their hearts. Especially for the students who have been shown their error, I am sure that they are horrified when they see how they have broken the 2nd commandment - even if they didn't intentionally mean to do so.

When we do that, let's gather our thoughts and talk about what blasphemy looks like in the 21st century.

[Joanne]

To Symbolon tees Pisteos. The creeds and the confessions are symbols are they not? I don't think the symbols of our faith are up for grabs. We shouldn't let dogs gnaw on crucifixes ; monkeys swing censers ; rats eat communion wafers, etc. Because we are humans we are able to understand what a symbol is and how to use it. The symbols of our faith are not available for parody, if not for the respect due a symbol, at least for the avoidance of confusion. How is the whole world to know whether the publishers of this film were properly separating the symbols from the symbolized, and then carefully playing only with the symbols. It was an inside joke heard round the world. A playful prank published globally.

A theraputic exercise to make one less sensitive to using more or less Christian symbols, is perhaps a viable video class project. Virgil needed to feel more comfortable using lots of symbols. Virgil's friends needed to feel more comfortable about Virgil using more symbols. I get it. Misdirection of discomfort through hyperbolic parody. I get it. Films are often used in therapy. But it was just dumb to share that with the whole planet.

Oh, Virgil. SouthPark calling. They want to pay you to dis Christianity.

[wmcwirla]

I agree with Joanne's cogent semeiotic analysis. This little episode suffers from the hyperamplification of the internet, which will make mountains out of any mole hill. We easily forget that our little joke has been globally distributed and taken on a life of its own.

My initial reaction: Our Mequon students seem to have way too much time on their hands. I don't recall that much free time in college, much less graduate school.

This was a sophomoric attempt at religious satire, which is always a dangerous exercise, seldom pulled off well. Monty Python did it the best, in my opinion, though some would argue that "Life of Brian" crossed the line.

[Chris Rosebrough]

I saw the video and I was saddened by it because I don't like to see the sacred secularized like that.

Unfortunately, these students found themselves caught in the middle of larger debate that we 'grown ups' have been fighting about for a long time.

I believe these students when they say that the video was intended for a 'private' audience. They never imagined that their amatuer production would get snatched up and held out as evidence of the national 'state of affairs' regarding the corruption of the sacred.

I think that these kids were trying to be funny but their subject for their humor reveals a deeper problem.

Let me put it in the form of a question.

Are we as pastors and teachers and parents properly instilling a sense of the sacred and holy in our children? [McCain response: Breaking my new-found policy of not commenting on comments, in the comments...I must say, "YES!" This is the most important lesson I'm taking away from this and I'm going to redouble my efforts with my own children. Thank you for this point, well said].

So many of our churches have gone the way of the seeker-sensitive and entertainment service. Many of these services are as offensive and inappropriate as the video we saw.

We can't expect these children to fight this battle for us nor should we hold them responsible for our own failings when it comes to training our young to be reverent when in the house of the Lord.

[wmcwirla]

I think Chris is on to the deeper diagnosis - our sterilized, entertainment-oriented, culture-embracing version of Christianity, devoid of symbol, rite, and history, lends easily to this kind of thing. One can argue, "I wasn't blaspheming Jesus, I was just making fun of His picture."

If you doubt that symbols have value, try this little exercise: Burn a US flag at the entrance of Camp Pendleton. We'll try to identify the body from the dental records.

[Matt]

I think that the coverage of this fiaso, especially on the Christian Research Network website is probably less holy than the video itself. The articles are filled with false assumptions and sterotypes that lead many from the true goings on. If you ask me, this video was unacceptable behavior, but harmless, and the students involved have been forced to step down from their positions in campus ministry at CUW. Where is the forgiveness for youthful bad judgement?

[organshoes]

Forgiveness does not abrogate consequences.
'Unacceptable... but harmless': No harm intended does not automatically equal no harm done.

[Concerned]

How come the apology from the University only focuses on the students involved? Wasn't the campus pastor in the video and the director of the pre-sem dept? [[McCain response: Are you sure you are reading the statement correctly? The apology was from both students and faculty members involved, and was clear, forthright and sincere.]]

[TB]

As a CSP alum (2005) I am not surprised by this behavior. I have to say that CUW is a little behind CSP in this develpment. These kinds of things are exactly what our ministry professors promoted and still promote. What is more shocking is the total embrace of postmodernism and the emerging church not to mention Rick Warren's 12-step program known as purpose driven ministry (his book was the main book of several courses). I could've gone to Baylor and found better spiritual life on campus.

[Jen]

Wow! I'm amazed at variety of comments I have read on this topic. The students made a mistake. No one can deny that, but to try and say that all CUW students behave in that manner isn't fair either. I don't know the students involved but knowing how CUW students tend to be, my guess would be that this behavior wasn't even indicative of their normal behavior. CUW students work hard. I worked two part-time jobs, took a full course load, and participated in extra-curricular activities and still had a teeny, tiny amount of free time where I could have made a stupid video (that would have been when I was scheduled to sleep.) I didn't, but they did. They made a poor choice. Can't we try to educate them about the errors and work on forgiving them? Can't we look at this as the actions of a few and not the many?

[organshoes]

'Can't we try to educate them about the errors and work on forgiving them?' I believe, Jen, that is the exact denoument of this episode. In addition, participants have apologized.

'Can't we look at this as the actions of a few and not the many?' Who did otherwise, or expressed such a view?

Perhaps it's a a good that the video was made public; otherwise, their error might not have been called to their attention, and might never have appeared so grievous to its perpetrators.