Friday, November 19, 2004
When Religion Comes to Michiana
I know that this Presidential election has left a legion of scared and bitter reality-based voters and gleeful “faith-based” campers. So I’m happy to report that I have found a way to bring us all together. And that would be religion. You might think that this has been a great divider in human history, but as practiced here in Michiana, there as many types of religious experience to be had as there are colors in a J. Crew catalog.
I had, for instance, two very different religious encounters recently. The first came courtesy of a friend who brought me the first season of “The Ali G Show.” Let me be the first to note that Mr. Ali G is not going to be everyone’s cup of tea. He is intentionally offensive, but out of his weird get-up and even weirder use of the Queen’s English, comes some very, very funny skits about our country. I was in tears for a good part of the show, especially when he got Dick Thorenberg, the former Attorney General, to explain what is legal, what is illegal, and what is barely legal. Perhaps this sendup is the reason Harvard asked him to give its commencement speech last year. Now, the skit that dealt with religion had Ali G gather together a priest, a minister, and a rabbi and then ask them a series of ever-more ridiculous questions about religion. Try to imagine this crazy and purposefully stupid guy, dressed in a wild quilt-patch of hip-hop clothing, speaking a language that he seems to be making up as the show progresses, and yet looking deeply earnest as he baits these unsuspecting clerics about the meaning of their faith. The poor old priest, who at first seems dumbstruck by the questions he’s asked to respond to, by the end would clearly like to strangle Ali G, especially after the comedian keeps confusing—intentionally of course—Jesus Christ with Santa Claus. This video would make a great stocking stuffer for the alienated teenager in your midst.
A week after watching Ali G, I had a whole different type of religious experience when I went to a Prophecy Seminar Series at the St. Joe County Fair. My same friend came along because he had once been steeped in the world of evangelical faith and he wanted to see what was going on since he left the flock. (The fact that he is now a philosopher should give you an idea of how far he’s fallen off the wagon). Anyway, off we went to watch a traveling minister tell us about the end of the world, or “end times” in the parlance of his speech. Every few minutes the minister would stop discussing where the devil came from or how to identify a cult and extol how everyone should purchase cassette tapes of his sermons. At first I was touched by his favoring of this retro recording medium, and then when he spoke about his preference for Mac machines I felt that he was a man adept at throwing technological curve balls. He even got me smiling when he declared, “rest assured that God loves those of you who use a PC.” As a Southerner he seemed at a bit perplexed by the taciturn nature of us Hoosiers; we initially resisted his call and response method. But over time he found his rhythm, loosened up the crowd, and eventually became the classic fast-talking, Bible-thumping preacher explaining and exhorting all. I confess that his method did not comfort me. Instead, I found it to be a deeply depressing affair that had all of the spontaneity of waiting in line to pay one’s taxes at City Hall. His analysis of the Bible struck me as just as heavy-handed as Ali G’s, so I occupied my time by looking at the hundreds of other people who came out this night. I saw people who were not wealthy, who were clearly tired after a long day of work, and yet were there jiggling their newborns on their laps because they were looking for answers to some of life’s larger questions.
Although he spent a fair amount of time discussing the Book of Revelations in a PowerPoint format, he returned, time and time again, to getting people to buy his cassette tapes. In a way, then, he demonstrated that no matter one’s religious orientation the solution is the same: you can go to Best Buy and pick up a video of Ali G, or go to a county fair and pick up a cassette of an evangelical sermon. The choice is yours. Is this a great country or what?
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A random selection from more than 300 Michiana Chronicles -- refresh the browser to see another set:
Joe Chaney -- More essays by Joe
Louise Collins -- More essays by Louise
April Lidinsky -- More essays by April
Jonathan Nashel -- When Religion Comes to Michiana / More essays by Jonathan
Jeff Nixa -- More essays by Jeff
Ken Smith -- More essays by Ken
Jeanette Saddler Taylor -- More essays by Jeanette
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About the series
Michiana Chronicles is a series of radio essays by Jonathan Nashel, Louise Collins, Joe Chaney, Jeanette Saddler Taylor, Jeff Nixa, April Lidinsky, and Ken Smith.
Michiana is the region of north-central Indiana and southern Michigan roughly centered on South Bend, Indiana.
Michiana Chronicles airs on Fridays at 7:35 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. on WVPE (88.1 FM), the home of public radio in Elkhart / South Bend, Indiana.
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