I really like this article. John Ross is a guy I've met, but I really don't know him well. He has a unique comic approach with his stand-up that I think is incredibly funny. What I like about this article is that Becca Costello lets John's distancing himself from Christianity to be mainly told through John's own words--and his words allow for the ambiguity of his journey. I could be reading it wrong, and I'm sensitive to how articles rarely quote people accurately, but that's my take.
Also, and perhaps more of a discussion starter, is that the things John Ross seems to be distancing himself from in terms of the Christian religion are not the kinds of things I've ever found prominent in the Christian communities I've been a part of. He references constant guilt, a culture of sweeping problems under the rug with the idea that "I'm healed," and also, importantly, not being able to poke fun of your own religion. Those definitely seem to me to be more in the category of sub-cultural baggage of the American religious version of Christianity.
I hope I'm not reading too far into things...all I have to go on is what the article says. Regardless, I find it an intriguing thing to ponder & discuss. What do you think?
I love the closing quote:
“My prayer is, ‘Hey, God. Hey, universe. If you want to say something to me, say it in a way that I understand it. I’m open to it, but I’m kind of done figuring out what language you speak.’”
Ross stretched out his arms and raised his eyes to the ceiling. “What?” he asked the heavens. “What?”
No comments:
Post a Comment