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- The Word on the Street. -
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Thursday, May 18, 2006
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First off, nothing. No light, no time, no substance, no matter. Second off, God starts it all up and WHAP! Stuff everywhere! The cosmos in chaos: no shape, no form, no function– just darkness ... total. And floating above it all, God’s Holy Spirit, ready to play. Day one: Then God’s voice booms out, ‘Lights!’ and, from nowhere, light floods the skies and ‘night’ is swept off the scene.
Genesis 1:1-3
An Orlando friend recently introduced me to something rather interresting. She was in Borders, in the Spirituality section (like any good Christian) and came across "the word on the street." Initially I thought this was absolutly awful- like "The Message" wasn't bad enough...(thats a joke. kinda.) I was all excited to get home to Shaun - "Can you believe this crap???" But if the Campbell Religion Department has taught me anything its to do a little research before taking a side.
The book's author, Rob Lacey(actor/storyteller), specialized in theatrical storytelling and performance poetry. He was best known for bring Bible stories to the stage. His one man show, and later 3 person show performed by his theatre company attracted the attention of CNN, BBC, Fox News and USA Today. He also turned an old church to a theatre/dance studio/art gallery.
word on the street is not claiming to be a translation. Its based on Lacey's performances. He condenses the Bible to less than 500 pages and paraphrases the text. Lacey said himself,
"No way is this the Proper Bible. It’s a trailer for, an intro to, an overview of The Bible (capital "B"). For those who’ve never read it, And those who’ve read it so much it’s gone stale on them".
When the book was launched, Lacey got together with some musicians and recorded his 75 minute performance of the Bible. I haven't heard it, but I want to get my hands on it.
Unfortunately, Lacey died a few weeks ago due to cancer. But he left us with something to think about- the Bible as performance art. I have been so cynical about The Church effectively using drama to communicate the Gospel. I seem to have some hope.
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6 Comments:
That's quite interesting
melissa! add me to your links!! i'm under-represented! i'm oppressed! why are you persecuting me!
Can someone explain how it is possible for the Bible to have "gone stale"????
Melissa! I also join the ranks of the oppressed, I am not represented in your links list. I'm already on the phone with the ACLU and if I'm not added to your list soon there may or may not be a lawsuit, you'll be hearing from my lawyer.
You know, this "sounds" like a good idea, but I just can't get behind it. I mean, the Bible is supposed to be the inerrant, pure truth, Word of God scribbled down by divinely inspired/guided individuals. This is like Cliff Notes on the Bible. It's like saying "here's the Truth in 2000 pages or less. Oh, you don't wanna read all that, well, all you need to know is God said 'WHAP!' and it was."
I remember when "The Message" came out, or, as I like to call it, "The Bible for Dummies." You can conjure up all kinds of "reasons" (or "excuses") for why we need a "new" Bible but I won't buy any of them (the excuses nor the Bible's).
The Bible hasn't "gone stale" or become an "old hat." Stupid people need to stop re-interpreting the Bible. It is as it is, was and should be in the KJV. Let's hear it for some KJV!! WOOOO!!!! And not no revised KJV, I want some thee, thous and arts people's! Yea verily, 'twould be l33t if thou would raise up the KJV unto the status of r0x0r! w00t
Now I don't think that I have thought through this as much as you have. But I'm wondering if there necessarily has to be a place in church ministry for drama. Why do we have to continue trying to make the church more exciting?
I suppose my only possible issue is that drama is not mentioned in the Scriptures so there wouldn't seem to be a way to subjectively regulate it. I don't mean that there is no place for Christians in the arts, I just mean that I think that the ministries of the church are clear and a lot of them still need work, why add more?
These are just my initial thoughts, be gentle if I'm wrong.
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