Monday, March 26, 2007

The American Evangelical Pilgrimage Destination


This past weekend I went with our Confirmation students to the The Holy Land Experience or as I like to think of it Roman Pilgrimage Protestant Style. This miserable piece of bland American Evangelical putrescence could have been great if it didn't cost 30 gold coins to get in and it wasn't so steeped in Left Behind garbage. The missus and I went to the presentation on the temple expecting hear an explanation of the worship which occurred at the temple and history behind it were regaled with fairy tales about a future temple and how God did not fully dwell with his people and did not give them the Holy Spirit. If God did not give them the Holy Spirit just how in the world did the Holy Spirit communicate God's Word? I wonder why they consider God dwelling with his people at the temple an incomplete dwelling.

Then after that, there was the presentation of Israel in 66 A.D. where we learned that the location of tomb and the cross is not where Christian tradition has believed it to be rather it in is someplace identified ~75 years ago by some no name Brit. Of course, I had to ask who cares its not like there is anything in there now.

About the only thing worth seeing that we were able to take in is the Scriptorium and smoked turkey legs. Although there are some glaring historical inaccuracies in the Scriptorium, the first is the idea that Christians invented the Codex, they did not; they popularized its use. Second of all is the laughable idea the Puritans were about religious freedom. Let's set the record straight they were all about the freedom to teach in their own way and engaging in a little persecution themselves. Some of the earliest colonies were formed because of religious differences and laws against teaching against the Puritan beliefs.

Anyhow, do yourself a favor save your thirty gold coins and go see a good historical presentation by going to a Dr Paul Maier presentation.

No comments: