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naraburns  nihil supernum  1yr ago (text post)   38436 thread views

Culture War Roundup for the week of March 27, 2023

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then does the fact that those genitals are made of marble instead of flesh make such an important difference that one ought not to object to the display of this statue where children can see it?

Yes, in the same way that there's a difference between a church hanging up Jesus on the crucifix outside vs. hanging up a human body on a crucifix, or even a gory imitation human body. The method of representation matters.

I’m not so sure that this analogy holds. For example, passion plays - dramatic presentations of Christ’s crucifixion, using real actors - have a long and rich history in the church. Sure, if a church fatally crucified a real man then the effect would be markedly different from the display of a crucifix statue, but it seems to me that there is little to no difference between the effect produced by the display of a crucifix status and the effect produced by the presentation of a flesh-and-blood re-enactment of the crucifixion.

it seems to me that there is little to no difference between the effect produced by the display of a crucifix status and the effect produced by the presentation of a flesh-and-blood re-enactment of the crucifixion.

Have you ever seen a passion play? I remember how I felt after watching the passion of the christ. Shellshocked. That thing was worse than an Eli Roth movie because it felt so much more real. As a piece of cinema it is a work of art, but I never want to see it again. That is not a feeling imparted by crucifix statues, if it was haunted houses would just have to recreate a Filipino grandma's living room to terrify people.

Yes, these things are culturally specific, but most people today would view a Jesus crucifix statue as less gory than a dramatic presentation of the crucifixion, and a more suitable sight for children randomly walking down the street.

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