17 replies to this topic

[Tyler]

Anyone celebrating this weekend? Please don't.

*Note: I think evangelism is a good thing. But it doesn't have to be weird.

[Buckeye Jones]

Our church hosts a Trunk N Treat night on Halloween. We're in an inner city, so in addition to it being an outreach, it's a better option for hauling in candy for the neighborhood kids. Expecting 100-200 kids plus caregivers. We can't convince ours to go--our neighborhood, about six miles away, is wonderful for trick or treating. Maybe when they're older they'll get the concept of an outreach.

[SDG]

In the annals of Evangelical shadow culture, not to mention religious illiteracy, "JesusWeen" is an impressive new low-water mark.

Edited by SDG, 28 October 2011 - 09:31 AM.

[Greg P]

SDG, on 28 October 2011 - 09:26 AM, said:

In the annals of Evangelical shadow culture, not to mention religious illiteracy, "JesusWeen" is an impressive new low-water mark.

Agreed.

At first I was like, "Hey! they're making a comeback! Shoulda been posted in the music forum..."

This is so easy to mock, but I view it as only a slightly more absurd version of the typical evangelical Harvest Festival, "Hallelujah Night" or Bible Character Party. And those have been around forever, with the identical rationale as JesusWeen.

Edited by Greg P, 28 October 2011 - 11:34 AM.

[Andy Whitman]

Greg P, on 28 October 2011 - 11:21 AM, said:

SDG, on 28 October 2011 - 09:26 AM, said:

In the annals of Evangelical shadow culture, not to mention religious illiteracy, "JesusWeen" is an impressive new low-water mark.

Agreed.

At first I was like, "Hey! they're making a comeback! Shoulda been posted in the music forum..."

This is so easy to mock, but I view it as only a slightly more absurd version of the typical evangelical Harvest Festival, "Hallelujah Night" or Bible Character Party. And those have been around forever, with the identical rationale as JesusWeen.

Yes, but the grammatical issues here take it to another level. Unless breast-feeding infants or hot-dog lovers are involved.

[Christian]

Tyler, on 28 October 2011 - 08:43 AM, said:

Anyone celebrating this weekend? Please don't.

From the linked page:

JesusWeen is a God-given vision which was born as an answer to the cry of many every October 31st.

Count this as another mark against modern-day "God-given visions."

By the way, to whom was the "vision" given? I suppose I could find out if I dug some more into the Jesusween pages, but I ain't gonna do that.

[Jason Panella]

Greg P, on 28 October 2011 - 11:21 AM, said:

At first I was like, "Hey! they're making a comeback! Shoulda been posted in the music forum..."

Ha! I made a similar comment to Tyler on Twitter. Not that they ever really went away (or were here to begin with)...

Halloween is a weird topic for my denomination. Some of the older generations tend not to celebrate any holiday, with the rationale that the Lord's Day should be sufficient. That said, some have a Reformation Day evening service on the Sunday before the Oct. 31. At least they're not naming something GodWeen, or whatever.

I like holidays, and I like creepy movies too much to follow in step. Oh well.

[mrmando]

Andy Whitman, on 28 October 2011 - 11:48 AM, said:

Yes, but the grammatical issues here take it to another level. Unless breast-feeding infants or hot-dog lovers are involved.

Ween is an archaic verb meaning "believe or suppose." It's not in common use any more, although one still sees the occasional "overweening."

Of course ween has nothing to do with Hallows' > Hallow + evening > even > e'en > = Hallowe'en > Halloween ... despite what the Jesusween folks would have you believe.

[Tyler]

mrmando, on 28 October 2011 - 02:14 PM, said:

Ween is an archaic verb meaning "believe or suppose." It's not in common use any more, although one still sees the occasional "overweening."

That's the usage their website quotes.

And while we're on the subject, might as well mention Decemberween.

[SDG]

Andy Whitman, on 28 October 2011 - 11:48 AM, said:

Greg P, on 28 October 2011 - 11:21 AM, said:

SDG, on 28 October 2011 - 09:26 AM, said:

In the annals of Evangelical shadow culture, not to mention religious illiteracy, "JesusWeen" is an impressive new low-water mark.

Agreed.

At first I was like, "Hey! they're making a comeback! Shoulda been posted in the music forum..."

This is so easy to mock, but I view it as only a slightly more absurd version of the typical evangelical Harvest Festival, "Hallelujah Night" or Bible Character Party. And those have been around forever, with the identical rationale as JesusWeen.

Yes, but the grammatical issues here take it to another level. Unless breast-feeding infants or hot-dog lovers are involved.

"Another level" is right; "slightly more absurd" does not begin to cover it.

The very word "JesusWeen" is appalling in a way that "Harvest Festival" isn't. I would go so far as to say that it borders on the sacrilegious. It hurts me just to type it.

Having "Harvest Festival" may reflect a hyperpious cultural isolationism, but it still identifies with a larger anthropological, seasonal context; it is even nominally secular. Having a "Hallelujah Night" or a "Bible Character Party" is a little sillier, but it still suggests an attempt to do something positive in place of a perceived negative.

Using the horrible word "JesusWeen" strikes me as obnoxiously, pietistically polemical, as well as reductive, shallow and tone-deaf. Everything must be overtly Jesusified in order to be acceptable. It is the essence of the mindset that Steve Taylor satirized in the line "You'll only drink milk from a Christian cow."

If I were ever part of a church that had a "Harvest Festival," whether today as a Catholic or back in my Protestant days, I might think it was silly, but I could go and still respect myself. (In fact, when our kids were little, we did take them to a Baptist church we used to belong to that had a harvest festival -- and we were Catholic at the time.)

If I were ever part of a community that had a "JesusWeen" event, I think I would be forced to seriously consider looking for a new community.

Edited by SDG, 28 October 2011 - 02:45 PM.

[mrmando]

Some mainline Protestant churches make a bit of a show for Reformation Day, even if it's just singing "A Mighty Fortress Is Our God." Evangelicals, if being Protestant means anything to them, should perhaps look into this, rather than cooking up a new holiday ...

Martin Luther would be a fun Halloween costume, although the neighbors might not appreciate having theses nailed to their doors.

Our autistic 6-year-old has been a fireman, an astronaut, a cow and a pterodactyl for Halloween, but this year he maintained, "I just want to be a boy." So we got him a Pinocchio costume. He loves it.

[Attica]

Did anybody see the Colbert Report where he mentions this?

His take was the JesusWeen is actually very much in the spirit of Halloween..... because those who were celebrating it were actually the creepiest thing on the block.

Edited by Attica, 28 October 2011 - 03:34 PM.

[Attica]

Christian, on 28 October 2011 - 12:48 PM, said:

Tyler, on 28 October 2011 - 08:43 AM, said:

Anyone celebrating this weekend? Please don't.

From the linked page:

JesusWeen is a God-given vision which was born as an answer to the cry of many every October 31st.

Count this as another mark against modern-day "God-given visions."

By the way, to whom was the "vision" given? I suppose I could find out if I dug some more into the Jesusween pages, but I ain't gonna do that.

We'll I dug a bit.

Here it talks about how a Pastor was "led" to hand out Bibles one Halloween and this more or less went from there.


Who knows, maybe he was led to do this...... and to read those scriptures.... but that doesn't mean that he was given a vision for JesusWeen. It just doesn't.



Even if this pastor did have a certain leading, JesusWeen is far and beyond that initial "promt".

[mrmando]

SDG, on 28 October 2011 - 02:44 PM, said:

Having "Harvest Festival" may reflect a hyperpious cultural isolationism, but it still identifies with a larger anthropological, seasonal context; it is even nominally secular.

Heh. The PTA/PTO at my kid's public elementary school is having a "Harvest Festival" tonight, possibly thus called to avoid offending any JesusWeen-type parents.

[Peter T Chattaway]

FWIW, I first heard about this nearly three weeks ago, via Fred "Slacktivist" Clark's blog post 'My Ween it has a first name, it's J-E-S-U-S', and I refrained from posting it to my Facebook page for a few days because I had a hard time believing this was real and not some sort of spoofy put-on.

Oh, and apparently Jesus Ween, like Occupy Wall Street, has its origins on my side of the border. So feel free to Blame Canada yet again, etc.

[SDG]

mrmando, on 28 October 2011 - 03:42 PM, said:

SDG, on 28 October 2011 - 02:44 PM, said:

Having "Harvest Festival" may reflect a hyperpious cultural isolationism, but it still identifies with a larger anthropological, seasonal context; it is even nominally secular.

Heh. The PTA/PTO at my kid's public elementary school is having a "Harvest Festival" tonight, possibly thus called to avoid offending any JesusWeen-type parents.

On top of everything else, "JesusWeen" is a weenie-sounding word. It's like you're saying Jesus is a weenie. Or that weenies follow Jesus. Or something. It is just a lexicographal horror show all the way around the block.

Words like "JesusWeen" and the people who embrace them give anti-Christians warm fuzzy feelings. The Lord's name is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of them.

[Attica]

SDG, on 28 October 2011 - 03:54 PM, said:

Words like "JesusWeen" and the people who embrace them give anti-Christians warm fuzzy feelings. The Lord's name is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of them.

Yup

[Tyler]

The website links to a HuffPo story, which a repackaged version of this Gawker story. The writer talked with with Paul Ade, the Calgary pastor who started JesusWeen.

Quote

I asked Pastor Paul what he had against Halloween.


"I think it's an activity that doesn't have anything to do with Christians," he told me. "And I think many Christian families are not knowledgeable to what it's all about. Halloween is not consistent with the Christian faith. Many people say they feel uncomfortable on that day. We think people should choose an alternative activity."