On this Easter sunday, I thought it might be wise and appropraite to post another long blog on religion.
On Easter, one of my local radio stations always plays the famous rock Opera, Jesus Christ SuperStar. It follows Jesus and Judas through the last few days of Jesus' life. Starting before the Last Supper, and through the Crucifixion. The songs are well written and thought provoking. If you have not seen it, I very highly recommend it.
As I sit here, singing to every line (cause its just that awesome.), I think about the title; Jesus Christ SuperStar. Christian's saw he was a God on earth, Jews think he was a good preist but no Messiah. Isalm calls him a Prophet, a sort of man-god. But what was he really? JC: SuperStar suggests that he was just a man. It also suggests that he was indeed the Son of God. But one thing it is adament about, Jesus was something to behold. His songs are passionate, his words moving, and distrubingly mortal ("Poor Jerusalem/To conquer death/You only have to die"... JC: SuperStar- Poor Jersulem). The opera raises the questions: Was Jesus more mortal or more of a god? The answer lies in your faith. But reguardless of Jesus' mortaility, he was a remarkable man.
One thing is also certain, he was hellrasier. Now, before you very religious people decide to stick my ass on a cross too, just listen! He was indeed a hell raiser. For one, he a radical. One, he was preaching an insanly different and unsantioned branch of Judism (thats why it was able to be the basis for Christainity). Two, remember that whole Temple incident, when he raised hell because it was a market? Three, Palm Sunday, when he entered Jersualm in the midst of a howling mob of his followers. Tell me he didn't know that would stir people and the goverment up. I rest my case.
I won't even touch the character and man of Judas much. On him, I just want to say that I fully agree with JC: SuperStar. In his second to final song, entitled 'Judas' Death', he is wallowing in his guilt over betraying Jesus, his best friend. He sings "God, I'll never know why you chose me/ for your foul bloody crime". I think that sums up Judas' role pretty well. He is demonized so much, when it could have just as easily been Peter or John. That's all I'll say on Judas.
To finish up this continuous disgression of a post, Jesus Christ, be he man or God or prophet, was indeed a SuperStar. The fact that millions of people worldwide still worship him is testament to that. Happy Easter people.
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