OK, two things: First, I have counted 6 times by two different professors at my steadfastly Reformed, Westminster-loving seminary in the last week-plus, occasions where any normal Protestant would add the word, "alone" to the phrase, "justification by faith." Golden opportunities, mind you. Even in contexts of disagreement with the Roman Catholic Church, where such an appellation would seem most appropriate, in fact. 6 times. And my alleged comrades-in-arms, birthed not only in the bloodbath of Luther's protest, but in the blood of the Lamb, declined to add it. Look, I'm almost Catholic; I don't care what you say, to some extent. And I certainly wouldn't want to get anyone in trouble over there. But if we Reformed are re-visiting this position, we ought to talk about it, not hide our insights behind the bulky sweater of covenant theology or the Coke-bottle glasses of storied hermeneutics. [Maybe they're sick of being trapped by the Catholic apologist-bots you're getting snookered by.--ed.] Well, good for them. But if they're that afraid of our historic stance, maybe they should swim the Tiber ahead of me.
Secondly, I have a confession to make. [You mean a confession confession?--ed.] Simmer down, Sparky. Don't get ahead of...ourselves. I'm Protestant until I say otherwise. Besides, I agree with Rabbi Tbone: Either way I go, my soul is safe, at least as far as I know. God knows me, and I know Him. Even if I'm supposed to be Catholic, I am hiding nothing from his merciful touch, and I quite frankly cannot desire the promises contained within the Catholic sacraments (and God help my Protestant soul, the sacraments themselves) any more than I do right now.
But no, what I meant to say before I was so rudely interrupted was this: I love 'Grey's Anatomy.' Maybe I need to turn in my man cards for saying that; I don't care. If 'Scrubs' hadn't been made first, and its protaganist, John "J.D." Dorian was A) a woman, B) less of a tool, and C) looked a lot like Ellen Pompeo, you have 'Grey's Anatomy.' It's amazing. I sampled it here and there, but as it happens, my brother and his wife who just moved in love the show. And since my brother is the coolest, manliest man I know, I have cover. Still, you may have heard the audience is mostly women. And I have to tell you, even if so, we can learn a thing or two from them. In general, women in this culture seem to favor character-driven stories; action or suspense are not bad things to like. But female audiences (anecdotally) witnessing a disaster are not going to be hooked by the disaster itself; rather, they seem to want to see how the characters react to the events, and how they react to each other. And frankly, I do too. This show has a pretty impressive array of deep, multi-layered characters. You want to like them, to root for them, but they all fail the heroic ideal at points. We'd hate them, but...they're us. That's good storytelling. [Rant on 'Scrubs' and "John Dorian" forthcoming.]
Secondly, I have a confession to make. [You mean a confession confession?--ed.] Simmer down, Sparky. Don't get ahead of...ourselves. I'm Protestant until I say otherwise. Besides, I agree with Rabbi Tbone: Either way I go, my soul is safe, at least as far as I know. God knows me, and I know Him. Even if I'm supposed to be Catholic, I am hiding nothing from his merciful touch, and I quite frankly cannot desire the promises contained within the Catholic sacraments (and God help my Protestant soul, the sacraments themselves) any more than I do right now.
But no, what I meant to say before I was so rudely interrupted was this: I love 'Grey's Anatomy.' Maybe I need to turn in my man cards for saying that; I don't care. If 'Scrubs' hadn't been made first, and its protaganist, John "J.D." Dorian was A) a woman, B) less of a tool, and C) looked a lot like Ellen Pompeo, you have 'Grey's Anatomy.' It's amazing. I sampled it here and there, but as it happens, my brother and his wife who just moved in love the show. And since my brother is the coolest, manliest man I know, I have cover. Still, you may have heard the audience is mostly women. And I have to tell you, even if so, we can learn a thing or two from them. In general, women in this culture seem to favor character-driven stories; action or suspense are not bad things to like. But female audiences (anecdotally) witnessing a disaster are not going to be hooked by the disaster itself; rather, they seem to want to see how the characters react to the events, and how they react to each other. And frankly, I do too. This show has a pretty impressive array of deep, multi-layered characters. You want to like them, to root for them, but they all fail the heroic ideal at points. We'd hate them, but...they're us. That's good storytelling. [Rant on 'Scrubs' and "John Dorian" forthcoming.]
Comments