On All Saints Day, various outlets reported that a new musical would use the songs of Britney Spears to tell the story of Jesus Christ.
On some level, we weren’t that surprised: we’ve seen jukebox musicals and Jesus musicals before, so why not a jukebox Jesus musical?
After all, if the same guy that wrote Starlight Express could write a musical about Jesus – one with some spiritually powerful moments, such as Judas’ opening number where he pleads with Jesus to do something already – then why not the folks who wrote Britney’s songs?
God’s grace can be mediated by even the most mundane reality, like bread and wine (and yes, sunsets, too), so there is nothing intrinsically problematic with using contemporary music to open ourselves to God.
What’s more, the images on the webpage look to be quite a bit more in line with mainstream portrayals of the Gospels than those of some other Jesus musicals.
Although, let us remember that being in line with mainstream interpretations of the Gospel itself is perhaps a sign that not all is well with our narrative.
On another level though, this is obviously absurd. Continue reading.
Andrew Staron is an assistant professor of theology at Wheeling Jesuit University in West Virginia, USA. Stephen Okey is an Assistant Professor of Philosophy, Theology, and Religion at Saint Leo University outside of Tampa, Florida, USA.
Source: Daily Theology
Image: Spears: The musical
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