Not Even God Can Save Kentucky Now
Chew on that and these other tasty morsels from recent weeks.
Today's headlines: Bluegrass State God haters, graffiti goes mainstream, Harry Potter's subliminal messages, and the Qu'ran, American-style.
Not Even God Can Save Kentucky Now
American Atheists—a group ever vigilant of digressions from the separation of Church and State promised by the U.S. Constitution—have succeeded in removing references to God from the charter language of Kentucky’s Department of Homeland Security. Circuit Judge Thomas Wingate ruled last month that training materials for the office as well as a plaque posted at the Emergency Operations Center that was to include statements referencing “Almighty God” were unconstitutional.
Kentucky Attorney General Jack Conway appealed the ruling last Friday, arguing that the language was simply an acknowledgment of religion similar to the ubiquitous “In God We Trust” emblazoned on American currency. Wonder just how much of that currency this latest battle is going to eat up—the plaintiff’s lawyers have said the appeal is a waste of time. I suppose they’d at least agree that God is probably not on their side.
NYC's About (Smiley) Face
New York City might be able to tolerate graffiti after all—so long as it's created by internationally recognized pop artists whose works typically sell for more than a million bucks. Just before a swanky Chelsea gallery opening earlier this year, Yoshitomo Nara was nabbed by transit cops for sketching a signature smiley face on a subway wall. The artist was booked on graffiti and criminal mischief charges and spent a night in jail before being released. Seems authorities involved have decided there’s a difference between spray painting punks and renowned public art: Charges against Nara were dropped late last month.
Harry Potter Isn’t the Anti-God
A great Boston Globe article details the resolution of one of Harry Potter’s latest and greatest battles: against Evangelical Protestants who argue that the beloved series by author J.K. Rowling are thematically rooted in violence, anti-family values, Satanism, and the occult. Turns out religious scholars are finding deeper, more positive, and ethical messages coming from Potter, including themes of tolerance, mortality, and morality that are considered worthy of serious theological reflection.
Rowling herself says the religious themes in the series are quite "obvious." Obvious, huh? To me, the only thing that's obvious in the disagreement over the meaning of Potter is something large segments of society refuse to embrace: Children’s books about wizards are good; people who burn books (or otherwise attempt to limit access to them) are bad.
My Own (Personal) Qu'ran
Artist Sandow Birk has everyone wondering if anything could be more appropriate to illustrate the Qu’ran than stock car racing. Well, how about a Manhattan street scene from 9/11? Both are proffered up in the latest creation from the controversial artist, who grew up painting surfboards in Seal Beach, Calif., and is just short of being a Presbyterian. Sections of Birk’s American Qu'ran, a hand-written and fully illustrated English translation of the central Islamic religious text were exhibited in San Francisco and Culver City, Calif., last week. Let's just say reactions have lived up to expectation, with some California Islamic leaders cautioning that the images may be interpreted by Muslims as insulting, even heretical.
That's not surprising, considering one of the motivations behind Birk’s work was the reactions to cartoons portraying Mohammad printed in the Dutch newspaper Jyllands-Posten in 2005 (there are no depictions of Mohhammad in Birk’s Work). Instead of inflaming additional divisiveness and fervor, Birk told the New York Times that he hopes American Qu'ran creates visual metaphors to make the text more accessible to Americans. Birk hopes his version can inspire a few Yanks to begin a broader exploration of religion, particularly the Islamic faith.
“The Koran is supposed to be a message from God,” Birk says. “If God is speaking to human beings, I should be able to pick up this book and think about it. I should be able to contemplate what it means to me.” Now that's a message worth listening to.
:: @CSW
