Dear Family and Friends,
I don't know if you all have heard, but the Calvin Chimes spoof 'Cliche' a send up of the Back to God Hour's 'Today' has hit hard. With the refusal to publish it under the censorship of the newly empowered 'Spoof Review Committe', the publication made its way on to the web. By now, stories have appeared in both the GR Press and WOOD TV 8 (the local NBC) and numerous postings on Calvin Matters (the faculty and staff online forum) have shown that this is not going away quietly.
The link: www.calvinspoof.com
Please don't see the cover and click off. Don't just read a few and leave. If you do decide to read, be sure to at least (after reading a few) make it to the bottom and read the entry for June 30. PLEASE don't dismiss this as unthought out fluff. This has a message that is applicable for everyone I know.
For those who want to read Calvin's 'Official' response it can be found here: Calvin's Response
There are multiple things being addressed, issues of the Calvin community, issues of donor money and impact at Calvin, issues of social justice, issues of gender relations, issues of purity and holiness... the list goes on.
One of the biggest issues critics raised is whether or not the use of scripture and prayer is allowable in satire. From my point of view (and from knowing many of those who worked on the spoof/satire) this use of scripture and prayer came from a true concern with how scripture and prayer are so often misused by shallow expressions of faith in our community. Bible verses are taken out of context and misused (I've heard preachers do it), and I see the spoof as showing this.
Is it funny? I laughed so hard at some of the entries, I cried.
Is it offensive? At times, yes. But we have to look at why it is we are offended, for at least in my case, the offense comes when the critique hits too close to home.
Is it blasphemy? I never think it crosses the boundary, and I truly believe this is a sincere call to reform in our consideration of our faith. Satire is meant to shock people; just think of Jonathan Swift's "A Modest Proposal"... or more applicale his "An Argument against Abolishing Christianity"... talk about Christian satire!
I also think that Calvin has stepped too far in censoring. There is the idea of Voltaire that "I hate what you're saying, but I'll defend to the death your right to say it" that I truly believe in. In this I am not talking about mean or hateful things, but rather things which I don't agree with, but are problems and issues that need to be dealt with.
In my opinion Calvin has turned its back on honest critique. If you don't believe that this is an honest call for change, read the last entry, June 30. It is in this entry, after all the poking fun of and making light of, that the Chimes staffers who participated in this, honestly brought it back to the Lord. In my opinion, those who would like to see the spoof gone, skipped over that last entry and only saw what they wanted to see. They only saw the big issues raised, the questions that must be answered, the hits too close to home, and the accurate read of the situation, not only at Calvin, but of the broader CRC community that the spoof found.
I defend the spoof in its entirety for what it represents to me, a call for serious contemplation and reflection on what it means to be a Christian in the 21st century in the Reformed tradition.
I know that this spoof will offend some of you. I know that this will hit close to home (it did for me). But please understand this in light of the sincere prayer from the June 30 meditation:
"Lord God, give our readers a spirit of understanding and humility. As we go out to reform our fallen world, remind us that we too are fallible. Amen"
So friends and family, sorry about the length, but I leave you with these things to ponder, and I pray that Calvin will not become an irrelevant institution because of its unwillingness to laugh at itself now and then and hesitation to reexamine the issues that surround it.
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5 comments:
I don't know, Bob. Some of it I found funny and maybe a little relevant, but most of it just seemed like people trying to hit hot buttons and see how far they could go. If I remember correctly, that's pretty much what Chimes staffers are known for anyway. Sorry, but you'll see later what a closed little world Calvin is.
I looked up "blasphemy" just to clarify for myself and it doesn't only mean claiming to be God, it also means to be irreverant towards something sacred or holy. I know, you'll say it's satire, but I think there is a certain line that musn't be crossed. Making fun in a sacriligious way comes too close to making fun of God himself for my comfort. Perhaps in a different format (without Scripture and prayer) I might feel differently about the content.
In a few years, you'll probably look back at all this and see how silly it all is and how you were all young and wanting to make big, monumental points. There was a bunch of hooha about the spoof when I was there, too, and now I don't even remember what it was about.
Trust me I know what a little closed world Calvin is. That's why I appreciated the spoof... they were trying to open things up a little. I understand your hesitations, and I respect them. I don't know... if we aren't trying to make some point, I have no idea why I'm at college, aren't I here to learn to 'redeem every square inch'?... Just a thought.
True. but isn't college also about learning how to make your point in a mature, adult way? Without going off the deep end or circumventing authority?
Well, there's where we will have to agree to disagree. I honestly do not see it as going off the deep end. As for the circumventing authority, what does one do when the administration changes the rules more than halfway through the process? The review comittee took (they were not given) the authority to censor whole pages any two members of the large committe did not like. The Chimes staff had been working under the rules that they would take suggestions from the committee, which they did to a degree, but there was not the censoring at the beginning of the process. I just find it both unfair and very unprofessional and misleading on the part of the administration. But then again, I'm in college, idealistic, and now I guess cynical. That said, thanks for the dialogue! It's kinda fun to think things through in other ways...
It's OK, Bob. I'm glad you're being thoughtful and concerned about changing things that you see problems with. You'll learn to find the middle ground and how to be diplomatic and tactful. It always hurts when you've put a lot of time into something only to have it shredded (personally, I hope all those Chimes staffers put as much time and effort into their studies - they'll do really well this semester if they did!).
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