Wednesday, May 06, 2009

Star Trek Bible Study?

If the good folks over at CPH were really trying to be cutting edge and relevant they might not want to use a movie that is already in the discount bin at Wal-Mart and instead look at something a little more recent. They might also try to get a jump on things and be really, really relevant and have a study ready to go on a movie that is not even out yet, like the new Star Trek movie for instance.

My second idea for a new dynamic and relevant study is an Old Adam / New Man study. The study would look at old school Kirk and Spock, played by William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy and contrast them with the new, hip, and cool Kirk and Spock, played by someone you’ve never heard of and Sylar from Heroes respectively, and use the characters to further the dialogue of the changed man.

Of course the God that changes the old man into the new man won’t be the "god" the Old Kirk found hiding on a planet in the self directed The Final Frontier. Bringing up that movie would have any seeker running for the door in short order and rightfully so.

As with Der Fledermaus study, this relevant and dynamic proposal is meant to reach out to “those who might not otherwise attend a Bible class on the Lutheran Confessions.”

Update: As proof that those who read this blog are infinitely smarter and wittier than the author, Saxoniae offered up possible chapters for my proposed relevant dynamic study that I thought deserved to be included in the post. Thanks Saxoniae!

1. Church: Where no man has gone before.
2. 40 days of living long and prospering.
3. "D@mn it, Jim! I'm a doctor not a ..." studies on Lutheran vocation.

4. Remote DVD consecration (revisited) by the LCMS CTCR.
5. Comparisons between the evil mirror universe and contemporary worship practices.
6. Passing the peace via Kirk's patented double-axe-handle judo chop to the back.
7. "Friendly angel come to me" vs. "Let your Holy angel be with me ..."

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Weekly topics:

1. Church: Where no man has gone before.

2. 40 days of living long and prospering.

3. "D@mn it, Jim! I'm a doctor not a ..." studies on Lutheran vocation.

4. Remote DVD consecration (revisited) by the LCMS CTCR.

5. Comparisons between the evil mirror universe and contemporary worship practices.

6. Passing the peace via Kirk's patented double-axe-handle judo chop to the back.

7. "Friendly angel come to me" vs. "Let your Holy angel be with me ..."

Frank Gillespie said...

Saxoniae, I'm torn between 5 and 6 as to which one would be more fun!

Anonymous said...

I should have added "Headin' down to Eden ... yeah brother."

Rev. Paul T. McCain said...

Frank, here you go. I know this might be expecting too much, but....maybe, just maybe...before you, and/or others start snarking, you might first actually look at the studies. Enjoy!


Star Trek
http://www.cph.org/cphstore/product.asp?category=&part%5Fno=203817&find%5Fcategory=&find%5Fdescription=&find%5Fpart%5Fdesc=203817

Terminator Salvation
http://www.cph.org/cphstore/product.asp?category=&part%5Fno=203818&find%5Fcategory=&find%5Fdescription=&find%5Fpart%5Fdesc=203818

Up
http://www.cph.org/cphstore/product.asp?category=&part%5Fno=203819&find%5Fcategory=&find%5Fdescription=&find%5Fpart%5Fdesc=203819

Frank Gillespie said...

Paul, what would I do without snark ;-)? Well, probably write better posts for one…
I really had no idea that there were available the studies that you provided links for so I wasn’t poking fun at anything I didn’t specifically mention. Like the Batman Bible study. While immensely popular, Dark Knight was so last year that I thought CPH looked like they were playing catch up.

Charles Lehmann and Josh Salzberg are both great guys and I’m sure they did a fine on their studies. With that said, here’s my dead serious question for you; how in the world do you market these studies and at the same time differentiate them from Americanized pop evangelicalism that puts out very similarly titled material while, in actuality, nothing more than vapid pop psychology lessons and life application tutorials?

Rev. Paul T. McCain said...

We slap a HUGE label on them that states, in huge black letters:

"These materials are not Americanized pop evangelicalism that puts out very similarly titled material while, in actuality, nothing more than vapid pop psychology lessons and life application tutorials."

No, actually, we are a Lutheran publishing company that produces faithful resources. We are not held captive by paranoid fears of what things might be. We stick to putting out good things that deliver the goods.

You might want to download Pr. Lehmann's study and use it.