I'm perplexed. I can't quite figure out what I think about this, so I'm opening the floor for discussion.
Here's the deal...
Recently, a co-worker of mine told me that he found the funniest t-shirt (ala "VOTE FOR PEDRO") that said, "JESUS LOVES PEDRO". He decided not to buy it because he thought it might be sacrilegious. Enter my dilemma.
Thought #1: Is the shirt itself sacrilegious? His reason for declaring its sacrilege was that the t-shirt wouldn't be appropriate to wear in a bar.
Thought #2: Is it appropriate to wear that shirt into a bar? Why or why not?
Comments welcome. My curiosity awaits satisfaction.
P.S. I will reserve my personal opinions (which have not yet been concretely formed) for a later date.
11 comments:
Jesus loves all people. I am sure that the makers of the shirt were not really thinking about whether or not poeple could wear it in a bar or not. Basically, they just made a commercial for Jesus. Why not wear it. Good conversation starter for the word of God. I say buy it. It could save some lives.
thought #1 - yes
thought #2 - is it appropriate to wear it at all?
hope your satisfied.
Hi K1 !
I'll go first,
I think it would be ok to wear the shirt anywhere.In my opionion the shirt is not sacrilegious. It does not apply anything negative about Jesus. He loves everyone. If anything puts the words Jesus Loves in front of people...why not.
Oh by the way...COOL BLOG
~Janet ( Rachel's mom )
admin... why do you think it is sacrilegious? please explain.
the bar thing has nothing to do with it... so let's just deal with the sacrilegious thing.
it really is a matter of opinion, i guess, so here's mine:
by definition, sacrilege is anything that shows irrevence towards God. although i don't, and probably never will, know the people who created this shirt, i would guess that reverence towards God was not their foremost intention in the creation of this shirt.
instead of just creating a t-shirt that says, "Jesus loves Everyone" (obviously their intent), they made the decision to rip off something from pop-culture, in this case, Napoleon Dynamite. the rational, i would assume, would be that this is some sort of witnessing tool. God can, and does, use many things to bring about the salvation of his people. but i don't think that gives us the excuse to just slap Jesus' name on everything with the intention of turning a "secular" thing into a "christian" thing. besides, what non-christian do you know that would actually think this shirt is cool, or more importantly, meaningful. it's just one more clever shirt to show off to our christian friends. some witness.
it's tasteless and cheesy. i could only hope that christians won't spend their money on these things.
NEW BLOG!
kaylajay-millsie@blogspot.com
"Jesus Loves Pedro". . .I don't see this as any different than the plethora of christian t-shirts that play on popular slogan's of products. For the most part, I'm neutral in my feelings about those. I don't wear them, but haven't (so far) seen one that offended me.
As to wearing it into a bar, that seems a bit contradictory or hypocritical, not sacrilegious.
Wow Kristy, looks like you've sparked quite a discussion!
While I see Admin's point, I don't think the shirt is sacreligious at all. If Pedro were a real person, Jesus would love him too. Now, saying that Jesus would love him in a different way than the Creator of the Universe does, THAT would be sacreligious.
I don't have a lot of Christian slogan t-shirts, mostly because most of them do seem to be stretching it a bit to make a popular slogan "Christian". But when I do wear a t-shirt, I don't wear it to try to be some super-spiritual Christian witness, thinking I'm gonna win the whole world with my t-shirt. I wear what I wear to reflect me and my interests. I like Jesus. I like Napoleon Dynamite. I'm not gonna pick my brain trying to figure out some way to combine the two (although there is a cool Napoleon Dynamite devotional book!). But if I see a shirt that says, "Jesus Loves Pedro", I'm gonna get it, because it reflects me and my interests and my personality. I love Coca-Cola stuff (though I like the taste of Pepsi better) so a shirt that says "King of Kings" in the Coke signature script appeals to me. Not trying to make a huge statement, just being myself. :-)
I agree with your Dad. I doubt your co-worker is planning to wear his "Jesus Loves Pedro" shirt into the bar while carrying his Bible, intending on starting a revival. Sounds like he might just feel a bit convicted to be standing in a bar while wearing a shirt talking about Jesus, all the while knowing what Jesus would say about him being there. Jesus would still love him though. :-)
Oh, and thanks for the congrats, Kristy! I'm so excited about our little addition!
Actually Kristy - I work for Kerusso, the company that makes the "Died for Pedro" Shirt.. You should be familiar with it, since its located in Berryville..close to where you are from.. I dont think someone who was wearing this shirt would go to a bar.. BUT I do hope that he would go back and buy the shirt to help Kerusso spread the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. NOW this being said, I think that ADMIN needs to rethink his comment.. Kerusso makes Christian shirts to shout from the roof tops that we are Christians and its an AWESOME thing.. There are tons of parody's out there! Why is Kerusso's parody of Napoleon Dynamite NOT ok??
Wow. I've really opened a can of worms here. Here is what I think:
(1) There is nothing wrong with the JESUS LOVES PEDRO (or DIED FOR PEDRO) shirt. It's funny. It's clever. It's no different than pastors using pop culture to create a catchy title for their sermons. (For example: I recently saw one church's ad for a family-focused Bible study called "Desperate Households". I'm a fan of Desperate Housewives, so the familiar logo immediately caught my attention. My first thought was that this church probably had a relevent message for today's families. It appears that they understand today's families.) Isn't our usage of pop culture similar to the parables that Jesus used to illustrate His message? Since everyone in those days was quite familiar with sheep, He called Himself their shepherd. Since Peter was a fisherman, Jesus said he would be a fisher of men. When Jesus said, "The kingdom is heaven is like..." it was followed by an illustration from their culture. Doesn't it seem that Jesus carefully chose themes that would "hit home" with the people of that day? Now wait... before anyone mentions that Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever... let me clarify something. The Truth, the Message does not ever change. But I believe that it is only natural for the illustrations to change along with the culture. How many times has God spoken His truth to you through an everyday event? How often has something happened in your life that brought a particular Scripture to mind with newfound depth and clarity? So, when Kerusso saw the "VOTE FOR PEDRO" shirt in Napoleon Dynamite, it was only natural to put a Christian spin on it. And that's ok. In my opinion.
(2) Oddly enough, the t-shirt itself didn't bother me as much as the fact that he would wear the shirt... but not into a bar.
And I've typed too much... and it's getting late... so I'm going to reserve that debate for a later date. I'm leaving for vacation in 2 days, so I have TONS to do!
Thank you to everyone who has posted their comments on this issue. It fascinates me to hear a variety of viewpoints. I believe that we each speak out of our own life experiences. And to listen to others is to attempt to learn from their life experiences, as well. Admin speaks as one who feels that the name of Jesus is taken too lightly. Anonymous from Kerusso speaks as one who feels that the name of Jesus is exciting and should be mentioned as often and in as many ways as possible. Admin values respect; Anonymous values praise. Jesus encompasses both. He is God Almighty; He is our Friend.
Jesus loves Pedro. Jesus loves Admin. Jesus loves Anonymous. And I am so glad that Jesus loves me!!! Guess what? He loves you, too.
Disclaimer: My opinion is subject to change without notice.
Wow! What a variety of view points!
Here is my thought on Christian T's...
My little brother just graduated from high school and for the most part he only owns "Christian" t-shirts. He never wears name brand shirts. His thought is that the kids from his school that are "the bad" kids wear all those pricely name brands. He doesn't want to be mistaken for anything other than what he is. He is an amazing CHRISTIAN YOUNG MAN. If his t-shirt were to spark a discussion about Jesus Chirst, I am confident that he would have no problem talking to you about exactly what Christ means to him.
If wearing a t-shirt that says "Jesus loves Pedro" sparks any kind of conversation of Jesus, I say it is worth it.
K1 your explaination of your opinion seems right on and was very eliquently put.
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