(for the uninitiated, blog in the round is a circle of a few of us who will be giving each other weekly blog challenges. an unusual topic. or a twist on a normal one.)
taco bell. the one "food" place that we have many names for. taco smell. taco hell (because it is where all mean, nasty tacos go to die). i even knew a guy who called it crotch-o bell. but do we really understand this institution from a theological viewpoint?
because i have a theory.
taco bell is to mexican food what american cultural christianity is to following Jesus. let me explain.
i like mexican food. a lot. you go into a mexican place, and before your butt is firmly in its seat, you have chip and salsa on your table. for free. and the salsa is real, as each place makes their own. the service is usually great (i defy you to try and empty a glass of tea at a mexican place). and the food is amazing. almost everything is covered in cheese, and i am pretty sure that chicken quesadillas will be served in heaven.
taco bell, on the other hand, is a cheap, americanized generic form of "mexican" "food." (the quotes are because it is not any more mexican than hardees, and i am not sure it is technically food) the sauce, instead of homemade, comes in foil packets, and there is no distinction between one taco bell or another. they are just mass produced. and the menu. dear Lord, the menu. a burrito with potatoes in it? geez. at one point, you could actually get a bacon soft taco. now, i'm all for bacon, but that unholy concoction has no business crawling its Frankenstein butt out of the drawing room. all this counts against the bell, and i haven't even mentioned the crippling diarrhea. fourthmeal ALWAYS comes back to haunt you.
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following Jesus should be as great and localized as good mexican food. it is spicy, risky, and life-giving. following Jesus is an adventure that lets you go into the world as agents of another kingdom, full of freedom and grace and love. it expands your world, and brings civilizations together around tables of celebration and joy.
american cultural christianity is the cheap version of life with Jesus. it seeks to package it up in neat little packets so that all christians look and smell the same. and, like the aforementioned bacon tacos, it spits out nature defying creations like Jesus flashlights and Jesus mints and Skillet. in essence it is, at its worst, fast food religion. no thanks.
and i haven't even mentioned the crippling diarrhea. pot-luck casseroles ALWAYS come back to haunt you.
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5 comments:
Oooooh you took a shot at Skillet. Haha, good for you. I totally agree by the way (big surprise, I know). Christian spirituality is so much deeper and so much more meaningful than something that can be found on the shelf at Lifeway. Christian spirituality is people, conversations, watching sunsets, planting seeds, sacrificing, and living all in the context of God. I think when we reduce it to well, anything... then we are taking a giant chunk of truth and meaning out of it.
wow. I really had no I idea how you were going to relate taco bell to God, but I somehow knew that you of all people could do it. I really never would have thought about anything like that, but hey it makes sense i suppose.
somewhere, some fat dude with spiked hair chowing on a mexican pizza just flipped you off.
Wow. I definately agree with the Skillet thing. And my dad says to tell you he does too :)
I feel ya except for the Skillet part. To that I say those who don't take the time to understand are always the ones who mock. That is ironic because I know you guys, like all of us, have been the victims of that a time or two.
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