Film Comment: Heavenly Daze

This 1948 Three Stooges film, Heavenly Daze, exhibits many of the confused popular ideas about Heaven, angels, and God.  Heaven is in the clouds.  Angels are humans who have died.  People can be sent back to Earth to set things right.  God frowns on any interest in the opposite sex.

Shemp the Stooge  has died and is having trouble convincing his Uncle Mortimer to let him into Heaven.  Mortimer decides to give him one more chance.  He can get into Heaven if he can reform the incorrigible Moe and Larry.

Watch the film and see how many confused stereotypes you can spot.

Angels are not humans who have died.  They are supernatural created beings, who, while powerful, are not omnipotent and who clearly are of lesser rank than members of the ἐκκλησία (ekklesia). The word angel (ἄγγελος) translates in English as “messenger.”

“Know ye not that we shall judge angels? how much more things that pertain to this life?” 1 Corinthians 6:3

A Come to Jesus Moment

This post is about a current American idiomatic phrase: a come to Jesus moment.  I had heard this phrase used before in a sports context, then later in business and in politics.  I had an idea what it meant but decided to investigate it, so I went to the Urban Dictionary (http://www.urbandictionary.com/ )

On this website, Internet respondents can submit their interpretation(s) of current slang (popular "street" idioms).  Besides the traditional religious interpretation of the phrase, there were several fanciful, sarcastic,  and/or vulgar comments.

The most accurate interpretation of this phrase seems to be one of being called into a meeting in which one is severely criticized and possibly threatened with strict punishment for one's actions or attitudes.  The intent of the meeting is to produce an emotional response which produces a complete change in behavior and/or attitude.

This seems to play into a popular misconception of Jesus, and "religion" in general, as stuffy, unpleasant,  hypercritical, prudish, threatening, and disapproving.   This is an insulting stereotype.