From the Opera? What the hell does opera have to do with me? file: I searched in vain for a really good clip of the Church Scene from Gounods opera FAUST...I wanted to share it here on FB, to make a point about the dangers of theocracy....but was cursed by finding clips with ridiculous staging, or lousy tempos, or subtitles in Portuguese... In this scene, Marguerite--pregnant, and a social pariah with an illegitimate child--comes to find sanctuary and solace in her local church...she comes begging the love and protection of The Lord...but instead finds Mephistopheles (Satan to you) and his legions waiting to taunt her with images of her damnation...holy statues turn and point accusingly at her...choirs rain chants of Gods rejection of the sinner down upon her...even Christ on the Crucifix, during the final moment, rips his hand from the nails of the cross to point accusingly at her... It is the most sh*t-kicking 9:30 or so in all of opera....and it is particularly pertinent right now, on the verge of our Ship of State wrecking itself on the reefs of Theocracy... I have no doubt as to the sincerity of those seeking refuge in the arms of faith... I also have no doubt as to the nefarious and downright-evil ways in which that search for refuge and solace are being turned over to a carnival of hucksters and power mongers, without a clue as to the true meaning of Christs teachings, herding their flocks into little armies of serfs obedient to the perverse objectives of their spiritual guides.... Happy to have you on the earth right now, Pope Francis...but I dont envy you your task... (PS--heres a recording of the scene, no visuals...use your imagination...)
Posted on: Sun, 25 Jan 2015 10:44:12 +0000
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