On Easter, Jesus' Evolution Tells of Changing America

[cbayer]

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/04/140419-easter-jesus-holidays-christianity-opinion-united-states/

Jesus has been born and born again over the course of American history.


Jeff Fenholt (standing) played the title role in Jesus Christ Superstar on Broadway in 1971.
PHOTOGRAPH BY BETTMANN, CORBIS

Stephen Prothero
for National Geographic
PUBLISHED APRIL 19, 2014

Every year, in the Christian calendar, Jesus is born (on Christmas), dies (on Good Friday), and rises from the dead (on Easter). But the popular persona of Jesus has also been born and born again over the course of American history.

His latest incarnation is Jesus the Husband, attested to on a papyrus fragment unearthed in 2012 by Harvard Divinity School professor Karen King. The papyrus—whose writer is unknown—seems to suggest that Jesus was married, or that some early Christians thought he was. One section of it reads, "Jesus said to them, 'My wife...'" Another section reads, "she will be able to be my disciple." (See "No Forgery Evidence Seen in 'Gospel of Jesus's Wife' Papyrus.&quot

According to the most recent issue of the Harvard Theological Review, professors at Columbia, Harvard, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology believe this so-called Gospel of Jesus's Wife fragment dates back to ancient times. But the Vatican declared it a fake in 2012, and in a dissent also published in the Harvard Theological Review, Brown University Egyptologist Leo Depuydt declared himself "100% certain that the Wife of Jesus Fragment is a forgery."

As a historian of American religion, I do not specialize in the historical Jesus. So I will not wade into the murky waters swirling around this "probably genuine" or "certainly fake" document.

more at link

[muriel_volestrangler]

1. No, this is his latest incarnation, and very American:

Just in time for the upcoming Easter weekend comes Muppet Christ Superstar, an “album” of nine songs from the 1971 rock opera Jesus Christ Superstar—with the lead characters recast as Muppets. Kermit plays Jesus, of course, with Gonzo playing his backstabbing friend Judas and Miss Piggy filling the role of Mary Magdalene.

And voicing all those roles is 20-year-old songwriter Christo Graham, the mastermind behind the parody and a drama and film student at Bishop’s University in Quebec. Graham told us he recorded the album over a couple nights in his bedroom, and although he plays several instruments and has already released five albums of original music (available on Bandcamp), he used karaoke tracks for Muppet Christ Superstar, singing all parts (even the backing vocals, ostensibly from the Electric Mayhem, and Gonzo’s chickens). “It makes it a little less impressive,” he said, but his voices are a feat on their own, especially considering the original Muppets were voiced by several actors—Dave Goelz as Gonzo, Frank Oz as Miss Piggy and Fozzie Bear, and Jim Henson as Kermit. In fact, I’d argue that Graham’s Kermit gets even closer to Henson’s original Kermit than Steve Whitmire, who has voiced the frog since Henson’s death in 1990.

http://www.slate.com/blogs/browbeat/2014/04/16/muppet_christ_superstar_why_songwriter_christo_graham_created_the_hilarious.html

[cbayer]

2. Very cute.

I always loved the music from this play, but I don't know about muppets singing it, lol.