Myth and Gilligan's Island
In the movie, Coming to America, Eddie Murphy and Arsenio Hall play two lead roles and several supporting characters residing in the Queens borough of New York City.Â
Mr Hall, acting as the local parson, Reverend Brown, attends a social event where a marriage is announced. He says to the future bride, "Now I want you to know I am going to be praying for you. And God is going to be faithful to you, just as he helped Joshua fight the battle of Jericho... he helped Daniel get out of the lion's den... and just like he helped Gilligan get off the island!"
Even though it has been over ten years since I first viewed that scene, IÂ remain overwhelmed with laughter whenever I recall it.
I have often wondered if the disciples' seminary training occurred during the years of Jesus' ministry, and if so, would they claim to be Masters of Divinity like we clergy folk call ourselves... or as our seminaries deem us to be?
In the first years of a seminary education, the idealistic, well-meaning student learns that the gospels do not portray a consistent account of Jesus's life from the moment he is born to the time when some of the writers (not all) say he ascended to heaven. Professors also reveal that ancient cultures embraced certain motifs and cultural legends (eg great leaders were born of virgin mothers and were said to have been resurrected from the dead), so some of our cherished biblical events can be labeled as "myth."Â
The student learns that "myth" does not necessarily mean that biblical events are fairy tales, but it is a genre of literature attempting to explain why and how certain phenomena came to be. So if Samson did not kill 1000 Philistines with the jawbone of an ass, then one wonders if the Resurrection also occurred. Reverend Brown's backing for God's faithfulness becomes tolerable, since Daniel serving time in the Lions' Den may be just as historically accurate as Gilligan being marooned on that tropical island.
Episcopalians are very comfortable with such academic-based spirituality, as we enjoy musing upon our faith and thus being empowered to "pick and choose" aspects of Scripture as truly relevant or bogus. After all, if the church gave the Bible its authority in the first place, it can also devalue that authority. History reveals we have done just that, so we now find ourselves in an ecclesiastical quandary: "If we toss out the baby with the bath water, then we may not have a legacy to follow us." I suspect that is how we lost approximately 50,000 members last year who feel we have gone over the edge in being too inclusive in matters of human sexuality.
So what does a moderate, who wants to balance the picking and choosing of his/her theology do? Do we stay or do we go?
My justification for my Episcopal priesthood these days is that it is like being married to an alcoholic spouse. Do I know it is self destructive? You bet. Do I apologize to others for its behavior? Indeed. Do I feel that it has lost its mind? Daily. Do I recognize the chaos of our household and how it affects other members of the family? Only if I really have to do so. Do I hope it will get better? Yes. And thus, I stay.
So history will reveal how Masters of Divinity either make or break an institution deemed to be the household of God and whether we are on the cutting edge of divine revelation OR self deception. I can only do like Reverend Brown and pray for this fragile church, our island home; and that God will remain faithful to it, just like with Joshua, Daniel, and possibly Gilligan. Who knows? Just as the jawbone of an ass is alleged to have changed the course of human history, the Episcopal Church may, too.
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[The Covenant Journal, Number 28, May 2008]