Monty Python: The Bishop

http://www.pistolwimp.com/media/47047/

One of the most difficult things to do in apologetics is to actually listen. Supposedly Van Til tried to encourage this by teaching his students to “always buy the next cup of coffee” but we haven’t been listening.

Part of listening includes listening to our culture- so much can be learned by watching TV, movies, or listening to music. Here’s an example from a Monty Python sketch: The Bishop.

Christians often misunderstand parody. This is especially true about Christian parody. This is why my favorite magazine is always on the verge of folding because they can’t find enough people willing to pay them for a subscription (or at least get their eNewsletter).

What can we learn from this sketch about the world’s understanding of the church?

In the title sequence you can’t help but laugh at the kitchy-ness of the whole thing. Isn’t that the way most people view the church? They try hard to fit in and look like the rest of us, but there’s always something funny about it.

Another thing I notice is that the church is always late in coming to solve its problems. Someone has said that the church is always 20 years behind the times- and I think that’s true. It’s terrible enough when we are late in engaging the world because of this lag-time, but it becomes a sin when we don’t deal with our problems because we are so far behind.

Then there’s the scene with the Bishop and his entourage walking around the street- smoking smugly, aloof behind their sunglasses, ignoring the people around them. In fact the only person they seem to notice is the other priest calling for help. Who would want to join people like them? If I thought all Christians were so narcissistic and arrogant, I wouldn’t want to be part of them either.

The temptation in watching this clip is to say, “that’s true about those Anglicans, but not us/real Christians.” Don’t miss the point- most non-Christians don’t make that distinction. This is how you are perceived.

As for apologetics, we can learn that so much of the apologetic attempt has nothing to do with real arguments against the existence of God or the problem of evil- it has to do with perceptions. And sometimes their perceptions are right-on.