Three for Thee

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat: a review of the libretto

photo hosted by oneyearbibleimages.com

In the world of the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, God is gone. Completely absent. Neither Andrew Lloyd Webber nor Tim Rice wrote any reference whatsoever to God as we know Him: the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. But there is, in fact, a god in this story: it is Man, though he is subject to Fate.

The Prologue presupposes a non-personal guiding force of the story: "We all dream a lot - some are lucky, some are not." Yet the next line continues in the hope that life's goals are contained in Man's thoughts, desires, and will: "But if you think it, want it, dream it, then it's real." The fulfillment of that hope depends on Man: "You are what you feel." And: "Any dream will do."

So the philosophical foundation of the librettist is evident from the beginning. It becomes more evident as the two accounts, the biblical narrative and the librettist's fantasy, are compared and contrasted. For the sake of clarification, the name Joseph will refer to the man in the biblical account, and the name Joe will indicate the musical play's interpretation of him.

The first incident in which the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob is noticeably absent is in the statement, found in Jacob and Sons: "Jacob was the founder of a whole new nation / Thanks to the number of the children he had."

Well, no. Nations didn't spring up from just any man in the ancient world who happened to have had many sons. Jacob was the founder of a new nation because God had promised it to his father's father. God promised it, and God did it, so God deserves the "thanks to" and the glory. The libretto could have acknowledged this, but unfortunately, it avoided it altogether.

Joseph gave God credit for the interpretation of dreams. When the butler and the baker attributed their sadness to the dreams they'd had the night before, Joseph replied, "Do not interpretations belong to God? Tell them to me, please."

Joe, on the other hand, says, "Tell me your dreams my friends / And I will tell you what they show. / Though I cannot guarantee / To get it right, I'll have a go." He has no God in whom to place his confidence. Just himself. At least he understands that he cannot guarantee this thing if it's done in his own strength.

So the chorus urges him on with the gospel of Man: "Go, go, go Joseph you know what they say / Hang on now Joseph you'll make it some day! / Sha la la Joseph you're doing fine! / You and your dreamcoat ahead of your time!"

So Joe is brought before the pharaoh to interpret his dreams. Another opportunity is missed to glorify God for the interpretation of the dream as Joseph did: "[The interpretation] is not in me; God will give Pharaoh an answer of peace.” And later, "God has shown Pharaoh what He is about to do."

Joseph recognized that God, in His providence, was executing His decrees. But not Joe. He foretells of the seven years of surplus food, but then, again: "Egypt's luck will change completely overnight."

Of course, the real pharaoh recognized the Spirit of God in Joseph's life, and in answer to his servant's questioning response to the dreams' interpretation, asks, "Can we find such a one as this, a man in whom is the Spirit of God?"

But Joe had to campaign for the privilege, and points to himself as the "...man to lead you through the famine / With a flair for economic planning."

The conclusion of the story, according to Technicolor, is found in Stone the Crow, where, after singing the praises of Joe the Man, it is sung: "Anyone from anywhere can make it / If they get a lucky break."

The real Joseph's perspective was quite different. He understood that he hadn't "made it" from obscurity to celebrity, but that God had guided him through his trials for the purpose of perserving the nation He established through Abraham. There was no "lucky break". It was God's providence.

For this is how Joseph reassures his guilt-troubled brothers: "And God sent me before you to preserve a posterity for you in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance. So now it was not you who sent me here, but God; and He has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt."

To miss the meaning in this biblical account is to completely miss the point of it being recorded and preserved for our benefit. Yet, this musical will entertain people into doing exactly that, because the librettist has done exactly that.

Where it could have directed the audience's attention to the holy God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, it substituted a vain philosophy. Where it could have glorified God, it glorified man. Where it could have sharpened the audience's knowlege and understanding of a biblical account, it obscured it.

Yes, the plot does follow the scope of the biblical narrative, albeit irreverently. But for the reasons above, Christians ought to discern that this pop cantata is completely unfaithful to the biblical account on the points that matter the most.

Technicolor, yes. Amazing? Only in that it holds such appeal for those who love the Word of God.

from Genesis 50:

18 Then his brothers also went and fell down before his face, and they said, “Behold, we are your servants.”
19 Joseph said to them, “Do not be afraid, for am I in the place of God? 20 But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive. 21 Now therefore, do not be afraid; I will provide for you and your little ones.” And he comforted them and spoke kindly to them.

posted on Monday, October 20

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A note from the church office

Barack Obama's House - Kenwood - Chicago by Mark 2400.

Barack Obama's House. Mark 2400, Flckr.

Life can get wild when you live and move in close proximity to famous people. Our church gathers at the KAM-Israel Temple directly across the street from Senator Obama's private residence. Here's a note I just received from our church office as it regards parking on Sunday:

As most of you know, we have agreed to terms with the United Church of Hyde Park to move to their building at 53rd and Blackstone for our Sunday services the first week of October. However, until then, there has been increased security surrounding the Obama residence which will affect getting to/from the KAM building ongoing.

Starting today, Greenwood Ave. at Hyde Park Blvd. will be closed to vehicular traffic . Through traffic on Hyde Park Blvd. will not be affected. To reach KAM's parking lot by car you will have to approach from the north. There will be a Secret Service check point at the corner of 50th St. & Greenwood Ave. where you will be asked for identification. A state or federal issued ID (i.e. drivers license, state ID, passport) will suffice.

If you are arriving on foot you will have to go through either the check point at 50th St. & Greenwood or one that will be set up on the sidewalk on Hyde Park Blvd. at University Ave. Again, identification will be required. Children will not have to show identification.

Your ID card will be checked against a list of names that HTC has provided to the Secret Service. If a name is not on the list, an HTC representative will be standing with the Secret Service agents to check you in.

VERY IMPORTANT: If you have any visitors joining you on Sunday, please provide all names to the church office ASAP. We can add names to our approved list at any time. It will be much easier to pass through when the name is on our list.

We apologize for the inconvenience! We look forward to the move in just a few weeks. Please be sure to bring your state or federal issued ID (i.e. drivers license, state ID, passport) on Sunday. We look forward to seeing you then.

Looking for a place to attend church, anyone? :D

fom Titus 2:

6 Likewise, exhort the young men to be sober-minded, 7 in all things showing yourself to be a pattern of good works; in doctrine showing integrity, reverence, incorruptibility, 8 sound speech that cannot be condemned, that one who is an opponent may be ashamed, having nothing evil to say of you.

posted on Friday, August 29

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'Twas the Fortnight Before

The Fortnight Before. August, 2008.

I took this picture only to see if the camera card was working. I almost trashed the photo, but in looking at it now, I can hear it speaking volumes.

It's dark, which means it's night. Probably late, after the kids are in bed: the house is clearly not "lit up like a Christmas tree!"

The glow of the lamplight gleams, reflected, from the darkened screen of my laptop computer. The computer seems somewhat precariously perched where it is, which means that it is tethered to the printer, and even that seems to be at rest.

The dining room table sits in silence, muffled by the stacks of books and papers, despite the couple of coffee mugs in their midst. Clearly, the moment of rest in this picture is interrupting something much larger.

You can probably guess what sort of thing that might be. On the table sits a copy of a republished historical narrative, accompanied by a digital collection of primary source material from ancient history. There's the spreadsheet print-out of key events and developments in ancient Rome, and a Bible, in which is found our only hope of understanding why the nations rage.

These are just a few of the books I juggle for just this one part of our year's course of study. As so many other worthy women know, it takes a lot of preparation to chart it all out, and that, in case you hadn't perceived it by now, is precisely what I interrupted to take this picture.

This year I laid out as much of each child's full 36 weeks as I could. It was a pretty big undertaking, and I'm afraid I still have to revisit it with a vengeance when we transition out of our ancient Rome studies and into our medieval ones.

But for now I consider my task accomplished, and now the tables have been turned: as I write, our Greek syllabary, the sole lesson book on the dining room table, is interrupting the peace which otherwise rests in our quiet home tonight.

Happy Labor Day.

Psalm 127:

1 Unless the LORD builds the house,
         They labor in vain who build it;
         Unless the LORD guards the city,
         The watchman stays awake in vain.
2 It is vain for you to rise up early,
         To sit up late,
         To eat the bread of sorrows;
         For so He gives His beloved sleep.

3 Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD,
         The fruit of the womb is a reward.
4 Like arrows in the hand of a warrior,
         So are the children of one’s youth.
5 Happy is the man who has his quiver full of them;
         They shall not be ashamed,
         But shall speak with their enemies in the gate.

posted on Monday, August 25

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Copywork from Charles Haddon Spurgeon

Blinding Snow. December, 2007.

In C. H. Spurgeon's commentary on Matthew 13:

Those who refuse to see are punished by becoming unable to see. The penalty of sin is to be left in sin.

from Matthew 13:

13 Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. 14 And in them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, which says:

      ‘ Hearing you will hear and shall not understand,
      And seeing you will see and not perceive;
       15 For the hearts of this people have grown dull.
      Their ears are hard of hearing,
      And their eyes they have closed,
      Lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears,
      Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn,
      So that I should heal them.’

16 But blessed are your eyes for they see, and your ears for they hear; 17 for assuredly, I say to you that many prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.

posted on Friday, July 18

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Quick Quips, part 1

Not My District...Barely. from nationalatlas.gov

According to John Bambenek, author of Illinois Deserves Better: The Ironclad Case for an Illinois Constitutional Convention, as he makes reference to one of many constitutional flaws which enable widespread abuse of power:

The definition of gerrymandering: "...the practice of politicians picking their voters, and not vice versa ."

from Proverbs 16:

12 It is an abomination for kings to commit wickedness,
For a throne is established by righteousness.

posted on Wednesday, July 16

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