Putting the Fun in Fundy

I usually want to vomit when I read about insidious evangelical strategies to save the godless bastion of secular humanism otherwise known as Boston. But that wasn’t how I felt when I read “Emo for Jesus” in Boston’s Weekly Dig. They deserve kudos for producing a wry and insightful look at the newest breed of Christian missionaries to try their hand at saving our souls.

With subtlety and humor, they were able to capture the central irony of the pseudo-hipster holy-rollers at Boston’s Reunion Christian Church; namely, that being considered progressive within the narrow world of evangelical Christianity does not a progressive make.

It really doesn’t matter how cool they dress, how rockin’ their Sunday morning worship is, or that they can appreciate the humor of the “Buddy Christ” in Dogma. Under all the superficial veneer of urban coolness, Reunion represents the same dogmatic “We’re right and everyone else is wrong (and hellbound)” variety of fundamentalism that regards other religions and worldviews as dangerous, soul-destroying lies. On a more personal note, their belief in the inherent sinfulness of erotic love between two people of the same sex (among their laundry list of sins) makes them, as far as I’m concerned, the ultimate Anticool.

It saddens me that some curious (and lonely) 20-somethings will be lured in by Reunion’s high-tech and laid-back approach. I’m optimistic, though, that their numbers will remain small and that the vast majority of young Bostonians will see right through their deceptive outward appearance and recognize that underneath it all, the only things separating these guys from uptight dickwads like Pat Robertson, James Dobson, and George W. Bush are their haircuts, eyebrow piercings, some laptops, and a couple of electric guitars.