{"id":157,"date":"2011-10-12T23:34:48","date_gmt":"2011-10-12T23:34:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/fellowshipofsaintsandsinners\/?p=157"},"modified":"2018-07-20T21:04:17","modified_gmt":"2018-07-20T21:04:17","slug":"james-bond-spirituality","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/fellowshipofsaintsandsinners\/2011\/10\/james-bond-spirituality.html","title":{"rendered":"James Bond Spirituality"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

I have a weakness for James Bond flicks. \u00a0Apparently the poet May Swenson does, too. \u00a0Her below poem, compliments of\u00a0The Writer’s Almanac<\/em>, provides a helpful framework for thinking about a recent church worship experience and its implications for Christian spirituality:<\/p>\n

The James Bond Movie<\/strong><\/p>\n

by May Swenson,\u00a0from\u00a0New and Selected Things Taking Plac<\/em>e<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

The popcorn is greasy, and I forgot to bring a Kleenex.
\nA pill that’s a bomb inside the stomach of a man inside<\/p>\n

The Embassy blows up. Eructations of flame, luxurious
\ncauliflowers giganticize into motion. The entire 29-ft.<\/p>\n

screen is orange, is crackling flesh and brick bursting,
\nblackening, smithereened. I unwrap a Dentyne and, while<\/p>\n

jouncing my teeth in rubber tongue-smarting clove, try
\nwith the 2-inch-wide paper to blot butter off my fingers.<\/p>\n

A bubble-bath, room-sized, in which 14 girls, delectable
\nand sexless, twist-topped Creamy Freezes (their blond,<\/p>\n

red, brown, pinkish, lavender or silver wiglets all
\nscrewed that high, and varnished), scrub-tickle a lone<\/p>\n

male, whose chest has just the right amount and distribu-
\ntion of curly hair. He’s nervously pretending to defend<\/p>\n

his modesty. His crotch, below the waterline, is also
\nbelow the frame\u2014but unsubmerged all 28 slick foamy boobs.<\/p>\n

Their makeup fails to let the girls look naked. Caterpil-
\nlar lashes, black and thick, lush lips glossed pink like<\/p>\n

the gum I pop and chew, contact lenses on the eyes that are
\nmostly blue, they’re nose-perfect replicas of each other.<\/p>\n

I’ve got most of the grease off and onto this little square
\nof paper. I’m folding it now, making creases with my nails.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

To find me in the theater is rare these days with two young children. \u00a0When I do watch movies, they’re \u00a0usually the likes of a Disney cartoon on our weekly family movie nights. \u00a0(Just the other day, we got our \u00a0fix listening to an animated version of Hercules serenade us, sounding more like, to quote my husband, “a \u00a0gay hairdresser.”)<\/p>\n

But I always make an exception for James. \u00a0Over the last decade I have faithfully and eagerly greeted the \u00a0latest incarnation of Bond in front of a full screen. \u00a0The suspenseful car chases and ridiculous stunts, silly \u00a0puns and beautiful people in a world far removed from mine are such a pleasurable escape, best \u00a0experienced in a theater.<\/p>\n

The other day I visited a new church: the cinematic thrills were not quite the same but they had a similar \u00a0effect. \u00a0There was the dark, cavernous feel of a movie theater on steroids, with a large stage and big screens. \u00a0The good-looking preacher with the sexy “down-under” accent in his designer jeans, whose conversational demeanor assumed an almost spooky level of intimacy with the crowd of several thousand people. \u00a0\u00a0The worship band that under strobe lights crooned so loudly and in such well-synchronized performance that I felt like I was at a rock concert and could not hear myself sing. \u00a0The well-manicured, pre-recorded testimony clips from the attractive, well-coiffed people about to be baptized- (and in some cases, by the way, re-baptized, to the horror of my Presbyterian sensibilities), who in just a few cookie-cutter sound bites advertised the importance of a personal relationship with Jesus.<\/p>\n

In those moments, I, like May, could feel the grease on my fingers: I became conscious, maybe even self-conscious, about all those places where the often gritty, confusing, mundane, and sticky places in my walk with Jesus were not squaring with the slick and exciting presentation on stage. \u00a0I felt out of place. Disconnected. \u00a0Alternately intoxicated and repelled by the artificially enticing suggestion that worship could be easy and exciting entertainment- maybe not unlike how James Bond and his fourteen Barbies in the bubble bath would have us imagine sex to be.<\/p>\n

I left that day yearning for a realer, more fully embodied, deeper connection with Jesus and those around me- the kind that is “incarnational” in the full sense of the word. \u00a0Real, imperfect people fully engaged in real, imperfect worship. \u00a0Less thrilling, perhaps. More mundane. \u00a0Like a simple meal of bread and wine shared between broken people. \u00a0Like the old, familiar hymns, hymns like “Amazing Grace,” sung out of tune but at the top of our lungs. \u00a0Like the prayers of the people that remind us who our neighbor is in the pew next to us and across the world.<\/p>\n

From now on I’ll stick to watching Bond only in the theater.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I have a weakness for James Bond flicks. \u00a0Apparently the poet May Swenson does, too. \u00a0Her below poem, compliments of\u00a0The Writer’s Almanac, provides a helpful framework for thinking about a recent church worship experience and its implications for Christian spirituality: The James Bond Movie by May Swenson,\u00a0from\u00a0New and Selected Things Taking Place The popcorn is…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":461,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13,101],"tags":[102,103,104],"class_list":["post-157","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-spirituality","category-worship","tag-james-bond","tag-may-swenson","tag-writers-almanac"],"yoast_head":"\nJames Bond Spirituality - Fellowship of Saints and Sinners<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, nofollow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"James Bond Spirituality - Fellowship of Saints and Sinners\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"I have a weakness for James Bond flicks. \u00a0Apparently the poet May Swenson does, too. \u00a0Her below poem, compliments of\u00a0The Writer’s Almanac, provides a helpful framework for thinking about a recent church worship experience and its implications for Christian spirituality: The James Bond Movie by May Swenson,\u00a0from\u00a0New and Selected Things Taking Place The popcorn is…\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/fellowshipofsaintsandsinners\/2011\/10\/james-bond-spirituality.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Fellowship of Saints and Sinners\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/kristina.robbdover\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2011-10-12T23:34:48+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2018-07-20T21:04:17+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Kristina Robb-Dover\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@saintplussinner\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@saintplussinner\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"James Bond Spirituality - Fellowship of Saints and Sinners","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"nofollow"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"James Bond Spirituality - Fellowship of Saints and Sinners","og_description":"I have a weakness for James Bond flicks. \u00a0Apparently the poet May Swenson does, too. \u00a0Her below poem, compliments of\u00a0The Writer’s Almanac, provides a helpful framework for thinking about a recent church worship experience and its implications for Christian spirituality: The James Bond Movie by May Swenson,\u00a0from\u00a0New and Selected Things Taking Place The popcorn is…","og_url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/fellowshipofsaintsandsinners\/2011\/10\/james-bond-spirituality.html","og_site_name":"Fellowship of Saints and Sinners","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/kristina.robbdover","article_published_time":"2011-10-12T23:34:48+00:00","article_modified_time":"2018-07-20T21:04:17+00:00","author":"Kristina Robb-Dover","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@saintplussinner","twitter_site":"@saintplussinner","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/fellowshipofsaintsandsinners\/2011\/10\/james-bond-spirituality.html","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/fellowshipofsaintsandsinners\/2011\/10\/james-bond-spirituality.html","name":"James Bond Spirituality - Fellowship of Saints and Sinners","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/fellowshipofsaintsandsinners\/#website"},"datePublished":"2011-10-12T23:34:48+00:00","dateModified":"2018-07-20T21:04:17+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/fellowshipofsaintsandsinners\/#\/schema\/person\/4c3cdf7104b785db2790c0ea54388e75"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/fellowshipofsaintsandsinners\/2011\/10\/james-bond-spirituality.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/fellowshipofsaintsandsinners\/2011\/10\/james-bond-spirituality.html"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/fellowshipofsaintsandsinners\/2011\/10\/james-bond-spirituality.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/fellowshipofsaintsandsinners"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"James Bond Spirituality"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/fellowshipofsaintsandsinners\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/fellowshipofsaintsandsinners\/","name":"Fellowship of Saints and Sinners","description":"Beliefnet Voices...thoughts at the intersection between life and God for anyone converted, unconverted or under conversion","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/fellowshipofsaintsandsinners\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/fellowshipofsaintsandsinners\/#\/schema\/person\/4c3cdf7104b785db2790c0ea54388e75","name":"Kristina Robb-Dover","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/fellowshipofsaintsandsinners\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/fellowshipofsaintsandsinners\/wp-content\/wphb-cache\/gravatar\/dcf\/dcfc687b5670420584dc52026042422ax96.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/fellowshipofsaintsandsinners\/wp-content\/wphb-cache\/gravatar\/dcf\/dcfc687b5670420584dc52026042422ax96.jpg","caption":"Kristina Robb-Dover"},"description":"Thoughts at the intersection of life and God from one saint and sinner for anyone \"converted,\" \"unconverted,\" or \"under conversion.\"","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/fellowshipofsaintsandsinners\/author\/krobbdover"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/fellowshipofsaintsandsinners\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/157","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/fellowshipofsaintsandsinners\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/fellowshipofsaintsandsinners\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/fellowshipofsaintsandsinners\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/461"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/fellowshipofsaintsandsinners\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=157"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/fellowshipofsaintsandsinners\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/157\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6634,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/fellowshipofsaintsandsinners\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/157\/revisions\/6634"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/fellowshipofsaintsandsinners\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=157"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/fellowshipofsaintsandsinners\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=157"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/fellowshipofsaintsandsinners\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=157"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}