Now that my work load has lightened and free time has become more abundant, I've been able to sit down and start watching cartoons again. Childish, yes, but that's not to say it's not a good form of entertainment. Though, it has made me a bit nostalgic.

I remember watching cartoons when I was a kid. Back then, I wasn't concerned with ethics being taught, and I definitely wasn't paying attention to the hidden morals and themes throughout episodes. Now, however, I'm noticing certain themes coming out in jokes made during episodes of cartoons like Spongebob, Hey Arnold, and Invader Zim. One of them, was religion.

I noticed that more and more cartoons are addressing the issue of religion and its values. Spongebob, for example, has an episode called "The Magic Conch Shell" where Spongebob and Patrick come across a fortune telling conch shell toy, and begin to both worship it, and follow its words as law. Spongebob is notorious for having subliminal adult content, but this was blatantly overt. I took this as an obvious mockery of religion, those following an "all knowing voice." Despite the fact that the episode is sped up, you still get the point. I couldn't find an original clip of the video.


Throughout the video, allusions to organized/cult like religions are made. In the beginning, Spongebob and Patrick make a club and don't allow Squidward to come in because they don't think he'd understand. They then get lost, and show Squidward "the magic conch shell." The shell itself represents a diety or religious icon in which they abide by. Like all religious icons, there is oposition to it and its teachings. Squidward denounces their belief that the conch knows all and will lead them to freedom from the kelp forest, but the other two insist. Through a series of fabricated events, the conch is made to seem as if it's truly magical, and eventually Squidward believes too.

Although it's done ina ridiculous manner, the message can be taken one of two ways. The first and more cynical view is that religious belief is fabricated, and any miracles that occur are chance. On the other hand though, it could be seen that infact religion and the miracles that follow it are actually a series of circumstance and chance. The question is what are our kids getting out of it? Is it inadvertently turning the younger generations against certain beliefs and values that our country and many others were founded on, or is it just all in the name of entertainment?

Evolutionary Religion

Last weekend, being Easter, I was called by several of my family members to wish me tidings on the holiday. More than once I was asked if I went to church, which made me think why they would ask that. I myself am not an avid church goer, nor do I really believe in the gospels and words of God that most religions teach, and my family is pretty aware of this. But, that isn't to say I don't have faith in a transcendent being or beings. It makes me wonder how many other people feel this way. Spirituality and organized religion often go hand in hand, but they're not the same thing. 

Religion, in my eyes, is in fact a whole other thing. There are a lot more people who are "religious," than there are people who are spiritual. Most people that I personally know claim to be religious, but only turn to their religion in times of need. In the article "Born believers: How your brain creates God," Michael Brooks explains the phenomenon of the rise of religion in times of global crisis. As the article states, "Our brains effortlessly conjure up an imaginary world of spirits, gods and monsters, and the more insecure we feel, the harder it is to resist the pull of this supernatural world." 

If we all think back to times that we've encountered something complicated, we've probably looked to some higher power and asked for help wether it be on the SATs, or for patience. It's not wrong, nor is it uncommon in any way. Though it's arguable about whether the presence of a God is real or fabricated, it's not undeniable that we embrace religion and the unexplainable more readily when we're in distress. Brooks points out that this belief in God(s) is connected to our need to thrive. Religion and it's foundations, in recent times, have been believed to be "an evolutionary adaptation that makes people more likely to survive and pass their genes onto the next generation."  

It's ironic to think about these two ideas in conjunction with one another, religion being a facet of the evolutionary process. Seth McFarland's short video about Monkeys talking about religion satirizes.

The two sides had argued against each other for years, but now scientists are now linking the two as one justifying the advancement of the other. The more you look at it, the more it seems fesible. If we look at how far both we as a species and we as a society have advanced, it makes sense to link evolutionary progress to religious progress. The further we move along in development, the more religion changes and morphs to conform to our societal needs. Could it be that in fact evolution and religion can't exist separately from one another? 

Musically Deceptive: The Faith Behind the Words

I've always been interested in religion, but it hasn't been until recently that I've started noticing the subtle hints of it more main stream culture. While flipping through my music list, I happen to come across certain bands listed as Christian Rock that previously, I had believed to be completely without religious connotation. 

A band called Demon Hunter, which I had originally thought was of the metalcore genre, is actually classified as Gospel music. The members themselves are Christian by faith and  if you listen closely, you can hear them express. At first, I didn't believe it. I thought it was a misinterpretation by crazed evangelists trying to rationalize lyrics, especially since the instrumental portion was influenced by Machine Head and Living Sacrifice, both well established metal bands. 

I listened more closely and realized that these weren't such stretched theories.  In their song "Through the Black" much of what they're singing about is religiously affiliated. 

In the lines "I follow the downside, I'm waiting for something else. I know that you'll be here and I'll be waiting," it can be inferred that the wait for  contact from God, or the rise to heaven is what is being sun about. The entire song goes on in this manner, addressing the belief that God is always watching us, and that we'll be redeemed when he finally comes again. 

Another band that threw me for a spin genre wise, was Blindside. Although they have a very alternative/metal feel, Blindside is classified as Christian Metal. In their album "About a Burning Fire," their spiritual side can be clearly seen through their lyrics. One of their songs, "Shekina," is actually the Jewish and Christian name for the outer presence of God's glory. 

I also looked into their lyrics more deeply and realized that once again, religion had snuck it's way into my play list. The most notable song was the first song on "About a Burning Fire,"  called "Eye of the Storm." 

This entire song is an allegory to religious growth and experience. The chorus reads "Please come closed, 'cause I don't even touch you anymore. Please see I'm walking into the eye of the storm, and I'll still come out loving you even more." To someone not looking, this may just seem like a love song, and in a way it is. On a deeper level it's about the experience of moving away from the your comfort zone, and still feeling him in your life. 

These are only two examples, but there are many other bands that also have more secretive Christian roots. Anberlin, which was originally called Servants after God's own heart when it was only the bassist and singer, have Christian Punk roots that show in many of their lyrics. Skillet, which also has a rough sound bordering more on the Alternative/Industrial rock side, is also a Christian Rock band. 

Some would think that with the name of Christian rock behind them, these bands would sell less because of their religious connotation, but in fact they are some of the top selling and most popular bands. As McDannell states in Material Christianity, "The commercial fascination with the material culture of Catholicism is currently widespread in the U.S." Religion has become fashionable, and even though we may not realize it, we're sporting it more now than ever. It's become an accessory, a genre, a culture outside of it's original contexts. 

Jesus "The Raptor" Christ

Every religion, or any system of beliefs for that matter, has it's symbols and icons. The star of David for Judaism, the Lotus for Buddhists, the Omkar for Hinduism. Whatever you identify with, there's some kind of symbol used to represent qualities and values that go along with said beliefs. For myself, I'm a reformed Christian. I say reformed because I still believe in a lot of the basic values taught-- be lawful and kind, respect your peers and elders, etcetera --but I don't agree with a lot of other teaches and the general way things were run. I guess I predisposed myself to this at a young age, when it became apparent that I asked too many questions. 

"Why did they kill Jesus? Why do we burn palm branches? What does 'adultery' mean?"

Too many questions, and not enough answers. Most of my questions revolved around why. I wanted to know why everything happened, why things were the way they are. One of my biggest questions was why use the cross as the Christian symbol? Of course, this was met with the typical Catholic School Teacher response: "Because he died for our sins. Now write your ten commandments." 

I settled for that as an answer, but knew that there had to be more. It didn't make sense to just pick the cross as the overall symbol out of all the other things in the bible, like the fish and wine or the ark. Why wasn't our calling card a picture of Jesus himself? 

I didn't find out the reason until very recently; not even two hours ago in fact. The Cross was first seen as a symbol of power by Constantine I, who is sometimes called the 13th Apostle. It's told that he saw the image of the cross in the sky with the words "In Hoc Signo Vinces," which translates to "In this sign conquer." He posted the symbol on all the shields of his men and sure enough, he won the battle of Milvian Bridge right outside of Rome. This, naturally, led to other victories and his eventual Emperorship. 

I was astonished to find out that the big icon of our religion wasn't carefully thought out, but really just a cloud in the sky that someone interpreted as a cross. This brought up a whole other series of questions, of course. What would have happened if he fell asleep and never seen the cloud? What would happen if he had seen a dinosaur instead? Would we be worshiping Jesus "The Raptor" Christ today? Would our rosary beads be topped off at the bottom with a tiny T-rex? Of course, those questions would never be answered back in grammar school. They would be gasped at, seen as sacrilege. I would be cast out like the lepers. Ultimately though, that's the reason. Some guy saw it in the sky, used it as a good luck charm, and by chance (or holy luck) won a battle. When you hear little side stories like this, away from the big picture of the death and creation, it makes you wonder how much of religion is sent from the higher being and how much is just clouds in the sky.