So. Margaret Cho has a blog.
If you picture the discussion of religion in the public square, really try to imagine a square, and people gathered around talking, well…what’s happening on Cho’s blog is sort of like a bunch of people hurling…er…manure. But I mean that in a sort of amused way, not in a tut-tut kind of way. It’s just a funny image.
Here at RD we are trying to project some kind of earnestness. In the public square we are the ones wearing black jeans or tweed or natty preacher suits. And we are talking to one another in a quiet but impassioned way—while checking our Blackberries. (And maybe drinking beer out of a brown bag.)
Over at margaretcho.com the knives are coming out, and, like I said, some bags of poo for throwing. Someone over there just invited Cho to “move to the Middle East.” Or, more precisely, “f**ing move to the Middle East.” Because she loves the desert? I don’t really get this. No, I do. It’s just that it’s really such a leap, from pro-choice feminist to Lady Bin Laden.
Right now, after covering the latest Palin-alia (including the recent discovery that Palin, as mayor of Wasilla, billed rape victims for the kits required to gather evidence) they are arguing over the meaning of “Christian.” Which signals that the discussion (or wild screeching) is getting distilled down to elemental particles. Or that everyone is squinting and looking down their rifle sights, getting ready for some serious War on Culture…er…culture war.
So there’s Christian as code-word for ‘evangelical.’ Like when Republican politicians say it. And there’s Christian meaning Protestant, as opposed to Catholic. And there’s Christian the way a missionary might mean it, (as opposed to heathen?).
And there are those “anonymous Christians,” or involuntary Christians…was that Rahner who devised that category? Does anyone outside of seminary or grad school read mid-century German Catholic theologians? We all might as well, if we’re going to debate terms. It might open up some possibilities.
Anyway, Margaret Cho is a Christian. And she has delivered a gorgeous, eloquent rant to that effect—“I’m a Christian, you F***ers.” It is too profane to reprint in its natural state. Not because we are squeamish here at RD, but because I am a gentle soul and don’t want to upset anyone. Which is also why I am not a great figure on the world stage, or a performer, or a dissertation-finisher. But I digress.
Anyhow, this rant is such a beautiful blend of sacred and profane that it’s actually a theological act. It performs a holy truth, about the hi-low nature of the divine (transcendent-immanent in other terms), about divine forgiveness (“God bless you, even you. You f***ing f***ers,” she offers to her critics) and about the radical inclusivity of God’s love. Cho’s God sweeps everything into Her big heart—everything. It’s Liberation Theology on MDMA. You know, the God who loves junkies and bankers and drag queens and hockey moms alike.
Ewww. I said hockey mom. I know.
Here’s a snippet, slightly snipped:
God wants us all to just get along. He doesn’t give a s**t about the profanity. The b***h f**king invented profanity. He thinks it is hilarious. He just wants you to talk to him, and he doesn’t care what you have to say. He just wants to keep the conversation going. Like Jay-Z, he just wants to love you. He just wants you to be able to make your own decisions. God is all about you and what you need. God is happy that you are gay. God made you f**king gay cuz he thinks it is awesome. God understands if you need to have an abortion. That is why he created abortion, on the 8th day. God accepts. God forgives. God loves all of us, even though some of us might have a problem with each other.
