Mark Gregson wrote: > > > I found Eric > > Samuelson's criticism a bit harsh, but this was probably to be expected > > as > > he knew little about it going in. I see his program as no more strange > > than > > for a backyard gathering of amateur astronomers--which is what John > > Pratt > > is. Here is an excerpt from what John Pratt says himself about the > > "Feast > > of Trumpets" program in an email message promoting it: > > > > <Quote> > > There will be a symbolic and instructive program, based partly on > > authentic > > Hebrew traditions but mostly on my own interpretation, relating it to > > events of the restoration of the Gospel. > > Any way you slice it, the "program" was bizarre. Why the heck would > anyone want to present "information" in that style? (you can't use the > temple as a reason because it is real and authorized). >
I think that Samuelson's gnostic reference is sadly pretty much bang on. I have read a lot of Samuelson's comments on AML over the years, although I haven't been there for some months now, maybe even a year or two, but he probably hasn't changed much. He's playwright and a lot more liberal minded than the typical ZION lister for sure (isn't everybody?) but he is a prof at BYU and he even writes some of the "spoken word" commentaries for the MTC broadcasts, so he does know better ;->. He can be an irreverant satirist at times. Maybe even most of the time. And he's perceptive. His remark about "Yo HO that I Were an Angel" was seen by me in that vein, as a comment on the possibility that the rather contrived first two notes of that song, sliding from oh up to OH, (is that a full fifth of an octave?) can be quite difficult to accomplish artfully and if you aren't careful you end up sounding like a pirate's Yo HO. He may have just spoiled the song for me forever, which is the ultimate compliment you can pay to a satirist. Actually he seemed to be pretty mild about Pratt's performance. Perhaps in deference to his Sister in Law or whoever it was in his family who seems to becoming a fellow travellor. But more than likely he just figured the thing spoke for itself. How do you satirize something that's already so far over the top? I have to confess that my mind was drawn to the wonderful Isaiah passage about "wizards who peep and mutter" as I read the review. "To the law and to the prophets" is where we should turn, as we are sternly reminded by Isaiah, not to people who claim the right to instruct us in things of God because of special insight. Interestingly Isaiah says of such people that there "no light in them." I understand that Pratt has been published in the Ensign and that tells me that he should know better too. If part of Pratt's ritual caused Samuelson to become uncomfortable about temple parody then it must have been amazingly inappropriate. Samuelson would not blush easily. The Isaiah reference can be found at 2 Nephi 18: 19-20 > I believe that all rational LDS would have warning alarms going off if > exposed to this "program". > My ears were ringing. And not with the sound of trumpets! Tom ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// /// ZION LIST CHARTER: Please read it at /// /// http://www.zionsbest.com/charter.html /// ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// ==^================================================================ This email was sent to: [email protected] EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?aaP9AU.bWix1n Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^================================================================
