3 August 2010
You know you are in the Bible belt when…
Now that my apartment in Houston is finally set up, I figured I’d pretend to be a normal American and eat my dinner in front of the TV. Mind you, I don’t subscribe to cable TV. Instead, I have an antenna that picks up a random mix of basic TV networks. I somehow landed on a channel called JCTV. This stands for “Jesus Christ Television.” I caught the end of a program that was one of these action reality shows, like those TLC or Discovery Channel programs where the people travel to remote parts of the world and undertake daring feats. However in this case, the characters were Christian missionaries and they were going to all different parts of the world to convert native people. The episode I watched took place in Tibet. They seemed to think they were the first ones to bring the concept of Christianity to Tibet. Clips from upcoming episodes showed these cool dudes trekking through the tundra and sub-Saharan Africa to spread the good word.
Next it was time for Christian music videos. I think that even us non-Christians have heard Christian rock tunes on the radio before. This network had rock songs and love ballads, it also had Christian rap! There was something strange about seeing big black thug-type guys rapping about Jesus. The name of the song was, “Go Hard for the Lord.” I am used to hearing rappers talk about money, pimps and hoes, not about loving Jesus. You can send me to hell for saying this, but it just seemed wrong to me!! It kind of went against the whole hip-hop philosophy. It also got me wondering just how many kids out there are aspiring to be Christian musicians when they grow up. It just doesn’t seem quite as glamorous as Hollywood!
While watching JCTV I got to see a commercial for Holy Land. This is the Christian “Disney Land” located in Florida. It is filled with buff Fabio looking men playing Jesus, Joseph, Moses and the like. Some of their exhibits include a replica of the cave where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found, a large model of Jerusalem, and a Judean village. Visitors can even spend “A Day in the Life of a Monk” of Medieval times or partake in the last supper with Jesus and his disciples.
I don’t think that in New England we had channels devoted just to Jesus. Watching TV that night, I was quickly reminded that I am in the Bible belt. In the past month that I have been here, I have noticed that the average person is more apt to mention “god” in conversation. Most times they were bring it up in thanks. One family kept saying how gracious god had been to them to allow them to all be together to support my patient before her surgery. It was actually kind of special; they truly seemed so grateful. I have also heard more patients say “god bless you” to me more times I the past month than ever in my first year of residency. Perhaps this means I am finally doing something right with my patients? Or maybe it is my new location of practice. In any case, this liberal atheist will have to adjust to the god-fearing ways of the South.
Go Hard for God video:
