The OT

I must be on a theater kick because last night I went to see The OT: Chronicles of the Old Testament. (No, I did not go to see it just because The OT sounds like The O.C., although that is why it attracted my attention in the first place.) According to its promotional materials, "The Old Testament has been the guiding light for many into the fundamental values of our world. Love it or revile it, the Old Testament is embedded in our thoughts, our language and how we see ourselves. But how many of us have looked more deeply into the old book to see the things your Sunday School teacher didn’t tell you? What kind of universe ultimately emerges?"

Admittedly, the universe that emerges in this imaginative (picture stuffed animals acting out the story of Lot and his daughters or the actors dressed as telle-tubbies to proclaim the psalms) production is a largely dark and violent world. I appreciated the play's reminder about the overwhelming number of difficult stories in the Bible, stories with which we must contend, like Jacob wrestling the angel, if we are to continue to make Christianity relevant in the twenty-first century. I also appreciated the way the play itself rendered the Old Testament not only entertaining but also relevant. I left wanting to read the stories more for myself and to think deeply about how religious educators can make biblical education more relevant to the concerns of today.

Interestingly, (and also theologically appropriately) the character of God did not speak throughout most of the play, although he (played by a man) was present and involved to a greater or lesser extent throughout. Most of the time, the human characters spoke for him ("Thus says the Lord...") and God only spoke in the final scene to affect creation.