Cirque de Soleil - Easter Edition

Easter turned out well, meal and all... Five people (not including Mark and I) turned up, and there was plenty to go around (and plenty leftover). Everyone loved the food. Everyone loved the apartment, loved the dogs. We played yard games and watched silly internet videos. (Oh, the age of the 'net! lol) It was great!

The strangest part of my day was the church service we attended that morning. Mark's buddy, Wakefield, invited us to this place called "The Rock." I've never been to a mega-church before, so I didn't know what to expect. I certainly didn't expect the Cirque de Soleil.

Seriously. These guys had a full choir, two electric guitars, a 13+ piece drum set, a grand piano, a 15 piece string orchestra, a troupe of ballerinas, and three acrobats. Oh, and The Joker.

I am not kidding. You think I'm kidding? Watch the show they put on in the middle of the service:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DTm9YiuQi-4

It was a cool performance, don't get me wrong. And the music was all well-performed. But I am not religious to begin with, and this church certainly didn't help my faith. It was a sideshow. A circus. The whole thing left me kind of snide and bewildered.

I don't mean to offend those of you with faith - it's not so much the religion itself that bothers me, it's the hypocrisy.

You see, this was a church that called itself a "do something" church, and was preaching about donating money and time and whatnot to bettering the city of San Diego. At one point, they showed this guilt-inducing video of all the homeless people that hang around (there are A LOT). It's fine to preach the "do something" message (and I've been told that their outreach program is the largest in the city), but it makes me a little sick to look around and see all the expensive instruments and lighting and camera equipment... How much could that money have done for the homeless?

I'm not a saint. I'm not selfless - not by a long shot - but... I dunno. It makes me think of that Bible story about the beggar woman who gave her last two coins to the tithe. Didn't Jesus praise her more than the rich men who only gave a small portion of their wealth? It's because she didn't hold back, because she gave all that she had.

Looking around that church gave me the impression that, while they thought helping the homeless was well and good, the production was the most important thing. God, did they spend a lot of money on the production. They certainly were not giving local outreach all they had. Think of how much more they could do if they were!

Like I said before, there was talent there. It all looked very nice. But I won't go back. As an agnostic, it's a waste of my time.

I might as well just go to the circus instead.