So listen to the crashing Pauline waves,
Then celebrate with martyrs' vintage blood:
The Star no longer binds forgetful slaves,
Deny the truth of Birth, and nail your wood.
O hire a prostitute but touch her not,
And, tearful, beg forgiveness of your sheep;
They listen to your words but give no thought:
Content and free from sin you drift to sleep.
Relax, for no one knows He changed no Laws,
In fact, He met His death a faithful Jew.
Yeah, mention this, but they don't give it pause:
What's false tastes better than what's plainly true.
Disciples of a cunning, deathless heist:
Rejoice! the blind still follow hollow Christ.
Author notes
Another sonnet, yes. This was much fun. Please enjoy, and do remember to have a sense of humour.
In case people do wish to attack either it or me, and find no other way to do it but to deride the title: I am well aware that it's grammatically incorrect; that was done quite intentionally.
Thanks!
- Giovanni
Written March 17th, 2004
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You are quite right - Christ and His earliest followers kept the Biblical Holy Days, dietary laws, and the seventh day sabbath, and they never venerated the cross - an ancient symbol of the idol-worshipping pagans in the form of the Egyptian letter "tau." One has to wonder why so many of the churches today insist on decorating their places of worship with this symbol, and with the unholy "steeple" - a Phallic symbol, or obelisk, long used by the ancient mystery religions to attract new converts to their perverse religious brothels.
Hoosier
Edited on Apr 01, 5:06 p.m. because ''. -
this is brilliant i really enjoyed really reading it...it was all round funny~period lol
!!!"~~#@@*secretsmile*@@#~~"!!!
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Two thumbs up!
I love it! I think it's funny. I love sonnets. This would be why I don't write poems touching religion often. Some people don't realize that they're not always meant to criticize. -
To be honest I don't know if I like this piece or not. I will be back later to comment more once I've mulled it over.
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I like the irony of the words and the rhythm. I'm offended by 'the blind still follow Christ', because I used to believe in him (long story), and my whole family does. They're not blind, they just have faith and can see miracles in everything ,and they are more in touch with reality than many people I know. I think that even if they were blind, there would be nothign wrong with it, because believing in Christ helps their life and mentality. Anyway, I'm offended but that's not a bad thing, it's good when a poem sparks different opinions and controversy (however mild it may be). Anyway, this was a great poem, it's beautifully worded and the messages are tastefully stated with a little bit of irony. Great job ^.^
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I dont agree with your statement Topaz135, when you said
Also in-depth knowledge of the christian faith is bound into the western hemisphere.
Maybe you speak of America there but certainly not Europe. Most so-called christians I know have little or no real knowlege of the religion they are born into, nor care....
As to the poem, I think it is a very clever piece of writing, notwithstanding the fact that it preaches a kind of dogma itself, albeit satirically.
One-upmanship in religion sickens me, no matter who is doing it or for what reason. Supposedly laughing in a general way, when really having a go at anyone's beliefs is not on in my opinion. That is the stuff feelings are offended by and wars are made of.
Surely in the 21st century we are not stupid enought to perpetuate this form of ignorance?
You're a very gifted writer Automatic Pilate. I would like to see you write on a subject that actually changes the world for the better....... -
Actually, Jesus (Yeshua) said something about the whole clean/unclean food thing, and the Pharisees were offended.
Matthew 15
"Don't you see that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and then out of the body? But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these make a man 'unclean.'" -
o.o
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TVM auto for the clarification, whilst I have no particular point to make re christians and the christian religion, this has inspired me to start penning my own poem. I think that taking a dig at christianity is easy, because there are less ramifications to it. This is (in part) a tribute to the tolerance that is part of the christian faith. (turn the other cheek).
It is unlikely that a Jihad will be raised againgst the detractor, although indignation is almost a certainty!. Also in-depth knowledge of the christian faith is bound into the western hemisphere. (sigh) and no points for driveling on! lol
Thanx -
a brave writer...with a sense of humour
brave? yes, because the last time i brought up the topic of religion in one of my poems, it was the "christians" crucifying me. the humour? well, not the haha, lol type that some appear to require...but rather, the subtle variety which actually makes one think. i applaud you...impressive piece.
~liz
Edited on Mar 19, 9:44 because 'typo'. -
Okay, I'll answer your questions in the order they were asked:
1) The title: it means that he did not eat pork, i.e., he followed the dietary regulations of his chosen faith (Judaism) and, by extension, all its other regulations.
2) Capitalisation: I am not christian, so all the capitalisations in the piece are actually meant to be sarcastic.
3) Pauline: refers to christian orthodoxy and dogma. Derived from St. Paul, possibly the single most clever spin doctor in history, twisting Jesus's original teachings into something totally different, which coalesced and evolved into today's Christianity. According to Acts (to which I turn now since there is scant outside corraboration on any of this), Paul (or as he was known at the time, Saul) was on the road to Damascus (which, historically speaking, is highly dubious, as Damascus was out of his jurisdiction) with arrest warrants for Jesus's followers, let's call them the Jerusalem church. He then is struck blind and apparently told by "Jesus" to stop persecuting him. After this event, he changed his name to Paul (why? Who knows?) and paid only nominal allegiance to the Jerusalem church, changing Jesus's words as he saw fit to entice Gentiles into converting, meanwhile maligning the Jews and lionising the Romans.
I could continue with point three, but these insights are already longer than the poem itself, lol.
Thanks!
- Giovanni -
Humorous? Ja. Sarcastic? Oh most definitely in my opinion. I really found no flaws here, but I found myself giggling and saying "Baaaaaah" which startled my roommate. lol I like this and from my own personal perception of what you were saying, I fucking love it.
Edited on Mar 18, 11:06 p.m. because 'Flanders attacked me while typing this comment. Diddly iddly'. -
There is a current thread of thought that since 'grammar' is a set of guidlines and not mandatory, double negatives are not now held as incorrect.
What it is, is ambiguous.
Since you wrote it deliberatly, then it is correct, but with what meaning. That the Lord ate pork or that hi didn't? lol
One thing I have issue with is the tendency of christians to capitalise words. He, His and Lord etc. It is neither necessary nor impressive.
Pauline? Lost me.
I have no background knowledge of religion in America, but read one way, it seems a searing indictement of evangelistic christianity in America. We do see the scandals that ensue from the sins of 'famous' (well over there anyway) TV evangelists.
I would value an insight into this piece as I am sure there is some merit I am missing and it is well written enough to merit some understanding too.
I liked the title, by the way. It was a clever touch. -
There is a theory that a switch was made during the Crucifixion. Despite Hollywood images of the event, it actually took place on private property, and the public was at a distance from it. Mention of the replacement is made in the Quran, and the theory was believed by several minor sects that, of course, were deemed "heretical" by the orthodoxy and extinguished.
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Jesus of Nazareth in His day was a Jew who is now referred to as Jesus Christ - meaning saviour. He was the last sacrifice. I'm not blind - I'm at peace.
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I, unusually, disagree with Muse on this one; I don’t think it takes the sting away but adds a very strong and pointed irony, both with the title and the main drive of the sonnet. Very succinctly and efficiently put and indeed, very hollow. Excellent writing.
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Poetically a nice poem, you kept your form beautifully
As for the message it sends, and content..I'll just leave it alone
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Yeah, fair enough. I do blasphemous ones like this from time to time, being an unbelieving fence-sitting weirdass myself. I wasn't sure why it was a "deathless heist": the guy was crucified whether or not he was the Son of God. And of course he was Jewish. Made me think of how Christianity has been used down the years to justify anti-semitism. All a bit wordy and weighty to be in the funny ha-ha category, except for the brilliant title - but it was well worth the click.
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Those were some well-earned points for saying that.
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I cannot make sense of this. Not sure what you are trying to say?
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Awesome write..
You have a refreshing sense of humour, and yet it's SO profound:
"What's false tastes better than what's plainly true."
Not a Christian myself, but I can appreaciate this for the truly great write it is. Keep having fun!
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:)
I like it its true yet funny -
excellent
You make profound observations that are couched in humor. The humor takes the sting of truth away while the reader consumes the information...little realizing that the humor will fade away, leaving the truth to play with his mind. Ah, I just adore this. You have done such an excellent job. Thank you for sharing this gem. As Christ so often said, "Let he who hath ears to hear, let him hear."
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He he. I do think you've got quite an interesting sense of humour, to be fair. Interesting to use the sonnet form for something like this since you would normally associate it with love poetry. But, hey.
Cool.
Damian. -
weirdness, but funny
I happen to like this one. It is written in a very interesting way, it is clear that you have a sense of humour. I thought the title was funny. What I'm getting out of it is you're saying that all these traditions made up by the church have no grounds in the Bible and that we are supposed to be following Christ, yet people make up all this stuff that Christ never did, and think that some sins are ok now, and still say they're Christians. Am I right? Is this the message you were trying to convey? Something like that? If so I agree with you. Traditions that contradict the Bible is exactly what Jesus scolded the religious leaders of His time for. And now they're doing it again. Go figure. >_>
Anyway, is is great write. Keep it up!
~Goldmare~
May the Horse be with you
Edited on Mar 17, 6:33 p.m. because ''. -
How do you know he didn't eat no pork? It's like asking a born again Christian 'you haven't eaten no pussy.' lol! j/k
I like it, well penned.
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A well penned piece that brings up a fact about Christ that I've always found most interesting. He was Jewish, and yet so many of his followers look right over that little detail entirely, as if the very idea that he might have been a follower of some religion other than Himism is blasphemy. I'll spare the tirade on what my own personal beliefs are and simply say the sarcastic humor you've used works very well in putting your point across.
good write and keep penning
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Hee he he .. nope. No attack at all. None at all. Go on, go on and play.
Superbly penned. -
meaty. ha ha
"hollow christ" Love the image this projects. I also love the grammatically incorrect title. -
this was an amazing poem. itwas a little harsh but still exelent.
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Great Piece/ Humor Me More
Hey there my friend, looks like you have penned a poetic piece to ponder once again!!! You're never boring, and you seem to draw me in within the pages you pen, as you capture the reader's attention so well, and this I like!!!
Keep up the great works, and I think this was awesome!!!
-Timothy
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