Today I learned something new in church. I learned that actors are hypocrites.
Now for a little context. Pastor was preaching on Paul's letter to the Galatians where Paul says that he opposed Peter to his face because Peter was being a "hypocrite". He was getting along all cozy with the Gentile Christians when some of his Jewish Christian buddies showed up and all of a sudden Peter didn't want to be seen with the Gentiles anymore. So Paul called him out on it right in front of everyone (or at least that's what he told the Galatians).
According to Pastor, the word "hypocrite" is Greek and originally meant an actor. As a theater person I find it very interesting how the New Testament has taken this word and turned it into something derogatory. To be a hypocrite is to pretend to be something you are not. Well, that is what actors do. The difference is that when you are on stage the audience knows they are being deceived and agrees to go along with the deception.
Historically, church and theater have had an uneasy relationship. There are still churches today that frown on theater-going, movie-going, though I think they are in the decline or at least not common in this part of the country. The Puritans weren't big on plays either.
Part of this, I think, was at the time the New Testament was written most drama was religious, pagan drama. It was a form of liturgy. Theater is not mentioned in the Bible at all. The Greeks had comedies and tragedies but the Jews did not. There were no Jewish playwrights or if there were their works have not survived. It's really interesting and says a lot about Biblical culture that the word for actor became an insult.
The other part of this--and it may just be the Aspie in me--is that I think somehow fundamentally Jewish and Christian culture was not comfortable with the idea of "let's pretend." There is something contrary to Truth when someone pretends to be someone else. I read once that one of the reasons so many Hollywood marriages don't last is because when you have two people who spend their careers pretending to be other people how can you know what is real and what is not about each other? Acting makes people uncomfortable because it is a betrayal of trust. Things are not what they appear to be. You cannot take anything for granted.
Theater also has its own little world with its language and customs. Theater is also more accepting of those people who don't fit in such as gays. Because identity is so fluid in theater. Outsiders look on that and don't understand. There was a time when "community theater" like my own would not have been acceptable. To be an actress was almost like being a whore. In many people's eyes they were the same. Only someone who was sexually promiscuous would allow himself or herself to be kissed or embraced on stage. And that was in the bad old days BEFORE adult theaters! But theater is a diverse world.
So here's to my fellow "hypocrites"--Break a leg!
Now for a little context. Pastor was preaching on Paul's letter to the Galatians where Paul says that he opposed Peter to his face because Peter was being a "hypocrite". He was getting along all cozy with the Gentile Christians when some of his Jewish Christian buddies showed up and all of a sudden Peter didn't want to be seen with the Gentiles anymore. So Paul called him out on it right in front of everyone (or at least that's what he told the Galatians).
According to Pastor, the word "hypocrite" is Greek and originally meant an actor. As a theater person I find it very interesting how the New Testament has taken this word and turned it into something derogatory. To be a hypocrite is to pretend to be something you are not. Well, that is what actors do. The difference is that when you are on stage the audience knows they are being deceived and agrees to go along with the deception.
Historically, church and theater have had an uneasy relationship. There are still churches today that frown on theater-going, movie-going, though I think they are in the decline or at least not common in this part of the country. The Puritans weren't big on plays either.
Part of this, I think, was at the time the New Testament was written most drama was religious, pagan drama. It was a form of liturgy. Theater is not mentioned in the Bible at all. The Greeks had comedies and tragedies but the Jews did not. There were no Jewish playwrights or if there were their works have not survived. It's really interesting and says a lot about Biblical culture that the word for actor became an insult.
The other part of this--and it may just be the Aspie in me--is that I think somehow fundamentally Jewish and Christian culture was not comfortable with the idea of "let's pretend." There is something contrary to Truth when someone pretends to be someone else. I read once that one of the reasons so many Hollywood marriages don't last is because when you have two people who spend their careers pretending to be other people how can you know what is real and what is not about each other? Acting makes people uncomfortable because it is a betrayal of trust. Things are not what they appear to be. You cannot take anything for granted.
Theater also has its own little world with its language and customs. Theater is also more accepting of those people who don't fit in such as gays. Because identity is so fluid in theater. Outsiders look on that and don't understand. There was a time when "community theater" like my own would not have been acceptable. To be an actress was almost like being a whore. In many people's eyes they were the same. Only someone who was sexually promiscuous would allow himself or herself to be kissed or embraced on stage. And that was in the bad old days BEFORE adult theaters! But theater is a diverse world.
So here's to my fellow "hypocrites"--Break a leg!
