Native-speakers’ ignorance of the intricacies of the English language and religious tradition caused a stir in Oxford this week when a local councillor prevented the performance of a play about the crucifixion from taking place in a Methodist church. From the title “The Passion”, the councillor wrongly assumed it would be some sort of lewd peep show, and had it banned on grounds of indecency.
It’s not the first time secular society has failed to see eye-to-eye with the Methodist church; in fact in Oxford it’s almost a tradition. The Methodist movement was born here in the eighteenth century when brothers John and Charles Wesley, sons of a Puritan family, began to meet with like-minded students every evening to pray. They fasted on Wednesdays and Fridays and took communion every Sunday instead of three times a year as decreed by the church. Such religious devotion was unusual at that time and members of the “holy club” were derided as fanatical. None the less the Methodists’ ideas gradually began to gain currency among the lower classes, largely because of their emphasis on social justice, caring for the poor and the sick, and the welfare of widows and orphans. The Wesleys eventually became a widely respected influence for social justice and pioneers in education, also campaigning for prison reform and the abolition of slavery.
This Friday, readers posting comments on the local paper website were pretty unanimous in criticising the cultural ignorance of the red-faced and apologetic councillor, and expressing incredulity at the idea that a Methodist church would put on a live sex show on Good Friday. Some held the incident up as an example of what they consider to be a growing disregard for the Christian faith while “foreign” religions such as Islam are treated with kid gloves. Another reader suggested a sex show would be less offensive than the re-enactment of brutal torture and agonising death.
For me the incident brought to mind my primary school headmaster, a devout and evangelical Baptist who attempted to drum both the times tables and the fear of God into us with equal verve. His best advice: if you’re reading and you come across a word you don’t understand, always look it up. Amen to that.
Vocabulary
agonising = extremely painful apologetic = sorry brought to mind = reminded, evoked campaign = activities such as public speaking aimed at achieving change cause a stir = create a sensation come across = find by chance devotion = veneration, dedication disregard = lack of respect drum (something into somebody) = to teach through repetition fast = abstain from eating gain currency = to become accepted Good Friday = The Friday when the crucifixion of Jesus is commemorated headmaster = the teacher in charge of a school. Feminine: head mistress intricacy = complexity lewd = lascivious, obscene like-minded = compatible, similar, having the same ideas none the less = even so, this notwithstanding on grounds of = basis or reason, often legal pretty = quite see eye-to-eye = agree slavery = forcing a person to work without pay times tables = series of numbers multiplied together e.g. 1x2, 2x2, 3x2 etc treat with kid gloves = to be very careful with something welfare = health, prosperity and well-being
Due to a misunderstanding __________.
a councillor was fired for his passionate speech about the economy
a play with adult content was performed in a church
a play commemorating the crucifixion was cancelled
the word passion was left out of the latest edition of the Oxford dictionary
The misunderstanding happened because __________.
the councillor was not a native English-speaker
the word “passion” has more than one meaning
the location of the play had been changed
the wrong date was written on the posters advertising the play
The Wesley brothers and other Methodists were initially considered to be __________.
religious fanatics
conservative protectors of the status quo
heretics
lewd and lascivious
Because of its emphasis on social justice, Methodism became popular among __________.
socialists
the rich
slaves
the poor
Readers of the local paper thought __________.
the councillor was right to ban the play
Christianity gets favourable treatment compared with other religions
the organisers of the play should have changed the title to avoid confusion
the councillor should have known the play was about the crucifixion
This story illustrates the fact that ________.
too much time is spent on religious education in British schools
even native-speakers can get confused by the various meanings of a word
pornography is becoming a problem in the church
it’s more important to know your times tables than to waste time looking words up in the dictionary.