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  • 11 years ago
I went and saw this play at the Mark Taper Theater in Los Angeles last night which really opened a lot of doors for discussing religion in today's world.

BEST OF 2015
The New York Times, New York magazine, TIME magazine
"A doctrinal earthquake…That rare play about religion that both believers and nonbelievers can embrace."

—Charles McNulty, Los Angeles Times
"A provocative new play…flesh-and-blood believers grappling with hard choices about deeply felt truths. In a rarity for depictions of the religious, there's no trace of condescension or cynicism."

—Thom Geier, The Wrap

On the anniversary of the megachurch he founded, Pastor Paul feels called to deliver a new message, though he knows it will shake the foundation of everything he has built. No matter your faith, or lack thereof, The Christians — a play with a full, live choir — compels a conversation that attempts to bridge the seemingly insurmountable distance between us. Do you have the courage to change your heart?
Transcript
00:00I have a powerful urge to communicate with you, but I find the distance between us insurmountable.
00:25There is a crack.
00:28And if we don't fix that crack, it doesn't matter how solid this building is, we will
00:33crumble.
00:34And I just want you to know that I think this new direction you're taking us is exciting.
00:38We are no longer a congregation that says, my way is the only way.
00:44The Lord is telling me you are going against his word.
00:49Yes, I got that, Brother Joshua.
00:52If you really believe what you say, you believe you are not my brother, then you're free to
00:56leave this church.
01:05You're saying that absolute tolerance requires intolerance of the intolerant.
01:13My advice to you is to be patient, to sit with it, to pray, to have an open heart,
01:22and the understanding will come.
01:25What happens when you tell a congregation they don't need to believe?
01:29What do you want me to do?
01:31What I want you to do, I don't want you to do because I want you to do it.
01:34I want you to do something because you believe it.
01:46They say your wife is leaving you.
01:48Where did people hear that?
01:49You never consulted me, you never told me you were struggling with something.
01:53That tells me that I am not on the same level as you.
01:55They say people don't attend the church anymore.
01:58Attendance went down.
01:59They say the church has gone back into debt.
02:02We've hit a rough patch.
02:03I believe what I believe because I know it's true.
02:07But why do I know it's true?
02:10It's a feeling.
02:12And where did that feeling come from?
02:14God.
02:16I'm praying for you, brother.
02:33I'm praying for you, brother.

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