Episode 125: Pop Culture and Faith (Lessons from the Dark Side)--Hunchback

As they continue using pop culture as a mirror to check our own blind spots, pastors Erica, Sarah, and Steve look at the character of Claude Frollo from The Hunchback of Notre Dame (in particular, the Disney cartoon adaptation of the Victor Hugo original).  The way Frollo deals with his own struggles by lashing out at the Romani people (or as they are called by Frollo in the movie, "gypsies") and making them into a dangerous "other" has powerful parallels for how we continue to look for scapegoats rather than dealing with our own issues and problems.  That becomes even more dangerous when we add in the weight and authority of religion into the mix.  How do we deal with our own struggles and shortcomings honestly?  How do we learn to "sin well" rather than covering things up or making them worse?  And how might we learn not to rationalize our demonizing of other people, whether in a 19th century novel or 21st century American life?  Join the conversation in this week's episode of Crazy Faith Talk.