This week, the world will stop turning; or at least it will for the daytime soap opera “As The World Turns,” which officially ends after 53 years. But if we remember the soap opera solely as a torrid celebration of sexual transgression—or as a frivolous time-waster for bored housewives—we miss understanding something crucial about the relationship between popular culture and morality.
Jesus was pretty clear about divorce: it’s a sin. If you live in California you can sign a petition to make it illegal — and see how it feels to try to step on the civil rights of others.
Although Rick Warren’s Saddleback church teaches women that physical abuse is not grounds for divorce, there is a growing literature for evangelical women—by their peers—that shows women how to get out of an abusive marriage, while remaining in the church.
When Bruce Pardo, dressed as Santa Claus, murdered friends and family on Christmas eve he was acting out a tragic bit of ceremonial violence, and borrowing an ironic and horrifying role from film and comics.