recent presidential election: A slew of officersrnfrom the entourage of Troshev andrnCaucasian Military District commanderrnKazantsev have secured appoinhnents tornelite units serving in the Moscow MilitaryrnDistrict (MMD). In short, Putin isrnnow surrounded by Chechen generalsrnwho could play a pivotal role in decidingrnthe fate of Yeltsin’s successor if the Kremlinrndoes something they don’t like—suchrnas opening peace negotiations with thernChechens. Putin’s mentor, Boris Yeltsin,rnstripped the army of men and equipment,rnweakened the MMD, transferredrnresources to the MVD, and boosted thernelite Airborne Forces as his unofficialrnpresidential guard. (Yeltsin was notrnknown as a political survivor for nothing.)rnBut Putin has transferred command ofrnMVD units in the Caucasus to an armyrngeneral and has not kept up the flow ofrnextra pay and generous perks to the AirbornernForces.rnMeanwhile, army commanders are increasinglyrninsubordinate, rumors arernmoimting of a Bin Laden-brokered Islamistrnoffensive in both the Caucasusrnand Centra] Asia this summer, and thernRussian media are reporting airstrikesrnagainst rebel positions inside Ingushetia.rnWhat will happen next is anybody’srnguess, but one thing is clear: Putin, propelledrninto the presidency by both the oligarchsrnand the military/security apparatus,rnis not entirely in control of thernKremlin.rn— Denis Petrovrn” F A L S E C H W S T S shall arise,” warnedrnour Lord, “insomuch that, if it were possible,rnthey shall deceive the very elect.”rnChristians of any other era would applyrnthis admonition to the Christ of CBS’s Jesus,rnthe April miniseries that captured arngeneral endorsement from evangelicalsrnand Catholics both here and abroad. OnrnItalian television, the film received thernhighest ratings of any show this year.rnHere in the land of capitalism, the filmrnhas been accompanied by not one butrnthree soundtracks, which include songsrnby both “secular” and “Christian” rockrnsuperstars, including Hootie & ThernBlowfish, D.C. Talk, and Leann Rimes.rnRimes has a breathy ballad dedicatedrnto Jesus entitled, “I Need You” —norndoubt an instant classic in churches withrnvideo monitors and “praise teams” whorndelight in Jesus-is-my-bovfriend choruses.rnBut this should be of no surprise tornanyone who has seen the miniseries.rnThe Lamb of God is played by JeremyrnSisto, formerlv of the hit movie Clueless.rnSave for a few key moments, such asrnwhen he is crucified, he can’t seem tornwipe the smarmy grin off his face. Hernperforms miracles in a “Dude —I toldrnyou so” manner. He struggles to fight offrnthe advances of both Mary of Bethany (?)rnand Mary Magdalene (“Crace” of NBC’srncelebration of sodomy, Will and Grace).rnStill shots of Sisto have him staring, hipcocked,rneffeminate but macho, with hisrnhair blowing in the wind. Cod electedrnthe Man of Sorrows; CBS would ratherrnhe be sexy.rnBut this is the Jesus of American evangelicalism,rnnot the invention of studio executives.rnHollywood has simply answeredrnthe question, “Wliom do men sayrnthat I am?” Evangelicals have madernlarge profits for CBS on Sunday nightsrnby devouring the fluffy gnosticism ofrnTouched by an Angel. So it only madernsense that a film about the life of Jesus, ifrnendorsed by the right evangelical leaders,rnwould be a formulaic success capable ofrnblasting ABC’s Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?rnand Fox’s Beverly Hills 90210 seriesrnfinale out of the water.rnIt is easy to take shots at this film —thernmuddled Arianism, the altered details ofrnthe Cospels, the degenerate actors chosenrnto play Jesus, Mary, and Mary Magdalene.rnBut American Christianity hasrnbecome so market driven that it cannotrnsee the glaring problems with this film;rninstead, it chooses to overlook them all,rnin the hope that, by being “all things to allrnmen,” they might “win some.” JeremvrnSisto is simply every church’s dreamrnyouth pastor. He shows us the playfulrnside of the Judge of Heaven and Earth.rnHe is, in the words of the Joan Osbournernsong, “just a slob like one of us.” Butrnmore than that, he gives pastors andrnpriests a video to show to young peoplernduring youth hour. After all, catechismsrnand sermons are so boring.rnAll this points to a deeper problem associatedrnwith any “Jesus” movie: Salvationrnis “good news,” and that news comesrnto us in words —words preached, andrnwords (sacramentally) mider water, wine,rnand bread. That news is of Christ crucifiedrnfor our sins and raised for our salvationrn—not the “Christ” who came torn”teach us how to love” (in the words ofrnMr. Sisto).rnBut many evangelicals will overlookrnmajor theological and moral faux pas (asrnwell as terrible acting and a wretchedrnscript) because they see a good “Jesus”rnmovie as a conversion tool — indeed, forrnsome, the only effective conversion toolrnin our sensate age. Of course, the baitand-rnswitch technique usually stops withrnthe bait, and converts to hip Christianityrnoften quickly grov’ weary of this faddish,rnpseudo-religion. Serious Christiansrnshould challenge their ministers if theyrnengage in these tactics, rememberingrnthat “he that entereth not by the door intornthe sheepfold, but climbeth up somernother way, the same is a thief and a robber.”rn-Aaron D. WolfrnO B I T E R DICTA: The editorial staff ofrnChronicles is pleased to welcome ourrnnewest colleague, Jeffrey Thomas Kuhner,rnwho joins us as assistant editor. Jeff,rnwho hails from the Great White Northrn(Montreal), has benefited greatly fromrnthe easing of immigration restiictions underrnNAFTA. A doctoral student in AmericanrnHistory at Ohio University, Jeff isrnwriting his dissertation on Robert A. Taft.rn(A portion of his research appeared in thernJune 1998 issue of C/ironicfes.) Jeff andrnhis wife, Grace, live in Loves Park, Illinois,rnjust over the border from Rockford.rnAny editorial errors in this issue are entirelyrnhis fault.rnThe poetry of Constance Rowell Mastoresrnof Oakland, California, returns tornour pages this month. Her poems havernappeared in the Lyric, Press, Blue Unicom,rnBoulevard, and Artweek, among others.rnOur cover artist this month is VincentrnS. Chiaramonte of Rockford, Illinois. Arngraduate of the American Academy ofrnArt, Chiaramonte is an internationallyrnrecognized portrait artist whose subjectsrnhave included Mayor Richard M. Daleyrnof Chicago. He holds signature membershipsrnin the American Society of PortraitrnArtists, the Portrait Institute, and thernWashington Society- of Portrait Artists,rnamong others. His artwork has recentlyrnbeen chosen to appear in The Best of Pastels,rna book commemorating the PastelrnSociety of America’s 25th anniversarv.rnOur interior art is provided by our artrndirector, H. Ward Sterett of Roscoe, Illinois.rnMr. Sterett received his B.F.A.rnfrom the Universit)’ of Colorado and hisrnM.F.A. from Northern Illinois University,rnand attended the L’Abri Fellowship,rnwhere he studied the effect of Christianityrnon art. He currently works as a sculptor,rnpainter, and printmaker in Roscoe.rnAUGUST 2000/9rnrnrn