Friday, March 07, 2008

Form vs Substance


It has been popular in certain venues, particularly with regard to worship, to argue that what matters is only the substance of the worship, and not its form. I would like to submit the above video as an exhibit to the contrary. The substance is Mary Poppins. Only the form has changed. And yet, what is communicated? I'll leave it at that for now...

(HT Will Nielson/Nielson's Nook)

8 comments:

Mike said...

Form always matters. Anyone who has ever studied music would find this undeniable. Our experience is based in our perception. Change the perception, change the experience.

Mike

Mike said...

Awesome video by the way!

Mike

Matthew Bradley said...

Although I stand by my comments, I posted this video as much for the humor factor as the point it made. Jay, despite agreeing with me, dismantled my illustration this afternoon. He's probably right. But it IS a great video, isn't it?

GUNNY said...

LOVED it!

Got anymore slooge like this?

Matthew Bradley said...

Not at present, but I'll let you know if I come across something Gunny.

Had a great time on Friday...glad you could make it!

Mike said...

Well, any illustration can be taken apart at some level (in fact they all fall apart at some level), but that does not make the illustration invalid. In this case I still think it is a wonderful illustration. My other favorite is music. You can take any one part of a compositions style and while the substance is the same, you have something completely different. My music professor in college used Cartman singing "Come Sail Away" by Styx as a perfect example of this.

I think while your point is certainly valid still, I still believe it is a sound illustration.

Mike

GUNNY said...

You've inspired me.

I'm planning to make a contribution to the discussion of this topic via video on Monday.

Stay tuned ...

Matthew Bradley said...

Nice...looking forward to it Gunny! For those that haven't been to Gunny's blog, you can find him at Semper Reformanda.