Have you been wondering why the upcoming reincarnation of Issues, Etc. calls its website "Pirate Christian Radio"? I admit it: I have. After all, what do pirates have to do with Christians? Can/Should Christians consider themselves pirates?I must also admit that my first thought was along the lines of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies. It's an odd thing to watch a movie and root for *the pirates* as "the good guys," but in those movies Captain Jack Sparrow, Will Turner and company are indeed "the good guys" (okay, protagonists) even though they are pirates. After all, they do have to "fight" against not only the bad pirates (Davey Jones, et. al.), but also against the tyrannical British imperialists in the movies.
Could something like that be in the minds of "the pirates" behind the new Issues, Etc.? Well, we'll just have to wait and listen and hope they explain such fine points of Christian doctrine. :-)
In the meantime, though, here's another possible, and speculative, explanation offered by Pr. Joel Brondos as he looks to St. Augustine for clues.
Thanks, wrmyers!
ReplyDeleteI assume that Pirate Radio is a reference to the historic designation for radio stations that operate outside of regulations or contrary to local regulation. Orson Wells broadcast English language shows from Luxemburg to be received in England. These broadcasts were not sanctioned by the UK but were perfectly legal. In a similar sense US broadcasts to Cuba or the old Radio Free Europe could be considered Pirate Radio.
ReplyDeleteI would tend to agree with anonymous above. "Pirate radio" is a radio station that operates outside the normal jurisdiction of government regulations and international agreements (that keep stations from bordering each other from stepping on each others's signals). In many cases they allowed a freer disemination of information or a wider range of music to be heard that were not approved by the government of the people that they served. In a similar vain, Pirate Christian Radio can serve those Lutherans with a message that will not be provided by the LCMS.
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