Page 69 - Aesthetic Formations Media, religion, and the Sense

54 Martijn Oosterbaan

Deus dos Últimos Dias stepped up the stage that was set up especially
for the occasion. The church members of his congregation had hung up
a huge screen on which were projected images of the service as it was
conducted, alternated with images of a service held in an overpopu-
lated prison in the city. The video of the prison showed hundreds of
men behind bars, responding to an emotional gospel song performed
by a young woman and men praying out loud with the Bible in their
hands. The service in the square started with a loudly amplified, live
performance of the same woman and was followed by the testimony of
a well-dressed man. Clutching a microphone in his hand, he spoke of
his life before his conversion. He was dressed in suit and tie and he gave
an emotional speech about his life of crime. At a certain point he
shouted: “Yes, I was walking around with a gun. I was riding in my
convertible. I told everybody I was from the Comando Vermelho (drugs
gang), but the Comando Vermelho is of the devil. The devil created the
Comando Vermelho. He also created the Terceiro Comando (another
drugs gang). Was I crazy? Was I dumb? No, I was possessed by the
devil. But then Jesus came and the devil lost his power and I was liber-
ated by the glory of Jesus Christ.” Approximately 300 men and women
in the square cheered enthusiastically. Then pastor Marcos introduced
a man who was sitting on the stage with him: deputado estadual (state
deputy) Fábio Silva, son of the owner of the popular evangelical radio
station Melodia. He praised Fábio for all the good work that he was
doing for the community (comunidade), and he asked the audience to
welcome him in the name of the Lord. While there were plenty of peo-
ple present, the pastor complained that there were not as many people
2
as he had expected: “there must be a baile funk happening somewhere
close by,” he cynically added. At the apotheosis of the evening men and
women were invited to step close to the stage to be delivered by pastor
Marcos and his helpers. The men of the church stepped down from the
stage and grabbed people by their heads, praying firmly. Various people
fell down to the ground, touched by the Holy Spirit. The conclusion of
the night was reserved for the pastor himself. To demonstrate his
authority as powerful mediator of the Holy Spirit, he delivered a young

man from a distance of several meters. Simply at the gesture of his
hand, the young man fell backward as if hit by powerful blow.
While drawing a large crowd, the pastor was highly aware that he was
competing with other attractive events during this night. The baile funk
parties draw many youngsters and are regularly portrayed as a confirma-
tion of the reign of the drug gangs, who often use them as an occasion to
display their power. In the eyes of many converts, the baile funk parties—
together with the popular samba and pagode parties—signify the “worldly”