The Art of the Cassette and Listening

Throughout much of the third chapter my eyes were opened to the many dualities associated with listening to these sermons on the cassettes. The first striking one was between this state of relaxing while listening, but at the same time, focusing on every word in the sermon. The people listening to these cassettes find peace while listening, but it's not a passive peace like the one associated with listening to calming music. This peace the people feel is much more active; it involves the conscious thought that only God is in control and he is the ultimate decider of your life, no matter what frustrations or difficulties arise. They relax by actively reminding themselves of their place in this world, confronting their shortcomings and asking for repentance. This very act is extremely similar to  the relaxation associated with attending a religious service in person.

Additionally, the listener also preforms. I see a sermon as an obvious performance, but listening is an art as well. Not only do these believers focus intently on the words of the sermons, but they also perform many of the same vocalizations that they would as if the sermon was being preached live. They are ready to pronounce the various utterances of their religion and it's very interesting how involved this entire process is. The act of listening to a cassette is stated as being inferior to being in a live sermon, but from the reading, it only seems slightly so.

Through this, it makes it very clear that technology does have a place in these ultimately traditional religions. The believers, regardless of their personal situations or walks of life are introduced as people who are struggling, and the cassette is an extremely effective medium to keep them faithful. It performs so many of the vital actions that attending a religious service offers, like reminding people of the greatness of God and how they are called to live a life of purity. The example of someone who looks at a women with lustful eyes is used, and without the cassette, the man would be in such a hurry that the sin would be forgotten, but the cassette sermon instead invokes the particular set of ethical responses that results of people feeling "realigned with God", ultimately serving its purpose.