Okay, a meme is a template, a simple image that can be used to make one's individual point or

sarcastic point by adding text over the top of a standard template, some kind of image.

It can be anything, something from a movie, like three still shots of an exchange

between a couple of characters who are really expressive from a movie and it looks like

maybe the characters are thinking or saying a certain thing but it doesn't take on

its full meaning until you put the text over the top. So for example a couple of

classics there's one of a really elegant

lady with her hand to her head and a tear slowly rolling down her cheek. This is

popular like eight or ten years ago it It's the first world problems meme.

And the picture is very dramatic and she's obviously very sad

but also very composed.

And then what you put over the top

is some ridiculous thing that isn't really

that big a deal at all and shouldn't evoke that much emotion and so the joke comes in two parts the part that is pre-supplied that is the image and then the part that you supply that is the funny thing that you thought of that is a first world problem.

The distracted boyfriend meme, the pretty girl in the red dress is in front,

he's walking along and his girlfriend is like, what, why are you looking at the girl in the red dress and then you label the girl in the red dress something you label the girlfriend something you label the guy something it makes some kind of political point this concept of having a communication device that is half template, half you putting your own spin on it to illustrate a point is not only genius, it is also very, very old. We see this kind of thing being

employed in Roman ruins in Pompeii. You can see cartoons and caricatures and

even political commentary that's graffitied onto walls that looks like it is following

Some kind of meme format I think it's possible that the beatitudes are exactly this kind of ancient meme.

I think Jesus may have been drawing on a known format

that we're gonna talk about in just a minute

and that he may have expanded upon it or put his text

...