Defending Christianity

I've spent a good part of 2008 being very critical of Evangelicals and the Church. I thought I'd take a moment to defend Christianity, Evangelicals and the Church.

My criticism of my fellow believers has been in their defense of marriage using lies and deceptions and the seduction of power that has taken over many pastors and church leaders.

I came across this article by Skip Press about "Hollywood vs. Jesus" and it reminded me of the contempt that so many have against that which I truly believe in. I'm still grow tired of these attack.

I have been a Born-Again Evangelical Christian for almost 25 years. My relationship with Jesus, as rocky and glorious as it has truly been both personal and life-changing to the point that I hope everyone comes to understand Christ and Christianity as I do.

In the late 80's, a movie came out called "The Last Temptation of Christ" and it claimed to show the humanity of Christ, but by humanity it showed that he struggled with temptation and sin, like lust. I lead a campaign at my church to publically denounce this movie. Almost 20 years later, my opinion about the church and world has changed. I don't want to say I've become more liberal but I'm more forgiving of Hollywood. I still believe I did the right thing with Last Temptation of Christ, even though it makes me look like a sign-carrying censor.

Recently "The DaVinci Code" and now the TV Mini-series "The Last Templar" has really gotten my Pro-Christian activism blood flowing. Both movies set out to reveal that Christ was only a human being, thus effectively taking down Christianity, who core belief is that Jesus Christ was God in human flesh (more than a human).

Honestly, it's never easy to watch anyone mock what you believe in. It's one thing to disagree but it like telling Mother jokes. Sure it's funny to say your mother is great in bed, but she's still your mother.

I work every weekend at a comedy theater in San Diego. I'm probably only one of a few Christians in the group. I put up with Jesus jokes. I've seen Jesus jokes protrayed on stage, and I sit quietly. But at the same time, Jesus is very real to me. He died for me and he is someone that I try to pattern my life after.

It's disheartening to see Jesus protrayed the way he is in the movies or shown as someone he's not, like the husband of Mary (DaVinci Code) or a man rendered useless by overwhelming temptation (Last Temptation) or someone who in vain could not convince the world he was not God (Last Templar).

If anything, I'll let you make fun of the church for the stupid and silly things we do, but please show a little more respect for Jesus Christ.

Obama Jokes Taboo?

I was just watching the season premiere of Saturday Night Live with Michael Phelps.  Overall it was pretty funny. Tiny Fey was spot on with her impersonation of Sarah Palin. Even as a Republican, I had to laugh.

I found it interesting that amongst the barrage of McCain and Palin jokes, there was not one joke that entire night that made fun of Obama.  Even during the race between Hillary Clinton and Obama, there were very few jokes poking fun at Barak Obama.

My first thought was that this could be a race thing.  There are certainly comedy taboos that apply to Obama and other African American public figures, but none of those taboos are funny, nor apply to Obama. They will also make fun of Jesse Jackson and Rev. Al Sharpton.

My second thought is obviously the liberal media and SNL writers really want Obama to win so their attacks are solely on McCain and Palin. But then again, they were pretty ruthless to Hillary Clinton and she certainly has a lot of issues in her life to poke fun.  SNL certainly has had a lot of fun at Hillary’s expense.

My conclusion is that Barak Obama is a boring guy.  Much that came up during the RNC was the fact that Barak has not done anything in his career. And we know very little about his personal life, except that he attends churches where the pastors have questionable character. Aside from that, who is Barak Obama? We don’t know enough about him to make fun of him.  He’s just a middle-aged African-American from the Midwest who has sat in the Senate and voted on legislation.  He’s never headed a committee nor written a piece of legislation.  Really, what do we know if this guy.

My next question is who will be the brave comedian to make the first Barak Obama joke?

Another Case of Liberal Descrimination

It amazes me how liberal democrats can say they take the mantle of equal rights and free speech and at the same time dish out the same level of discrimination and censorship.

 

TMZ.com reports that Barry Manilow cancelled his appearance on The View because he did not want to be on the same stage as Elizabeth Hasselbeck.  Manilow states “I strongly disagree with [Hasselbeck’s] views. I think she’s dangerous and offensive. I will not be on the same stage as her.”  To their credit, Barbara Walters said it was “too bad” about Barry’s stand and producer Bill Geddie adds “we don’t do that…we support everybody…he’s not going to call the shots.

 

This is not the only instance of liberal not wanting to be in the vicinity of conservatives.  It’s just the most recent.  Here’s the hypocrisy of the whole situation:

 

• Censorship. Liberals support your freedom of speech as long as you agree with liberals or if you don’t, then keep your mouth shut.
• Discrimination.  Liberals will discriminate against you based on creed and religion.  There’s a reason why Hollywood and the press are mostly comprised of liberals.  Once a liberal finds out that you’re a conservative they automatically label you as closed minded and fanatical. This, my friend, is classic prejudice. 
• Hatred. Liberal will say that conservatives hate minorities, the poor, etc.  But with even more passion, they can get away with hating a person with opposite views.  They describe any outspoken conservative and evil and hateful, or as Mr. Manilow puts it “dangerous and offensive.”

 

I have many liberal friends, but I will tell you that when Bush won re-election in 2004, I was not a well-liked person.  It wasn’t for anything that I did personally, but it was based solely on my beliefs.

 

In response, I did not “hate” my liberal friends when the Democrats took back Congress.  Because they had nothing to do with it.

 

Your comments are welcome.

Mel Gibson and the Liberal Media

I've always believed the media in general has a liberal agenda.  Many will say they don't, but they do.  Here's what I call the subtle example.  It's not blatant but it's a tactic that I see a lot.

The principle here is that you report a story that should be positive toward a public conservative, but you have to cast doubt.  The key though is that is doesn't matter who dissents.  Any one will do.

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AP News - 12/7/05
Mel Gibson Plans Holocaust Miniseries

Mel Gibson is stirring passions again with his latest project - a nonfiction TV movie set against the backdrop of the Holocaust.

Gibson's Con Artist Productions is developing "Flory" for ABC, based on the true story of a Dutch Jew named Flory Van Beek and her non-Jewish boyfriend who sheltered her from the Nazis, The New York Times and Variety reported in Wednesday editions.

Critics claimed Gibson's blockbuster film "Passion of the Christ" was anti-Semitic, a charge Gibson has denied. Gibson's father also is on the record denying that the Holocaust took place.

"For (Gibson) to be associated with this movie is cause for concern," Rafael Medoff, director of the David S. Wyman Institute for Holocaust Studies in Melrose Park, Pa., told the Times. "He needs to come clean that he repudiates Holocaust denial."

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Who is the hell is Rafael Medoff?  He's the only guy the media could find to say something outrageous about Mel Gibson.

An example of this happens against conservatives as well.  If a story that favors the legalization of abortion comes out, the media doesn't go to those of us who have thoughtful opinions about abortion, the media goes right to the religious lunatic.

If the press was really about fair reporting, they would get actual experts on both sides to quote.

Yet another example of Media Bias

From AP (10/3/05) Headline - Hispanics Upset Bush Passed on Them

"President Bush has again ignored highly qualified Latino judges, attorneys and law professors who could serve the nation ably on the United States Supreme Court," said Ann Marie Tallman, executive director of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, after Miers' nomination was announced Monday.

"The failure of this administration to nominate a Hispanic judge to the Supreme Court is a slap in the face to all those highly qualified Hispanic judges that dutifully serve on our federal courts across the nation," said Raul Yzaguirre, former president of the National Council of La Raza. "Our community continues to contribute to the greatness of this nation and yet, we are ignored for a vital role on our third branch of governance."

Here's how the media goes to liberal groups to get quotes about the President's Actions that are unwarranted. This story would have had some credence if the organization they interviewed were actual Bush supporting organizations.

If Bush had nominated a Hispanic, then the National Organization of Women would have been all over Bush's case for not replacing O'Conner with another women.  Either way you had two separate groups that the media was eager to get comments based on the nomination.  Bush should have picked a Hispanic Woman.

One last thing, we already know that the Democrats would have shot down two of Bush's Hispanic nominees because they were too conservative.

Example of Liberal Media Bias

Today, President Bush nominated attorney Harriet Miers to the Supreme Court.

One would think that an unbiased news organization would have a headline that might say:

"President Bush Nominates Miers to Supreme Court"

No, here's AP's headline (10/3/05):

"High Court Nominee Has Never Been a Judge"

Which headline reports the fact and which one offers opinion?