Galatians chapter 5 gives us 15 things that are detestable by God. Just in case you do not want to take the time to count them, here they are:
(1) sexual immorality, (2)impurity, (3)debauchery, (4)idolatry, (5)witchcraft, (6)hatred, (7)discord, (8)jealousy, (9)fits of rage, (10)selfish ambition, (11)dissensions, (12)factions, (13)envy, (14)drunkenness, (15)orgies
Now after reading these fifteen items I want you to watch a video and then finish what I am writing. Here is the link to the video; unfortunately I could not get it into the blog directly: http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/bestoftv/2007/09/13/sbt.griffin.panel.cnn
If you watched just the first minute you will get my point with having you look at Galatians chapter 5 first. I will not quote the saying, as it just plays into them, so watch it and you will know the phrase. If someone took out Jesus and added in Jew, Muhammad, Muslims, or any other person or religion there would be an outcry.
The backlash from saying the other names would cause such a frenzy that her career would be ruined, because no one would put up with it. Just ask Imus how that works. They all laughed in the video above when Jesus is used as a joke, but when girls are used as a joke then it should not be said and he should be fired. She just made fun of the Savior of the world and I am betting many Christians will rationalize it, saying that is just how she is. All I can say is: WAKE UP!!!! That is our Savior. Jesus died for you and me.
I am not telling you to threaten her, but to love her. I am not telling you to call her names, but to pray for her, as she is obviously very lost. What I am telling you though is to have no part of her program, to write asking for a public apology, and asking for her to be fired as others are when they make fun of people in such a way. If Imus was fired for his course jokes, and I am not saying that was wrong, then how much more so when someone makes fun of the creator of the world. There are consequences for our sin. It has nothing to do with free speech when you are talking about the person that gave us speech. What did Jesus do to deserve such statements to begin with except love His enemies, die for them, forgive them, defeat death for them, and give them salvation through Him. Wow, that seems pretty aweful.
Kathy Griffin just committed at least 9 of the 15 sins listed above; sins that God detests and I bet nothing will come of it. Is anyone else tired of it yet? Are you still watching programs that pick on our Savior: Family Guy, Simpsons and South Park come to mind right away, but I am sure there is a plethora?
The easiest way to let the media know we are tired is through their pocket books, because if no one is watching then sales for commercials will drop and they lose their show. How can a woman have no fear of saying such statements in a country that claims to be 80% Christian?
Lastly, I just want to give a shout out to Fox News Correspondent, Lauren Green, for coming out and saying something so quickly on behalf of Christians. Here is her posting, and it is worth the read as she gives another argument against what Kathy Griffin did, http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,296683,00.html. I have emailed to thank her and I would encourage you to do the same right after emailing Kathy Griffin and her company in regards to her heinous statements.
13 comments:
Obviously she was wrong in her words and she shouldn't have said it but at least she was honest. Jesus did not help her get her awards and I think that in the Bible somewhere it talks about that Christianity does not make sense to those who aren't Christians. Also, I think it says somewhere else that since they crucified and mocked Jesus at his death should we really expect anything different now? I mean the man was innocent and they crucified him for no reason so why are we suprised that they mock him now?
Amen! I agree totally with you. I am not surprised at all either. But I wish now like the apostles and like the martyr's of past and present that we would start to stand up more for our Savior.
I also wish we would pray more for our country and for people like Kathy. If she dies today, where will she be? What if one person took the time to look foolish with a person like her then maybe the Holy Spirit would prick her heart and she would come to know Christ.
You are right, sinners are blinded, and do not realize what they do or say, just like those at the cross.
So if sinner's are blinded and don't realize what they say or do just like with Jesus at the cross shouldn't we instead of publishing how suprised we are that evil people do evil shouldn't we post our support for them? Chances are Kathy is turned off from Jesus because of the hatred and turned up noses she sees from Christians. So if she sees love like Jesus had love for others then maybe she would love Christ. So instead of publishing how much what she said was wrong maybe we should post about our love for her and not our hatred for her actions right?
Didn't Jesus hold people accountable to their words thoughout His ministry? Didn't He hold the theif that did not accept Him accountable to His words? Was that theif not judged?
Then should we release all prisoners, as rapists, murders, and pedophiles just do what sinners do? Where is the line? That is slippery slope reasoning. Can lead to no responsibility for anything on our part.
Cannot I love someone and not agree at all with their sin? If they are going to say it publically then can't it be argued or disagreed with publically?
Did I not say to love her and pray for her in the blog? There are consequences for our actions and sin. Love does not take away responsibility for our sin temporally. If you overeat you will be overweight, sluggish and unhealthy. If you steal, you will go to jail. If you slander then you pay the consequences of that. Christ's love and sacrifice did take care of it eternally though for sure.
Lastly, I think Lauren Green in the article that I gave the link for gives a great argument that Jesus did allow her to win that award on many different fronts. Of course, He allows her to live and take a breath. He gives her common grace, in that He does not immediately punish her for her sin.
On the Cross, Jesus ignored the thief who mocked him. He was more concerned with the one who loved him. He would have been held accountable after he died.
The difference between her and a rapist, murder and a pedophile is that she did not a break a law. Mocking Christianity is not against the law, she did nothing illegal. It does not lead to a slippery slope it leads to following the law. We call for Imus to be fired becasue he broke FCC laws and regulations Kathy did not.
I am not saying that there is anything wrong with discussing it but to be suprised and call for her to befired or write letters to her expressing our dissappointment (not saying you did this but others have stated as much).
Just wanted to say thanks for the continued discussion, I have enjoyed it. It is always good to have thoughts challenged and debated in a friendly manner.
Interesting. . .so what your saying is then that extremist Muslim nations have the right then to torture and kill Christians, because their laws allow them?
Are we to follow the law of God or the law man when the two conflict? I would have to say that she crossed the line with her statements. Is it worse to call humans names or the Savior of the world? Isn't it lawful then for Christians to say that or write that to FCC or networks?
Would you not complain if someone talked about your wife, daughter, wife, husband, or son that way? How much more then should someone be affended for talking that way about our Savior? How much more should we let it be known? Imus was fired for saying racist comments about students and daughters, but in fact he was not fired for breaking FCC laws, but for the statements themselves.
Is not the Arian Nation allowed to march and air their hatred? The Iranian leader is even allowed to come on and talk hate speech against the Jews and it is allowed.
It is a matter of what the human culture deems acceptable today. Unfortunately, Jesus is not sacred anymore to Christians or otherwise.
Read Acts to see how people were dealt with when lying to the Holy Spirit, who is God.
It does not say that Jesus ignored the other theif, that is an argument from silence. It tells us that Jesus focused on the man that asked His forgiveness. Jesus gives it to Him. I would be under the same impression that Jesus just ignored Him.
Jesus also did not ignore Judas, and talks about him. Jesus talked to the Pharisees and Saducees very harshly. He called out the Samaritan woman. Talked about her sin before offering her Salvation.
Your Brother in Christ.
Agreed, my brother, I am whole-heartedly enjoying this discussion.
Why would you mention muslims? I didn't...It is not polite to put words in my mouth.
The difference between Kathy and Imus is that she was not working, she was accepting an award. And the difference between her and a christian is she only has one law. We as Christians have two, God's law and man's law. But she only has man's law. So to her she did not break any. She can not be expected to keep God's laws if she is not a Christian.
would I complain if someone insulted my wife, yes, would I call for them to be fired? Probably not if we weren't at work.
What I am simply saying is that shouldn't we spend more time praying for her and showing her the love of Christ rather than the condemnation of Christ's followers? You may be right that Christ isn't sacred anymore but he has still called us to hold his people sacred, even the ones that mock him.
(This is not the same person)
I'm going to have to agree. We have to remember that we live in the United States, which is made up of people of all beliefs. Just because the president claims Christianity, just because some of the founders of the nation claimed Christianity, doesn't mean that this is theocracy. We have laws set in place to allow people of all beliefs to live. If someone does something wrong in a Christian worldview, that doesn't mean we can condemn them. We can't judge nonbelievers. It's not up to us. A backlash asking for her resignation or firing only fuels stereotypes of Christianity as intolerant.
Millions of Christians in the United States and around the world view the fighting in Iraq as unjust. Keep in mind, these are Christians, of the same faith as the President claims. Should he then be removed from his church, as you speak of in above posts? Many Christians view violence as wrong, and even many of those who do not see the Iraq war as wrong, but the President isn't going to be "excommunicated" or even called into account by his congregation, wherever that may be. Why focus on a celebrity for this discussion, when a world leader is sinning?
As far as your comment that if Jew or Muslim was used there would be an "outcry," there are too many shows to count that make light of other religions. South Park? They have episodes based around just about every religion, from the Mormons to the Jews to Scientology. They are one of the most popular shows on TV still, despite any outcry, because people realize it is just comedy. They're thinking through these issues in their own way, and many times their conclusions are far more profound than shows on Christian channels. No one's career gets ruined by making light of Jesus in this country, but it's not a double standard.
Thank you for your comments. I enjoy the conversation.
First, please send me a clip from youtube with Southpark making fun of Muslims. I would love to see it, as I am doubting it is out there. South Park being a great show gives indication of where our culture is today. Glad to say I have not watched it past the commericials. Where did Christians get to that making fun of the Creator is "cool" or "okay?" Show me in the Bible or from the church fathers where this took place prior.
Again, big difference between what you are comparing. The Bible gives room for just war. There are many Christians that believe the war is good in its essence and some mistakes have been made. Big difference from that to someone saying "Suck it Jesus." It was not comedy and if someone said "Suck it Gays," or "Suck it Muslims," there would be a cry of hate speech. Go on T.V. and say it.
Lastly again, I would like to see your Biblical references to your opinions, which I thank you for. But when debating in such a manner I like to make sure that our thoughts and beliefs line up with the Inerrant Word of God and not just our feelings.
How do you show Christ without showing someone their sin as Christ always did? How can the repent if they see no need for repentance and a Savior? Isn't there a difference between forgiveness of sin and responsibility for our sin? When you are forgiven for sin does that take away the temporal ramifications for that sin or the eternal?
Luke 5:17-26
Jesus forgives the sins of the men who compassionately bring their friend to be healed, believing Christ has the power to do this. Jesus forgives their sins based on their faith. There is no mention of repentance, yet Jesus serves the paralytic. Also, as a side thing to ponder about atonement, this was before Christ's death and resurrection, yet sins were forgiven by Jesus without any sort of animal sacrifice. Maybe we put too much emphasis on Christ's death?
Back to the point, there are many instances where Jesus heals and serves, invites people to follow him and such, without speaking of sin at all. Just looking through Luke right now, I see many examples. And look at Luke 7:36-50. The Pharisees didn't want the woman in the house, and certainly wouldn't let her touch them as she did to Jesus, because she was a sinner (as we all are). There is no mention of her asking for forgiveness, only loving and serving Christ, and he in turn uses her as an example, forgiving her by her actions. "Her many sins were forgiven- for she loved much."
In Luke 13, Jesus does say repent or perish, but makes sure those listening understood that people who had faced death recently in their culture were not any greater sinners than anyone else. Everyone faces the same punishment, not just those that are seen publicly as sinners.
Luke 17:3-4 Jesus teaches to forgive without limit anyone who asks. If someone is sinning the same way 7 times in one day, that seems pretty habitual to me.
Let's look at Matthew 25, the sheep and the goats.
Who are the ones on the left? The ones who didn't serve those around him. The ones who enter the kingdom are the ones who fed the hungry, gave a drink to the thirsty, housed the homeless, clothed the naked, cared for the sick, visited those in prison.
This passage brings me back to my comment on who is more like Jesus in the other post. The one who serves or the one who casts others aside who sin?
http://video.aol.com/video-detail/south-park-muslim-sensitivity-training/1881933638
Here's some irreverance to muslims on south park, as you asked. It's not the only example. Any other religions you'd like to see them make fun of?
Also, are you really saying that a "just war" is less hurtful than someone saying "suck it?"
Watched the video and I must say that it was nothing compared to the way they teach Jesus. They did not have an image of Muhammad and did not say anything against him. I want to see Muhammad portrayed the way Christ is if you want to rationalize Jesus being made fun of, which I am not sure why anyone would rationalize the Creator of the Universe being treated in such a fashion. Gives a lot of credibility to two wrongs make a right.
My point is you are comparing to different things, comedy and war. You are not comparing apples to apples, more like apples to cars.
Where do you place making fun of our Savior, your Creator? Do you make fun of your mother the way you think it is funny to make fun of Christ? Would you be happy if they replaced Jesus in those comedies with your Mom?
I would hope not, and how much worse then Jesus Christ the Son of God, who is to be our first and most important love. What a way to treat the one you love. I feel pity for those with loved ones that think treating Jesus in such a fashion is funny, as it says how they probably get treat the ones they love. No sanctity for the Holy.
For my comments to this blog see my current blog.
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