Posted by Helen on: 04.21.2007 /
American Family Radio claims they’ve had lots of positive response to this (they list some on their page). Speaking for myself I found it offensive: it strikes me as outrageously insensitive and arrogant. I was interested to see that youtube comments on it have been disabled.
Comment by: Andrew
1Hmmm - I agree - insensitive to say the least.
So much more I want to say - but can’t seem to form a cogent thought right now - tired!
Cheers!
Comment by: Joy
2AFA and Don Wildmon are fear-mongers. This is a true example of illogical logic. GROAN!!
Comment by: Keith
3This video is embarrassing. It is a shame to see someone kick a community when it is down. I have written to AFA and hope to receive an explanation as to the rationale behind the video. We’ll see how that goes.
Comment by: Doreen
4This is disgusting! What is more disgusting (and scary) - the number of people who BELIEVE this!
Comment by: Karen
5Arrrggh… that totally encapsulates the lying, distortion, arrogance and insensitivity of that particular faction of conservative Christianity.
Just about every single statement in that piece of crap is wildly misleading or downright untruthful. For goodness’ sakes, it implies that child pornography has been legalized!
And notice they don’t mention homosexuals, but feature video of a gay pride parade? You can’t make a video like this without gay bashing by default, I guess. Sigh.
Comment by: Friendly Atheist » The Video Gets More Absurd With Each Passing Second
6 04/22/07 9:30 PM | Comment Link |[...] Conversations at the Edge) Share This Popularity: 1% [...]
Comment by: benjamin ady
7What a puny, pathetic god replies to concerned student in this video
If such a god answered me in such a way, I’d fire her, and put an ad in the local paper for a better one.
If we reap what we sow, then what is the harvest going to be of our current ongoing activities in Iraq?
Comment by: Helen
8Thanks everyone.
Karen wrote:
What bothers me is that there can only be two possibilities here: either they don’t know this is how the video comes across to many people outside their subculture, or they don’t care (which would be even worse, imo).
Benjamin, thanks for that summary of the beginning of the video. I quite agree that the God portrayed by that answer totally sucks. Again I don’t think the makers of the video or those who are praising it have any idea what a puny pathetic God they are portraying. Not just puny and pathetic in fact - but passive-aggressive and mean and petty.
The people who made this video are sowing and I don’t think they have any idea of much of what they’re reaping with it.
Comment by: HereandNow
9It seems to me that this ad is more of a political thing than a theological thing. Politics, it appears, is what many evangelicals believe Christianity is all about. Form a PAC, appeal to the public with fear-mongering, get some smug guy to read the script, put a bunch of flags in the video, and lie your ass off about current events. I’d write more but I have to go vomit.
Comment by: Gary Means
10The video saddened me. These shootings did not happen because of taking public prayer or the Bible out of schools. They happened because we live in a broken world and we are a broken people.
As a society we value cheap sentimentalism over authentic love, we celebrate artificial celebrity personas and learn to secretly despise normalcy. We demand easy answers to all of life’s problems, especially if we can buy those answers. Seldom are people willing to examine the darkness in their own hearts and learn of their own poverty and need for God.
I don’t believe we can ever legislate the hearts of the citizens of this nation, as much as James Dobson and his cronies insist that we can. I’ve heard him talk about “taking back our country”. Where does he want to take it back to, a time when segregation was legal, when women were expected to do little more than bear children, make cookies, and go to PTA meetings?
There are no easy answers. Much of the time life is hard and painful. Evil things happen with no satisfactory explanation. I refuse to accept the idea that God brings horrific terrorist acts or devastating storms to our soil to punish us for allowing same-sex civil unions.
My only hope is in a God who desires to reconcile broken people to Himself, who esteems the poor in spirit, the peacemakers, and who smiles on those individuals who seek to love Him with their whole life, and to love their neighbors as themselves.
Comment by: Eliza
11I Say “TOTALLY DUMB”!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
(by John, age 8 & 8/12)
E:>
Comment by: Helen
12Thanks for your comment, John!
Comment by: Pam Hogeweide
13this reminds me of the whole blaming 9/11 on how godless america is debate back in ‘01. Remember that one?
(so good to be back in the blogosphere after a bit of a hiatus. great to hear familiar voices still talking with one another. you guys rock.)
Comment by: Eliza
14Thoughtful comments - thanks especially to Gary Means (with whom my son cross-posted last night).
The video makers are probably not interested in critiques of their assumptions and statements, but here are some thoughts. Churches (and Christians) have, unfortunately, not been safe from incursions by people bent on committing violence. (Church burnings. Murders including shootings in churches and by/of church people. It’s not clear that anyone, or any place, is immune from the taint of violence. Oh, right - check out the Holy Land.) Nor have some churches & church leaders, in the past, been immune from becoming the perpetrators - the Inquisition and the Salem witch hunts, as major examples.
How about lack of gun control, stigmatization of (and inadequate resources for treatment of) mental health problems, and alienation, as major factors behind some of the violent episodes the video mentions?
But the main counterargument to this video is that God is not barred from schools. Christian teachings & the Ten Commandments are no longer part of the curriculum in public schools, but - as they say - prayer will exist in schools as long as there are exams. And, beyond that, are not schools full of humans, displaying amazing features of humanity, including verbalization, reflection, deduction, and mutual support? If God designed us, wouldn’t he/she rejoice in seeing people reach for the fullness of their potential?
Comment by: Helen
15Hi Pam, it’s good to see you back!
Eliza, unfortunately I think you’re probably right that the video makers would not be interested in critiques of their assumptions and statements.
Comment by: Keith
16Over the past couple of days, I have made a number of attempts to get in contact with the decision-makers at AFA. Yesterday, I had some brief success through a sister organization … specifically my complaint regarded the petty and inaccurate portrayal of God in the false quote attributed to Him at the beginning. I have heard a number of unconvincing reasons as to why the video was justified, but was able to hear from at least one person yesterday that I have a good point regarding the false quote attribute to God at the beginning. I am continuing this process in e-mails and phone messages to the Executive Assistant to the Chairman at AFA. Just keeping you guys updated … I’m not sure what the end result will be, but I plan to follow this road to its end.
Comment by: Helen
17Wow Keith - thank you so much for making the effort to talk to the AFA about your concerns. Keep us posted.
Comment by: Mardell
18I didn’t receive the video link, but my sister-in-law sent me the complete text of it. It made me feel so sad and very angry but I chose not to repsond to her. A few months back she also sent an email about the bogus “information” on Barack “Hussein” Obama and my response to that was energised to put it mildly. It led me to a place I’m pretty sure Jesus would’ve frowned upon. Turning the other cheek is so very hard, especially when you realize that you never run out of cheeks to turn…you always have another one. I guess I’d like to know at what point in our collective history were things ever so perfect that we need to want to go back to that time. Sorry for my wandering muddled thoughts this morning.
Comment by: julie marie
19so, it would seem a majority of modern problems should be fixed if we go back to school sanctioned prayer and school sanctioned corporal punishment.
Well thats an easy fix, now, isn’t it? I wonder why no one has thought of it before.