Mainstream Media Celebrate Easter, Again
Christians are about to begin their Holy Week, and you know what that means. We're entering the season during which the media highlight sensational challenges to Christianity's core beliefs. Jesus didn't die on a cross, and he had a wife and kids, don't you know?
Which brings us to TIME magazine's cover story this week, a gleeful report about how real Christians, know there's no such pesky thing as hell (nevermind what Jesus said, and all that).
The piece is mostly a waste of time (although you're welcome to see my review of the whole thing here). But let's check out my favorite part, the ending:
Fair enough, but let’s be honest: religion heals, but it also kills. Why support a supernatural belief system that, for instance, contributed to that minister in Florida’s burning of a Koran, which led to the deaths of innocent U.N. workers in Afghanistan?
I’m sure, like me, when you think of the belief system that led to the murders and rampages in Afghanistan, your mind immediately blames Christianity. Am I right?
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Jun '10
Re: Mainstream Media Celebrate Easter, Again
How long do dissidents (religious or political) live in all the places (and all the times) where Christianity is not allowed? What's their life expectancy? Not long. That's not just a coincidence. In this world, it's Judeo-Christian culture that bestows adequate dignity on the individual. It bestows dignity on jerks, on criminals, on kooks, and even the unborn. Christianity has been a remarkable success in a normally cruel world.
Nov '10
Re: Mainstream Media Celebrate Easter, Again
"And behold, others he flattereth away, and telleth them there is no hell; and he saith unto them: I am no devil, for there is none - and thus he whispereth in their ears, until he grasps them with his awful chains, from whence there is no deliverance."
Jan '11
Re: Mainstream Media Celebrate Easter, Again
Name the last American war that we started because of religion.
Bonus: name the first one.
Aug '10
Re: Mainstream Media Celebrate Easter, Again
What's funny is that there is probably better scriptural support for there being no heaven than there being no hell. That is, the earlier NT texts are much more interested in the bodily resurrection of the dead (which they seemed to think was imminent) and it was only in the second century that we started to develop notions of heaven in anything like the modern sense.
Of course pointing this out would (a) require familiarity with the NT and first century Christianity and (b) would not serve the purpose of promoting multicultural/ecumenical pieties.
May '10
Re: Mainstream Media Celebrate Easter, Again
Ummmm, they published that? Jesus God, save us all. Then again, Time's last issue had about six advertisements in it (from Mediaite, I think, can't find it now), so they may have been smitten already, and just flailing punch-drunk.
May '10
Re: Mainstream Media Celebrate Easter, Again
Mollie, you're speaking to the core of leftist philosophy - a life without consequence or responsibility. The idea that someone might judge them, be it man or God, repulses them.
That is why liberal "mainstream" Protestantism is dying. They present a God that is all love and all forgiveness and everybody goes to heaven - no confession, no repentance, just Jesus as an all-access pass to some heavenly rock concert.
It why modern liberalism revolves around genitalia instead of nobler concepts like liberty.
Mar '11
Re: Mainstream Media Celebrate Easter, Again
So the UN workers deaths are Christianity's fault; just like a rape victim was just asking for it by the way she dressed. I suppose the Afghan man who is scheduled to be executed for converting to Christianity fully deserves his punishment for leaving the 'religion of peace'.
Jun '10
Re: Mainstream Media Celebrate Easter, Again
A couple of thoughts:
First, ten years ago, Gertrude Himmelfarb wrote in One Nation, Two Cultures that there is a dissident culture in America. In her formulation, the dissident culture consists of “some evangelicals, as well as traditionalists in other Churches—mainline Protestants, conservative Catholics, Mormons, and some orthodox Jews.” She chose the term “dissident” to underline the fact that this culture is a minority that lives outside the mainstream culture, which is becoming increasingly secular. The dissident culture is comprised of the truly religious, people with strong beliefs, who subscribe to a demanding moral code, who place great value on established traditions, and who participate in and embrace the prescribed rituals of their religious traditions. In other words, they believe in a real God, who has prescribed a real moral code, where there is a real, negative consequence for its violation.
Time describes a trendy religious culture: those who "want . . . , not so much a Father in Heaven as a grandfather in heaven—a senile benevolence who, as they say, 'liked to see young people enjoying themselves.'" (C.S. Lewis) I'll take a religion with consequences.
Second, it reminds me why I cancelled my subscription to Time.
Edited on Apr 15, 2011 at 10:30amMay '10
Re: Mainstream Media Celebrate Easter, Again
I saw the mention of Rob Bell's new book in the first paragraph and decided to skip the rest of the article. Martin Bashir elegantly took down Bell a while back in this interview on MSNBC. The motivations of many of the Christian Left/Emergent Church are based on their own negative experiences within conservative churches. They fail to see that their stridency and prejudice are even stronger than the Christians they criticize.
The Emergent church teaches that heaven and hell are relative and that Jesus desired most to create a heaven on earth. But this utopia they desire is one that fulfills not only their theological priorities, but their political ones as well. A paradise can only be brought about by a collectivist movement that demands massive government intervention.
Bell never answers Bashir's question - if everyone comes to Jesus eventually in the afterlife, what does it matter if we follow Him on earth? You can't separate God's love from His holiness. When one does, it dilutes the significance of Christ dying on the cross. What's worse than a man condemning another to hell, is a man speculating with authority about conversion in the afterlife.
Edited on Apr 15, 2011 at 10:22amJul '10
Re: Mainstream Media Celebrate Easter, Again
Exactly. How many rude publicity stunts have to be perpetrated by a Christian somewhere on earth before civilization crumbles?
If Christians won't stop making Muslims murder people, then Christianity has gotta go.
Oct '10
Re: Mainstream Media Celebrate Easter, Again
I'm in there with Time. The world needs more peaceful atheistic leaders, like Stalin, Mao, Pol Pot and Hitler. They brought us together.
Jun '10
Re: Mainstream Media Celebrate Easter, Again
And don't forget the French Revolution, with its new "civil religion" and Reign of Terror.
Jun '10
Re: Mainstream Media Celebrate Easter, Again
People people, you are all being so judgmental. Every last one. Judgers!
Everybody knows that religion kills people, everybody knows it.
All we need is someone to correctly implement the Utopian secularist view. Communism can work, it's just that we haven't had a leader to implement it correctly. You'll see. Just give it some time, geeze.
Nov '10
Re: Mainstream Media Celebrate Easter, Again
What amazes me is how many Christians miss what the Lord Jesus and the apostle Paul said about the world's attitude towards the Lord Jesus and toward those that follow Him.
Jesus says the following:
"If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you."
"If ye were of the world, the world would love its own; but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, on account of this the world hates you."
Paul says the following:
"And all indeed who desire to live piously in Christ Jesus will be persecuted."
The Christian has no real rights in this world system. To expect otherwise is error.
To be pedantic, the world is not the earth. It is the world order or system i.e. the political and secularism of mankind.
Nov '10
Re: Mainstream Media Celebrate Easter, Again
anon_academic: What's funny is that there is probably better scriptural support for there being no heaven than there being no hell. That is, the earlier NT texts are much more interested in the bodily resurrection of the dead (which they seemed to think was imminent) and it was only in the second century that we started to develop notions of heaven in anything like the modern sense.
Of course pointing this out would (a) require familiarity with the NT and first century Christianity and (b) would not serve the purpose of promoting multicultural/ecumenical pieties. · Apr 15 at 9:45am
While Jesus preached both, He talked about Hell more than about Heaven. Count the references in the gospels, its quite telling. Hell is obviously a place to be avoided. Ignoring what Jesus says is perilous indeed.
May '10
Re: Mainstream Media Celebrate Easter, Again
All this discussion of Time reminds me that I should really get that left top molar looked at. Been twingeing when confronted by cold foods.
Jul '10
Re: Mainstream Media Celebrate Easter, Again
I have held for some time that the Atheist movement in America is in fact not made up of Atheists.
To be Atheist one must completely Deny the existance of God.
But when dealing with Atheists I get a real underlying sense that they, in fact, do not Deny the Existance of God. These so called Atheists, in fact, HATE God.
I submit that it is Impossible to maintain a hate for something in which you deny the existance.
I believe that this hatered (and the followon judgementalism) drives Liberals to Re-Make God in their own image. (Which really scares me)
I often ask liberals this Hypothetical;
You are standing on the Deck of the Titanic immediatly after it struck the Iceburg.
A man is telling you that if you don't get into a Lifeboat you are going to drown when the ship sinks.
Remember, you believe the ship is Unsinkable!
But this man is persistant, trying to convince you to get into a Lifeboat.
Make note, he will not lift a finger to move you in any way, he will only talk to you.
Is this man motivated by Hate?
Dec '10
Re: Mainstream Media Celebrate Easter, Again
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_Universalism
Universalism is an old idea, its an old heresy the church has been fighting almost as long as Gnosticism. The only difference now is that the ridiculous practice of Higher Criticism is now being used to add fuel to the fire.
I really hate how this article presents the argument as a feud between Christians rather than a battle between Christians and various cults. The very fact that the article acknowledges that the Church has been battling universalism for 2000 years but fails to mention Christian Universalism as a separate believe system and church separate from either the Catholic or Protestant Churches speaks volumes of the intellectual dishonesty of this piece. I guess the story of a popular Protestant pastor converting to Universalism isn't as exciting as the story of a hidden civil war among Christians.
Sep '10
Re: Mainstream Media Celebrate Easter, Again
Samwise Gamgee: People people, you are all being so judgmental. Every last one. Judgers!
Apr 15 at 10:44am
Not to mention being hierarchical.
May '10
Re: Mainstream Media Celebrate Easter, Again
Pseudodionysius - Where do you stand on Unitarianism? Frankly, I always found it odd that someone would worship Randy Johnson...
Edited on Apr 15, 2011 at 11:29am