Al Franken to Catholics: Vote For Me, You Big Fat Idiots

In a tight race for Minnesota's contested seat in the US Senate beginning to slightly shift in favor of Republican incumbent Norm Coleman, it doesn't help Democratic candidate-comedian Al Franken to have his anti-Catholic bigotry erupt back in his face at this time. The Catholic League's press release details some choice morsels of Franken's hate speech, including mocking the Eucharist and the crucifixion of Jesus. To the devout and sensitive, that brand of "comedy" is less amusing than sitting on the Kaiser's spiked helmet by mistake. In a race where every single vote's going to count, Catholics should give Franken the spike in remembrance.

I Am So DONE With CBS

While I'm out on the road I don't watch much TV; and I don't watch it for the simple reason that I don't keep one in my truck. Because of this there are some shows many people watch that I haven't seen in years, like 60 Minutes on the CBS Network for instance.

Tonight Steve Kroft interviewed Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas on 60 Minutes for the simple reason that Justice Thomas has written a new book. I cannot imagine any other reason he would appear on that show and undergo the typical liberal line of questioning, except for something like a book release. I won't bore you with details, except to say that Kroft interrupted his interview to remind us viewers that if another justice with Thomas's point of view lands on the Supreme Court, abortion would likely be outlawed in 40% of the United States (with the overturning of Roe vs. Wade). How nice of Steve Kroft to remind us of that. Good thing he's looking out for his audience. I guess it's up to the rest of us to look out for the unborn.

After the interview Andy Rooney whined at length about state mottoes on license plates. I guess you last as long as Andy has when you never try to tackle something bigger than yourself. Actually that isn't too fair. Andy Rooney was a war correspondent in World War 2, back when it was okay for the US to win wars. And those bold comments about Mel Gibson's The Passion Of The Christ were just that, if not downright foolish. But there is no fool like an old fool (he's 88 years old)--Now he's doing fluff for the liberal Main Stream Media.

Just when I was going to turn off the TV a very interesting show started: Cold Case. Since I remembered police drama being rather entertaining I decided to hang around and watch...much to my chagrin. The show's title is somewhat self-explanatory in that five homicide detectives dig up unsolved cases from long ago and use today's technology and science to solve them. Sounds like a pretty good premise for gripping drama. But tonight's episode was nothing short of Christian bashing.

We learn that a girl found dead at the beginning of the show had a reputation for promiscuity before joining a small Christian group based upon chastity. As the show progresses and clues are found we come to understand that the murderer HAD to be someone from that group. As each one gets interviewed we learn something about that group member that flies in the face of their faith, much to the delight of the detectives who seem to enjoy pointing out their hypocrisy with comments like "Well, that wasn't very Christian of you now was it?"

And as I'm holding my breath waiting for the detectives to ferret out the evil Christian murderer, we are suddenly brought to the realization that all four of the Christian students took part in the murder. They surrounded the poor girl, called her names, and literally threw stones at her until she died, as if this is something Christians do all the time. Seems more like something Muslim fundamentalist students would do under Shari'a Law, but not to CBS. To the creepy eyeball network this lascivious ending was quite fitting and natural.

I have caught CSI shows before in which main characters make Christian bashing comments; and other episodes, too, in which authorities of the church, like nuns or priests, are portrayed as evil doers. Sometimes those shows have Christians who cannot respond to the simplest criticism against their faith (usually due to the script writers own ignorance of scripture, I suppose). Anyway, to me it was the last straw. I hereby proclaim that under no circumstances will I ever watch that hideously secular and anti-Christian network again.

And if the rest of you care to join me in this boycott you are more than welcome. Read a book. Go for a walk. Learn to tell jokes. Play a board game with your family. Get to know your neighbors. Get involved in evening church activities. Take the kids with you. Let them grow socially and spiritually.

LOST!!!

Movie Review of

SAVED *(out of four)
Starring Mandy Moore and Jena Malone


Before I saw this movie (for free on TNT) I was warned that it was anti-Christian, and that the writers of the screenplay didn’t have a clue as to what following Christ is really about. After seeing the movie I am convinced of the latter but only somewhat of the former.

Mandy Moore does a great job playing a legalistic, judgmental Christian named Hilary, who goes beyond “witnessing” in her attempts at converting others by using crisis intervention tactics—like blocking the hallways along with her friends, or attempting to kidnap the would-be convert and throwing him/her into their van for “treatment.” For Hilary, Christianity is all about behavior modification. It is clear that she lacks compassion for others, and at the end mires in bitterness. Her only hope at that point comes from her wheelchair bound brother, a nonbeliever, who offers to help her with her “problems.” One can only assume that rather than correcting her misperceptions of God’s grace, he will instead try to deprogram her of her faith, reasoning that you don’t have to be Christian to be nice to people.

Hilary’s nemesis, whom she constantly tries to convert, is Cassandra, played convincingly enough by Eva Amurri. Cassandra, a Jewish girl attending a Christian school but determined not to convert, brings to mind Matthew 13:19. She has heard the word and “understandeth it not” as a person who received the “seed” by the wayside. She becomes a hero in the end for having a big heart, though she still chooses the earthly path rather than the spiritual one, thinking she only has to rely on herself.

Mary, played wonderfully by Jena Malone for her innocence, seems to turn against God a bit too easily when in trouble (see Matthew 13:21). Blaming God for her pregnancy when it was she who encouraged her boyfriend to engage in sex without protection, seems a bit shortsighted for a girl with such strong-willed faith. But many young Christians do feel persecuted when they don’t get what they pray for—a sign of spiritual immaturity.

The main problem with this movie is that no one has spiritual maturity, especially the writers of the screenplay. Even the most sinful pastor will answer “YES” when asked by a teenage homosexual, “Does Jesus still love me?” The pastor in this movie stands speechless and clueless. Since there are no real answers given to the audience of this film, many of whom are looking for answers, I will give one here:

Saint Augustine said something that at first sounds irresponsible when not fully understood. He said “love God and then do as you please.” What he meant is that when we really love Jesus intensely for who He is and what He sacrificed for us, our hearts will change. Sinful behavior we used to commit no longer has the same appeal to us as before; while being obedient to God brings us pleasure when we have true love and devotion to Christ. We are still sinners, but no longer by desire. We are not perfect but forgiven. Would it have been so difficult to include just one character at a Christian school who mentions this? The difficulty lies in finding screenwriters in today’s Hollywood who have any knowledge or true understanding whatsoever about Christianity that isn’t stereotypically negative. They just don’t have a clue.

In defense of the movie I will say that most of the time it was funny and cleverly crafted. Each of the characters appears to be essential to the plot. The problem is that they forgot the most essential of them all.