Our country is so corrupted by libertinism, multicultural mishmash, suicidal tendencies (keeping the southern border open for Middle Eastern Muslims to cross, for example) and so many other things, a Republican majority in Congress, the White House and in state legislatures is virtually meaningless. If anyone believes that George Bush’s re-election means America will become more “moral,” you’re deluded.
I weep for an ideal that will never be, that is, until Christ returns. Living in a fallen world means just that…a fallen world, filled with corruption.
That’s why I laughed when I read the lead to this article (reg. req.):
Leaders of The Parents Television Council today released a study of prime time programming that they say shows that Hollywood “has virtually no respect for religion.”
Big news, right? Besides the salaciousness of Hollywood, it’s downright disrespectful of Christianity. Notice how “fundamentalist” Christians are always portrayed as crazy, backward simps who harbor an irrational hatred of “the world” while everyone else is level-headed and kind.
I don’t know any Christian who walks up to people, shoves a Bible in their face and shouts warnings of hellfire and damnation. While it’s true that without Christ, they are going to hell, that’s not how the Bible instructs us to share the Gospel. But why would anyone expect trashy, Christ-hating Hollywood to portray biblical Christians in a positive way?
Before you say, “But what about Touched By An Angel?,” let me tell you the real deal. That show was nothing more than Hollywood throwing “religious” folks a bone, an unscriptural one at that. Jesus Christ wasn’t the focus of the show, and the God of the Bible wasn’t in view. I’ve seen only two or three episodes, but I’m willing to conclude that Christ’s name was never uttered once during the show’s entire run.
It was the we-worship-the-same-grandfather-in-the-sky-non-judgmental entity sitting up there watching us poor humans trying to manage. The unbiblical portrayal of “angels” meddling in people’s lives is foreign to any Christian doctrine I’m aware of. But hey, a bone is bone, right?
While I think it’s a waste of time trying to clean up Hollywood, I applaud the Parents Television Council (PTC) for providing a ratings system for parents concerned about the smut on TV. The PTC released a study which found that “television’s treatment of religion has become increasingly negative and doesn’t reflect the viewpoints of a majority of Americans.”
I don’t know why a report about Hollywood’s negative portrayal of religion is necessary. Let’s be plainspoken here. “Religion” is most often a euphemism for Christianity, not Judaism or Islam or Buddhism or any other religion you can think of. Something about the name of Christ drives people crazy.
The report, “Faith in a Box: Entertainment Television and Religion,” is the sixth PTC study to look at religion on TV. The last one, from 1997, showed fewer, but more positive treatments of religion.
In a press conference, Wright blamed the negative portrayals on Hollywood’s creative community which he said is unfamiliar with the subject of faith. “It’s a long standing issue with Hollywood. I think the issue has to do with the makeup of persons in Hollywood and their own personal convictions. I believe a low percentage of people in Hollywood consider themselves to be people of faith.”
[Brent] Bozell, a Catholic, said, “Is it because Hollywood is Jewish and taking care of its own? No, I don’t think that. In the popular culture of America, 99% of the public, and also in Hollywood, there is an understanding that respect is owed to Jews. It’s as simple as that. That same respect ought to be paid to other faiths as well.”
While Bozell is risking charges of anti-Semitism, which is just another way to stifle speech you don’t like, I must agree, though I risk the same. I refuse to let accusations of homophobia shut me up, so I have to say the same about anti-Semitism, but that’s another post.
By the way, I’ve decided to limit commenting on the new blog only to posts where I solicit reader input. I will retain trackbacks, which I think are vitally important to the growth and vibrancy of the blogosphere. This blog is my personal forum, and if anyone wants to respond to or challenge anything I have to say, they are free to start their own blogs or e-mail me.
Thanks for the feedback on the “Commenting” post. 
Update (12/18): “The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.” (2 Corinthians 4:4)
