Monday, January 05, 2009

Just who is bashing who, Christian Anti-Defamation Commission?

From the Christian Newswire comes a press release from the Christian Anti-Defamation Commission on what they think are the top instances of "Christian Bashing" in 2008.

My first thought is it's amazing how religious right groups come up with some new organization with an official sounding name.

My second, after reading the list, is they have got to be kidding. Their definition of bashing has less to do with discrimination and more to do with people questioning their definition of Christianity:

INSTANCE #6: Religulous the Movie
Bill Maher released a very shallow, pseudo-intellectual documentary entitled Religulous. The movie did not cover any new intellectual ground. It simply raised the old attacks on the faith. Maher studiously avoided being fair and did not allow for legitimate Christian answers from any leading Christian intellectuals.


or some sports anchor letting loose with a stream of profanities (the example they list here is vulgar but could someone explain to me how this is "bashing"):

INSTANCE #8: ESPN Anchor Dana Jacobson's "F--- Jesus" Remark
Speaking at an ESPN corporate event in Atlantic City, N.J., to honor ESPN Radio personalities Mike Greenberg and Mike Golic, Dana Jacobson let go with a steam of vulgar remarks; "F--- Notre Dame," "F--- Touchdown Jesus" and finally "F--- Jesus." Jacobson was suspended for a few days for the incident.


or someone daring to tell them that in an pluralistic society, they have to respect the fact that the Christian faith does not take always precedent:

INSTANCE #5: Chaplains Fired for Praying in Jesus' Name
Chaplains for the State of Virginia are being denied their right to pray in Jesus' name. Six chaplains were fired for continuing to pray in Jesus' name. Earlier this year in Virginia, Rev. Hashmel Turner, a city councilman in Fredericksburg, was told by the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that his prayers during city council meetings that ended in Jesus' name will continue to be banned.


or lies:

INSTANCE #4: Colorado Law Criminalizes the Bible
SB200, a Colorado state bill recently signed into law, criminalizes the Bible. Section 8 of the bill entitled "Publishing of discriminative matter forbidden" makes publishing the Bible illegal because it contains anti-homosexual passages. This is part of a larger effort to criminalize the expression of certain opinions and beliefs.


The law mentioned here has nothing to do with the Bible except in the mind of someone with a wild imagination who likes to play games with hypothetics.

INSTANCE #2: Vice Presidential Candidate Sarah Palin Is Attacked
Alaska Governor, Sarah Palin, came under sharp attack by some in the mainstream media because she self-identifies as a Christian.


Palin was not attacked for being a Christian. Her lack of readiness for the vice-presidential position was her downfall, pure and simple. Also her eagerness to use inaccuracies to attack Obama - "palling around with terrorists" and how it led her to being such a polarizing figure had a lot to do with her lack of a positive image.

And this next one is a doozy:

INSTANCE #3: Barack Obama Defames Christianity
According to research into President Elect Obama's own statements about faith, and an examination of Obama's position on moral issues, CADC has determined that by any biblical and historic Christian standard, Barack Obama is not a Christian, although he claims he is a "devout Christian."

So this organization is "bashing" a Christian while complaining about "Christian bashing."

My head is spinning.

It is apparent that the Christian Anti-Defamation Commission is a phony organization not designed to protect the rights of Christians but created to be another cog in the religious right machine of entitlements.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

"Her lack of readiness for the vice-presidential position was her downfall, pure and simple."

I don't know what downfall you're talking about.

McCain lost because he went running to Washington to give the politicians there what they wanted when the banking scandal broke. He'd have lost by a larger margin if Palin hadn't been his running mate.

Sarah Palin was certainly qualified to be vice-president. Her qualifications were better than Barack Obama's!

Your questioning of her credentials, and your critique of her criticisms of Obama are just left-wing talking points, nothing more.

You'd do better if you would stick with criticizing the loony religious fanatics and left your politics out of it.

BlackTsunami said...

It wasn't Barack Obama who fumbled an interview with Katie Couric.

Come on my friend - Palin was out of her league. From her constant annoyingly repetition of the word "mavericks" to her constant telling of the lie of "stopping the bridge to nowhere" even after this factoid was refuted, Palin's inexperience was on show more than her expensive wardrobe.

But thank you for your comments about me and the religious right. I'm glad you noticed my work.