Stand for God by kneeling

Standing up for God by falling on his knees. Hats off to American Idol finalist Colton Dixon. :)

This, his swan song, was the first time I heard him sing. May he always sing for God's glory :)

P.S. This is his rendition of "Everything" by Lifehouse.

Watch Community! :)

The TV series "Community" is hilarious yet deep. Do watch :)

Normally I would post personal-but-not-really-related-to-God topics only on Facebook, but then again...

(1) Is anything not related to God?

(2) Hey, I saw this Christianity Today article about the show, so, there.


The latest update is it will move to another network and will extend to another three seasons. Yay.

Do watch and be blessed. Gnyt :)

Top 5 Thoughts on the Miss U Top 5 :)

http://teampilipinas.info/2010/08/rps-venus-raj-4th-runner-up-in-miss.html

(Four of the five finalists in the 2010 Miss Universe pageant.
Not shown: Miss Australia, who was also voted Miss Congeniality.)

#1. Our (Philippine) candidate for Miss Universe, Maria Venus Raj, was the frontrunner in the days before the pageant! Aaaah! (Look how "far" behind eventual winner Miss Mexico Jimena Navarrete was...!

http://www.missuniverse.com/members/contestants/sortBy:rating

I'm sad yet still very proud to have been represented by Miss Raj. I'm particularly proud of the fact that she is morena --- dark-skinned --- since (as far as I know), her complexion represents that of most Filipinos. There is nothing to be ashamed of and everything to be proud of being a dark, yes, even black, beauty. (I live in a country that glorifies whiteness, to the point that a common putdown is "she's not pretty, she's just white".) I was also pleasantly suprised to learn that, according to her mom, Miss Raj was previously called different terms of "ugly". Cheers to the late bloomers! ^_^


#2. The 2010 Miss Universe, Miss Jimena Navarrete of Mexico, looks like a grown-up version of High School Musical's Vanessa Hudgens (Gabriella Montez). I love her red outfit! So sultry yet so classy. :) As soon as I saw her in the evening gown portion, I silently wondered how to get that "look" using my "7-in-1" red dress. :D And I love the fact that she chose red to symbolize her nation's anniversary. Well done and congratulations! :)


#3. Miss Australia, Jesinta Campbell, is full of the smiles and perkiness of youth; a fine representative of the Aussie spirit. :) loved how she unabashedly raised her arms up high when she was called to be in the Top 5. (No studied poise lessons for her!) And she simply clapped when a fellow contestant gave a great answer, even when the rest (the other "rivals"!) didn't. It's no surprise she won Miss Congeniality. I would have also wanted to give her the Miss Little Sister of the Miss Universe award. :D


#4. Miss Ukraine, Anna Poslavska, made me think of a European Ally McBeal - slash - porcelain doll. She's so fine and delicate. She said she wants to promote Ukraine as a great place to visit; I think that her presence in the Top 5 has successfully earned her country plus points already.


#5. Miss Jamaica, Yendi Phillipps, gave an excellent answer when asked about her views on the death penalty. I'm trying to look for her verbatim reply. In summary, she said she believes that there is only one Giver of Life, and that we humans do not have the right to take that gift away. Her statements were very clear, full of conviction, and truly gave glory to her God.

http://www.missuniverse.com/members/profile/468709

To honor Ms. Phillipps' honoring God, here's my Facebook status for today:

Ms. JAMAICA didn't win
because she cannot represent those who do not believe
in a Supreme Creator,
but she represented Him and the rest of the world quite well.
What will *you* do when you are given one minute to speak? :)

All glory to the Giver of Life. (And Beauty.)

Tunay na Pinoy? (True Pinoy?)

Watching ABS-CBN's "Pinoy Big Brother", I am disheartened and concerned about this week's "Resbak Attack". Former housemates have returned to test the housemates to the limit. Unfortunately, it seems the ex-housemates just want to see the "bitchy" side of the housemates, and they applaud this as "nagpapakatotoo" ("just being real or sincere"). Meanwhile, those who are quiet or who strive for diplomacy are interpreted as "plastik" or "playing safe".

I get their point that some contestants might just want to look good in front of the camera. But I think this is sending the wrong message. Is it fair to assume that every person is an angry warfreak? Isn't it possible that someone is just naturally shy? Can't somebody sincerely want everyone to get along? Plus, those who know they are "bad" and love it, would just hide behind the excuse, "nagpapakatotoo lang ako" ("I'm just being true to myself").

Ito ba ang tunay na Pinoy? (Is this the true Pinoy?)



Postscript:

"The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart." (1 Samuel 16:7)

How can we tell if someone is truly sincere? We cannot read their hearts. But we can place our trust in the only One who knows our hearts, loves us anyway, and gives us a new heart that's truly good.

Leaning on God while losing weight

LOSING IT ON TV

Ruby Gettinger, a Sunday school teacher in Georgia who weighed 700 pounds, battles her obesity — and leans on God — on national television.

from ChristianityToday.com

Excerpts:

In the show your doctor says you're a metabolic time bomb, threatened with diabetes, kidney failure, sleep apnea, and premature death because you may stop breathing while asleep.

When he said this, the first thing I told myself was, "Maybe I am meant to die." I have been happy. I haven't really suffered, because I have been loved. I thought, I cannot beat this. It took me two or three weeks to tell myself, "I am not going to give up. God has a bigger purpose for you than death. You can do this; you can conquer this." I still believe this, that I will conquer this condition once and for all, for me and for everyone else.

What is the link between God and your journey to weight loss and a healthy lifestyle?

At first I felt defeated. And then my faith said, "no." I felt God telling me that this change is possible, but that I [was] going to have to go down the hardest road of my life. Before it was quick fixes: now I need to find out why. What got me here and why? What strengthens me is that God sees our addictions and does not judge.

How is your diet and new lifestyle a spiritual journey?

Because I could never do this without God and the prayers of my family and friends. I have to get control spiritually of what has taken control of me. Only God truly knows my heart, soul, and mind. He is the only one who truly can direct me on my journey.

How do you get your body to go with your spirit?

My spirit wants this change so much; it is about discipline. I am finding out for the first time how to make the body and spirit meet — the hardest thing to do. Like Paul says in Romans 7:25b: "Christ acted to set things right in this life of contradictions where I want to serve God with all my heart and mind, but am pulled by the influence of sin to do something totally different" (The Message). The very thing I want in life is the very thing I stop myself from having because I can't get control of it; I have to find a way for the spirit to lead the body. This is the why of the television show.

What would you share with fellow believers who are challenged with weight problems?

Do not give up no matter what. Trust God and believe again in the impossible. And no matter how many times you have failed, start over and try again. Live your life! Go out and enjoy times with your family and friends. Have people pray with you. Do not stay alone and do not keep your addiction to yourself, because that is when it becomes bigger and controls you. No matter what, there are people out there who care.

Careful what we watch: Oprah says *we* are God

Oprah Winfrey, the most influential woman of our time, proclaims that "We are the source of all life, we are the Creator, we are God" here, and denies Jesus as the only way here.

A longtime Oprah fan, Carrington Steele started taking notice of some of the views expressed by Ms. Winfrey and her guests, and how these views are in conflict with the Bible. Ms. Steele wrote "Don't Drink the Kool-Aid" and started the "Our Eyes Are Open" Ministries to warn people about the eerily cultic and simply anti-Christ teachings being spread right in our living rooms. (Note: The book title references the 900-member People's Temple cult who committed mass suicide by drinking poisoned Kool-Aid.)

See the "Our Eyes Are Open" site for videos, book excerpts, and other resources that explain how Oprah's teachings --- as viewed by millions of homes --- go against the Word of God. More video clips can be found in Isim13's YouTube site.

Indeed, when the most prominent media figure in the world is actively leading people away from Jesus, our eyes must be opened.

Dear children, this is the last hour; and as you have heard that the antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come. This is how we know it is the last hour. (1 John 2:18)

Who is the liar?
It is the man who denies that Jesus is the Christ.
Such a man is the antichrist — he denies the Father and the Son.
No one who denies the Son has the Father;
whoever acknowledges the Son has the Father also. (1 John 2:22-23)

Many deceivers, who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh, have gone out into the world. Any such person is the deceiver and the antichrist. (2 John 1:7)

Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world.
(1 John 4:1-3)

POSTSCRIPT Oct1508: Please pray for Oprah, for her guests and the people behind the show, and especially for her audience. Pray that their eyes and ears would be opened, that their minds would understand, that their hearts would turn to God.

real love in "artificial beauty"

There was an ordinary guy who loved an ugly girl.

Ugly-girl had complete makeover: plastic surgery, wardrobe upgrade, the works.

Ordinary-guy was willing to let former-ugly-girl marry the man of her dreams until he learned that dream-guy doesn't like artificial beauty.

Eventually, former-ugly-girl does marry dream guy. Even identical twin of former-ugly-girl also undergoes plastic surgery to be ugly no more.

As for ordinary-guy who's always loved the girl, ugly or not?

Never to be seen or heard of again.

...

...

...

...


AAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGG!!!!


Ugly story, artificial wisdom. (At least the ending parts...)

My fellow women: Whatever we see on the outside, and whatever we do on the outside, please please please consider the inside first. And value the inside please. Honami's (the lead character) insecurities did not disappear when she had her makeover; in fact, they were amplified, and she realized that ultimately it did not matter what she looked like on the outside.

Official character description from FujiTV:

She struggles with her ugly personality that just won't wash away. Though Honami has the inner strength of never giving up, her arrogance of doing anything for her own happiness is just too much.

And for the dream guy, also from FujiTV:

He's actually tired of high society where relationships are just superficial. Ryusui is a man who values essence more than appearance, whether it's flowers or people. Thus, he is attracted not to Honami's looks, but to her tough and bold personality: like a wild flower growing between rocks.

*cough, cough!* Alrighty then, whatever you say...Maybe Honami (and the writers?!) forgot that dream-guy only noticed her when she was already beautiful, and he initially rejected her because, in his own words, he doesn't like artificial beauty.

When dream-guy finally grew up and accepted Honami for who she is, that's well and good. But i still choose ordinary guy who's loved Honami all along. His love is the real thing.

(helpful, useful strategies!)

Face value
FIT FOR PURPOSE
Mar 29th 2007
From The Economist print edition


“Healthy” television for children sounds crazy. But Magnus Scheving, alias Sportacus, has done very well from it


TODDLERS know Magnus Scheving, the boss of LazyTown Entertainment, as Sportacus. The hero of “LazyTown”, a children's television programme that promotes healthy lifestyles, Sportacus lives in an airship, performs somersaults at the drop of a hat and spends his time thwarting the plans of the town's lazy-minded villain, Robbie Rotten. The role fits Mr Scheving as snugly as Sportacus's blue lycra suit. He has built a colourful business driven by his own cartoonish levels of energy. “I wasn't made to sit at a desk,” he says, wriggling in his chair and constantly jumping up to scribble on a whiteboard, grab another piece of fruit or emphasise a point. Restlessness should not be confused with a lack of focus. In his 20s, Mr Scheving and a friend challenged each other to succeed at a sport neither knew anything about. Mr Scheving wound up with competitive aerobics, became European champion twice and finished second in the world. (He says his friend had to console himself with the crown of Icelandic snooker champion.)

Getty Images

Mr Scheving applies the same intensity to LazyTown. Now on air in more than 100 countries, the programme has won chart-topping ratings among pre-school viewers and a clutch of industry awards since making its debut in America in 2004. Success has been the result of careful planning. Mr Scheving spent more than a decade building the brand in Iceland before moving overseas. The television programme may have established LazyTown internationally but is only one part, albeit a critical one, of the overall franchise. “LazyTown is not a TV property but a lifestyle brand for children,” says Mr Scheving, who peppers his conversation with references to Walt Disney and Jim Henson, creator of the Muppets. A whiteboard in his office maps out a dizzying month-by-month plan of activities and product launches stretching to the end of 2011.

Mr Scheving first turned movement into money as a five-year-old, carrying messages in the Icelandic town where he grew up to people who did not own a phone. He began his working life as a carpenter, and he personally fitted out the studio on the outskirts of Reykjavik where “LazyTown” is filmed. In his spare time he worked as a fitness instructor and also built up a thriving sideline as a motivational speaker on health and fitness. He quickly realised that there were plenty of healthy role models for adults—but none for children.

The LazyTown characters first appeared in a book in 1991. Further books and musicals followed, all penned by the hyperactive Mr Scheving himself. Spin-off activities have included the LazyTown Economy, a month-long campaign in which Icelandic children used their savings to buy vouchers that could be traded for a range of healthy products. (Vegetable consumption went up by 12.5% during the promotion.) Mr Scheving says he had his eye on international expansion from the start but bided his time for three reasons. First, close-knit Iceland provided the ideal test of brand integrity because “people know where you live”. Second, he wanted to test the LazyTown concept on two generations of pre-schoolers, not just one. Third, he wanted to do some proper homework on the television industry.

His research indicated that successful children's shows have a number of attributes. Timelessness is one. Mr Scheving, who confesses to a “mania for detail”, designed the costumes and sets for “LazyTown” so that they cannot be dated. For similar reasons, the show's theme song, which reached number four in the British singles chart last December, was given an untranslatable title (“Bing Bang”) to smooth internationalisation. A distinctive style is also important. The vibrant mixture of computer-generated imagery, puppets and live action in “LazyTown” is instantly recognisable. It is expensive, too: each 24-minute episode costs $800,000 to make, an unprecedented amount for a children's television programme ($200,000 is closer to the norm). This makes it even more important to have a full range of licensing and merchandising opportunities to exploit. Toys, costumes and books already bear the LazyTown name in many countries. Live tours have been franchised in Britain and Latin America. Talks are under way with Nintendo to create a video game for its Wii console, which features a motion-sensitive controller. Internet projects are also being mulled.


Healthy scepticism

Licensing is one of two potentially sensitive areas for the LazyTown brand. There have already been some mutterings in Iceland about over-commercialisation. “We could have filled LazyTown products with advertising, but we haven't,” retorts a somewhat defensive Mr Scheving, who adds that the company could easily make much more money by skimping on the quality of the TV programme. But he admits that choosing the right products can be difficult, especially in food. Some decisions are easier than others. The company quickly turned down the chance to endorse a range of healthy crisps, for instance. Exercise equipment is also out of bounds—Mr Scheving is keen for “LazyTown” not to be labelled explicitly as a health or fitness show.

The other sensitive point is the obvious irony of a TV programme encouraging children to be healthier and more active. Surely they should start by switching off the box? Mr Scheving tries to brave it out. It is a fact that children watch television, he says—and TV has its place, in moderation. Faced with the growing problem of child obesity, governments are grateful for any help they can get in persuading youngsters to spend less time on the sofa. Iceland's health ministry has lauded LazyTown's impact, and Mr Scheving won the Nordic Public Health prize in 2004. The British government is now in talks with the firm over a joint campaign. At 42, Mr Scheving cannot play Sportacus for ever, but he is optimistic about the future. “Health is never going to go out of fashion,” he says, reaching for more fruit.

South Park Christianity: Back to the Message

My brother and i were watching this South Park episode yesterday "Starvin' Marvin Goes to Space" (??) and i dramatically groaned and whined every now and then. It featured:

(1) missionaries to Africa who will not feed the children unless they read the Bible and accept Jesus as their Savior;
(2) same missionaries who impose their language upon the natives they're visiting; and
(3) Pat Robertson (of 700 Club) praying for money.

What can i say?

(1) Yes, it's happening.
(2) Yes, it's wrong.
(3) No, that's not what following Christ is all about. :)

(By the way, i love South Park; beyond the crass humor it has intelligent insight, especially in attacking hypocrisy and everything that's wrong with the world. So i actually thank Trey Parker and Matt Stone (or is it Trey Stone and Matt Parker? ;p) for bringing this to our collective attention :) )

We Christians are an imperfect bunch: that's exactly why we need a Savior (Biblical Christianity being the only faith/religion that relies not on what the person does but on what Jesus did for him or her). But this explanation does not at all justify the wrongdoings done in the name of Jesus, or God, or the Bible.

I know this is hard, but let's look beyond the messengers (see first set of three's) and back to the message itself:

(1) Jesus met and ministered to each person's needs; many times leading them to realize on their own that they've just encountered the one, true, living God. ("If I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, then the Kingdom of God has come upon you.") The prosperity gospel and other "versions" of Christianity always have this danger of focusing on the self rather than on God (saying things like, "go to God so you will be blessed!"), and conveniently forget that persecution and suffering are guaranteed in following Christ. However, it is true that God is the source of all blessing: unconditional even. Jesus talked of how everyone gets sun and rain, and how all plants and animals get food --- without the "spiritual blackmail" shown, perhaps truthfully sometimes, in that SP episode.

(2) Jesus is fully God yet He descended into the earth and "demoted" Himself to become human. He took on a human form, He worked, He got tired, got thirsty, got tempted. He imposed standards of perfection and 100% holiness ("Be perfect as your Father in Heaven is perfect,"), yet only because He gave the simple (but NOT easy) solution: "Nothing is impossible with God." The solution is complete dependence on Him, the God who lived as a human and the only suitable God-Human Ambassador. ("I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life; no one comes to the Father except through Me.")

(3) We have a lot of requests, and Jesus did guarantee that anything asked of the Father in Jesus' name will be answered. But here is the BEST prayer i have encountered, spoken by Jesus on the eve of His excruciating death: "Father, not my will, but Yours, be done."


Let's go beyond South Park, beyond the awful Christians (myself included), and back to Christ Himself. :)

Jesus lives in South Park :)

Isn't he --- He --- just adorable? :D even if more figuratively than literally...(especially the episode where the town chooses to honor human waste during Hanukkah/Christmas season so that nobody would get "offended" (!!!!!!), and the credits start to roll, and suddenly there's a snippet of Jesus singing "Happy Birthday to Me"...all alone...*sniff* :( ) i can't believe i'm saying this: South Park has really made me think! ;p and it's really cute how Jesus has his own hotline and tv show...aw shucks ^_^

Article (with captioned picture) from Beliefnet.com here; three additional pictures from Wikipedia.org here and here :)



JESUS LIVES IN SOUTH PARK
Often condemned and criticized for its off-color humor, some find South Park an unexpected source of theological insight.
By Mark I. Pinsky


Quick - where in the vast and largely sinful expanse of TV land does Jesus dwell? If you're puzzled, here's a hint: it's not on any religious channel. The correct answer is that Jesus resides in South Park, a fictional Rocky Mountain town that is the setting for the foul-mouthed Comedy Central series.

A scene from "The Passion of the Jew" episode

It is one of the most religion-fixated shows on the small screen. Jesus is not only a resident; he has appeared frequently, most famously in a boxing match with Satan, televised as a pay-per-view event. True, as host of a local, public access talk show, the Nazarene is portrayed as more of a flawed superhero than a savior. But there he is, flying around in the opening credits and taking center stage in more than a dozen episodes.

In the increasingly enmeshed worlds of religion and popular culture, Jesus and Christianity are no longer confined to such evangelical blockbusters as Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ and the Left Behind series of pulp fiction novels. Sometimes the intersection of faith and entertainment is so unlikely - and unsettling - as to boggle the mind. South Park, a show that can be distasteful in the extreme but one that is especially popular with the 18-34 crew, is located at just such a crossroads. The producers give fair, if absurd, warning: A disclaimer preceding each episode cautions that, due to offensive language and content, the show "should not be viewed by anyone." In fact, some episodes based on religion may be so offensive to believers that they won't be aired when the series is syndicated on commercial television this fall.

Jesus came to live in South Park almost as an afterthought, series co-creator Matt Stone, who describes himself as an "agnostic Jew," said in an interview. Originally, the town's agents of supernatural intervention were to be aliens from outer space. But the X Files had become popular, and Stone and co-creator Trey Parker did not want it to seem like their show was a satire of the live action hit. Jesus of South Park often admits that he doesn't have all the answers, and sometimes he simply declines to intervene in the world, as when the South Park Elementary School's football team is being shut out by a rival. And, like his biblical counterpart, he can be short-tempered. In a brief promotional video that led to the series, Jesus got into a swearing, kung-fu fight with Santa Claus in a mall over the true meaning of Christmas (Correct answer: Presents). His phone-in TV show is called "Jesus and Pals" - the house band is called "The Disciples" - and the host's unique abilities enable him to know callers' names before they identify themselves. When one caller asked "how the hell" he already knew his name, Jesus snaps, "Well, maybe it's because I'm the Son of God, Brainiac!"

Obviously, this portrayal sets some Christians on edge. "As Christians, when they take the character of Christ and make him into a cartoon character, and have him do and say things that are totally out of his character, that's a very flippant attitude to take toward a person millions of Americans believe to be the Son of God," said Tim Wildmon, president of the Tupelo, Miss.-based American Family Association (AFA). His group has crusaded against South Park, taking credit for driving off advertisers Geico, Best Buy, Footlocker and Finish Line, as well as for convincing JC Penney to stop carrying the show's merchandise.

The boys' faith is shaken when they discover the priest having sex with a married woman in the confessional. But even the venal Father Maxi - who secretly bet on Satan in his fight with Jesus - has his limits. In an episode devoted entirely to the Catholic Church's pedophile scandal, he condemns his fellow priests and bishops for not repenting and renouncing their actions. He, too, carries his case to the Vatican, where his luck is no better. "You forgot what being a Catholic is all about," he told the Curia, in a televised address. "People are losing faith because they don't see how what you've turned religion into applies to them... Look, I'm proud to be a Catholic, but I'm a Catholic in the real world. It's time for you all to do that too. It's time for change." Stone says there was a good deal of anger involved in writing this episode, that everyone on the staff was appalled by the sex scandal and the church's response to it. Martin, who has not seen this particular episode, says some material in the series "is extremely hostile and I find it offensive, but that goes with the nature of satire. It's not surprising that they take pot shots at the Catholics - everyone else has."

In South Park, Jesus' advice is occasionally categorical: "Cheating is lying and lying is wrong, no matter what the circumstance." Yet he refuses to take a stand on some thorny issues, like assisted suicide. Alone one Christmas, he sits before a cake with candles, singing, "Happy birthday to me." Jesus, who addresses God as "Dad," also has his lighter moments. While singing in a local nightclub, he twirls his halo on his finger. Perhaps because it is so over-the-top in its mocking of religion, like Monty Python's Life of Brian, South Park has largely escaped criticism from evangelicals apart from Wildmon's group.

Parker, a Python fan, is not surprised that Jesus's portrayal has not provoked a backlash from Christians. In South Park, he explained at a television critics' press conference in Pasadena in January of 1998, "Jesus is a great guy." Stone acknowledges that the two writers bring a "humanistic approach to Jesus. He's a regular guy. But he's a very good regular guy." In several episodes, Parker adds, "He's the hero and he tries to have other people follow him, so I don't know what they have to protest about."

There have been exceptions, like Louis Giovino, a spokesman for the conservative group, the New York-based Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights. Giovino told National Public Radio that South Park made Life of Brian "look like a playground." The animated series "is very vicious in its satire toward most religions." Other Catholic observers disagree. "In the midst of all this gross-out, puerile humor are flashes of insight into the religious condition," says the Rev. James Martin, associate editor and culture critic of America magazine, the national Catholic weekly. "In a way it's very subversive because it leads people through one door - humor - and leads them out another," to a serious consideration of faith and theology.

Some very serious theological points are made, often by Jesus. People in South Park are concerned that the world might end at the turn of the millennium, so they pray for revelation and assurance. "God can't answer every prayer and suddenly give you everything you want," Jesus explains to the waiting, restive crowd. "That takes all the living out of life... If God answered all our prayers there'd be nothing left for us to do ourselves. Life is about problems and overcoming those problems and growing and learning from obstacles. If God just fixed everything for us there'd be no point in our existence... Yea! Believe in me and ye shall find peace." Alas, that is not what the crowd has come to hear. "We've heard that crap for about 2000 years now!" a character shouts. "We wanna hear something new."

Apparently, everyone in South Park who isn't Jewish is Catholic, since they all attend one unnamed church, led by a priest, Father Maxi (possibly a play on Maxi Priest, the Reggae singer), with the assistance of a nun, Sister Ann, whose order is called The Bleeding Eyes of Jesus. Maxi is a narrow-minded theologian - denouncing Halloween and preaching eternal damnation to a boy with cerebral palsy who is unable to confess his sins, as well to anyone who does not accept Jesus and profess Christian faith through Catholic doctrine. "The Jews crucified our savior!" he says. "I mean, if you don't go to hell for crucifying the savior, then what the hell do you go to hell for?" Sister Ann disagrees, at least with regard to the Jews, and phones the pope for support - without success.

In another episode, a Mormon family moves to South Park and their young son, Gary, wants to be friends with Stan. What unfolds is a remarkable portrait of the history and modern practice of Mormonism, scrupulously balanced between respect and ridicule, concluding with a clear-eyed plea for tolerance from the boy, who is rejected and persecuted by the other kids. "Maybe us Mormons do believe in crazy stories that make absolutely no sense," and that may have been made up by Joseph Smith, Gary says. "But I have a great life and a great family and I have the Book of Mormon to thank for that." The faith's history and theology are irrelevant, he says, and he doesn't care. "What the church teaches now is loving your family, being nice and helping people."

Pentecostals and evangelicals also take some lumps in the show. Cynically, Eric decides to form a Christian rock group, called "Sanctified," just to cash in on a trend: "All we have to do is sing songs about how much we love Jesus, and all the Christians will buy our crap." Pat Robertson and his 700 Club, and sanctimonious missionaries in Africa are ripped to shreds in another episode. Eric claims to be a faith healer and forms a congregation that draws everyone away from the church, until he is exposed as a fraud.

In August of 2004, South Park released a DVD featuring three recent episodes dealing with faith, including their satire of The Passion of the Christ, mischievously timed to coincide with the release of the DVD release of Mel Gibson's blockbuster. An accompanying press release boasted that South Park "is one of the few shows to explore different religious themes in an intelligent and boldly irreverent way." Talk about understatement. The Passion episode, which aired while the film was still in theaters, was irresistible to the movie's critics. "Combining pop culture with that religious religiosity, there's great comedy there," Stone told the Los Angeles Times. Much of the episode, called The Passion of the Jew, deals with the film's impact, stoking Eric's anti-Semitism and Kyle's guilt as a Jew - as well as portraying Gibson as certifiably insane. However, its conclusion is anything but absurd. While many Christians found great meaning in the film's focus on Jesus' suffering and death, some liberal Christian scholars like John Dominic Crossan echoed South Park's take. Stan says: "If you want to be Christian, that's cool, but you should follow what Jesus taught instead of how he got killed. Focusing on how he got killed is what people did in the Dark Ages, and it ends up with really bad results." People in the crowd agree. "We shouldn't focus our faith on the torture and execution of Christ," says one. "We shouldn't rely on violence to inspire faith," another agrees.

In the end, the South Park gospel is simple, the watered-down antithesis of evangelical Protestant belief in salvation through grace, rather than through works: Be a good person, be nice to others and don't worry too much about the hereafter. Or, as Stan's dad Randy concluded in one episode, "The only heaven we can hope for is one here on earth, now. We should stop waiting to get into heaven, and start trying to create it." Jesus' version: "God doesn't want you to spend all of your time being afraid of hell or praising his name. God wants you to spend your time helping others and living a good, happy life. That's how you live for him."

That's good morality, if debatable theology.

the Giver and not the gifts: Don Stewart is for profit, not a prophet!

first off: i have a sign on my research lab desk that says:
We Don't Believe in Miracles. We Rely on Them.

just to say that i'm all for great miracles from a great God :)

BUT....

i came across a telecast (on local Philippine tv!!!) about the miraculous healing powers through a green prosperity prayer cloth. i sat there, openmouthed. i just had to write this (see below), the same thing i sent them through their prayer request form.

but in all things, speak the truth in love (Ephesians 4:15) :) aye aye, sir!

(it seems i'm not the only one reacting violently about this guy:
* Finances, Fraud and False Teaching: The Troubled History of Don Stewart
* A Most Essential Question: How Many People are Truly Educable?

anyways, here's my reply to them :)


********************************************************************


To --------- :

I'm happy to see that multitudes have been miraculously blessed by your ministry :) However, I saw your telecast about the "Green Prosperity Prayer Cloth", and I'm very concerned about the message that might be conveyed to your viewers.


#1. At the top of the Prayer Requests page, you included Acts 19:10-12 but the words read "This is a point of contact". Where exactly is that quote found? I looked at several versions of the Bible courtesy of www.biblegateway.com. I suppose the "point of contact" being referred to here might mean the place of Tyrannus, where Paul and the other Christians met daily. But again, the exact term is NOT IN THE BIBLE, and this is QUITE different from referring to handkerchiefs as such (as elaborated in #2).

#2. A handkerchief, a bracelet, and other objects as "Biblical points of contact"? Let us be careful not to diminish the power of God as we enlarge the importance of the instruments He uses. I quote the verse below because although it talks about a different matter, it raises the same point:

"And do not think you can say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father.' I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham." (Matthew 3:9 NIV)

Although the handkerchief is useful, God can and will be able to heal and bless us without it. He has done so for two thousand years. I do not wish to put you down in any way but I hope you are able to realign your focus and refresh your perspective.

#3. You quoted Acts 19:12 both in the broadcast and here in the website. But let us look at the larger context by including the first part of the sentence --- the preceding verse --- where I capitalized two words:

"GOD did extraordinary miracles through Paul, so that EVEN handkerchiefs and aprons that had touched him were taken to the sick, and their illnesses were cured and the evil spirits left them." (Acts 19:11-12 NIV)

Again, the emphasis is on God Himself who heals, in some cases with handkerchiefs but not always. Viewers may be misled because you quoted this in the telecast then said "Clearly this is the Biblical pattern," which might lead others to think that they *MUST* have handkerchiefs to be healed or blessed financially.

#4. In the margin for your website, I noticed that the lowermost link, for "Donations", is quite larger than anything else. Several paragraphs in the website and some of the book titles do not even have the word "God" in them. Again, what message would this convey?


I hope that these questions and comments might be of service to you. May God bless and use you more as you seek to honor Him and Him alone.

Thank you very much.


Teci Pulido
http://tecigurl.blogspot.com

dead...in a good way (!)

i just saw probably the last episode of X-Men: Evolution. i think it was the last because Prof. Charles Xavier was already talking about his glimpses of how the X-Men will be in the future. and --- surprise surprise --- Jean will be the Phoenix and will be their enemy.

and to think just eleven hours before that i watched X-Men 3: The Last Stand. (again. for only the third time in as many weeks! :p ) it's really frustrating to see my favorite character in all of fictiondom die again and again. but almost as frustrating is seeing her take the wrong way. arg!

so. she's dead in the comics, and even in the alternate reality in the comics...she's dead in two out of the three movies. now i see the cartoon. oh man. is it destiny? fate? an endless hopeless cycle?

what about me? is it a warning to be cautious? or a note to not-even-bother-'coz-you-will-choose-the-wrong-side-in-the-end-anyway?

Judas. i've always wondered how and who he was before he blabbed about Jesus's whereabouts. has he always been evil? or, just misunderstood, 'till the very end? (side note: i've only heard secondhand info about the Gospel of Judas. but aside from authenticity issues, here's the thing: just because something good came out of something bad doesn't make the bad thing less bad. but thank God He works through our mistakes, and forgives our sins.)

what about me? are things really as hopeless as they look?

thank God for that other movie, Luther. =)
"So if the Devil throws your sins at your face, tell him this: 'Yes i've sinned, but what of it? I have someone who acted on my behalf: His name is Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God."

(the lines in the movie were more eloquent than that, will have to check when i get back my cd :) )

and of course, i often repeat this to myself:

"We have died to sin, how can we live in it any longer?" (Romans 6:2)

i also noticed that Jean is dead for the entire time that i'm following Christ. =) well, i do need all the help i can get --- a little bad influence is already little too much for me.

thanks to the X-Men comics, i've learned how to hope, to dream, to stand, to fight. but now that my idol is (still) dead, i can be free to live my own life: God-centered (now that's not in the comics) instead of self-centered.

besides, in my heart of hearts, i know they'll bring her back. =) and then, happily, i can compare notes. =)

The only good thing about 'Angels in America'

Maybe forgiveness is where love and justice finally meet.
-- Angels in America (please see long postscript below)

Aww. =)



WARNING: What follows is a very long postscript/endnote. i could have written this as a separate entry, but in citing the show i have to always have this long disclaimer…

Don’t bother watching that miniseries.
i like the quote above, but that’s about it. Disappointment is such a mild word to describe my reaction after watching the last segment. i thought, being award-winning and all, and being about angels for crying out loud, it can’t go wrong, right? Nope. i was wrong, and much of it did go wrong.
The premise is that God left creation. The lead character is angry. “Sue the bastard,” he says more than once.
The problem with the premise is that it’s not true. So the entire multi-part series based on a play is a complete waste of time.
The lead character is also selfish. He refused to serve as the angels’ prophet, yet insisted “I want my blessing anyway,” more than once. The story completely distorted the context of Jacob wrestling with his own angel/God Himself (seeking out and struggling with God).
OK, i have to admit that the young Jacob was selfish and deceitful and manipulative…but his story did not end there! Jacob was transformed by God, and his circumstances were resolved completely, not by simply extending the lifespan of the reluctant prophet/AIDS patient. It’s not the length of your life but the quality of your life that matters. Five years after the lead’s encounter with the angels and what? He had nothing to show for it. Did he gain anything aside from an extended lifespan? No, just the same old same old. Not exactly what you would want (and from Biblical records, what you would expect) from coming face to face with heavenly creatures.
i might sound like a closed-minded ignorant snob. i understand if you, the reader, would feel this way. Sadly, it’s the people behind this play and this show that seem to be, on so many levels, simply lost. Apparently they haven’t yet encountered the real, living God…the Creator who will never leave His Creation, nor forsake it, but even died for it.
Anyways, i expected to be blessed and enlightened by the show. i didn’t know the actual schedule on cable but i got to catch three to four parts, including the finale. i kept on looking for some “redeeming” points but only found that one quote above. At the very best, like i said, it would just be a waste of your time (and electricity). At the very worst, it could make you curse God but at the same time demand your blessing. Ngek.
Don’t bother watching it, but if you insist, just consider yourself warned. :)

(written December 17, 2005)