Olbermann repeat-Don't miss Rev. Bob Edgar, of the Nat'l Coun. of Churches

[Gloria]

What a pleasure listening to a religious leader who is not NUTS. Olbermann asked about the new NBC show about the priest who sees/talks to Jesus, has a problem family, etc.
Clips of "Christian" saying this is not the Jesus of the Bible.

Rev. Edgar pooh poohed the whole idea and agreed withe a list of shows that had done the same thing one way or another. Edgar mentioned the recent show (Amy something?) that was cancelled but which dealt with a girl talking to God.

They got to Pat Roberstson and Edgar said the Bible said the whole world belonged to Christians and everybody, not just a piece of the Middle East. He set a couple of other things straight about what mainstream religion thinks vs the more radical brands of Christianity.

Including that like Olbermann, Rev. Edgar liked seeing George Burns play God....

It was such a joy to see a "mainstream" religious leader. Wouldn't it be great if we saw and heard more of THEM on TV and Radio, instead of the creeps getting shoved down our throats, along with the crappy policies they support???

[fooj]

1. Yep. He was normal. It was quite refreshing.

Peace.

[Botany]

2. Saw it

Tougher to really walk the walk
then talk the talk.

BTW Once again KO shows the world how to really do a news show,
get on good guests who know their subjects cold ask a few good ?s
and let them talk.

[Berry Cool]

3. Wholeheartedly agreed!

Pat Robertson and these other wackos do not speak for all Christians or people who consider themselves Christians. It's so nice to see someone give airtime to a believer who is not a nutcase and doesn't profess to know everything God wants.

Oh, and the show you're thinking of is "The Book of Daniel" and the recent show is "Joan of Arcadia."

[murray hill farm]

4. I watched it...

Both Olbermann and "The Book of Daniel"...and yes..it was soooooo nice to listen to that Rev. EDgar...and that is exactly what i thought...geeze..sanity..how refreshing. Also..the show was good..so i hope it stays on..it is..as mentioned..The book of Daniel...9pm fridays on NBC.

[C_U_L8R]

5. George Burns was a great god

I also loved how they portrayed fundies in the Oh God movies..
pretty true to life... corrupt, vain and stupid


PS on edit: I'm watching Book of Daniel right now...
just what the heck are those fundies bitching about.... what fools.
I even had to go check some of their boycott threats .. cause I wasn't
even sure I was watching the right show.. what's even funnier than
the show is watching the fundies get their undies in a bunch over
something that they've never even SEEN. It's a REALLY good show... and very witty.
Not only are the fundies fools.. they are frauds... and fascists too.

[OrangeCountyDemocrat]

6. That Movie Would Be Boycotted Today

Scary times we live in. That film would have brought out all sorts of criticism. They would have said it made God into a less holy comedic figure, and probably make degrading statements about George Burns and John Denver.

[C_U_L8R]

7. Then they should play it every night

until every little fundie head explodes

pop pop pop pop pop pop pop pop pop pop pop pop pop pop pop pop pop pop pop pop pop pop pop pop pop pop pop pop pop pop pop pop

[Skarbrowe]

10. Read somewhere that they are remaking "Oh God" with Ellen Degeneres

as God. If true, I can't wait to see the fundies going into seizures over a out and proud gay woman playing their God.

Debated with myself whether to give the word a big G or little g. Still don't want to offend anyone, but I really would rather use god. Giving it a little more thought, I suppose I could still use the big G because it's like a name brand. ??

[C_U_L8R]

11. Oh and I 'm sure the fundies really loved...

Morgan Freeman as God in Bruce Almighty.
I bet there are still some vile racist threads floating around the Freeper trashbins.

Can't wait for Ellen to be god.... she's a goddess.

[betterdeadthanred]

8. I saw it

and was glad to see a religious leader with some sense on the tv for a change. I love that Keith not only has people with common sense on his show, I also love that he lets them speak uninterrupted.

If people don't want to watch the damn show, there are, like, 200 other channels to choose from. If you don't have cable or a dish, there is always the OFF button. If I lived in the two states they mentioned that will not show The Book of Daniel, I would be pissed off. No fruit loop group should have the power to determine what *I* am going to watch or not.

If they had not brought attention to it, most folks would not have even bothered to watch it. I had not even heard about the show until they raised hell about it.

[Bumblebee]

9. I was struck by how utterly intelligent, rational and wonderful

he was. It is very heartening that someone like that can be the head of the National Council of Churches. I was actually overjoyed.

[bobbieinok]

12. religious right thinks Natnl Cncil of Churches is communist, not christian

they convinced 60 Minutes to do a hit piece on the National Council of Churches in the 80s

http://www.politicalcortex.com/story/2006/1/5/2262/58714

Looking back at the Rightwing Attack on the Mainline Churches
By Frederick Clarkson
01/05/2006 10:06:02 PM EST
Keywords: Institute on Religion and Democracy, National Council of Churches, Talk to Action

Once upon a time, the member denominations of the National Council of Churches maintained a vigorous social witness. That's what such mainline Protestants as the Presbyterians, United Church of Christ, the Methodists, and the Episcopals called their stands for social justice including such things as civil rights for African Americans, equality for women -- including ordination, and opposition to the excesses of American foreign policy from Vietnam to El Salvador. While there was some conservative opposition to these advances over the course of the 20th century, including some schisms, the direction of mainline protestantism was clear.

Then, the strategic funders of the Right, such as Richard Mellon Scaife and several others, helped create an agency that would help to network, organize and inform internal opposition groups. That agency is still around and is called the Institute on Religion and Democracy.
One of it's main target was the National Council of Churches itself. And one of its early projects was persuading 60 Minutes to run a piece alleging that the NCC and its member denominations were somehow funding Marxist guerrilla movements. This hit piece was the only segment, that Don Hewitt, the longtime executive producer of 60 Minutes says he regretted.

Over at Talk to Action, Methodist ministers Andrew J. Weaver and Fred W. Kandeler outline the history and the damage done. Many in the mainline churches are waking up to the simple fact that they have been under attack for more than two decades by rightist interests set on neutralizing their effectiveness -- and that the IRD and its allies have had considerable success.

more....

[bobbieinok]

13. from comments on talk2action article

http://www.talk2action.org/story/2006/1/5/14192/68149

Subtle and not-so-subtle demonisation (none / 0)
The equation of National Council of Churches = Communist is a particularly nasty form of demonisation, one that has an obvious tone to people outside the dominionist community (in that most of us tend to think Communism = Bad) but which has a deeper meaning within the dominionist community itself.
Especially within churches in the National Association of Evangelicals, it's been quite explicitly taught that both the NCC and World Council of Churches are not only Communist sympathisers but also actively Satanic (because "ecumenicalism" outside of the dominionist community is seen as Satanic).

In the case of the "They're Commies" claim, this also has a deeper meaning within premillenarian dispensationalist churches--Communism is literally seen as Satanism because of a longstanding belief that Russia (or, occasionally, China, but far more often Russia--often controlling countries by proxy) will be the home of the Antichrist and the Antichrist in Russia will launch an attack against Israel (in more modern versions of this, via either Europe or various Middle Eastern countries, in Cold War variants, directly). In fact, it's even taught that the NCC, or the WCC, are secretly partnering with Satanists or are actively Satanic themselves and will be used by the Antichrist to set up a "one world church".

(Yes, as a matter of fact, conspiracy theories DO crop up like mushrooms in premillenarian dispensationalist churches. Entire libraries, starting with the book "The Late, Great Planet Earth", have been written and promoted to the premillenarian dispensationalist community on how non-pentecostal ecumenical bodies are working in league with the Commies, if not actively Commies themselves, and thus Satanists. Quite literally everyone who isn't a fellow dominionist is seen as a devil worshipper, and often via a convoluted ball of conspiracy theories that would put a hand of Steve Jackson's "Illuminati" card game to absolute shame.)

[Berry Cool]

14. This is so sad and depressing.

Yet another variation of the "If you're not for us, you're going to hell" school of religion.

I really appreciate that Olbermann does what he can to show people who may not be believers themselves that not all people with religious beliefs are intolerant idiots. He has gone on record himself as a believer and no doubt if given a choice, would vote for God over the Flying Spaghetti Monster. But he also realizes that the louder the religious loonies get, and the more they shout, the more they result in driving people away from understanding why ANYONE with half a brain would choose to have any sort of faith.

His efforts go a long way toward saying "People can be religious or believe in God and still have a brain. The two are not mutually exclusive." At the same time, he will say that because religion is based on FAITH, there is no way to prove that believers are wrong or right in ANYTHING they believe. It is all faith. Don't try to make it what it's not. Don't try to tell people there is no God, but at the same time, don't try to tell them there IS a God and he is definitely sending them to hell.

What a wonderful world it would be if everyone thought that way.