Last night in the category of 'you couldn't make it up':
Late night cable TV is something of a modern day freak show. Monster truck racing, endless documentaries about the Third Reich, soft porn, Korean art-house movies ... and GOD TV.
The channel has a homely, amateur feel to it hosted by a scary, smiley South African couple Rory and Wendy. The programming consists of fire-and-brimstone sermons, financial appeals to help GOD TV to reach out to new areas apparently ripe for the good news (.. like Pakistan and China), Christian Rock videos, and messages sent in from viewers to request prayers for miraculous healing.
But best of all is their current affairs magazine, 'The 700 club'. This features Fox-type US-centric news alongside analysis from Pat Robertson. One minute we are looking at footage from the war in Lebanon and the next minute Pat is giving an explanation of the events with reference to the book of Revelation.
This incomprehensible bad acid trip seems to be their only guide in making sense of the new world order. You can find the basic proposition on any crank website; we're living in the final days awaiting the last judgement and have to fulfill the pre-conditions; the temple has to be restored in Jerusalem, Jews return to the biblical borders of Israel and the Antichrist (Islam or the UN it seems to vary) is defeated. Pretty much any disaster that occurs in the meantime be it hurricane Katrina or global warming can be explained as evidence of the impending crisis (or 'Rapture' as they call it).
It's too easy to dismiss these cranks as obviously bonkers but it has to be said that they are actually evil as well.
Their attitude to the horrors and suffering that the Rapture obviously entails is; bring it on - its all part of God's plan. I can't understand how this sits alongside the prayer requests sent to help with in-growing toenails or cashflow problems. It's a strange view of God as a kind of Santa Claus who is quite happy to micro-manage small requests but when it comes to the fate of millions of innocents is a bit of an uncaring git.
I have to confess that I have an axe to grind here - I am an atheist. But I had a Catholic education and was taught by priests and brothers, and despite rejecting it all I did come to an understanding that good people can still believe crazy things.
The trouble with these evangelical nutters is that they read a lot of the Old Testament with all its smiting with plagues etc, and then skip on to the barmy book of Revelation at the end. Along the way they seem to miss out the Gospels. This is the only bit of the bible that I ever had much time for - all that stuff about being nicer to each other; don't judge others, show forgiveness, all that sort of thing.
But I guess all that seems a bit too much like liberalism to these self-righteous, joyless, loveless, bigoted bastards.
Late night cable TV is something of a modern day freak show. Monster truck racing, endless documentaries about the Third Reich, soft porn, Korean art-house movies ... and GOD TV.
The channel has a homely, amateur feel to it hosted by a scary, smiley South African couple Rory and Wendy. The programming consists of fire-and-brimstone sermons, financial appeals to help GOD TV to reach out to new areas apparently ripe for the good news (.. like Pakistan and China), Christian Rock videos, and messages sent in from viewers to request prayers for miraculous healing.
But best of all is their current affairs magazine, 'The 700 club'. This features Fox-type US-centric news alongside analysis from Pat Robertson. One minute we are looking at footage from the war in Lebanon and the next minute Pat is giving an explanation of the events with reference to the book of Revelation.
This incomprehensible bad acid trip seems to be their only guide in making sense of the new world order. You can find the basic proposition on any crank website; we're living in the final days awaiting the last judgement and have to fulfill the pre-conditions; the temple has to be restored in Jerusalem, Jews return to the biblical borders of Israel and the Antichrist (Islam or the UN it seems to vary) is defeated. Pretty much any disaster that occurs in the meantime be it hurricane Katrina or global warming can be explained as evidence of the impending crisis (or 'Rapture' as they call it).
It's too easy to dismiss these cranks as obviously bonkers but it has to be said that they are actually evil as well.
Their attitude to the horrors and suffering that the Rapture obviously entails is; bring it on - its all part of God's plan. I can't understand how this sits alongside the prayer requests sent to help with in-growing toenails or cashflow problems. It's a strange view of God as a kind of Santa Claus who is quite happy to micro-manage small requests but when it comes to the fate of millions of innocents is a bit of an uncaring git.
I have to confess that I have an axe to grind here - I am an atheist. But I had a Catholic education and was taught by priests and brothers, and despite rejecting it all I did come to an understanding that good people can still believe crazy things.
The trouble with these evangelical nutters is that they read a lot of the Old Testament with all its smiting with plagues etc, and then skip on to the barmy book of Revelation at the end. Along the way they seem to miss out the Gospels. This is the only bit of the bible that I ever had much time for - all that stuff about being nicer to each other; don't judge others, show forgiveness, all that sort of thing.
But I guess all that seems a bit too much like liberalism to these self-righteous, joyless, loveless, bigoted bastards.
1 comment:
New it would come up sometime! M.H-H
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