“Big O” the Leader of A Cult?

Oprah is coming under attack as she is being likened to a cult leader commanding her faithful.  In this video clip from ShowBiz Tonight, on CNN.com, the question is posed, “has Oprah transitioned from popular media mogul to cult leader?”

Christian leaders are leading the charge with this accusation.  For years Christians have been put off by many of Opera’s practices including her well-documented opposition to marriage.

Though this accusation may seem outrageous, there could actually be something to it.  I don’t watch much of her show, but when I do, I am blown away by some of the personal opinions she forwards to her audience.  Maybe even more surprising, is how her audience seems to eat it up with a spoon.

From what I have observed, Opera’s audience behaves much like the followers of a cult. They are completely accepting and hang on every word that comes out of her mouth.  They applaud and add their ‘amens’.   I don’t think that it was Opera’s original intention to foster this mindless devotion, but she hasn’t done much openly to discourage it.  It appears clear that the demographic that watches her show is ripe for manipulation.

Sadly, this is all too common of celebrities these days.  It seems that anyone who appears on the television is idolized as some sort of guru, possessed of uncommon wisdom and insight.  I can’t find any other explanation for the success of characters such as Opera and Dr. Phil.  It seems that in our contemporary culture the only prerequisite for genius status is a camera and a microphone.

As for Oprah being a cult leader, she is no more a cult leader than any rock star or know nothing billionaire heiress.  The masses lack a strong general consciousness or reasonable critical thinking skills.  Group think appears to be the culprit in this case, not supposed tyrannical intentions of the most successful woman media mogul of our time. 

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9/11 Survivors Struggle With Faith

USATODAY.com has this fabulous article about survivors of 9/11 struggling with their own faith. For some, their faith has increased; others have seen a lack of faith in their lives.

What I have seen in my own life is that people’s faith can go two ways during a personal or universal disaster. For some, their faith grows and emotional struggles are brought forward and placed in God’s hand. Others, meanwhile, ask, “Where is God in this?”

Nobody will know why God allows suffering like 9/11 or Hurricane Katrina. In fact, going deeper, why would a benevolent, omnicient God allow any personal pain? My only answer to this deep theological question is that when man broke away from God during the first sin, personal pain and struggle was created. 

I don’t pretend to have any answers, and I get ticked off at God too during massive disasters like 9/11.

What this article does a great job of showing is that faith is a struggle. There is one absolute, but beyond that, faith is relative chaos. Which may explain why people are screwing it up and misinterpreting it constantly.

 

The Twisted MTV Culture

Here is a great article from Relevant Magazine on how the MTV culture has influenced our youth by promoting the affluent. Not that there is anything wrong with pretending you live in Orange County, have gobs of money to spend on such necessities as tanning and pedicures, spending 10$ on a rum and coke and ignoring the oppressed. Oh, wait, there is something wrong with that.
RELEVANT MAGAZINE

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Tags: faith

A video created around Sufjan Stevens Song

Due to the hellish week I am having, the only thing getting me through has been this song by Sufjan Stevens about seeing a light amongst all darkness. I found this user created video on YouTube and it is actually well-done.

YouTube – Sufjan Stevens – Concerning the UFO Sighting Near Highland

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Tags: sufjanstevens, faith

The Church Meets Broadway

Check out this story from the Washington Post about how churches are using theatre and comedy sketches to attract audiences.
Off-Off-Off Broadway: Theater Comes to Church – washingtonpost.com

Good Article About Young Evangelicals Attitudes Toward the Upcoming Presidential Election

This article from Relevant Magazine explores faith’s role (mainly Christianity) in the current presidential election. Check out the links the story has to the recent feature article from Time Magazine that describes how the tides have turned and young Evangelicals are leaning towards Democratic candidates as opposed to Republican candidates four years ago. When I have more time I will discuss this issue in more depth.
RELEVANT MAGAZINE

Settlement in Catholic Church Sex Abuse Case

The Catholic Church in Los Angeles has settled for $660 million with victims who claimed they were sexually abused by clergymen. This comes day days after the Pope claimed that the Roman Catholic Church is the only “true” church. Shouldn’t Catholics make sure that their priests aren’t commiting sexual immorality before making claims they are the top church?
Mahony apologizes to plaintiffs in clergy sex abuse case – USATODAY.com

Could a Tiny Tablet Prove the Old Testament is Accurate?

A visiting archeologist at the British Museum has made a discoverey that he says proves the Old Testament of the Bible is based on fact. Click Here for the Sotry.The researcher says an obscure name on an ancient tablet he found proves the Old Testment because the name is that of King Nebechaudnezzer’s chief enuch who is mentioned in the book of Jeremiah.

My New Faith (Post from old Blog)

Note: This is a blog posting from my old site at blogger. I really liked this post and feel that is sums up my current belief system and how I have matured in my faith during the past year since I wrote this post. Therefore, I am putting it on my new site to give you a glimpse into what I will be writing about here on my new Midwestern Skies and West Coast Dreams Blog.

After I returned home from my Bible study this morning I felt compelled to write and post a blog about what I consider the new-aged (not emergent) twenty-something Christian is. First off, let me explain the nature of the journey in my own faith.

I have always been a Christian even before I knew what a Christian is. I was part of an infant baptism and did not decide to become a believer in Christ since I had no idea who Christ was but my parents did and therefore a baptized Christian I would become. During my youth (ages 1 to 12) I was raised in a strict Christian Reformed Church where I always had to wear a tie because ties were holy and jeans and t-shirts weren’t. I find this amusing know because Jesus had no idea what a tie was during his ministry and wore sandals when he gave his sermons. By no means though did I come from a “holy roller” family. Sure, I went to youth group and Cadets (Boy Scouts with a Christian influence), but I never truly felt the faith. When I got to high school I started hating to go to church. I despised it. I felt like I was walking into a room filled with hypocrisy where everyone spoke of being good Christians and “spreading the word” but then went out to get high, have teenage sex, and act like everyone else in the culture. Faith, religion, spirit, God… ha.

Most of my friends growing up were Christians. We all grew up going to a religious day care and had been going to church since birth but we never talked about what it was to be a Christian. Trust me, I was far from perfect in high school and for most of my college career. But, this is exactly what a modern Christian is and something I want to address:

The modern twenty-something Christian is most likely one who was either brought upp in the church but never quite understood what it meant to follow in Christ’s footsteps or was saved later in life through evangelicalism. For the Christians like myself who were raised in the church but lacked faith, we went to youth group and church on Sunday’s because it’s what our parents did, and we went to Bible Study because our parents made us… and we got to go to In-n-Out every so often to get free cheeseburgers. When we got to college we joined in on the abuse of alcohol or smoked some pot because it was “cool” and what we were supposed to do. “Enjoy your college years, go crazy,” was the mantra we lived by. Some of us even got into relationships we never should have been in that involved sex. After all, this is what our culture was telling us to do, our non-Christian friends were telling us was OK, and what we believed we were supposed to be doing during our post-adolescent years. Some of us, like myself, lost track of what was important. We lost the faith.

Circumstances in my own life brought me back to God. Actually looking back on it, I believe this was his plan all-together. I was lost, sick of turning to alcohol as a means of coping with pain and returned to something I knew about about but never received -faith.

The twenty-something Christian listens to Sufjan Stevens and Wilco together, reads Kerouac alongside C.S. Lewis, loves and treasures the environment and humanity, will go out and drink and hang out with friends who might not necessarily be Christians but don’t have a problem talking to them about what the gospel is. We disagree with the actions of homosexuals but don’t hate them. We don’t blindly follow our Christian fundamentalist leaders such as President Bush and we watch shows that aren’t defined by some as “morally sound”. We make mistakes and sin but we return to God and faith for redemption. We also think or religion and church with a critical eye and can look at things objectively. So, what binds us together? Faith, hope, passion for humanity and a desire to bring the truth forward.