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Wayne Besen
PO Box 25491
Brooklyn, NY 11202
CNN's Christiane Amanpour has established herself as one of the world's premier reporters with her incredible three-part series "God's Warriors." Part One showed nutty Jews, who think that God gave them the entire Holy Land. It was alarming to see how arrogant and extreme they behaved.
Part two focused on Muslim extremists. We all saw September 11 and the beheadings in Iraq. These sure are dangerous people and a threat to civilization. What more can I say?
The third installment was about lunatic fringe Christians. It was amazing how self-righteous and full-of-themselves these people were. How can a group who helped elect George W. Bush twice be sure they are right about anything, much less God? Isn't Bush a clue that they have no idea what the hell they are talking about?
The moral of this series is that fundamentalism - in all its grotesque forms - is bad for America and even worse for the world. It creates division, brainwashes thinking people and spreads hatred while reducing freedom and even sets the stage for violence. Reasonable people ought to unite to oppose these crazies and zealots who are determined to live in Medieval times. They screwed up the world once and that is why we had an Enlightenment. Let's not let them do it again. All for living in the 21st Century and not repeating religious ignorance and wars - stand up and stop these fanatics!
Any thoughts on the series?
12 Comments:
It is probably the best series I've seen come out of any of our "Cable News Channels" in many years. I noticed the ratings for it somewhere today. Apparently everyone has been hungry for this kind of documentary series because the ratings are just amazing. I missed little bits of the first two episodes so I'll re-watch them this weekend, but the third one - about American Christian fanatics - dead on!
Christiane Amanpour will SURELY be winning some awards for this series. Truly excellent stuff. But in a way I worry for her safety as well. She was very frank about these lunatics. And they've all got god on their side, you know. Who knows what they would do to her in defense of their lunacy.
posted by Anonymous, at
8/24/2007 3:34 AM
dear wayne, yes, i did see most of the "gods warriors", programs and i was very disturbed! i feel very alone in my views. i went to church when i was a child, but it never really caught on with me, i really don't know why. i view " the christian faith" as something i have a very hard time identifying with. i think maybe i'm very naive, but all of this godliness leaves me very cold. thanks so much for your columns for i really look forward to them. sincerely, kathryn andrews, age 69, mechanicsville, va.
posted by kathryn andrews, at
8/24/2007 8:30 AM
This is something i wrote in another context, but it applies especially well here.
When I use the words "christo-hetero-supremacist" I am not seeking to degrade Christianity. Christians have been doing that quite well all by themselves. You need no help from me. It is a description of your beliefs that Christianity is the only valid belief system, that your particular version of Christianity (when it comes to sexuality) is the only valid version of Christianity, and that heterosexuality is the only valid sexuality, in your eyes or god's. Underlying all of this is the belief of Christians like you who assume that it is their religion's right and role in the world to control sexuality in the first place, whether for people who believe like you, or those who do not.
Religious people have been murdering and torturing each other for centuries, and inflicting their misery on the rest of us simply because we don't share their particularly twisted view of the world. If you religious peiople cannot agree on the nature of god and his message to the world, why should I think that you finally have it irght when it comes to your religious opinions about gay people?
Though I think Christianity and its view of itself is silly, sex-phobic, non-historical, mythlogical, and ultimately very destructive of peace, health, and happiness, don't take it personally. Rest assured I think the same of most religious belief, and I have no objection to you believing it. It's a free country.
Where I draw the line is your belief that just because you believe something, I should have to believe it, too, and welcome its destructiveness into my life simply because you think I should, and that your beliefs should govern my health and happiness to the exclusion of what I know to be true.
And, as I will never tire of pointing out, despite the central place that homo-hatred-- or as you are pleased to call it, love-the-sinner-and-hate-the-sin-- has for so many bible-believers, Jesus had absolutely NOTHING to say about it. He was quite clear about keeping your eyes off the sins of others.
You so-called Christians now pursue gay people with the same absolute moral certainty that you are doing/expressing god's will with which you used to burn witches-- and other Christian heretics-- and with about as much basis in reality. When you have achieved Moral Perfection, then you may feel free to comment on my lack of it. Oh, wait. that's just what Jesus had to say, isn't it.
posted by Anonymous, at
8/24/2007 11:08 AM
The series is superb, long overdue and completely unbiased. What I would like to see is tax-exempt status removed from any religious group, business or organization that interferes in the political process to influence the outcome of discrimination laws that benefit the LGBTQ community, assuming there is separation of church and state. I also think faith-based institutions should be banned from receiving government funding for programs that the government itself should be handling. This series highlights the danger and implications of religious fanaticism and bigotry in societies and it should be the wake-up call to all fair-minded Americans to stop supporting these hatemongers, on both sides of the aisle. Christiane deserves the Nobel Peace Prize for this important oeuvre, probably the best journalist out there, ever. She is a credit to the industry and a credit to the UK. CNN is lucky to have her.
posted by Anonymous, at
8/24/2007 12:44 PM
I think fundamentalism is truly problematic, but I felt Amanpour found what she wanted to find in fundamentalism. Groups like Battlecry are truly frightening, but most of the groups - and leaders - that Amanpour profiled do not come even close to representing the evangelical mainstream, which is more moderate. And though I am an atheist, I did feel that Amanpour's documentary was depressingly politically correct and predictable. Let us belittle Christian fundamentalists without trying to understand them, blame Jews for the Palestinian problem, and talk about Islamic extremism without threatening the sensibilities of professors of post-colonial studies. I mean, I respect all three of these faith traditions, but Amanpour was pontificating, not reporting. Anyone who thinks that this is unbiased reporting needs to take a deeper look into the three major world fundamentalist movements. I thought her comments on homeschooling were particularly hilarious - Oh my God, someone homeschools!
I'm not saying this to offend anyone. I agree wholeheartedly with what Wayne is doing. But if you think most fundamentalists spend all their time plotting how to blow up the world, abortion clinics, etc., then you will fail to see the very real dangers that fundamentalism presents in other areas.
I can no longer respect any religion as long as it denigrates my sexual orientation and supports discrimination or tries to influence the outcome of equality legislation, the same goes for politicians. If you don't believe in my full equality, then you're not going to get my vote, ever!
Though I liked Christiane's documentary, there was little coverage relating to each of the three faiths' antigay stance. I disagree with her view that these fanatics should not be ignored. Acknowledging them only seems to enable them to do even more harm. If I had it in my power, I would ban religious extremism altogether, it has no place in a civilized society and is irrelevant. If people want to live that way, their way or the highway and supported by the GOP,then let them move to another country, say one of the middle eastern countries or perhaps Poland, Russia, Greece and eastern Europe, where they will find they have a lot more in common and can exercise literal interpretation of the bible, koran and torah without forcing their bigotry on the rest of us. Freedom of religion and expression doesn't give anyone the right to abuse others, verbally or physically. Keep religion in the home where it belongs, not in the public arena of everyday life and politics where it has no place or entitlement.
posted by Anonymous, at
8/25/2007 12:10 PM
The series was good but I was disappointed to see that the Hindu and other religions were left out. There are nearly 1 billion Hindus and they have been slaughtering other religionists for centuries at about the same rate as Christianity and Islam. Shockingly, there are even violent Buddhists, as the situation in Sri Lanka will attest to. They should all go to their respective hells and leave the rest of us alone.
posted by Anonymous, at
8/26/2007 9:36 AM
I agree - these fundies present themselves as "good people". But in reality, they are responsible for much of the world's suffering and depravity.
Kudos to Amanpour for the willingness to take on the fundamental obstacle to rational thought and to solving complex world problems: fundamentalism. What will ever allow us to break the spell it seems to have over the majority of well intentioned peoples?
posted by Anonymous, at
9/05/2007 2:35 AM
The head of the Catholic "god's warriors" is Benedict XVI and he is far from being the "vicar of Christ".
BXVI is the most anti-gay pope -- http://pope-ratz.blogspot.com/2007/08/benedict-xvi-vicar-of-christ-and-jon.html
Excerpt: When did Christ ever wear red expensive shoes, don on ornate ceremonial albs, be surrounded and protected by a private army, be a political head of state, write Ph.D books no one can understand except himself and by a few men, oppress those who work with and for the poor like Jon Sobrino? If Christ were to visit Rome today, what would he say about the worse sins of pedophile priests seething beneath the Vatican archives (Crimen Sollicitationis http://pope-ratz.blogspot.com/2007/07/benedict-xvi-secret-videos-he-doesnt.html) which are worse than the sins at the Temple of Solomon?
Would he recognize the Peter-the-Rock clones residing at the grand palace of the Vatican rivaling the palace of the Ceasars of Rome? Christ would gag at his ostentious "Vicar of Christ" when they meet for the first time, they'd be like the Prince and the Pauper, the Pope being (and dressed as) the Prince!
