Comedy Central Discriminates Against Christians

A few days ago I wrote about Comedy Central bowing down to threats from Muslim Extremist. If you haven't read about it, South Park recently did a show where they depicted Mohammed. In the next episode, Comedy Central censored every mention of Mohammed.

When I wrote about this, I wasn't offended by Comedy Central's actions. I was disappointed. I would like to think Hollywood would stand up and protect their own. A number of people, including Bun Girl from the blog of the same name pointed out that Comedy Central has no problem criticizing Jesus and other figures. They are willing to offend Christians, Jews, Scientologists, and fans of countless numbers of Hollywood figures. However, they appear to be afraid of fans of Mohammed. They also appear to have a special mean streak when it comes to Jesus.

Today, I became offended by this story. Today is when Comedy Central confirmed it's working on a new show called, "JC". To prove I'm trying to be fair about this, I turn to the liberal Huffington Post:

JC" is one of 23 potential series the network said it has in development. It depicts Christ as a "regular guy" who moves to New York to "escape his father's enormous shadow."

His father is presented as an apathetic man who would rather play video games than listen to his son talk about his new life, according to Comedy Central's thumbnail sketch of the idea. Reveille, the production company behind "The Office," "Ugly Betty" and "The Biggest Loser," is making "JC."

So to sum up: Comedy Central will censor any depiction or speech attributed to Mohammed in a cartoon.However it has no problems attacking Jesus in a reoccurring role on South Park, and creating an entire show based on God ignoring Jesus while playing video games and Christ searching for meaning in New York. Is there any way to see this other than as discrimination by Comedy Central? Is there any way to interpret this other than as a concerted effort to harass Christians? With the vastly different ways Comedy Central has treated the two religions, I don't think Comedy Central can really defend itself.

Pray? Go Directly to Jail!

Would you believe that in the United States you can be sentenced to six months jail time and a $5,000 fine for praying? You can if the ACLU has anything to say about it. Here is the situation, as reported by the Washington Times. In January, a school in Florida had a lunch for school employees and booster club members who, "…had helped with a school field-house project." The lunch was held on school grounds, but not during school hours. There seems to be some dispute as to whether or not students were present at the lunch. The principal of the school, who is also a local Deacon, asked the Athletic Director to offer prayers for the meal. The ACLU found out about this and rushed to court.

The ACLU had previously taken this same school to court and the school settled out of court. The ACLU claimed the school was violating the religious freedom of the students because the school allowed students to pray at school events, had separate, religious themed graduation, and was attempting to convert students. As part of the settlement, the school agreed to, "…several things, including provision to bar all school employees from promoting or sponsoring prayers during school sponsored events; holding school events at church venues when a secular alternative was available; or promoting their religious beliefs or attempting to convert students in class or during school-sponsored events." The ACLU also asked that the Senior Class President be forbidden from speaking at the graduation ceremonies because she was,"…a known Christian, [and] might say something religious."{emphasis mine}. According to lawyers for the school, this was the first time in 33 years the student body president was not allowed to speak at graduation.

This story really worries me. We have reached a point in society where a court can order individuals to not pray, or face a fine and jail time. How does the ACLU defend this as religious freedom? According to the website dictionary.com, the word persecute is means "1) to pursue with harassing or oppressive treatment, esp. because of religion, race, or beliefs; harass persistently." One could accurately say that the ACLU and the court system in Florida are persecuting Christians for praying.

I don't believe school officials should attempt to convert students to any particular religion during school hours and class time. However, I think we have taken that notion to a very dangerous place when we threaten to jail people for praying at a meal. Is this really what our founders intended when they said, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof…"? We protect abortion, and demand people recycle and protect the environment. We will stop our economy dead in its tracks to protect the smallest of muscles, but if we wish to express thanks for our next meal, we could face jail time. Is this really where we want our society to be?

Of Government and Men: The Role of God in the Public Square.

"Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other."

-John Adams

Religion and Politics combine to form the largest taboo one should avoid discussing in polite company. These words of wisdom probably stem from how passionate individuals get whenever discussing these issues. Are there any two subjects that have a greater impact on your life than your religious beliefs and the political system you live in?

In our society today, we have taken 16 words from the U.S. Constitution and used them to censor, and in some cases punish, those who openly express a faith. The Constitution states in Amendment I, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof,". In today's society, we have taken this to mean that there can be virtually no mention of God in the public square. However, this isn't the way it always was, and it isn't the way the Founders of our government intended it to be. We, as a nation, are worse for this public ban on God.

Newt Gingrich, has said that to study the history of the United States is to, "…encounter God again, and again." As an amateur historian I can fully agree with Mr. Gingrich. The more I read of our nation's founding and the men and women who created it, the more I come across their belief in God. I am amazed how frequently I encounter religious references in the founding of our nation. Perhaps the most important man in our founding, George Washington, left many, many references to God in his writings and public statements. In his first inaugural address, Washington stated, "…it would be peculiarly improper to omit in this first official act my fervent supplications to that Almighty Being who rules over the universe,…No people can be bound to acknowledge and adore the Invisible Hand which conducts the affairs of men more than those of the United States…". In Washington's Thanksgiving Proclamation, he called on Americans to set aside a day to thank God for the many blessings He had provided for them.

Washington was not alone in his belief in a Divine Being. I encourage everyone to take time to look into the beliefs of John Adams, James Madison, or Abraham Lincoln. Many of Lincolns writings and speech's contained very beautiful references to God. Many of us have read the Gettysburg Address and Lincoln's reference to the United States as a "…nation, under God…", but have you ever read his second inaugural address delivered in March of 1865, shortly before his death? Lincoln says:

"Yet, if God wills that [the Civil War] continue, until all the wealth piled by the bond-man's two hundred and fifty years of unrequited toil shall be sunk, and until every drop of blood drawn with the lash, shall be paid by another drawn with the sword, as was said three thousand years ago, so still it must be said "the judgments of the Lord, are true and righteous altogether."

Lincoln was saying that if God demanded the United States pay for the blood of slaves with blood, then that is how it would be. I would not suggest that each of these men I have quoted here, or the other founders of this nation, were all Christian faithful. Lincoln struggled with his faith all of his life, and it's very doubtful that he held to the tenets of any particular sect of Christianity. His faith was probably unique to Lincoln. However, I doubt any of our founders would support the almost total ban of religion in government.

The First Amendment was intended to keep the government from establishing a national American Church. It was not intended to keep high school students from discussing religion in club activities, or to prohibit the teaching of morals in school. Thomas Jefferson called for a teaching of moral values in schools in Virginia.

It is very difficult to study the founding of our nation and not come across the work of Alexis de Tocqueville. He was a French historian and political writer. His best known work was Democracy in America. In it, de Tocqueville states:

"I do not know whether all Americans have a sincere faith in their religion – for who can search the human heart? – but I am certain that they hold it to be indispensable to the maintenance of republican institutions. This opinion is not peculiar to a class of citizens or to a party, but it belongs to the whole nation and to every rank of society." Alexis de Tocqueville felt the nations belief in God was key to our Democracy.

I would not support a government that mandated the tenets of any particular faith. I believe individuals should more or less be allowed to worship as they please. However, I think the constant lawsuits about our Pledge of Allegiance, public displays of the Ten Commandments, and school prayer are all misplaced. I believe a healthy respect for God, and an acknowledgment of the blessings He has given our nation are important. Our nations motto is "In God We Trust". Hiding this, and whitewashing our founders faith and their beliefs harms our students and hides from them the nature of the founding of this great nation. Should we have a government established religion? No. Should prayer groups and religious services be allowed on public property? Sure, as long as all faiths are allowed access to the facilities if they wish it.

This is the third post in the "Of Government and Men" series. The introduction and first installment are available in previous issues, or in the list on the sidebar. What are your thoughts on the role of religion in our government? Have we forgotten our heritage? Are there too many lawsuits today challenging our freedom of religion? Or, have we not gone far enough in isolating politics and government from faith?

Quick Notes: The Stock Market, Maryland, and Twitte

Time for another issue of quick notes. In this issue we look at the stock market, religious freedom, and a new way to keep up with yours truly.


Wall Street Votes on President Obama. Today's market closed down almost three hundred points. By almost three hundred I mean 299.64. Wall Street continues to vote on what it thinks about the future. The votes aren't good. You may believe Obama is the new messiah, but Wall Street doesn't. If President Obama's spending policies don't change, we may one day wish for a 7,000 stock market.


The Maryland Constitution. I am reading Enough is Enough by Rick Scarborough. Mr. Scarborough traces some of the religious origins of our country and quotes the Maryland Constitution. While founded by Catholics, their constitution tried to protect the religious freedom of all Christians. It said:


All persons, professing the Christian religion,are equally entitled to protection in their religious liberty; wherefore no person ought be any law to be molested in his person or his estate on account of his religious persuasion or profession, or for this religious practice; unless, under colour of religion, any man shall disturb the good order, peace and safety of the State.


This passage comes very close to how I believe the founders viewed religious freedom. So long as your beliefs didn't harm the rest of the society, you should be left to your own beliefs.


Twitter. Last night I signed up for a twitter account. You can now follow me on http://twitter.com/andyspolitics in addition to this site. There are a number of times I would like to post a very short thought. I will now do that on Twitter. If you aren't familiar with Twitter, it takes about 3 minutes to create an account. I am still an infant on their, but I have found it really easy to post there, and to find others there.

Book Review: The Shack

I first saw a copy of The Shack by William Young when I was on vacation earlier this year. My sister in law was reading it. Over the last couple of months I have seen more and more copies popping up at different stores, including the largest display I have ever seen for any book at one specific bookseller. Anything than can get a larger display than the new Harry Potter book is worth at least a cursory inspection. I decided to pick up a copy and look it over.

The Shack is a very quick read. Don’t let its small size fool you. The message is really incredible. The book revolves around Mackenzie Philip as he tries to deal with the murder of his youngest daughter. The book is set a number of years after the murder. One morning Mackenzie finds a note in his mailbox that appears to be from God. The note invites him back to the scene of his daughter’s murder. As Mackenzie tries to decide what to do, he has a weekend unlike anything else in his life.

The message of The Shack is a very religious one. It is a Christian message, but it is a message presented in a format that you have probably never seen before. Regardless of your personal faith, it will probably have you reconsidering how you view a number of things, including how you view God, and how you think God might view you. I found myself putting the book down while reading it to ponder a few of the passages.

The main characters pain is this book is very vivid. It will be hard for anyone to read this book without shedding an occasional tear. I think it is impossible for a father to read it without the message really hitting home. I recommend this book for anyone who enjoys a good book or a good short story. I highly recommend this book for anyone who has had a real personal tragedy in their life and who might now need more answers. Anyone with a personal faith (Christian or not) or anyone seeking answers on their personal quest would do well to read this book.