13 Comments:

I suppose, if you think blasphemy is funny. Frankly, I am a first amendment absolutist and will defend Kathy's right to say anything. But bottom line, she's slutty and not very funny. I don't see the point of shock humor whether it's Richards, Imus, or her. If you think its a riot, then you have a rather juvenile sense of humor.

By  Anonymous, at 5:39 PM  

I thought it was very funny.

By  Vinneeee, at 10:23 PM  

Well I thought it was pretty funny too, and not at all blasphemous. But then I would think that wouldn't I? I think all she was doing was mocking people who can't step in front of a microphone without proselytizing about the power of god and the personal role he played in their success. After all, she didn't deny Christ's existance, she just said he had nothing to do with her award. In fact she claimed if it had been up to Jesus "it would have been Caesar and his damn dog up here." Clearly she was referencing Christ's admonition to render unto Caesar that which is his.

But I'm with her in being tired of hearing about people's religious opinions in unrelated events. Is it even possible to interview an NFL player after a big game without hearing him claim god deserves the credit for his win? Just once I want to hear one of them say, "I knew we were going to win today because before the game my soothsayer read the entrails of a goat" or the loser claim "I would have taken that pass in for a TD if only Jesus hadn't stripped me of the ball at the 10."

By  Jambo, at 12:35 AM  

I'm not sure if this is funny or not. I've never found Kathy Griffin funny at all. And I certainly wouldn't call this clever or interesting.

Mostly it is just shock humor - an intent to poke mean-spirited fun at people of faith. I don't think it was interesting enough to pay attention to - but I can understand why some Christians would be upset. Imagine if she yelled out, "suck it, mrs hammer" or, for Jambo, "Suck it, Steve Jobs". Me, I'd just shrug it off, but depending on your temprament, it might piss you off.

To Jambo's comment - it's hard to describe to people without faith. It's like watching people dance without hearing the music. But, when you have encounter with God and it changes your life, well, it pervades everything you do. This relationship becomes central and powerful. I know you find it distasteful and uncool, but it really is profoundly stirring. So yes, people of faith will speak of their relationship with God and Jesus in times of great triumph. It can't be helped. They are speaking honestly about their experience. And, if there were award's shows for tragedies (like Extreme Home Makeover) I promise you they would talk about God in that time too. It just comes with the territory.

-mm

By  Anonymous, at 12:51 PM  

I think I have often heard Jerjo say "Suck it, Steve Jobs." (By the way, the Apple stock I bought after my iPod post is up a grand total of 1.4%. Hardly a ringing endorsement of my "world changing" prediction.)

I think I would be equally annoyed if NFL players did a dance at the start of every interview as well. Even if I could hear the music. It's a question of the right context. Someone might feel that selling Amway had given them the self confidence and courage to go on to great things but when they win the Super Bowl I would hope they could stick to discussing the game and not try to sell me cleaning products in the MVP interview. There are a thousand different things that have made people what they are but it seems like all butthe evangelicals manage to keep them to themselves.

By  Jambo, at 2:33 PM  

The stock is up 1.4% in 2 weeks? That's an annualized rate of return of 35% or so. I wouldn't scoff at that one bit.

By  Hammer, at 2:41 PM  

The problem, Jambo, is that you and Hammer and Kathy Griffin (and whoever in the hell vinneee is) have painted all Christians into a box defined by the athletes and people like Larry Craig and Jerry Falwell. I happen to belong to a church (Roman Catholic at that) that welcomes gay couples; that stocks a foodshelf in the Hawthorne neighborhood; that is actively working with the Peace Foundation to try and find some kind of solution for the racial inequities and problems plaguing the northside; the members of which are probably 95% against Bush and his illegal war; who are trying to educate their children with a moral foundation based on the principles of Christianity that Gandhi admired, etc. etc. all because they identify themselves as Christians, and are trying to live as Christ would have us all live. The old song says, "And you'll know that they're Christians by their love by their love...." Not, because they are out there wearing their religion on their sleeve or highfiving on the football field for Jesus.
Sure, make a few jokes about Jesus - Touchdown Jesus at Notre Dame, and "Jesus saves - at First National Bank." But, KG when she said "This is my God!" offended me for sure - and you know how hard that is to do.
After awhile it gets old having all the really cool folks like KG and the Hollywood crowd - who are not good role models for anyone's children -make fun of people for their beliefs. We're not all a bunch of bible thumping moralists trying to impose our will on everyone. Don't treat us that way.

By  Anonymous, at 2:47 PM  

I know I'm about to draw distinctions too fine for our soundbite culture, but I think there's a difference between acknowledging faith, crediting faith, and attributing a result to god.

Acknowledging faith
So, if Jon Kitna wants to win a game and use his national television exposure to give all glory to god, I think that's fine. Certainly if I were given 15 seconds to speak to a national audience, I would rather talk about something very important to me.

Crediting faith
Similarly, if Jon Kitna wants to say that he relied on his faith to get him through, or to help him achieve his goals, I think that's fine as well. "I've faced a lot of tough battles in my life, but I've been fortunate to get through them with help from my deep faith in god."

god the fixer
Contrariwise, I do find it objectionable to attribute a specific result to god, angels, or the power of positive thinking. So, when Jon Kitna attributes his recover from a concussion to a miracle, he opens himself for derision. With all the suffering, disease, and death in the world, Kitna believes god reached down and cured his concussion so he could win a football game?

By  Hammer, at 2:49 PM  

Well said except for the derision part. I have a big problem with the God as grand puppeteer. God no more gives a child cancer than granting victories if football games (what about the losing team?). But to hold Kitna up to derision is a little harsh I think. He's wrong, but he's not so in a malicious way.
I have to tell you, I have witnessed some incredible coincidental events that one of faith could describe as miraculous, and I describe them that way because there is absolutely no other explanation. But, those things are few and far between, and they don't usually involve sporting events.

By  Anonymous, at 3:29 PM  

As a pastafarian, I hope someone credits his noodly appendage for their success.

By  Vinneeee, at 4:53 PM  

For a while in college I was a Frisbeetarian and believed that when you die your soul gets stuck up on the roof and you can't get it down.

I think Hammer gets it exactly right (it always pains me to type those words). It is the third category that always galls me. And I don't find it objectionable, I find it moronic. No more intellectually defensible than tossing virgins in volcanos or putting pins in a voodoo doll. It's like those guys who have a heart attack, drive their car off a cliff and have their burning body impaled on a tree and then credit god for having some passerby notice the wreck and call an ambulance. WTF? If he was watching over you he would have at least let you have the heart attack at a rest stop.

And TRR you know I have never attacked someone for trying to live a Christ like life, one of the most nobel goals I can think of and one very few evangelical seem to even attempt. They're out there bashing homosexuals (who are mentioned a grand total of about 4 times in the Bible) pushing an extremist pro-life cause (tho abortion as far as I know is only directly mentioned once in the Bible and then only to spell out the small fine to be imposed for accidently causing one.) I remember we once had a nice exchange about Thomas Jefferson who found Christ to be one of the most admirable men in history even tho he denied his divinity. If everyone were willing to live their life that way I wouldn't care what bizarre theories they believed in.

I find it interesting that you object to a Hollywood type declaring, clearly tongue in cheek, that some object is her god. A pretty good percentage of that crowd is Jewish and I don't recall many of them being offended by the millions proclaiming Jesus to be the Lord. And frankly Jews have suffered at the hands of Christians to a far greater degree than Christians ever will at the hands of loud mouthed comedians.

(By the way, Paul Newman and Joanna Woodward have a far longer and better relationship than anyone currently in the Republican primary. Tho to prove my opinion of actors, and this issue, can cut both ways I think the people of Tibet have been greatly wronged but I'm as tired of hearing Richard Gere talk about it in film interviews as I am hearing football players talk about god.)

By  Jambo, at 1:24 AM  

Maybe it's because I grew up Lutheran, where moderation in all things is practically a doctrine, but I find celebrities and sports stars thanking God as obnoxious and ostentatious. People who are loud about their faith are distasteful to me - religion is a personal matter. So I found Kathy Griffin's remark pretty funny - she's nailing those pompous tools who think they're the first persons in the world to have a spiritual thought. And it's not just Christians, it's Madonna and her Kaballah BS, it's Richard Gere acting like he's now a fount of Eastern Wisdowm. If you want to promote your faith, walk the walk instead of talking the talk.

By  Jerjo/Carjo, at 9:01 PM  

Kathy Griffin is vaccuous and insipid... I used to enjoy her standup once in a while, but after seeing a bit from her reality show while channel surfing, I lost my taste for her... she seems to be a shallow, vain person. I don't like Dennis Miller anymore either, but he would make a more intelligent argument for her point of view...

By  Anonymous, at 6:53 PM  

Post a Comment

<< Home