SpongeBob video causes a ruckus

[strandinthewind]

Christians issue gay warning on SpongeBob video
Conservative groups criticize maker's 'tolerance pledge'

LOS ANGELES, California (Reuters) -- Conservative Christian groups accuse the makers of a video starring SpongeBob SquarePants, Barney and a host of other cartoon characters of promoting homosexuality to children.

The wacky square yellow SpongeBob is one of the stars of a music video due to be sent to 61,000 U.S. schools in March. The makers -- the nonprofit We Are Family Foundation -- say the video is designed to encourage tolerance and diversity.

But at least two Christian activist groups say the innocent cartoon characters are being exploited to promote the acceptance of homosexuality.

"A short step beneath the surface reveals that one of the differences being celebrated is homosexuality," wrote Ed Vitagliano in an article for the American Family Association.

The video is a remake of the 1979 hit song "We Are Family" using the voices and images of SpongeBob, Barney, Winnie the Pooh, Bob the Builder, the Rugrats and other TV cartoon characters. It was made by a foundation set up by songwriter Nile Rodgers after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, in an effort to promote healing.

Christian groups however have taken exception to the tolerance pledge on the foundation's Web site, which asks people to respect the sexual identity of others along with their abilities, beliefs, culture and race.

"Their inclusion of the reference to 'sexual identity" within their 'tolerance pledge' is not only unnecessary, but it crosses a moral line," James Dobson, founder of Focus on the Family, said in a statement released Thursday.

Rodgers said he was astounded by the attack.

"That is so myopic and harsh," he told Reuters. "You have really got to look hard to find anything in this that is offensive to anyone. The last thing I am going to do is taint these characters."

Dobson was quoted by the New York Times on Thursday as having singled out the wildly popular SpongeBob during remarks about the video at dinner this week in Washington, D.C.

SpongeBob, who lives in a pineapple under the sea, was "outed" by the U.S. media in 2002 after reports that the TV show and its merchandise are popular with gays. His creator, Stephen Hillenburg, said at the time that though SpongeBob was an oddball, he thought of all the characters in the show as asexual.

It is not the first time that children's TV favorites have come under the critical spotlight of the Christian right. In 1999, the Rev. Jerry Falwell described Tinky Winky, the purse-toting purple Teletubbie, as a gay role model.

http://www.cnn.com/2005/SHOWBIZ/TV/01/20/sponge.bob.reut/index.html

[strandinthewind]

a$$holes :rolleyes:

Note: I realize not all Christians are this way or even support these butheads :nod: :cool:

[strandinthewind]

"[B]It is not the first time that children's TV favorites have come under the critical spotlight of the Christian right. In 1999, the Rev. Jerry Falwell described Tinky Winky, the purse-toting purple Teletubbie, as a gay role model."

Ohhhhh Tinky Winky - I think Fallwell was pissed because the name reminded him of his private parts :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: JACKA$$ :laugh:

[GateandGarden]

I keep wondering what else James Dobson could possibly do to offend me more. I can't get over the ridiculous stuff that man says. :mad:

[Livia]

They were talking about this on the radio this morning and saying, "Since when did 'I Love Jesus' also mean 'I Hate Gays?" And that Jesus would probably have accepted and loved homosexuals. :thumbsup:

[DrummerDeanna]

Seriously - this is getting out of hand....:rolleyes: it's a f**king cartoon character....some people really seem to miss the whole point of "christian love"

[SuzeQuze]

"[B]It is not the first time that children's TV favorites have come under the critical spotlight of the Christian right. In 1999, the Rev. Jerry Falwell described Tinky Winky, the purse-toting purple Teletubbie, as a gay role model."

Ohhhhh Tinky Winky - I think Fallwell was pissed because the name reminded him of his private parts :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: JACKA$$ :laugh:

Yeah, he thought the character was "Tiny Winky". :laugh:

[Little Nicki]

Honestly... Can someone please tell me why people are so stupid?

[strandinthewind]

Honestly... Can someone please tell me why people are so stupid?

If you want to fill your church pews - preach hate :shrug:

This guy and his pathetic ilk know their time proven demonization of homosexuals and other minorities in the past sells and sells well. They assert gay people (and in the past black people and other minorities) are the reason the members of the congregation's lives are so bad, etc. Thus, these minorities are to blame for the woes of man and should be despised. After all, Falwell (sorry Diss :laugh: ) said immediately after 9/11 that gay people and a few others he hates (and there exists no better word for it than hate) were the reason God allowed the US to suffer the concurrent terrorist attack (to be fair, he perfunctorily and later issued an “I was taken out of context” sort of apology when the pressure to do so became too great, i.e. he was losing money and credibility because of it :rolleyes: ) . The more these jerks say crap like this (and it is utter crap because Falwell has no batline to God last I checked :shrug: ) - the more the media unfortunately will quote him. The more the media quotes him, the more power he and his ilk unfortunately are given :shrug:

To me, it is all about the money, power, and fame rush that these people and their malicious rhetoric get. They are addicted to it and piousness is, at best, ancillary - if it exists at all :shrug:

They make me sick to my stomach because they are misusing the teachings of Christ, who by all definitions was a great model to live your life by even if you do not believe in Him - for their own multi level greed. To support my point, I note the four Biblical Gospels as well as the Gnostic Gospels ( http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/religion/story/pagels.html ) and other material I have read – all contain no evidence Christ ever had this smug “holier than thou - I know what God wants you to do and will tell you for $20” take on humanity that is expressed by Dobson, Falwell, Robertson, and that ilk. Christ was all about leading by example (do unto others, etc. ) , providing information, and people will come to the Faith - His methods were grossly passive when compared to these elitist fools. The Biblical Gospels and the other sources in no way indicate Christ would ever have done anything like this ilk have done and continue to do. A good example of this is the multi-adulterous Jimmy “I HAVE SSIIIIIINNNNNEEEEDDD” Swaggert when he flat out said on 9/12/04:

"I'm trying to find the correct name for it … this utter absolute, asinine, idiotic stupidity of men marrying men. … I've never seen a man in my life I wanted to marry. And I'm gonna be blunt and plain; if one ever looks at me like that, I'm gonna kill him and tell God he died”

Though he gave a perfunctory apology for it later (does anyone really think he meant that apology :rolleyes: - it was as hollow as his “I have SIIINNNNEEDDD speech later proved to be ) - his words represented hate – pure and simple – and the adulterer represents, sadly IMO, what many, but thankfully not all, think. I mean could you imagine if women got to kill every man who made an unwelcome advance at them :eek: Moreover, Christ never threatened to kill anyone for looking at Him in the wrong way :rolleyes:

Such is the apparent general state of humanity and certainly the time honored and tested way to exert denominational power over the masses that are too meek to raise their hands against these oligarchs and their grossly false but still loudly touted erudition :mad:

Again, I am not talking about all Christians here - just these people

[wondergirl9847]

They were talking about this on the radio this morning and saying, "Since when did 'I Love Jesus' also mean 'I Hate Gays?" And that Jesus would probably have accepted and loved homosexuals. :thumbsup:


Of course He does. Child molesters, murderers, terrorists, Muslims, Jews, Hindus, blacks, whites, Asians, stupid people, Harvard grads, dogs, elephants......

This is sooooooo stupid, I can't even come up with a comment but...PPFFTT.

[ontheEdgeof17]

I don't care anymore either way. :wavey: This stuff doesn't bother me anymore.

[DrummerDeanna]

I don't care anymore either way. :wavey: This stuff doesn't bother me anymore.

I just find in amusing - though I just saw the story on MSNBC - and that kind of irked me because the more attention you give these yahoo's the more they'll pull Sh** like this...:mad:

[amber]

"Christian groups however have taken exception to the tolerance pledge on the foundation's Web site, which asks people to respect the sexual identity of others along with their abilities, beliefs, culture and race."
This part kinda says it all for me. (empasis added)

[Lala]

As a Christian, this makes me so angry and embarassed. Livia, I can say with confidence that Jesus loves an accepts homosexuals.

[strandinthewind]

As a Christian, this makes me so angry and embarassed. Livia, I can say with confidence that Jesus loves an accepts homosexuals.

ME TOOO

What was that line about a rotten apple spoiling a buch of good apples :mad:

[gldstwmn]

I keep wondering what else James Dobson could possibly do to offend me more. I can't over the ridiculous stuff that man says. :mad:

Dobson is a loon.

[estranged4life]

what a stinkin' pile of fly gatterin' ****.

Hey relig-a-tards...It's a cartoon...DUH! Not real ya bible-humpers, Do us all a favor and go chase a few LIVE handgrenades in a minefield!!!!

[gldstwmn]

I just find in amusing - though I just saw the story on MSNBC - and that kind of irked me because the more attention you give these yahoo's the more they'll pull Sh** like this...:mad:

We need to start taxing them. Then they'll find another racket and stop f*cking with people's heads.

[GateandGarden]

Dobson is a loon.:nod::nod:

[SuzeQuze]

How come they never say anything about Robin? Everyone knows he IS gay. ;) :laugh:

[strandinthewind]

what a stinkin' pile of fly gatterin' ****.

He relig-a-tards...It's a cartoon...DUH! Not real ya bible-humpers, Do us all a favor and go chase a few LIVE handgrenades in a minefield!!!!

Preach it on Brian J.

I think they should all immediately go to Iraq and fight W's holy war that he says God told him was righteous instead of sending the children of other Amercians, a significant portion of which come from the lower end of the socioeconomic level and had less of a choice to go than the so called "elite" :rolleyes: :mad:

[ontheEdgeof17]

Preach it on Brian J.

I think they should all immediately go to Iraq and fight W's holy war that he says God told him was righteous instead of sending the children of other Amercians, a significant portion of which come from the lower end of the socioeconomic level and had less of a choice to go than the so called "elite" :rolleyes: :mad:


Isn't that known as the Apocalypse?

[estranged4life]

Isn't that known as the Apocalypse?


Apocalypse is my middle name :rolleyes:

[seeker007nmss]

"[B]It is not the first time that children's TV favorites have come under the critical spotlight of the Christian right. In 1999, the Rev. Jerry Falwell described Tinky Winky, the purse-toting purple Teletubbie, as a gay role model."

Ohhhhh Tinky Winky - I think Fallwell was pissed because the name reminded him of his private parts :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: JACKA$$ :laugh:

Are these the same guys who went after Ernie and Bert on Sesame Street awhile back? (We all know they are gay PUPPETS since they live together.) :rolleyes:

[estranged4life]

Ohhhhh Tinky Winky - I think Fallwell was pissed because the name reminded him of his private parts :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: JACKA$$ :laugh:

if that was the case the name would be Inny Winny not Tinky Winky since we all know what a p**sy Rev.(A term I use lightly when describing this asstard) Jerry Flawed-Well is!!!!

[AliceLover]

That is the stupidest thing I have ever heard.



Its a ****ing kids show........GET A LIFE!!!!

[GateandGarden]

Its a ****ing kids show........GET A LIFE!!!!You know, for some reason I had been thinking all this time that we couldn't use that word, and so I would omit a letter and insert an *, but I guess we can! :lol:

[ryan8472]

You know, for some reason I had been thinking all this time that we couldn't use that word, and so I would omit a letter and insert an *, but I guess we can! :lol:
Yeah, I dont think the word censorship program is working on The Ledge..or there just isnt one... :laugh:

[estranged4life]

You know, for some reason I had been thinking all this time that we couldn't use that word, and so I would omit a letter and insert an *, but I guess we can! :lol:

****, I've been adding the ** myself...Oh well, What can a person f**king do, right?

[77Rumours77]

OMG! SHUT THE **** UP YOU DAMN RADICAL FREAKS! YOU ALL GIVE GOOD HEARTED CHRISTIANS LIKE ME BAD NAMES! :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad:

[Johnny Stew]

I don't care anymore either way. :wavey: This stuff doesn't bother me anymore.

Ignorance bothers me. How anyone would want to go through life knowing only half (or even less) the story is beyond me. But, as long as they don't make it MY problem by trying to shove their ignorance down my throat, they can think (or not think) whatever they want.

At any rate, I'm beginning to suspect that the extremist Christians and the extreme Right-Wingers are seeing the writing on the wall... their days are numbered and they're panicking. They're grasping at straws, and desperately trying to keep their woefully and laughably outdated views, relevant.

The rest of the world, and even other Christians and Conservatives, have progressed, but these extremists are afraid of change, and they cling desperately to beliefs that linger from the days when the Pilgrims pushed their way into this country.

So... laugh and be merry, my friends. If we weren't making progress and if we weren't winning the good fight, then they wouldn't be so ridiculously desperate. :nod: :)

Now, I'm off to eat dinner... greasy pepperoni pizza! MMMM!
Gimme pizza over a cookie any day! :D :blob2:

[DrummerDeanna]

Ignorance bothers me. How anyone would want to go through life knowing only half (or even less) the story is beyond me. But, as long as they don't make it MY problem by trying to shove their ignorance down my throat, they can think (or not think) whatever they want.

At any rate, I'm beginning to suspect that the extremist Christians and the extreme Right-Wingers are seeing the writing on the wall... their days are numbered and they're panicking. They're grasping at straws, and desperately trying to keep their woefully and laughably outdated views, relevant.

The rest of the world, and even other Christians and Conservatives, have progressed, but these extremists are afraid of change, and they cling desperately to beliefs that linger from the days when the Pilgrims pushed their way into this country.

So... laugh and be merry, my friends. If we weren't making progress and if we weren't winning the good fight, then they wouldn't be so ridiculously desperate. :nod: :)

Now, I'm off to eat dinner... greasy pepperoni pizza! MMMM!
Gimme pizza over a cookie any day! :D :blob2:

You always have the coolest things to say!!!

And - how about pizza - and a cookie for dessert ;)

[estranged4life]

I feel we will see a return to the religious brutality of the Salem witch trials, Where the religious-right-a-tards will try to make us change our beliefs to suit theirs or die...

As the way of the samurai I will GLADLY chose death before dishonor.

[AliceLover]

Whoops sorry didnt know we had to bleep.

My apologies


Jimmy

[GateandGarden]

Whoops sorry didnt know we had to bleep.

My apologies


JimmyI don't even know. Do we have to? :shrug:

[estranged4life]

I don't even know. Do we have to? :shrug:


the system would edit curse words such as f**k...I just do it out of habit.

[The Tower]

I don't even know. Do we have to? :shrug:


****ing no way!

:laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

[GateandGarden]

****ing no way!

:laugh: :laugh: :laugh::laugh: :lol: :laugh:

[strandinthewind]

I just do it as a courtesy for those who may object :cool:

[sara1998]

Ya know, what bull****. Gimme a break. Next thing I'll know is my far right grandmother down in the Bible belt region will be calling me telling me not to let Sara watch it anymore. If he is gay, so be it. It teaches her tolerance and respect for others.

I'm so sick of this holier-then-thou ****. :distress:

[amber]

Ya know, what bull****. Gimme a break. Next thing I'll know is my far right grandmother down in the Bible belt region will be calling me telling me not to let Sara watch it anymore. If he is gay, so be it. It teaches her tolerance and respect for others.

I'm so sick of this holier-then-thou ****. :distress:
Way to raise that child, girl! :xoxo: :xoxo:
how can it hurt a child to learn tolerance and respect for all people, is what i'm thinking... :) It can only help her in her life... :shrug:

[sara1998]

Way to raise that child, girl! :xoxo: :xoxo:
how can it hurt a child to learn tolerance and respect for all people, is what i'm thinking... :) It can only help her in her life... :shrug:

I mean, really. How can some go through life so narrowminded? You won't get anywhere. I'm thinking if you're bitching about other peoples personal and private lives, then you must not be very happy with your own.

GET A LIFE!!!

[strandinthewind]

Ya know - I just got back from seeing the movie "Kinsey" - that man was a scientist and his work helped liberate thousands if not millions from oppression - and I am talking about people that were taught to believe that anything but the missionary position was evil, vile, and unforgiveable. He helped people realize that the act of sex is a biological function, etc. Yet, the moral majority went into an UPROAR - they even had a Congressional hearing related to it. Thank God for showing us the way out of that repression :nod:

[GateandGarden]

Ya know - I just got back from seeing the movie "Kinsey" - that man was a scientist and his work helped liberate thousands if not millions from oppression - and I am talking about people that were taught to believe that anything but the missionary position was evil, vile, and unforgiveable. He helped people realize that the act of sex is a biological function, etc. Yet, the moral majority went into an UPROAR - they even had a Congressional hearing related to it. Thank God for showing us the way out of that repression :nod:I thought that was a great movie, too. And you know I was crying when he was thinking that nothing had changed and everything he had done had been in vain and then that lesbian was telling him how he saved her life and she and her partner were together and happy because he gave them the confidence to declare their love for each other. I loved that. :nod: :)

[dissention]

Ya know - I just got back from seeing the movie "Kinsey" - that man was a scientist and his work helped liberate thousands if not millions from oppression - and I am talking about people that were taught to believe that anything but the missionary position was evil, vile, and unforgiveable. He helped people realize that the act of sex is a biological function, etc. Yet, the moral majority went into an UPROAR - they even had a Congressional hearing related to it. Thank God for showing us the way out of that repression :nod:

FAAAAAAAAAAAAABULOUS movie. Neeson should and probably will win the Oscar.

The right-wing fundies have been screaming bloody murder about that movie, trying to get theaters to drop it. Their big argument is that he ushered in AIDS and that he made pedophilia popular. :laugh:

[dissention]

I thought that was a great movie, too. And you know I was crying when he was thinking that nothing had changed and everything he had done had been in vain and then that lesbian was told him how he saved her life and she and her partner were together and happy because he gave them the confidence to declare their love for each other. I loved that. :nod: :)

That was the best part of the movie, IMO. Lynn Redgrave was brilliant in that scene. :nod:

[amber]

FAAAAAAAAAAAAABULOUS movie. Neeson should and probably will win the Oscar.

The right-wing fundies have been screaming bloody murder about that movie, trying to get theaters to drop it. Their big argument is that he ushered in AIDS and that he made pedophilia popular. :laugh:
My big argument is that they're morons... :shrug:

[dissention]

My big argument is that they're morons... :shrug:

Well, that goes without saying. :laugh:

[GateandGarden]

My big argument is that they're morons... :shrug::laugh: :lol: :nod:

[amber]

Well, that goes without saying. :laugh:
indeedlydoo. yet, some people still don't know.. :confused:
other morons, i have to assume... :distress:

[strandinthewind]

FAAAAAAAAAAAAABULOUS movie. Neeson should and probably will win the Oscar.

The right-wing fundies have been screaming bloody murder about that movie, trying to get theaters to drop it. Their big argument is that he ushered in AIDS and that he made pedophilia popular. :laugh:

Considering his research clearly demonstrated people were having all kings of sex other than in the marital bed and just not telling anyone about it, AIDS would have come anyway :shrug: or at least there is no evidence to suport that society was so non-promiscuous prior to it that AIDS could not have appeared. Thus, there argument, like most, is just illogical and meaningless :nod:

[strandinthewind]

Also, the gay guy whose BROTHERS and FATHER BRANDED HIM at the age of THIRTEEN when they caught him messing aroung with his friend was almost too horrific for me to watch :( :distress:

[dissention]

Thus, there argument, like most, is just illogical and meaningless :nod:

Well, that goes without saying. :laugh:

Personally, I think the first strain of AIDS was introduced via the Tuskegee "experiments," but that's just me.

[amber]

Also, the gay guy whose BROTHERS and FATHER BRANDED HIM at the age of THIRTEEN when they caught him messing aroung with his friend was almost too horrific for me to watch :( :distress:
:eek: :distress: :mad: :distress: :distress:
Why...Why? How can people... :( "Oh, the humanity"
*amber cries*

[strandinthewind]

Well, that goes without saying. :laugh:

Personally, I think the first strain of AIDS was introduced via the Tuskegee "experiments," but that's just me.

I think so too or something like that.

I also think medical science was not very advanced until the 60's and even then, not that much compared to the leaps of the 80's and 90's when the disease was "discovered." I think it is possible that the disease existed for hundreds of years and perhaps mutated into a far more contagious strain about thirty years ago - after all, one of the reasons it cannot be treated is because it mutates so much and differently in different people.

Here are some articles:

http://www.avert.org/origins.htm

http://www.uow.edu.au/arts/sts/bmartin/dissent/documents/AIDS/Curtis92.html

http://www.uow.edu.au/arts/sts/bmartin/dissent/documents/AIDS/

http://www.trinicenter.com/kwame/2001/nov/152001.htm

http://www.tuskegee.edu/Global/Story.asp?s=1207598

http://www.thebody.com/sowadsky/origin.html

and there are many many more in the net :cool:

[strandinthewind]

:eek: :distress: :mad: :distress: :distress:
Why...Why? How can people... :( "Oh, the humanity"
*amber cries*

Well, it still happens today :shrug:

I mean look at this:

Matthew Shepherd's funeral, Friday, October 16th, 1998, found a new controversy. Rev. Fred Phelps of the Wesboro Baptist Church (Topeka, Kansas) started organizing a protest over Shepherd's funeral. In his fax announcing this, he urged people to arrive with signs containing messages such as NO TEARS FOR QUEERS, FAG MATT IN HELL, and GOD HATES FAGS. Phelps also started a website with the domain name of www.godhatesfags.com A few protestors did show up at the funeral and caused a little scene, but other than that, things went pretty smoothly, according to those who attended.

http://www.geocities.com/corkymcg/crime/proj005.html

and Swaggart's statement that he would kill any man who looked at him in that way and tell God the guy died - which was met with glee mind you - certainly is dispositive of the current hate in America toward gay people :shrug:

The whole thing makes me sick :mad: And what makes me even sicker than that is these people, esp, Swaggart, are adulterers and sinners themselves. Christ Himself said not to cast stones if I am not mistaken - yet they hypocriticaly demonize those who are different :mad:

[amber]

Well, it still happens today :shrug:

I mean look at this:

Matthew Shepherd's funeral, Friday, October 16th, 1998, found a new controversy. Rev. Fred Phelps of the Wesboro Baptist Church (Topeka, Kansas) started organizing a protest over Shepherd's funeral. In his fax announcing this, he urged people to arrive with signs containing messages such as NO TEARS FOR QUEERS, FAG MATT IN HELL, and GOD HATES FAGS. Phelps also started a website with the domain name of www.godhatesfags.com A few protestors did show up at the funeral and caused a little scene, but other than that, things went pretty smoothly, according to those who attended.

http://www.geocities.com/corkymcg/crime/proj005.html

and Swaggart's statement that he would kill any man who looked at him in that way and tell God the guy died - which was met with glee mind you - certainly is dispositive of the current hate in America toward gay people :shrug:

The whole thing makes me sick :mad: And what makes me even sicker than that is these people, esp, Swaggart, are adulterers and sinners themselves. Christ Himself said not to cast stones if I am not mistaken - yet they hypocriticaly demonize those who are different :mad:
Thank you, sweetie. I know it happens today. I just can't believe it. My heart is soft, and it's hard for me to fathom that other humans do not have the understanding and soft hearted part of themselves. It really boggles my mind. I really don't understand how it happened. I just can't believe it. It's so upsetting. It really makes me not like humans, sadly. but, of course, I still want justice for humans. I'm sorry i can't say something more intellectual, and smarty, about it, but it just hits my heart like a bullet. :shrug: :o :wavey:

[strandinthewind]

Thank you, sweetie. I know it happens today. I just can't believe it. My heart is soft, and it's hard for me to fathom that other humans do not have the understanding and soft hearted part of themselves. It really boggles my mind. I really don't understand how it happened. I just can't believe it. It's so upsetting. It really makes me not like humans, sadly. but, of course, I still want justice for humans. I'm sorry i can't say something more intellectual, and smarty, about it, but it just hits my heart like a bullet. :shrug: :o :wavey:

oops :sorry: - I did not mean that in the "Amber you ignorant *(*(* " Saturday Night Live way :laugh:

[amber]

oops :sorry: - I did not mean that in the "Amber you ignorant *(*(* " Saturday Night Live way :laugh:
Ha, no, I wasn't saying that at all. I was only saying that cause you guys usually discuss this stuff from a more fact based stand point, and provide arguments and data and stuff... :) :wavey: and i wanted to respond, but just in a different way....I take it all in, but it just hits my heart first... :D so I wasn't capable of a very logical argument about it... :p
Spanks! :wavey: I appreciate the info. Might not read it all tonight, it hits me hard, i can only take so much... :( I'm still roiling over the fact that there is a website called "godhatesfags.com" :mad: :distress:

[wondergirl9847]

GOD HATES FAGS.

Christ Himself said not to cast stones if I am not mistaken - yet they hypocriticaly demonize those who are different :mad:

God doesn't hate anyone. He is up there shaking His head at all the hatred, hypocrisy and disgusting things going on.

Exactly, Jesus said that regarding the prostitute. The Pharisees (I think) were saying she needed to be stoned to death and Jesus came up to them and said "Let he who is without sin cast the first stone."

They all walked away. ;)

[amber]

God doesn't hate anyone. He is up there shaking His head at all the hatred, hypocrisy and disgusting things going on.

Exactly, Jesus said that regarding the prostitute. The Pharisees (I think) were saying she needed to be stoned to death and Jesus came up to them and said "Let he who is without sin cast the first stone."

They all walked away. ;)
:xoxo: :xoxo:
Wondergirl. Best.Christian.Ever. :laugh: :wavey:

[SuzeQuze]

He also wanted to erect a statue of Shepherd entering Hell but he couldn't get permission. I believe it is the same guy.

Well, it still happens today :shrug:

I mean look at this:

Matthew Shepherd's funeral, Friday, October 16th, 1998, found a new controversy. Rev. Fred Phelps of the Wesboro Baptist Church (Topeka, Kansas) started organizing a protest over Shepherd's funeral. In his fax announcing this, he urged people to arrive with signs containing messages such as NO TEARS FOR QUEERS, FAG MATT IN HELL, and GOD HATES FAGS. Phelps also started a website with the domain name of www.godhatesfags.com A few protestors did show up at the funeral and caused a little scene, but other than that, things went pretty smoothly, according to those who attended.

http://www.geocities.com/corkymcg/crime/proj005.html

and Swaggart's statement that he would kill any man who looked at him in that way and tell God the guy died - which was met with glee mind you - certainly is dispositive of the current hate in America toward gay people :shrug:

The whole thing makes me sick :mad: And what makes me even sicker than that is these people, esp, Swaggart, are adulterers and sinners themselves. Christ Himself said not to cast stones if I am not mistaken - yet they hypocriticaly demonize those who are different :mad:

[GateandGarden]

He also wanted to erect a statue of Shepherd entering Hell but he couldn't get permission. I believe it is the same guy.That's insane. Just insane. :distress: I hadn't been to godhatesfags.com in awhile and I just went by the site. There was so much I wasn't aware of, becuase apparently God also hates Sweden (www.godhatessweden) and Canada (http://www.godhatescanada.com). :mad: :distress: Oh, and God hates America (http://www.godhatesamerica.com), too! I bet that one would stump Bush. Seriously, all of that reads like a parody of itself. :shrug: It's hardly any different from Landover Baptist (http://www.landoverbaptist.org), and that is a satirical site.

[SuzeQuze]

Well you're brave to even go to the site, I won't even read it, it will just make me too mad. :mad: :mad: :mad:

That's insane. Just insane. :distress: I hadn't been to godhatesfags.com in awhile and I just went by the site. There was so much I wasn't aware of, becuase apparently God also hates Sweden (www.godhatessweden) and Canada (http://www.godhatescanada.com). :mad: :distress: Oh, and God hates America (http://www.godhatesamerica.com), too! I bet that one would stump Bush. Seriously, all of that reads like a parody of itself. :shrug: It's hardly any different from Landover Baptist (http://www.landoverbaptist.org), and that is a satirical site.

[wondergirl9847]

:xoxo: :xoxo:
Wondergirl. Best.Christian.Ever. :laugh: :wavey:

Not quite. Not even close. "People are people, so why should it be, you and I should get along so awfully..." Everyone is different...even if they believe in the same morals/values/issues.

I've struggled with various issues my whole life in terms of abortion, homosexuality, etc...things that I was taught as a kid, and now that I'm an adult, I can think for myself on how I feel about things. I went to various churches growing up and it got nuts. Jumping from one to another because my aunts and mom couldn't just stay their butts in one pew! :mad: LOL I found a church I really liked in 1996 and stayed there until around 2000. I stopped going for various reasons. I've read the Bible from cover to cover (even though I don't really recommend reading it that way...it's too confusing. LOL) and I have a relationship with God/Jesus. I pray and I trust He will guide me through this crazy life. :) I sin. I do stupid stuff, I have done some things I am extremely ashamed of, but God knows my heart.

Jesus is truly the ultimate hero because not only did He die for the world, He led by EXAMPLE. He treated everyone with love and respect, no matter what. I strive to do the same, but it's hard when people are so cruel and hateful. :( I believe that God knows that we are not Jesus, we can never be Perfection, but He knows our hearts. :) Jesus was the Best.Christian.Ever. Hee!

[strandinthewind]

Not quite. Not even close. "People are people, so why should it be, you and I should get along so awfully..." Everyone is different...even if they believe in the same morals/values/issues.

I've struggled with various issues my whole life in terms of abortion, homosexuality, etc...things that I was taught as a kid, and now that I'm an adult, I can think for myself on how I feel about things. I went to various churches growing up and it got nuts. Jumping from one to another because my aunts and mom couldn't just stay their butts in one pew! :mad: LOL I found a church I really liked in 1996 and stayed there until around 2000. I stopped going for various reasons. I've read the Bible from cover to cover (even though I don't really recommend reading it that way...it's too confusing. LOL) and I have a relationship with God/Jesus. I pray and I trust He will guide me through this crazy life. :) I sin. I do stupid stuff, I have done some things I am extremely ashamed of, but God knows my heart.

Jesus is truly the ultimate hero because not only did He die for the world, He led by EXAMPLE. He treated everyone with love and respect, no matter what. I strive to do the same, but it's hard when people are so cruel and hateful. :( I believe that God knows that we are not Jesus, we can never be Perfection, but He knows our hearts. :) Jesus was the Best.Christian.Ever. Hee!


Stand up and SHOUT OUT for Christy!!!!!!!! :woohoo: :woohoo:

As I have said many times, even if you do not believe Christ existed or was the Saviour of mankind, His life is nonetheless a pretty good guide for just about anyone :nod:

I also agree that reading the Bible on your own is a little difficult as it has deep, symbolic meanings that can be difficult to grasp without explanation. For example, more than one version of the Bible exists in today's world ( http://www.bible.com/bible_read.html ) and the Bible has been changed since the time of Genesis by, according to the believers of which I am one, the intervention of Ruah, which is BEAUTIFUL expression for God's spirit or breath. I find the site www.religioustolerance.org and a few others are essential for any serious Biblical study. That site and a few others present many different views and point out the differences in the different versions of the Bible out there. It also provides the original (when available) text and shows how it was changed, etc. From that site, you can take away what you want to believe - a thought terrifying to the religious extremist who say their version and interpretation of the Bible is the only one that will get you in the Pearly Gates.

Anyway - that is my $0.02 :cool:

[strandinthewind]

January 23, 2005
OP-ED COLUMNIST
A Bunch of Krabby Patties
By MAUREEN DOWD

should have known.

I can't believe I thought he was just an innocent little sponge wearing tight shorts.

What in the name of Davy Jones's locker would a sponge be doing holding hands with a starfish or donning purple and hot-pink flowered garb to redecorate the Krusty Krab if he weren't a perverted invertebrate?

Before this is over, we're going to find out that SpongeBob is the illicit spawn of the Tampa shock jock Bubba the Love Sponge. Who knew SpongeBob would become as fraught as the cover of "Abbey Road"?

It took Dr. James Dobson, the conservative Christian leader and gay marriage opponent, who claims the president's re-election was more a mandate for his ideas than George Bush's, to point out the insidious underside of the popular cartoon character SpongeBob SquarePants. It takes a sponge to brainwash a child.

Holy Abe! Dr. Dobson outed SpongeBob at a black-tie inaugural fete last week for members of Congress and political allies. He said that a "pro-homosexual video" - starring SpongeBob, Barney, Jimmy Neutron, Winnie the Pooh, Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy - was set to go to elementary schools to promote a "tolerance pledge," including tolerance for differences of "sexual identity."

Hoppin' clams, as they say in Bikini Bottom, the den of epicene iniquity where SpongeBob lives. Nothing good can come of tolerance.

Dan Martinsen, a spokesman for Nickelodeon, where SpongeBob beats the pants off the competition, was flummoxed: "It's a sponge, for crying out loud. He has no sexuality."

Dr. Dobson has done the country a service by reminding us to watch out for the dark side of lovable but malleable sponges. He inspired me to fish through the president's Inaugural Address with a more skeptical eye.

Mr. Bush's epic pledge to support democratic movements and institutions in every nation and to end "tyranny in our world" may seem wildly pie-in-the-sky, given that the Iraq vortex has drained our military.

Although his incendiary speech about "the untamed fire of freedom" has been widely interpreted as a code-red warning to both foes and friends, I wonder if the president knew he was literally promising to stamp out undemocratic governments across the globe, which would include some of our top allies. He probably thought it was a fancier way of repackaging the Iraq invasion, not as a failed search for W.M.D., but as a blow for freedom (a word used 27 times) and liberty (used 15 times).

I wonder if W. is surprised that people took it literally. The Bushes don't always understand that they're being held to their rhetoric in major speeches. (Read my warships.) For such a brass-knuckled vision, the president's delivery was curiously unemotional.

Some of the same advisers who filled Mr. Bush's brain with sugary visions of a quick and painless Iraq makeover did mean the speech to be literal; they are drawing up military options for the rest of the Middle East. Once again, the lovable and malleable president seems to be soaking up the martial mind-set of those around him, almost like ... a sponge.

SpongeBush SquarePants!

We can only hope that Dr. Dobson doesn't pick up on the resemblance. SpongeBob, as his song goes, "lives in a pineapple under the sea/absorbent and yellow and porous is he!" SpongeBush lives in a bubble in D.C./absorbent and shallow and porous is he!

SpongeBush ensnared the country in a whale of a mess in Iraq because he guilelessly absorbed the neocons' dire warnings about Saddam's weapons capabilities and their rosy assumptions about Ahmad Chalabi's leadership capabilities.

Dick Cheney is a gruff Mr. Krabs taskmaster to SpongeBush, but SpongeBush is crazy about him anyhow. W. trustingly let his vice president make the worst-case scenario about Iraq a first-case scenario.

Mr. Bush might have thought he was just blowing pretty bubbles full of lofty ideals about freedom and liberty in his speech, but Mr. Cheney and the neocons seem intent on filleting Iran and Syria. (Doesn't Richard Perle remind you of the snarky and pretentious next-door neighbor to SpongeBob, Squidward Tentacles?)

The vice president told Don Imus that Iran was "right at the top of the list" of trouble spots, and that Israel "might well decide to act first" with a military strike.

Even if he's a little light in the flippers, SpongeBob has brought children good, clean fun. SpongeBush has brought the world dark, endless fights.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/23/opinion/23dowd.html?oref=login&hp

[strandinthewind]

Please note she calls the Shrub:

SpongeBush SquarePants!

:laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

[dissention]

January 23, 2005
OP-ED COLUMNIST
A Bunch of Krabby Patties
By MAUREEN DOWD


I want to have babies with La Dowd. :laugh: I love her.

And I want to marry her mostly so I can show her how to properly apply makeup. :cool:

[strandinthewind]

I want to have babies with La Dowd. :laugh: I love her.

And I want to marry her mostly so I can show her how to properly apply makeup. :cool:

I know - she favors Maureen O'Hara - but with that rouge - OY ;) :laugh: :laugh:

[GateandGarden]

SpongeBush--I love it! Thanks for posting that, Jason. :)