Jesus, Kathy, and an End
Note: you can also read my posts about Kath Griffin at my other blog, www.RealityonBravo.com
People are still talking about it. Oh, Kathy Griffin. I suppose you’ll be making fun of religion more. It definitely is a great way to get press.
In any case, I’ve been passing over the posts and articles about this issue, simply because they all say the same thing. We can all argue until we’re blue in the face, but at the end of the day, no one is going to change sides on the issue. (some) Christians will argue that he remarks were inappropriate and that she’d be in a lot more trouble if she had made the comment about, for example, Moses. (some) Others will say that it was all a joke and people need to lighten up.
Well, I decided to read ONE MORE ARTICLE and finally read an intelligent comment about it:
I just finished reading Stephen Prothero’s great book, American Jesus, and I think his thesis is relevant here. He claims that, since the founding of the Republic, Jesus has moved from being an under-emphasized Biblical figure (the Puritans did not really talk about him), to being a personality (evangelicals talked about him as a “friend”), to being a celebrity (omnipresent in books and films), and finally to an American icon. As an American icon, Jesus is a figure that every American has to reckon with, regardless of their religious affiliation.
I would suggest that Griffin was referring to Jesus as an American icon, not as a Biblical figure, and not as a symbol of Christianity. If she had invoked Muhammed or Moses, that would have been a direct invocation of specifically religious figures (Muslim and Jewish), because those figures are not American icons.
This may be a subtle difference, but I do think it’s important. And it troubles Bill Donahue’s suggestion that Griffin’s remarks are symptomatic of a widespread secular acceptance of anti-Christian attitudes. Griffin wasn’t making an anti-Christian statement. In a sense, she was drawing attention to how Jesus has become something more than (or *other than*) a religious figure - he’s become an American icon.
The comment was left by “Kevin”.
And I agree. Someone finally put it into words how I could not.
This is the last I had to say about the Kathy Griffin/Jesus issue…at least for the time being. Please feel free to leave your comments, but let’s play nicely, ok?
Kathy Griffin, Jesus can Suck it, My Life on the D-List
March 9th, 2008 at 6:47 am
Jesus..Moses…Mohammed…all the rest of them…
Just people, set up on pedastals by those seeking something….SEEKING POWER OVER OTHERS….
The way to disempower religons in this world is to simply become a beleiver…..in YOURSELF….
TOO MANY religons are based on books, ALL written by PEOPLE…
God doesn’t exist…niether does the devil, heaven , hell, purgatory, immaculate conception….all the other garbage thats been crammed down the throats of “seekers” for such a long time now….
In an atheist world, religon has no power. How can it? You are then responsible for your own moralism, and I for one don’t find that to be too much of a struggle. Churchmen of all persuasions seem to feel that YOU, as individuals, can’t be trusted to do the good stuff by yourself and others. They feel they need to give you late night fairy stories that nobody can really proove, in an attempt to prick the conscionses of the lot of us. Well mate, I’ve got news for you.
If we SCRAP all of this crap, then suddenly, we all have a reason to get along…PROGRESS, whether it’s money or whatever you are after. THEN we can set down to the real brass tacks of LIVING IT, rather than needing to “worship” anything.
Have faith people….in HUMANS. Faith that most of us are NOT out to drag one another down. Cut out and EXPOSE those who are, ostracize them and the rest will tow the line. TATTOO it on their foreheads if necessary…..I don’t care what idea people come up with, as long as we don’t have to acknowledge something that just isn’t there all the time, then we won’t get sidetracked arguing over the finer details, because their won’t be any….
RELIGON IS LAUGHABLE….and not to be taken LITERALLY….the sooner you’all realise this, the sooner we can all get down to improving our lives, and helping our fellow man.
March 9th, 2008 at 7:38 am
I quote JOHN LENNON….his IMMORTAL WORDS…
“We meant more to kids than Jesus did, or religon at that time.”
How right he was….and the bible belt made sure he paid for every last letter of it.
And it was the TRUTH….
March 9th, 2008 at 8:31 am
AND….another quote from other immortals
LISA: “So, what did you do next, dad? Where you like the Beatles and say you were bigger than Jesus?”
HOMER: “All the time, honey! In fact, it was the title of our next album!”
The SIMPSONS will never die! The only way we can reunite the Beatles now is to wait for all of them to pass on!