Friday, January 08, 2010

Is the Blind Side "Christian"?- CLARIFICATION

A great and smart friend called me out on this post. I wasn't clear (her comments are still listed). So I will make a couple of corrections in the text in blue italics - but first let me state. What I meant as a take-away here is that the leaders of a moment (and in this it is Christianity - put it happens with Democrats or Catholics or Gays or any group with self proclaimed leaders) these leaders do a dis-service to the people by claiming to "own" a positive position while not owning their other positions. Not the people - the self-proclaimed leaders of a group.
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So, the Daily Beast (a fun web site if you have never been - Tina Brown gets great stories daily) had an article a few days back that keeps popping into my mind. The article goes into how Christians (with a capital "C") have made "The Blind Side" a hit.

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In fact, if you can't read it, the sub-headline is "The Blind Side has tackled Hollywood, passing the $200 million mark this week. Nicole LaPorte examines the underground, faith-based force that’s fueling the film’s success. "
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Maybe it is partially true. But Ed and I have seen it twice and took Bradley once - and most of the Christians I know told me I am going to hell. (Me, personally in the case of my father's funeral - even though they all said I was a great grandson to Zela and it was too bad I was going to burn in eternal hell-fire.) If you haven't been, The Blind Side is a story of love, redemption, looking past the surface, giving to others and seeing the best in people.
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To many of us in the real world, that is "christian" as in the bible, but is not "Christian" as in church goers whether Evangelical, Catholic or Baptist (Southern or nominal) Leadership. The leaders of these groups often espouse the antithesis of charity.
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And this leads me to wonder if many Christians know that they are perceived as main creators of true and angry hate right now? To say to a group of friends in New York or Los Angeles that I have good Christian friends (which I do) is to be meet with - at BEST - a skeptical eye-brow raise. And I wonder it my Christian friends have any idea how it is that many people see them AND how much of this is the doing of their own religious leaders.
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We see them (these leaders) on television screaming at women who are often having to make the hardest and worst decision of their lives.
We see them shooting doctors and crowing about it on TV.
We see them condemn health care as "socialist" - because only those that can afford medicine should get it.
We see their pastors flying to Uganda to help pass laws that will give the death sentence to gays and prison sentences to family members that don't turn them in.
We see them closing churches in Maine and Soup Kitchens in Washington DC to raise money to fight against marriage rights for committed couples who want to mark a covenant to their spouse in front of God.
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Christians watch the Blind Side and see Sandra Bullock as a Christian woman who helps a stranger. And their self-proclaimed spokespeople go and write on the web about how their religion is a good one that makes people want to see this.
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Non-Christians watch the Blind Side and see her three Christian lunch mates who laughingly joke that they might even consider having a fund raiser for the blacks on the other side of town. These Church goers can't help but assume that this big black man is going to rape her daughter. We watch the Blind Side and wish more people were less Christian and more people were like Leigh Anne Tuohy.
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A lot of Christians think many secular liberals hate them. We don't hate the people. We hate the lies, half-truths, cherry picked biblical stories that excuse their "condemn thy neighbor attitude" and the true hate they throw at us daily. And if that sounds disingenuous- then try the mirror version, "Hate the Sin, love the Sinner".
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I guess my point here is that if Christian Leaders really were like Leigh Anne Tuohy, we would all be cool with them. But you have to act like that at least some of the time.
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And if we all - whether Christian or not - if we do act that way; if we do show charity towards others, kindness towards the less fortunate and at least a tolerance of each other - I think the world would be a better place. End of sermon.