Please forgive this rant that I am about to engage in. I don’t usually do this but I have had enough and I think we need to rise up to put a stop to this.
Over the past few weeks the news has been filled with stories of the death of Anna Nicole Smith. Whatever the causes behind her death aside, this is a tragic circumstance for her family and her friends. Her child will have to deal with this scar for the rest of her life. But why is it that this is news? Okay it was news when she dies, after all she is a famous person and we certainly have to know what they are up too, but why is every gory details newsworthy? There have been no less then five men who have come forward who could be the father of her child. So we are celebrating SIN and debauchery in the news and we find nothing wrong with this. The fact that this woman was sleeping around, and that her child could have anyone of at least, for the moment, five fathers is a disgrace and is not worthy of the evening news. Perhaps it is worthy of the evening news magazines and the National Enquirer but not the local news. To hear people like CNN’s Wolf Blitzer speaking of this makes a fool out of him and a mockery of all that we hold sacred.
Okay, then we are faced with Brittany Spears and her foolish antics. She goes into rehab, okay a very good thing don’t get me wrong. But she left and shaved her head. I have heard that the particular place where she was a patient tests your hair to see if you are using while you are in. That’s the reason she saved her head. I also understand that it is now for sale on ebay. WHAT IS WRONG WITH US? Why is this news? How many people went into rehab this week, and stayed, and got themselves clean? How many survivors of alcoholism, drug abuse, eating disorders, got the help they needed and are now living great lives, made the news? None of them, but we have to be subjected to this fool and her antics.
Lastly we have Tom Brady and the fact that we fathered a child with his former girl friend. First off who cares? Second, why are we celebrating a SIN. This man had sexual relations with someone he is not married too and fathered a child. Now I am not naive enough to not know that this goes on all the time. But why is it that we celebrate it? I preach all the time about SIN and how we have to live as Christians and then we see these fools on the news and the younger generation says hey no problem if Tom Brady can do it then it must be okay? I am sure he will get a raise out of all of this. I am sure his fame has increased. The news says he is going to do the right thing. Well its a little late for that is it not? As Orthodox we believe that sexual relations with someone you are not married too is wrong so let us not celebrate this and let us teach our young people how wrong this is.
Some have said that the church has lost it’s moral voice. The bloggers that John Edwards hired made statements about the Pope and telling people what to do in their bedrooms. We, as preachers, stopped talking about SIN and the consequences because it is not PC to speak of SIN anymore. We have to be happy and not scare people when we preach. Our homilies need to be all warm and fuzzy. Well this preacher calls SIN a SIN and stands up for what the church believes. That is my job. It is our job as Christians to fight to take control of our world back and make this a place we want to live in.
End of Editorial.
sin has always been with us and will always be with us its up to us has christians to teach by our example.gandhi once said if christians lived their faith there would be no need for any other religion.
you can’t save the world but you can try to lead your life as a loving kind person and if each one of use through our example helped to save just one other person maybe we could get a litle closer to saving a small part of the world.
after all when jesus walked on this planet there were many people who refused to be saved. i guess he gave us the good news so we could try to pass it on.
I can’t agree more that we need to speak up about participating in the glorification of SIN. We are here to bring news of salvation through forgiveness of sins, not through publicizing them in ways that encourage their emulation. On March 2-4 I am to help lead a youth retreat program on “The Mind of the Media versus the Mind of the Church.” I didn’t pick the topic or the title, but this posting does provide food for reflection as I prepare.
Br. Michael, thank you for your reponse and I hope and pray that the retreat goes well for you. Know that you will be in my prayers.