# How dangerous is Christian television? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [December 8, 2004, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-dangerous-is-christian-television/278831 "2004-12-08T22:38:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2004, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-dangerous-is-christian-television/278831/61 "2004-12-11T20:09:18Z")
I have seen bits and pieces recently and my impression of the people I have seen is: Benny Hinn - the devil incarnate. How can anyone be so stupid as to believe his schtick. Jesse Duplantis - one of the best stage performers I have ever seen. Very funny and seems like a really nice guy. I have seen stuff that derides his biblical knowledge and mocks his talk about “miraculous healings” but I wouldn’t know about his bible knowledge and the few times I’ve seen him he has not ever mentioned “healing”. Joyce Meyer - a bit school teacher-ish but without the religious content of what she says her message makes lots of psychological sense. I have however read stuff that indicates that she and her family reap millions a year from her “ministry” but none the less I think her philosophy makes sense. ---
**Author:** ![milroyj](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e57/32.png) [@milroyj](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/milroyj)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2004, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-dangerous-is-christian-television/278831/62 "2004-12-12T00:18:42Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > Well, yeah, but how relevant is that today? Communism is pretty much dying. You’ve got what-China, North Korea, **North Vietnam** and Cuba. That’s pretty much it. Communism is almost dead-I predict in 100 years, it’ll be six feet under. North Vietnam? :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Brutus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@Brutus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brutus)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2004, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-dangerous-is-christian-television/278831/63 "2004-12-12T01:08:11Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > Well, yeah, but how relevant is that today? Communism is pretty much dying. You’ve got what-China, North Korea, North Vietnam and Cuba. That’s pretty much it. Communism is almost dead-I predict in 100 years, it’ll be six feet under. You forgot to add ‘college campuses’. Communism should be relegated to some sort of ‘neo-Nazi’ pariah status, but unfortunately, it has quite a few open admirers and adherents. I know, I know, they are generally dorks and kids trying to piss off their parents, but I bet Lenin was a dork with mommy/daddy issues. I still see nothing wrong or irrelevant with teaching the little demons that Communism is wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2004, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-dangerous-is-christian-television/278831/64 "2004-12-12T01:30:34Z")
Speaking of John Hagee (and apologies for a hijack), but has he ever mentioned on his show how he can be so judgmental when he left his first wife for another woman? Technically, by his own teaching, his current wife is a whore and his children are bastards who cannot enter a church for 7 generations (because his first wife is still alive); while I couldn’t care less if somebody else divorces, he’s so damned literal in interpreting all other sanctions that I’ve wondered how he gets around this one when Jesus himself spoke against remarriage for divorcees. ---
**Author:** ![BarnOwl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e95f7d/32.png) [@BarnOwl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BarnOwl)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2004, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-dangerous-is-christian-television/278831/65 "2004-12-12T13:39:29Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > Speaking of John Hagee (and apologies for a hijack), but has he ever mentioned on his show how he can be so judgmental when he left his first wife for another woman? Technically, by his own teaching, his current wife is a whore and his children are bastards who cannot enter a church for 7 generations (because his first wife is still alive); while I couldn’t care less if somebody else divorces, he’s so damned literal in interpreting all other sanctions that I’ve wondered how he gets around this one when Jesus himself spoke against remarriage for divorcees. No doubt, he resorts to the tried and true, **“Jesus has forgiven me!”** And by extension, “…if He does, then so must you.” Seems to be a favorite ploy of these phony bastards, when their sins are exposed. It works. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Bravo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_bravo/32/493_2.png) [@Johnny\_Bravo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Bravo)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2004, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-dangerous-is-christian-television/278831/66 "2004-12-12T16:25:00Z")
> [@pravnik](#): > > From what I’ve seen of it recently, a growing number of Christian evangelicals (including a lot of the big names like Pat Robertson and company) are very strongly (in some cases rabidly) pro-Jewish and pro-Isreal, and are starting Christian charities to send elderly Russian Jews to Isreal and the like. If I were Jewish I’d be vaguely creeped out. Creeped out? Why? Better the Christians be rabidly pro-Jewish than murderously anti-Jewish. As for the tallis thing, one of my campus’s resident preachers does wear one around his waist, for no other reason than to “call out” any Jews who might be listening to him. Takes all kinds, I guess. ---
**Author:** ![Abbie\_Carmichael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/49beb7/32.png) [@Abbie\_Carmichael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Abbie_Carmichael)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2004, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-dangerous-is-christian-television/278831/67 "2004-12-12T16:42:12Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > Speaking of John Hagee (and apologies for a hijack), but has he ever mentioned on his show how he can be so judgmental when he left his first wife for another woman? Technically, by his own teaching, his current wife is a whore and his children are bastards who cannot enter a church for 7 generations (because his first wife is still alive); while I couldn’t care less if somebody else divorces, he’s so damned literal in interpreting all other sanctions that I’ve wondered how he gets around this one when Jesus himself spoke against remarriage for divorcees. Ok, hold up. You got a cite for that or are you just repeating gossip? Second, why the heck would Hagee teach the 7 generations stuff? I’ve never heard him preach that we are still under the Law: and besides, in the OT it’s 10 generations, not 7. ---
**Author:** ![Blalron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/35a633/32.png) [@Blalron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blalron)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2004, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-dangerous-is-christian-television/278831/68 "2004-12-12T18:23:21Z")
> [@capacitor](#): > > About Chistian Television: it is realtively harmless, and I think it is a shame. If anything, they should be more ‘militant’ to counter the militant atheism abounding. Don’t just leave it to Kirk Franklin to be ‘radical with our message’. Militant Christians outnumber Militant Atheists 10 to 1. Bringing in any more christians to “balance things out” is like bringing a machine gun to a knife fight. In the brief that Michael Newdow filed with the Supreme Court, he pointed out polls which showed that atheists are so reviled in this country that 57% (or some similar figure, I could look it up if necesary) of people will refuse to vote for any openly atheist politician. Yet openly fundamentalist christians can easily get elected in many parts of the country. You call that balance? ---
**Author:** ![Blalron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/35a633/32.png) [@Blalron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blalron)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2004, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-dangerous-is-christian-television/278831/69 "2004-12-12T18:29:34Z")
> [@Brutus](#): > > Golly, doesn’t Christianity get the same Lefty righteous indignation as the Religion of Peace? Difference is, we American Lefties don’t generally have to deal with the influence of fundamentalist Islam on a regular basis. If Fundamentalist Islam began to have even half the influence that Fundamentalist Christianity has in America today, we’d be screaming at the top of our lungs denouncing it. Those who empathize with muslim extremists do so mostly because they are at a safe distance from us. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/9fc348/32.png) [@The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Flying_Dutchman)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2004, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-dangerous-is-christian-television/278831/70 "2004-12-12T20:05:27Z")
> [@Blalron](#): > > Difference is, we American Lefties don’t generally have to deal with the influence of fundamentalist Islam on a regular basis. Oh, lets see. The loved ones of the victims of 9/11 are all conservatives? Ever gone flying lately? Listen to the news much ? ---
**Author:** ![Blalron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/35a633/32.png) [@Blalron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blalron)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2004, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-dangerous-is-christian-television/278831/71 "2004-12-12T20:13:34Z")
> [@grienspace](#): > > Oh, lets see. The loved ones of the victims of 9/11 are all conservatives? I said on a _regular_ basis. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2004, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-dangerous-is-christian-television/278831/72 "2004-12-12T21:06:49Z")
> [@milroyj](#): > > North Vietnam? :dubious: :smack: Sorry 'bout that. I get them confused. :o **Brutus** , do you seriously believe that there’s some huge, menacing communist movement on college campuses? They are, as you said, a bunch of whiny brats who are just trying to piss off their parents. Most of them probably couldn’t distinguish between Leon Trotsky and Maxim Gorky if their lives depended on it. They just think Che Guevara shirts and posters look “cool.” ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2004, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-dangerous-is-christian-television/278831/73 "2004-12-13T19:57:03Z")
> [@Abbie Carmichael](#): > > Ok, hold up. You got a cite for that or are you just repeating gossip? Accusatory much? I could provide several cites in print and online, but as I don’t like having my honesty questioned and don’t have the time to pit you properly I’ll let you find your own that you may weigh them accordingly. Search terms to use: _John Hagee, Martha, Diane Castro, Trinity Church_ Martha was the first wife with whom he had two children. Trinity Church was the San Antonio church he presided over when he left his wife for Diana Castro (the current Mrs. Hagee). You’ll find nothing about her on his web site or in his official biographies, but you will in entries on various objective biographical directories including _Gale Net Literary Database_, _Who’s Who in American Religion_, Lexis Nexis reference section, etc., or, as you may prefer to call them, “repeated gossip” sources. (Certainly Hagee’s daughter from his first marriage, later adopted by the stepfather whose name she took, seems to believe that she and her mother and sibling exist in an interview she gave some years ago to a San Antonio paper, but your mileage may vary.) > [@](#): > > Second, why the heck would Hagee teach the 7 generations stuff? I’ve never heard him preach that we are still under the Law: and besides, in the OT it’s 10 generations, not 7. I stand corrected on the number of the generations. However, Hagee most definitely preaches that we are still bound by the 10 Commandments and by the Leviticus sanctions against homosexuality- I have not only heard him do it but it is in his books. None of which answers how does he defend himself against a sin that Jesus himself, who _never_ mentioned homosexuality, was sufficiently concerned with to address directly (i.e. the sin of remarriage when the first spouse is still alive). The man is a vile oxygen thieving piece of sludge and, if the words of the book he preaches are true, the only thing about him likely to enter the kingdom of Heaven are his screams from the pits below. In my opinion. ---
**Author:** ![Excalibre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/898d66/32.png) [@Excalibre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Excalibre)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2004, 6:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-dangerous-is-christian-television/278831/74 "2004-12-14T06:13:20Z")
> [@Brutus](#): > > Golly, doesn’t Christianity get the same Lefty righteous indignation as the Religion of Peace? Hey, asshole, don’t paint all lefties with that broad brush. We’re not all fond of the intolerance that Evil Captor is showing in that quote. I don’t think acceptance is arbitrarily limited to certain groups, and I resent the implication that this somehow represents leftist thought. ---
**Author:** ![Martin\_Hyde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/47e85d/32.png) [@Martin\_Hyde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martin_Hyde)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2004, 8:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-dangerous-is-christian-television/278831/75 "2004-12-14T08:41:46Z")
> [@Jervoise](#): > > It is possible to support both freedom of expression and freedom of religion and still believe that certain expressions and certain religious beliefs are dangerous. It is quite consistent to consider many opinions and religious affliations to be dangerous, while still supporting the right of people to hold such opinions or to foster whichever affliations they wish. > > For example, I believe advocating suicide is an example of a dangerous expression. Encouraging people to kill themselves or providing information on how to achieve suicide is a danger to impressionable minds and those in the grip of mental disorders. That does not mean, however, that I advocate the passing of laws to restrict free speech on suicide methods. I believe suicide is a private matter and that people should have freedom of expression on the subject–but it remains what I consider to be dangerous speech. > > Equally, I believe that the advocation of certain religious beliefs is a danger to society. I think, for example, discouraging divorce is a danger to the children of parents trapped in disfunctional and violent relationships. I also believe that preaching that homosexuality is a sin and that gay men and women should be denied equal rights is a danger to a large section of society. > > This doesn’t mean that I call for the banning of these religious opinions. This doesn’t mean we “fear” the concept of freedom of expression and freedom of religious association. It does mean that we fear (and indeed hate) certain opinions and expressions and consider them to be _dangerous_. Eh, again, your post doesn’t really change the fact that Christian television isn’t much to be afraid of unless you just simply hate religion and people who express their religious beliefs, particularly Christians. Even the most die hard Fundamentalist Preacher doesn’t advocate killing, or in anyway bringing about harm to other humans. The worst I’ve heard was someone telling his flock to “pray for the death” of another, but that isn’t Christianity and any such prayers are sins without a doubt. ---
**Author:** ![Jervoise](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d2c977/32.png) [@Jervoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jervoise)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2004, 10:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-dangerous-is-christian-television/278831/76 "2004-12-14T10:49:40Z")
> [@Martin Hyde](#): > > Even the most die hard Fundamentalist Preacher doesn’t advocate killing, or in _anyway bringing about harm to other humans_. Please. Your definition of harm must be restrictive indeed. Here are some forms of harm: Telling an audience that gay people molest children and should be denied adoption rights _causes harm_ to prospective adoptive parents and children in state care who need loving parents. Telling an audience that gay people shouldn’t be allowed to teach children _causes harm_ to hard-working gay teachers and to the education system, which struggles to attract talent. Telling an audience that women should stay in abusive relationships rather than commit the so-called sin of divorce _causes harm_ to women at risk and their children. Telling an audience that gay people are sinners and will burn in hell encourages certain church goers to verbally abuse and harrass gay people. Telling children that being gay is a choice and a sin damages homosexual children struggling to come to terms with their sexuality, leading to mental torment and self-harm. Telling an audience that sodomy is a sin encourages laws which previously made criminals of men who engaged in private conduct behind doors. Let’s just say I do not agree with your assessment that religious extremists’ do not advocate harming anyone. > [@](#): > > Eh, again, your post doesn’t really change the fact that Christian television isn’t much to be afraid of unless you just simply hate religion and people who express their religious beliefs, particularly Christians. I don’t hate religion. I think Christianity is generally a very powerful force for stability in society and for charitable works. I also enjoy the company of Christians, even if I don’t agree with all of their moral rules and few of their historical beliefs. That doesn’t change the fact that I regard to certain extreme religious opinions to be a danger to society and indeed to myself. I should never wish to make it a crime to voice opinions, but that’s doesn’t take away the fact that voicing some opinions is downright harmful to people, particularly those who are not male or heterosexual or of the correct religion. I would make a similar argument for many Islamic beliefs, if that were the topic at hand. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2004, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-dangerous-is-christian-television/278831/77 "2004-12-14T15:11:39Z")
> [@Excalibre](#): > > Hey, asshole, don’t paint all lefties with that broad brush. We’re not all fond of the intolerance that Evil Captor is showing in that quote. I don’t think acceptance is arbitrarily limited to certain groups, and I resent the implication that this somehow represents leftist thought. Which quote? I don’t believe I’ve written anything intolerant lately. ---
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2004, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-dangerous-is-christian-television/278831/78 "2004-12-14T17:33:39Z")
Btw, I’m not a Hagee fan. He occasionally has interesting information (the tallit material). This is the first time I heard about him leaving his first wife to marry another woman. If that’s true, I definitely think he should leave the ministry. That’s what Jesus was condemning- divorcing one spouse to marry another, NOT leaving a irredeemably bad marriage & then later on having another chance to make a good marriage with someone else. ---
**Author:** ![joyfool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df788c/32.png) [@joyfool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joyfool)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2004, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-dangerous-is-christian-television/278831/79 "2004-12-14T17:57:59Z")
> [@FriarTed](#): > > … NOT leaving a irredeemably bad marriage & then later on having another chance to make a good marriage with someone else. And if it isn’t redeemable or irreparable for the children (if applicable)? What do you do then? Just curious as to your (and others) opinion. ---
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2004, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-dangerous-is-christian-television/278831/80 "2004-12-15T14:34:39Z")
> [@faithfool](#): > > And if it isn’t redeemable or irreparable for the children (if applicable)? What do you do then? Just curious as to your (and others) opinion. All I’m saying is that there are situations (such as abuse, adultery & desertion) in which divorce is permissible for a Christian, with no restriction against remarriage later. I do believe Jesus totally forbids divorcing for the purpose of marrying another- that is adulterous divorce & remarriage. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-dangerous-is-christian-television/278831.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-dangerous-is-christian-television/278831.md?page=5)