Posted on 10/28/2006 7:08:27 PM PDT by infoguy
An October 17, 2006, op-ed by Los Angeles Times columnist Joel "I Don't Support Our Troops" Stein condescendingly slams Christianity as a "death cult."
Writing a lippy account of a Presbyterian service he had recently attended, Stein belches,
"The first thing I noticed about church was how much like PBS it was. The lighting was dim, the speakers talked slowly, the songs were dated, there were a lot of references to reading material and every so often my eye line was interrupted by envelopes asking me to donate money. Also, I kept falling asleep."
And (bold added),
"I'd never realized how much of a death cult Christianity is. When we weren't fixating on how awesome Christ's murder was, we were singing about how terrific it was going to be when we bite it. Chipper up, Christians! There's a lot to live for. They're making more of those 'Narnia' movies."
Cute, eh? Ugh. There's more to Stein's column, but suffice it to say that it is a disrespectful and dismissive slap at Christianity.
A few days after Stein's arrogant column appeared, the Times, surprisingly, published two letters that were critical of the column.
Thank you, Richard Rorex of Apple Valley, California (bold mine):
Joel Stein's column would qualify as hate speech if the subject were anything other than Christianity. Making light of one of the two mandated ordinances of the Christian religion does not show any sense of decency. Considering the furor over the cartoons of Muhammad published in Europe, I do not understand why Christianity is fair game for ridicule.
And thank you, David Schwankle of Riverside, California, whose letter begins, "Even though I'm an atheist, I find myself offended by Stein's glib, juvenile ridicule of a church service."
As NewsBusters reported a couple weeks ago, the Los Angeles Times recently solicited readers for advice on how to improve their newspaper. My very first piece of advice, which I documented in the comments section and at the forum at the Times web site, was for the paper to hire a columnist with a genuine Christian worldview. At NewsBusters, we have documented several instances of anti-Christian and anti-Catholic bias at the Times. Stein's column simply adds to the pile of examples.
The Times seems to care very little about how often their columns offend Christians. If they did care, they would do something significant about it - right away.
You know, if some one was kind enough to invite me to a religious service for a different religion, I would try to make a good faith and respectful effort to understand why things are done a certain way, even if I disagreed with it, rather than simply trash the religion publicly based on a superficial view. It would at least be interesting from a socialogical perspective. This columnist shows a really small-minded and intellectually incurious mind that seems all too typical of liberals these days when it comes to Christians or anything conservative.
He should have just gone to a bathhouse in San Francisco. It would have told him as much about Christianity. Stein is a Jew by birth and would be Chosen if he simply accepted God. But he hasn't and I don't think even having a Jewish mother can save him from the hell he lives every day or will suffer for the rest of his existence. I would pity him but I don't see how that would improve his life or mine.
He should have gone to an evangelical church, not a liberal, politically correct, Presbyterian USA church.
Please remember there are two (2) faction of Presbyterians, and the other IS the Evangelical Church!
Had similar thing been written about Islam, there would have been a worldwide riot among the muzzies!!
Hmmmm!!!
...
Waiting...
...
Still waiting...
...
...crickets chirping...
Joel Stein is nothing more than the true reflection of Liberalism: Pathologically stupid, drowning in denial and a sewar pipe excreting cultural suicide packaged as beauty.
Naaaaaaaaaa.........he's doing a swell job of that himself.
I personally will pray for him. :)
He looks like the type of flaming *** liberal that would say something ignorant like that. Sorry that's just the "Death Cult" coming out of me.
[It sure has been open season on Christianity lately, hasn't it?]
Yes, recently writers have been making a killing (no pun intended), bashing Christianity, and really, any form of religion. It is the new cause celebre of the leftist, hyper-educated set who think they have a superior grasp of, well, everything. When Rosie O'Donnell talks about the "radical Christian right" being as much of a danger as radical Islam, she is just parroting what is being said and written in the elite liberal enclaves. Do the research, these people are scary.
Oh I don't know about that, I'm a Presbyterian and I may just go kick a pile of leaves in my front lawn.
Really odd since Christ conquered death.
YES leaf kicking! Pile them all up! They have trespassed on our lands! And after they are piled up I will send my children to jump on them and scatter them to the winds! Then I will pile them up again and throw them in the garbage!
somehow that just isn't the same thing.
No wonder Joel fell asleep, Christianity is kind of a boring religion compared to others isn't it...
How can the LA Times improve their newspaper?
By going out of business.
Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour of his knowledge by us in every place. For we are unto God a sweet savour of Christ, in them that are saved, and in them that perish: To the one we are the savour of death unto death; and to the other the savour of life unto life. And who is sufficient for these things? II Cor. 2
It means The Lord is God. For Joel was a minor prophet for the Lord.
If nothing else, I learned something by reading the recalcitrant newspaper writer's article. What a life! He has to get out there and deliberately write something to keep his job. Make the Christians choke.
I, myself could recommend the splendid delivery of a Welsh choir. The thunder of "Guide Me O Thou Great Jehovah". Though far off in Canada, I hope to hear it November the seventh. Stein can delivery another homily. LOL
Oh, but the real liberal blasphemy in here is that he trashed PBS. If anything will get him fired from that bastion of liberalism, that will...
Joel, sometimes when you're a writer, it's better to stop at the point at which people think you're a prat, rather than keep writing until you put the matter beyond dispute.
Here is the answer to your question, which was mine also "[M]y college friend, Mike Langford, just got ordained as a pastor at Covenant Presbyterian Church, so I felt like I needed to see his gig."
And it gets worse. He takes Communion, after much mockery of same, or course. In the end he wishes he could believe in God, but admits his pride is too great to let that occur. He compares himself to James Joyce, mish-moshing Joyce up with Stephen Dedelus, Joyce's fictitious character, but our author implies he is better than Joyce, since his own writing is more easily understood, and in general comes across as a juvenile moron. Like almost every other member of the MSM these days.
This whole 1960s trope of the "rebel without a cause" has grown most tiresome. To borrow a phrase from e.e. cummings, some ideas, like disposible razor blades, are not suitable for re-sharpening.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.