Feb 13

Why Moral Protests and Boycotts and Don't Work

NBC has been the frequent target of Christian watchdog groups. Over the past few years, I recall hearing about three major incident involving the Peacock network:

The first one was the sitcom, "God, the Devil and Bob." The show had God portrayed in the image of the late Jerry Garcia (of Grateful Dead fame). The Grateful Dead were notorious drug addicts and their recordings included lyrics such as "A friend of the devil is a friend of mine" and "I am going to Hell in a bucket but at least I'm enjoying the ride."

The second one was the show, "The Book of Daniel." The main character, Daniel, is a pill-popping Episcopal priest who lives with a variety of daily problems. His wife is an alcoholic, one of his sons is a homosexual and another, his adopted son, is having sex with a young girl. The show also features a blasphemous portrayal of Jesus. The Christ in the "The Book of Daniel" glosses over the son's sexual romps with the comment, "He's a kid; let him be a kid."

The third uproar occurred before the show aired. Christian groups forced NBC cancel to an episode of "Will & Grace" that featured Britney Spears as a conservative who hosts a cooking segment called "Cruci-fixin's" on a Christian TV network. According to one report, "Spears was to appear as a sidekick to the regular character Jack, who hosts his own talk show on the homosexual network Out TV, which is bought by a Christian TV network. The episode was to air April 13, just before Good Friday."

The American Family Association has been given the most credit for forcing NBC to cancel each of these examples of moral degeneration. The AFA may have won a few battles, but they are not winning the war. In fact, morality in America has been in a steady swan dive.

While Christians were venting their displeasure over the "The Book of Daniel," the movie, "Brokeback Mountain," was breaking new ground at the theater. For the first time ever, a movie with a homosexual sex scene was number one in box office ratings.

Regarding the on-screen sex between actors Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal in the movie, "pro-family" reviewer Ted Baehr predicted that the audience would be so sickened they would flee the theater vomiting. With the movie playing on over 2,000 screens and having earned $64 million so far, I don't think his prediction has come to pass.

The primarily reason protests and boycotts don't work is Satan's strategy attacking on multiple fronts. The devil has so many agents in this world, he can afford a loss like the early demise of "The Book of Daniel." Right now, I'm sure some writers in Hollywood are working on a screenplay for a new sitcom that will be equally as blasphemous as any of the examples I've cited.

If Christian groups are going to have any lasting impact in the moral struggle, they need to focus on changing the overall culture. Where they choose to spend their money is a good place to start. If Christians applied a more godly approach to their buying habits, corporations that support and promote immoral activities would quickly get the message.

At one point, Burlington Coat Factory was the only national advertiser still standing with NBC's "The Book of Daniel." I don't recall any Christian group highlighting this company's willingness to support the sitcom. Most of the angry letters were to NBC or its parent company, General Electric.

You don't need to send a letter to NBC or the Burlington Coat Factory. If enough Christians refused to buy outerwear from BCF, the retailer's earnings would drop and the CEO would be out on his ear.

I hardly ever watch any network prime-time TV. I simply cannot relate to the values presented by NBC and the other major networks.

Last week, I ran across a news article that pointed out how many evangelicals demand higher standards for TV, while at the same time, they contradict their wishes by watching shows that are full of sex and violence.

In this late hour, we may not be able to prevent the world from sliding into tribulation judgment. The least we can do is not become part of the problem.
-- Todd

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Ahmadinejad's Apocalypse

The perfect human being is on the way to manifesting his presence in a chaotic world, over which he will exert absolute control, according to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. The Israel-hating leader believes the twelfth Imam will assume his prophesied place upon the world stage, at a time of cosmic upheaval, earthly war, bloodshed, and destruction on a global scale. “The Mahdi,” as the miracle man is also called, will, Ahmadinejad proclaims, bring universal peace– Utopia.

One news item reports: “The man in charge of hoodwinking the Western powers about Iran's now 18-year-old secret nuclear program believes the apocalypse will happen in his own lifetime. He'll be 50 in October. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's Shi'ite creed has convinced him lesser mortals cannot only influence but hasten the awaited return of the 12th Imam…” (Arnaud de Borchgrave, "Later than we think," Washington Times, February 6, 2006).

And within that brief excerpt, we find the frightening difference between just another Mid-East dictator’s ludicrous rantings and an ominous reality that is smoldering within the satanically-inspired thoughts of an endtime tyrant.

Ahmadinejad doesn’t just plan to sit around while his religious prophetic belief of apocalypse comes to pass. The Iranian leader intends to be an active participant in its coming to pass. The bellicose Iranian president believes that the twelfth Imam is the heir to all prophets (all will be fulfilled in him). According to his reported statements, Ahmadinejad believes the coming of the final prophet is only two years away. The news item further enlightens us on Ahmadinejad’s portentous view of the immediate future.

“Mr. Ahmadinejad is close to the messianic Hojjatieh Society, which is governed by the conviction the twelfth Imam's return will be hastened by ‘the creation of chaos on Earth.’ He has fired Iran's most experienced diplomats and scores of other officials, presumably those who don't share his belief in apocalyptic conflagration” (Borchgrave).

It is more than just interesting to understand that the one leader who is moving with all diligence and speed to develop nuclear weaponry has such an apocalyptic grand design in view. The Iranian could have his finger on the nuclear trigger at any time in the near future, with the thought toward drawing Israel’s IDF into a conflagration. Such a war, he openly surmises, could well be that which will fulfill the prophecy he perceives as the consummation of international rule by a western industrial-military complex, and the predestined installation of Allah on Planet Earth.

I believe with all that is within me that such an all-out war scenario as Ahmadinejad envisions cannot occur while the Church of Jesus Christ is still in the world. That level of holocaust is reserved for the time of God’s wrath. However, there could certainly be some troublesome confrontations and lesser conflicts than all-out war in the Middle East before the era of horror described in Revelation from chapter 6 through chapter 19, when Jesus Christ returns in great power and glory.

It could be just such angst over these building prospective nuclear confrontations, in the near term, that will be the catalyst for galvanizing agreement to consider peace. Likelihood of atomic war might be the future reason for the covenant of Daniel 9: 27, which Antichrist will confirm –promising to bring in supposed peace and prosperity.

Another aspect of all of this is the treatment of those of us who believe in the coming Apocalypse, as given in the Book of Revelation and Old Testament books, as opposed to how Ahmadinejad is treated for his apocalyptic view.

We are seen as Christian fundamentalist warmongers who want to bring Christ’s rule to earth by convincing our leaders to start war in the Middle East, thus bringing in Armageddon. This, despite the truth that we simply look at the world situation under the microscope of God’s prophetic light and try to determine and report where this generation stands on God’s prophetic timeline. We go out of our way to put forward the Prince of Peace. Ahmadinejad clearly says “bring it on” so Allah can pick up the pieces of a totally trashed planet, and the news media, overall, ignores that he craves Armageddon. We want to do all we can to prevent people from having to endure such a war. The Iranian dictator-master wants to start such war.

Ahmadinejad –and no other diabolist—can bring on man’s final war, thankfully, until Christ’s born-again believers are called to be with the Lord Jesus. That stupendously thrilling coming moment gets nearer by the second!
--Terry