First of all, I've never run across anyone else as an adult who was raised in the same church as I was. Although I think ours may have had a different slant, depending on the preacher at the time. I remember endless sermons about the evils of Catholicism and the end of the world. But there were only kind of non-judgmental reference to the fact that Paul may have been homosexual. I never remembering any anti-gay sermons or teaching. They were mostly about looking at your own sin and letting everyone else take care of their own business. However, I do remember in teen Bible study, giving the preacher's wife a particularly hard time, because I questioned most of what was discussed.
The other thing is my father's sudden addiction to Bill O'R's show. My Dad is 83 and a life-long news obsessive. He has probably an eighth grade formal education, but has always had amazingly broad range of knowledge and interest. He and I have come independently to the same opinion, usually on the liberal-to conspiracy-theory end of the continuum, on many topics for many years. (My mother refuses to discuss or hear about current events.) Dad has his own tv tuned to the news all the time he is awake. Because of his health, he now rarely leaves the house.
I could not understand why all of a sudden this jerk was Dad's new hero. After the first couple of times he praised the "no spin" and my automatic reaction--"that ignorant a***" or something similar-- we both knew not to bring it up. But I could not reconcile what I know to be my Dad's long-held thoughtfully-formed beliefs with his new attachment to this guy. What you said makes absolute sense. That's it. I never would have figured it out.
It makes me think, now, of those old televangelists. They appealed to lonely people and made them feel like family in order to make them feel good about sending them money. It had nothing to do with religion. I think in a way, this has nothing to do with politics. It's the same thing W has done. And the shopping channels. It has nothing to do with logical argument. It has to do with the need for human closeness and community. To me this is just unbearably sad.
I'm glad you shared your thoughts on this. It has helped me think about things a little more clearly. Donna
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timeasmymeasure
no subject
Date: 2004-12-27 10:54 pm (UTC)First of all, I've never run across anyone else as an adult who was raised in the same church as I was. Although I think ours may have had a different slant, depending on the preacher at the time. I remember endless sermons about the evils of Catholicism and the end of the world. But there were only kind of non-judgmental reference to the fact that Paul may have been homosexual. I never remembering any anti-gay sermons or teaching. They were mostly about looking at your own sin and letting everyone else take care of their own business. However, I do remember in teen Bible study, giving the preacher's wife a particularly hard time, because I questioned most of what was discussed.
The other thing is my father's sudden addiction to Bill O'R's show. My Dad is 83 and a life-long news obsessive. He has probably an eighth grade formal education, but has always had amazingly broad range of knowledge and interest. He and I have come independently to the same opinion, usually on the liberal-to conspiracy-theory end of the continuum, on many topics for many years. (My mother refuses to discuss or hear about current events.) Dad has his own tv tuned to the news all the time he is awake. Because of his health, he now rarely leaves the house.
I could not understand why all of a sudden this jerk was Dad's new hero. After the first couple of times he praised the "no spin" and my automatic reaction--"that ignorant a***" or something similar-- we both knew not to bring it up. But I could not reconcile what I know to be my Dad's long-held thoughtfully-formed beliefs with his new attachment to this guy. What you said makes absolute sense. That's it. I never would have figured it out.
It makes me think, now, of those old televangelists. They appealed to lonely people and made them feel like family in order to make them feel good about sending them money. It had nothing to do with religion. I think in a way, this has nothing to do with politics. It's the same thing W has done. And the shopping channels. It has nothing to do with logical argument. It has to do with the need for human closeness and community. To me this is just unbearably sad.
I'm glad you shared your thoughts on this. It has helped me think about things a little more clearly.
Donna