Being quite an opinionated person, I want to say my piece about Phil and Duck Dynasty, too. But don't let me lose you there. This isn't about Christians vs. homosexuality or A&E vs. Phil.
This is about using your damn mind.
The media has absolutely gotten out of control, and by control I mean it is consuming our lives. There are multiple 24/7 news channels. What the heck is there to report on all day, every day? You start seeing stories about squirrels falling out of trees and I ask you, who the hell cares?
On top of being bombarded by media, both news and pop culture, all of it is skewed, my friends. The royal baby gets two weeks of press while thousands of Christians being massacred in Syria might get a five second scrolling in yellow letters at the bottom. Oh, okay.
When it comes to any sort of controversy, never accept the first thing you hear to be truth. If it's coming from the media, I can probably guarantee it's maybe 50% of the story. Do your research. If you aren't willing to do your research, then don't have an argument. I'm saying this for your own good because I want the best for you, i.e. not looking like a moron in front of everyone.
Charles Spurgeon says that "we're the first nation that is entertaining itself to death." And look how quickly we're dying.
If you want to defend Phil, read his entire interview. I believe Phil to be a very solid follower of Christ and that his approach to "loving everyone equally and letting God do the judging" is absolutely the way to handle things. If you're wanting to debate, his entire interview will give you more ground to stand on. You're welcome.
If you don't agree with Phil, that's good, too. I'm all about people having opinions, but having educated ones. If you've read Phil's entire interview and still think he's a hate-mongering old coot, I think you probably have some personal bias you need to let go of, but at least you've read as much of the story as possible, and that's important.
So all of you know, I do watch Duck Dynasty when it's on. I think it's hilarious and I also think the majority of the show is staged. There are plenty of places within the show where you can easily tell it's not real. That's the funny thing with "reality tv," most of it's extremely fake. BUT just because some of the scenarios are staged and each person on the show has added a little flare to their personality for showmanship, I don't believe that makes them fake people or their opinions any less valuable. A&E tried to get Phil not to close his prayers with "In Jesus Name We Pray" and he said, that's alright, we won't do another season then. Guess what? They got another season.
I think this is going to come back and bite A&E hard because the people who watch Duck Dynasty and buy the merchandise aren't the homosexuals; it's the families, college students, and probably most southerners. And God forbid you take our entertainment away from us. Wherever Duck Dynasty goes, so will the fans. Say goodbye to your largest avenue for profit then, A&E. You had a good run.
Three last things.
Just because I believe homosexuality is a sin does not mean I am ignorant.
I have come to hold the beliefs that I do through reading my Bible, talking to people both heterosexual and homosexual, and lots and lots of mind-twisting thinking about it. I have homosexual friends. They know how I feel about homosexuality. We're still friends. I love them, they love me. Do they think I'm ignorant? No. I have my argument, which I present in love and they do the same. We respect each other.
Secondly, there isn't such a thing as a right or wrong opinion. If there were, it would no longer be an opinion. I believe everyone is entitled to hold whatever beliefs they want. If someone thinks being an axe murderer is the coolest thing, well okay then. Do I think it's cool? Of course not. I think it's terrible. But who says my opinion is more valid or more important than yours? Maybe being an axe murderer is cool. Convince me with kind, thought-out words. (Or you could just pull an axe out of your purse. That might work, too.)
Finally, the ignorant ones aren't those against homosexuality or those for it. The ignorant ones are the people throwing hateful words around at people that calmly express their opinions. And those people exist on BOTH sides of the fence.
I'm more ashamed of the people who act rashly to support either side of the argument before even reading Phil's entire interview. America hasn't lost their freedom of speech, they've lost their ability to think critically and independently.
Don't buy into all the ploys of the media, they're purposefully doing things to draw you out. A wise person is slow to speak because he or she takes the time to use his or her mind. Good heavens, it is not that hard.
If you get nothing else from this blog, get this: I don't care whether you're a homosexual, heterosexual, atheist, christian, buddhist, cat, dog, axe murderer, whatever. If you present any argument with peace and love, you'll get a much better outcome. That's just common sense, people.
I don't want your stupid tolerance. I want your respect.
You are awesome...that is all
ReplyDelete