Many will never be sure if Martha Stewart deserved her jail time. Still others aren’t sure if Paris Hilton had enough time in the pokey. The trial results of both Robert Blake and OJ Simpson will keep America doubting Lady Justice for years to come with people camping out on both sides of the issue.
The legislature borrowed from the sports world when it adopted the “three strikes” rule regarding felonies. Have we taken baseball too seriously or justice too lightly? Why haven’t we adopted any rules regarding celebrities who have taken their eccentricities to social extremism, error, or just plain bad taste?
Perhaps in our celebrity worship we could use something very few Hollywood celebrities use to make sense of it all, a Bible verse. How about this one from Proverbs 10:12, “…love covers all sins.” No, this would fail miserably because the biblical definition of love, rather than being sugar-coated emotional servility, has to do with selflessness and love of the unsavory. It seems that we will have to return to the world of sports where at least everyone can be on the same page.
Obviously, there are those who cannot see the mistakes and extremes of their favorite celebrities and if they are in the adoration phase, all criticism is mere whispers in the wind.
Experts like journalists, anchors and radio personalities already know that they need multiple layers of armor when talking about American celebrities. Comedians are also not exempt. They may not be ruled out, but complaining audiences and low ratings can result in unwanted criticism from network executives and CEOs.
Layers of first amendment rights, alerted legal departments, disclaimers, and appeals to reason or higher authority precede the ultimate apology, tears, and public humiliation that await those who offend. Have we forgotten that if you lie we must defend the lie but if we tell the truth it defends itself?
Long exordias are not an acceptable part of writing articles, so it seems right to cut to the chase. The point is that if we use the baseball model to verify Oprah’s batting record, we would be forced to conclude that she already struck out, but for some unknown reason she was allowed to stay up for a fourth strike. Even Oprah may not be able to change the rules of the great old game of baseball.
It’s not a right or wrong kind of thing that makes the list, it’s the question of discernment, character assessment, and finding out what’s really true or false before you throw it out into the public.
The first blow is when Oprah told us that James Frey’s “A Million Little Pieces” wasn’t preceded by just a few questions and some good background research and average discernment. That’s fine, Americans are understanding, and Mr. Frey’s public apology and criticism seemed to put us at ease. It’s true that celebrity worship seems like an elementary school activity, but have we gotten to the place where our celebrities get to choose our reading?
The second hit isn’t just the alleged abuse that took place at Oprah’s multi-million dollar school for exceptional girls in So. Africa. Most would be willing to say that even she can’t be expected to successfully lead every project she creates, especially one that’s halfway around the world.
In the United States, the cries of the “homies” went unnoticed under the guise of “they don’t appreciate anything.” Did American girls vote in some secret ballot on whether they just wanted sneakers and cell phones? Could just a little discernment have uncovered the influence on worthy girls in America who may have been unduly influenced by a powerful combination of high-tech and shoemakers who pay big bucks to support world-hungry pop culture and celebrities? rap? Yet even Africans are not satisfied that Oprah’s mission is the right approach to the broader problems that are endemic to So. Africa.
That sentiment is best summed up in a statement made by Boston Globe staffer John Donnelly on January 20, 2007 under the headline “Oprah’s Out of School, Growing Frustration.” Donnelly wrote, “But for Africans and Americans working with AIDS orphans, Winfrey’s gift ignored a time-tested path to success with development aid: Communities themselves must identify ways outsiders can help.” Not the other way around. But many grassroots activists in Africa say that donors often dictate the terms of projects and that grantees, even if they disagree, follow orders.” Here is another issue of discernment or lack of it that has ramifications on two continents.
In the minds of many Americans, the third blow is nothing more than a joke on Oprah’s part because she has clearly stated that she had never before considered endorsing any political candidate. Now the full weight of the Oprah mystique is being harnessed for Senator Barack Obama’s candidacy for president. Conservative Bible-believing Christians aren’t likely to change their views on gay agenda issues or abortion just because Oprah has sided with the senator. barack obama This is a choice she has every right to make for herself, but to the rest of us she says “misjudgment” once again.
In baseball, Oprah would already be sitting in the dugout, but Americans have been known to extend the 15 minutes for some celebrities.
Strike four is Oprah’s endorsement of the new age guts found in “The Secret.” Many articles and entire books have been written against the claims of the Secret, but even if they were not, the Bible alone sends a siren signal to those who have not yet given up all discernment. The new age, coupled with the hunger for wealth, is a powerful new magnet for Americans who are getting closer to spiritual matters every day.
A generation of teaching young people to question all authority has resulted in the idea that the questioner is the final judge of the answer; Doesn’t that make them an authority? A world where only shades of gray are acceptable must breed the lie that a mix of black and white was not needed to get the shades. Dammit! You mean there is a source; there are some kinds of absolutes…absolutely!
Most artists consider gray to be a shade rather than a color and fashion experts consider it mostly lifeless and ugly. The teaching of the new age is a sea of nebulous, unfounded, unprovable and loosely connected gray soup that draws the undiscerning into their own drowning.
Reading crystals, talking to spirits, channeling, séances, etc. it may seem harmless until it becomes attached to direct attacks on the finished work and sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the Cross. Then he becomes what the Bible calls the spirit of Antichrist. As a footnote, the Bible promises that the spirit of the Antichrist will pervade the world shortly before the person known as the Antichrist arises to rule every nation, tongue, and tribe.
In a revealing but scathing article by the illustrious “Ken” entitled “Oprah Drinks the New Age Kool-Aid” found in “The Right End of the Telescope” there is a list of ten of the lessons offered from the Secret and others from the new age. materials are as follows.
1. Lesson #29 asks you to spend your day affirming that “God is in everything I see.”
2. Lesson #61 tells each person to repeat the affirmation “I am the light of the world.”
3. Lesson #70 teaches the student to say and believe “My salvation comes from me.”
4. There is no sin
5. There is no guilt in you. Your vocation is to dedicate yourself to the denial of guilt.
6. An immolated Christ does not make sense.
7. A way to the cross is a useless way.
8. Clinging to the Old Craggy Cross is a pathetic mistake.
9. The name Jesus is simply a symbol of any one of the many gods you pray to.
10. The recognition of God is the recognition of oneself.
Neither of these claims is even remotely biblical or theologically sound. In fact, several of them border on blasphemy. They are all mistakes, but none are as patently ridiculous as numbers four through nine. I will let the scriptures answer them point by point because if the word of God is not believed then who is going to listen to me.
Lessons four and five say that there is no sin and there is no guilt in you. The Holy Spirit speaking through the Apostle John said: “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.” (1 John 1:8-10)
Lessons six and seven are as close to profanity as you can get. The notion is in fact antichrist and is diametrically opposed to the truth. The Apostle Paul warned the Corinthian believers that the cross would certainly seem crazy to the world but it was God’s power to save.
“Because the preaching of the cross is madness to those who are lost, but to us who are saved it is the power of God. For it is written: I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and I will destroy the understanding of the Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this world? Has not God made mad the wisdom of this world? Because after the wisdom of God, the world did not know God by wisdom, it pleased God by the folly of preaching to save those who believe.” (1 Corinthians 1:18-22)
Number nine is the biggest mistake of all. Take away the name of Jesus and humanity will be truly alone. Forget the question of whether we are alone in space; the real question is “are we alone in time without a purpose?” Without Christ we are. The new age proudly proclaims that “Jesus is simply a symbol of whichever of the many gods you pray to.”
The Apostle Peter healed a cripple and after being asked with what power or with what name he performed the miracle, he replied: “Be it known to all of you, and to all the people of Israel, that in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by him this man stands before you healed. This is the stone that was rejected by you builders, which has become the cornerstone. Nor is there salvation in any other: for there is no other name under heaven given among men, by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:10-12)