To Believe or Not To Believe? (SHOW RESPECT, OR RISK A BAN) - Part 2

[BatmanVSuperman]

Bill is just entertainment, not journalism. Of course part of his schtick is to stay to the right of most issues in order to give "voice" to the other side. That's what Foxnews is at this point. To be fair, the left seems to get more coverage and views across on other channels like MSNBC, CNN, etc. Anyone thinking he even has real convictions about his opinions on his show are crazy.

 

[XtremelyBaneful]

Bill is just entertainment, not journalism. Of course part of his schtick is to stay to the right of most issues in order to give "voice" to the other side. That's what Foxnews is at this point. To be fair, the left seems to get more coverage and views across on other channels like MSNBC, CNN, etc. Anyone thinking he even has real convictions about his opinions on his show are crazy.

I sure as hell am not entertained by the crap he has to say.

 

[BatmanVSuperman]

I sure as hell am not entertained by the crap he has to say.

It sure isn't journalism. That's for sure

 

[XtremelyBaneful]

It sure isn't journalism. That's for sure

journalism can definitely get bad sometimes, but i don't think it's fair to call bill o'reilly a journalist.

 

[BatmanVSuperman]

journalism can definitely get bad sometimes, but i don't think it's fair to call bill o'reilly a journalist.

He's kind of like a politicized version of the gossip celebrity shows. They could stick Mario Lopez as the host

 

[ShadowBoxer]

What ever happened to Persistence? He is the creator of the Hype Christian group that is up now. It hasn't been active for a while now and there are quite a few members in the group. Did Persistence get banned or something?

 

[Tanin]

What ever happened to Persistence? He is the creator of the Hype Christian group that is up now. It hasn't been active for a while now and there are quite a few members in the group. Did Persistence get banned or something?

He asked for a temp ban and they gave him a permanent ban.

 

[Kelly]

I sure as hell am not entertained by the crap he has to say.

That's why there is this little thing called the remote, it's awesome, I use it all the time.

 

[Kelly]

journalism can definitely get bad sometimes, but i don't think it's fair to call bill o'reilly a journalist.

He has said himself that he is not a journalist, he is a person with an opinion.

He is an author, and a pretty good one at that.

 

[XtremelyBaneful]

That's why there is this little thing called the remote, it's awesome, I use it all the time.

it's awesome for people who don't want to watch him. but what's disquieting is knowing that millions of people watch him, look up to him, believe him, and follow what he says. and most of the time, that is not helping society.

He has said himself that he is not a journalist, he is a person with an opinion.

the difference though is that his opinion is broadcasted on television and reaches more ears than the average person's opinion.

 

[Apollo]

I am struggling with forgiveness

[YT]-3-J7hTTX3E[/YT]


Dalai Lama's tactic for developing forgiveness

[YT]d-MiAzdbxuQ[/YT]

Sharing Wisdom: Hinduism & Forgiveness

[YT]leLxnMRPnWE[/YT]

 

[BatmanVSuperman]

it's awesome for people who don't want to watch him. but what's disquieting is knowing that millions of people watch him, look up to him, believe him, and follow what he says. and most of the time, that is not helping society.
the difference though is that his opinion is broadcasted on television and reaches more ears than the average person's opinion.

Does it help society to watch MSNBC commentary shows which also feature a lot of opinion...not journalism but caters to the left in this case (fox being towards the right of course)?

Also, doesn't the viewer bare some of the responsibility towards distinguishing entertainment (opinion shows) from journalism (straight news)??????

 

[ShadowBoxer]

I was having a conversation today with some people during break a work that was pretty interesting . We got on the conversation of religion because we brought up Good Friday and Easter this weekend. Anyway, some of the non believers mentioned how they didn't like Phil Robertson and some of the things he says are out there. But myself and other Christians pointed out there were people on both sides that are crazy and a bit extreme. For example, Bill Maher is just as bad, if not worse than Phil Robertson. Bill openly mocks Christians and is pretty intolerant to religious people in general. Which is ironic since atheist/ Bill always say Christians are intolerant etc. But there was even an instant where Bill mocked an autistic person. So there are indeed bad eggs in any group and you can't judge them all based on the actions of some.

We also mentioned that it seems that there is a double standard now in society and in the media. It seems that is okay to mock Christians and their beliefs but the media and society doesn't openly mock other religions or how people choose to live their life. Even some of non religious people I work with agreed. Like you can get on TV and say like to sleep around, do drugs, or whatever and nothing is said about it. But if you say your a Christian and believe in the Bible (the word of God) you are subject to mockary, and riddicule. Like there was a show by the Boondocks creator called Black Jesus that made a mockery of the christian faith and nothing was really said of it besides Christians who were rightfully upset and thought it was disrespectful to their beliefs. But if it had been a show about how others choose to live their life, then it would have been a huge outrage and boycotts.

Of course the conversation remained civil at work and it actually got pretty deep. But I wanted to get you all's thoughts on this.

 

[DJ_KiDDvIcIOUs]

I was at the grocery store today and the lady kept saying happy holiday and it took me a minute to figure out why. I forgot about Easter and Passover

 

[ShadowBoxer]

I am struggling with forgiveness

[YT]-3-J7hTTX3E[/YT]


Dalai Lama's tactic for developing forgiveness

[YT]d-MiAzdbxuQ[/YT]

Sharing Wisdom: Hinduism & Forgiveness

[YT]leLxnMRPnWE[/YT]

interesting

 

[XtremelyBaneful]

Does it help society to watch MSNBC commentary shows which also feature a lot of opinion...not journalism but caters to the left in this case (fox being towards the right of course)?

Also, doesn't the viewer bare some of the responsibility towards distinguishing entertainment (opinion shows) from journalism (straight news)??????

No idea buddy. it's depressing knowing that these news stations operate in such an indoctrinative way. I mean, you have to watch the news to know what's going on in the world but I think it is important to be skeptical about how the story is being told, I guess.

 

[Greens]

But there was even an instant where Bill mocked an autistic person. So there are indeed bad eggs in any group and you can't judge them all based on the actions of some.

Did he mock the autistic person because of his atheism? There's a distinction between using your religion to bash on people and just mocking people for no reason.

We also mentioned that it seems that there is a double standard now in society and in the media. It seems that is okay to mock Christians and their beliefs but the media and society doesn't openly mock other religions or how people choose to live their life. Even some of non religious people I work with agreed. Like you can get on TV and say like to sleep around, do drugs, or whatever and nothing is said about it. But if you say your a Christian and believe in the Bible (the word of God) you are subject to mockary, and riddicule.

It's hard to explain to a Christian why this double standard isn't really a double standard. The point is that your beliefs aren't sacred. There is not, and should not be a magic shield that protects them from criticism and mockery. Christians are "victims" most of the time because they make up most of the population. Your beliefs are out there. They're unrealistic and downright silly at times. To an atheist, the Bible is a book full of fairy tales. Wouldn't you laugh if a person told you they believed Red Riding Hood was a factual story? That's the way most atheists see it.

 

[DJ_KiDDvIcIOUs]

News outlets like FAUX, CNN, MSNBC, etc are on the way out. There dying just like the newspapers. All the younger people get their news from the net. Don't expect them to be around in their current form in 10-20 years

 

[BatmanVSuperman]

Bill Maher: "When people say the bible is real... what they are really saying is ancient people somehow have more knowledge or are wiser?"

I find that dry question to be a pretty valid point. Ancient civilizations before scientific knowledge (at least to the level we have achieved in modern day) would have been more likely to believe in supernatural elements.

This found its way into writings of the bible. Do you really believe strength derived from hair existed for Solomon?

Some Christians have transitioned to stating they believe these silly supernatural writings were never meant to be taken literal (turning into a pillar of salt).

The bible in a secular world requires readers to ignore science or pick and choose what is literal and only "example" though it was written as fact from the word of God.

This is why the leap of faith is quite hard for agnostic minded individuals such as myself.

 

[Shikamaru]

Bill Maher doesn't mock people in the name of atheism. That's impossible to do, as there is nothing to mock in the name of. Religious extremists like Pat Robertson mock people in the name of religion. That's the key difference.

There's also a fine line between irrational mean-spirited mocking and constructive satire. I would argue what Maher does is the latter.

 

[ShadowBoxer]

Did he mock the autistic person because of his atheism? There's a distinction between using your religion to bash on people and just mocking people for no reason.



It's hard to explain to a Christian why this double standard isn't really a double standard. The point is that your beliefs aren't sacred. There is not, and should not be a magic shield that protects them from criticism and mockery. Christians are "victims" most of the time because they make up most of the population. Your beliefs are out there. They're unrealistic and downright silly at times. To an atheist, the Bible is a book full of fairy tales. Wouldn't you laugh if a person told you they believed Red Riding Hood was a factual story? That's the way most atheists see it.

Well there shouldn't be a shield around anyone else's beliefs or lack of thereof or how they choose to live their life, but there seems to be one. Just because you don't agree with someone's religious beliefs or lifestyle should be a pass to make mockery of them. You probably wouldn't take to kindly to people mocking atheist on TV and media on the regular right? Or if someone says their an atheist and gets labeled as a arrogant know it all, who has nothing to live for wouldn't you be kinda offended? That's kinda how a feel when people assume, I am stupid or a hateful person because of my religious beliefs. Now I don't mind playful joking but their is a line between just joking and mockery. YOu know there would be backlash over stuff mocking Muslims, Buddhist, Scientology, or if you live an alternative lifestyle. See the irony there?

 

[Greens]

Well there shouldn't be a shield around anyone else's beliefs or lack of thereof or how they choose to live their life, but there seems to be one. Just because you don't agree with someone's religious beliefs or lifestkye should be a pass to make mockery of them. You probably wouldn't take to kindly to people mocking atheist on TV and media on the regular right? Or if someone says their an atheist and gets labeled as a arrogant know it all, who has nothing to live for wouldn't you be kinda offended?

That does happen. There are plenty of conservative pundits who go after atheists and make snide remarks. It doesn't bother me because I don't watch their shows on the regular.

I don't see this collective mockery you describe. Christianity is still very much alive in the US and the media reflects this.

 

[ShadowBoxer]

Bill maher defintely falls into the mean sprited category. For example, Blake Griffin is a NBA player and it's known he is a Christian. Someone asked if he was on team creation or team evolution. Bill maher on Twitter basiclly implies that Griffin be "cured" of his belifs or be wiped out. His fans responded that he should be hit in the head with a rock ( basically killing him). I am like really? That's appropriate?

 

[BatmanVSuperman]

Bill maher defintely falls into the mean sprited category. For example, Blake Griffin is a NBA player and it's known he is a Christian. Someone asked if he was on team creation or team evolution. Bill maher on Twitter basiclly implies that Griffin be "cured" of his belifs or be wiped out. His fans responded that he should be hit in the head with a rock ( basically killing him). I am like really? That's appropriate?

He is also a comedian that is openly a democrat and atheist. Commentary is going to have a bit more of a punch from him. Joan Rivers made a career out of making mean spirited jabs, and had quite a few fans

 

[Greens]

Bill maher defintely falls into the mean sprited category. For example, Blake Griffin is a NBA player and it's known he is a Christian. Someone asked if he was on team creation or team evolution. Bill maher on Twitter basiclly implies that Griffin be "cured" of his belifs or be wiped out. His fans responded that he should be hit in the head with a rock ( basically killing him). I am like really? That's appropriate?

I don't see what's so mean-spirited about Bill Maher's tweet. The fans that mentioned throwing rocks were probably sarcastically referencing the practice of stoning, something that used to be and still is popular in some religions.

In the end, Blake Griffin's belief that the Earth is 6,000 years old is pretty stupid. He's almost inviting people to mock him.