Post by Teddy Bear on Mar 4, 2013 20:09:49 GMT
Not an issue I've ever looked into before, but an article today in the Daily Mail started me thinking, and a little bit of research reveals an ever increasing attempt by the BBC to alter the message as intended by Christianity to conform to its own dubious agenda.
The story in today's Mail concerns the BBC airing a Jewish Gay campaigner apparently telling of his experiences in 'coming out of the closet'. The programme the BBC uses for this is one of a series leading up to Easter called 'Lent Talks'.
So let's see how fitting is this topic for what one would expect from such a programme.
In my limited understanding of religion, Lent is the period leading up to Easter where devout Christians use abstinence to identify and empathise with the trials of Christ before he was crucified.
An interesting word in English is 'atonement', which some may recognise from the Jewish 'day of atonement' known more commonly by the Jewish term of Yom Kippur. This is the day when devout Jews fast for 24 hours and ask God's forgiveness for their sins. The reason I mention it is their 'atonement' leads to 'at-one-ment', or harmony. It appears as Lent has the same philosophy behind it.
So looking at how the BBC has covered this period in recent years, with their Lent Talks, there would appear to be a justifiable concern in what they deem to be appropriate speakers.
In 2008 from what I can see there was a fair selection of speakers:
2009 appears to have provided an 'interesting' selection of speakers, but from what I can see, within the framework of what can be considered 'acceptable'. If there any devout Christians reading this, and who heard these talks, I would appreciate your impression of how you found it.
2010 is where it seems to go off the rails with one of the speakers being Will Self.
Anybody not familiar with this odious individual can consider themselves lucky. I find his being an insult to humanity so I've no doubt many Christians would have been perturbed by the BBC selecting him for this particular role.
The first 40 seconds will give you an idea of how Self regards religion:
In terms of emotional development, he is not anybody that is really fit to be giving any kind of spiritual inspiration:
What on earth was the BBC thinking? Except to deprecate Christianity further.
Not much written for 2011 - The Lent Talks in 2011 began on March 16 2011. Ian Blair was the first speaker and talked about religion in public life.
For 2012 certainly one of the names jumps out at me as a strange choice:
Now we come to 2013. I presume because the BBC has gotten away with it for a few years now they decided to 'go for broke'.
Not just a Jew
Not just a Gay campaigner
but also somebody who is clearly disaffected with religion, much like Self, as the Mail article shows.
If I were a devout Christian, and this is what I was being offered
Gay rights campaigner Benjamin Cohen will make the comments, likening the experience of young gay men to that of Jesus on the cross,
I would feel rightfully insulted at the BBC choice of voice for this period.
Yes, let’s see the BBC ‘balance’ their coverage by inviting Benjamin Cohen, the Jewish Gay campaigner to speak on a similar theme in honour of Ramadan
If only!
The story in today's Mail concerns the BBC airing a Jewish Gay campaigner apparently telling of his experiences in 'coming out of the closet'. The programme the BBC uses for this is one of a series leading up to Easter called 'Lent Talks'.
So let's see how fitting is this topic for what one would expect from such a programme.
In my limited understanding of religion, Lent is the period leading up to Easter where devout Christians use abstinence to identify and empathise with the trials of Christ before he was crucified.
An interesting word in English is 'atonement', which some may recognise from the Jewish 'day of atonement' known more commonly by the Jewish term of Yom Kippur. This is the day when devout Jews fast for 24 hours and ask God's forgiveness for their sins. The reason I mention it is their 'atonement' leads to 'at-one-ment', or harmony. It appears as Lent has the same philosophy behind it.
So looking at how the BBC has covered this period in recent years, with their Lent Talks, there would appear to be a justifiable concern in what they deem to be appropriate speakers.
In 2008 from what I can see there was a fair selection of speakers:
Speakers in 2008 have included the Conservative politician Ann Widdecombe, and in 2007 featured Armando Ianucci, who discussed why the period between Ash Wednesday and Easter Sunday is longer than forty days. The final Lent Talk in 2008 was delivered on 19 March, by the Bishop of Durham, Tom Wright. His talk drew upon the Bible book Lamentations of Jeremiah, emphasising the negative moments in life and times when we need to sit and reflect. The theme of his talk, delivered during Holy Week, was to reflect on the period between the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
2009 appears to have provided an 'interesting' selection of speakers, but from what I can see, within the framework of what can be considered 'acceptable'. If there any devout Christians reading this, and who heard these talks, I would appreciate your impression of how you found it.
In 2009, the series of Lent Talks began on 4 March, with the first programme being broadcast by Martin Bell, talking about his experience in the war zones. The second edition was presented by Richard Holloway on 11 March, in which Holloway discussed the power of language and referred to the transcendence of God. His talk referred to both music and verbal language. He also referred to the problem of infinite regress as applied to the question of "Who made God"? providing an answer by stating that this question overlooks the transcendence of God. The third edition was entitled "Does God makes mistakes" and was presented by Sister Frances Domenica. The fourth edition was presented on 25 March by George Pattison, and was about "The Absence of God", dealing with the theme of how we cannot see God. Early in this edition, Pattison referred to the an Anglican liturgy, in which it is said that God knows our hearts, and watches our inner movement. He later referred to the French atheist existentialist, Jean-Paul Sartre, describing Sartre's early loss of faith, and stating that Sartre remained, for the rest of his life, a resolute atheist. However, he later referred to the postmodernist philosopher Emmanuel Levinas, who said that although we cannot see God, God can see us, and discussed how this is important to Levinas' philosophy.
On 1/4 April, Frank Field presented Lent Talks. He described Lent as a time not merely of sackcloth and ashes, but as a time to divide the periods in our lives. The final edition of the Lent Talks in 2009 was broadcast on 8 April, and presented by the Jewish philosopher and theologian Melissa Raphael. Raphael's talk, "In God's Absence", reflected on the meaning of God for Jews during the Holocaust. Raphael mentioned how she, as a feminist Jew, had studied Christianity while at university but had remained a Jew.
2010 is where it seems to go off the rails with one of the speakers being Will Self.
The Lent Talks for 2010 began on February 24 with Will Self giving a talk on religion and the arts, and the spiritual sense that one can feel in church buildings. Maajid Naawaz, the director of the Quilliam Foundation, gave the Lent Talks on March 10 2010. Alastair McGrath presented the Lent Talks on March 24 2010, on the relationship between religion and science - he mentioned Karl Popper, Peter Medawar and Sir Isaac Newton.
Anybody not familiar with this odious individual can consider themselves lucky. I find his being an insult to humanity so I've no doubt many Christians would have been perturbed by the BBC selecting him for this particular role.
The first 40 seconds will give you an idea of how Self regards religion:
In terms of emotional development, he is not anybody that is really fit to be giving any kind of spiritual inspiration:
Self's parents separated when he was nine, and divorced when he was eighteen.[13] Despite the intellectual encouragement given by his parents, he was an emotionally confused and self-destructive child, harming himself with cigarette ends and knives before getting into drugs
What on earth was the BBC thinking? Except to deprecate Christianity further.
Not much written for 2011 - The Lent Talks in 2011 began on March 16 2011. Ian Blair was the first speaker and talked about religion in public life.
For 2012 certainly one of the names jumps out at me as a strange choice:
The Lent Talks in 2012 began on February 29 2012. Speakers in the most recent (i.e. 2012) series included John Lennox, Professor of Mathematics at Oxford University; Tariq Ramadan, Professor of Contemporary Islamic Studies at Oxford University and Linda Woodhead, lecturer in Religious Studies at The University of Lancaster.
The third of the Lent Talks in 2012 was presented by John Lennox on the theme of science and religion. Early on in the programme, he quoted Albert Einstein: "The only thing that is incomprehensible about the universe is that it is comprehensible". He also referred to Alfred North Whitehead, as well as many scientists - such as Kepler or Galileo - who believed in God. Lennox said that Jesus Christ as the person, above all else, who did not fit into this world. He also clarified that was one of the reasons why he was a Christian.
Now we come to 2013. I presume because the BBC has gotten away with it for a few years now they decided to 'go for broke'.
Not just a Jew
Not just a Gay campaigner
but also somebody who is clearly disaffected with religion, much like Self, as the Mail article shows.
If I were a devout Christian, and this is what I was being offered
Gay rights campaigner Benjamin Cohen will make the comments, likening the experience of young gay men to that of Jesus on the cross,
I would feel rightfully insulted at the BBC choice of voice for this period.
BBC Easter message compares treatment of gay people with the crucifixion of Christ
The BBC is to broadcast an Easter message that likens the treatment of gay people to the death of Jesus.
The talk, which will be broadcast on Radio 4, will compare the 'abandonment' felt by gay men to that experienced by Christ as he died on the cross.
Former Channel 4 News presenter and gay rights campaigner Benjamin Cohen asks how people of faith can 'reject' their children 'for something they can't help'.
Referring to Jesus's final moments on the cross after being handed over to the Romans, Mr Cohen says that gay men often suffer similar experiences at the hands of religious groups.
The talk, which will be broadcast later this week, will feature as part of the radio station's 'Lent Talk' series, focusing on the theme of 'abandonment'.
Mr Cohen, who founded gay publisher Pink News, discusses his experience of growing up in an Orthodox Jewish family and being educated in a Catholic school.
He will say that since coming out as gay, he has learned to view Jesus differently in light of his suffering.
Mr Cohen will argue that religion has been 'tearing families apart' and says that parents' rejection of their child's sexuality due to religious beliefs has driven many children to suicide.
He says: 'The feeling of abandonment by God in some ways has a resonance with the words of Christ in both the Gospels of Mark and Matthew, where he says, ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’'
Mr Cohen adds: 'Of course, I understand that for the very religious, it is difficult - an orthodox Jew really does believe the Torah is the literal word of God and a devout Catholic believes the Pope is infallible.
'But do people of faith really want to reject their children for something which I believe they can't help?
'Just as, the Jewish authorities rejected Christ - for something he considered he couldn't help- being the son of God?'
The comments have drawn criticism from religious groups who described the comparison as 'blasphemous'.
Andrea Williams, director of Christian Concern, said: 'Whilst we have immense compassion for those who feel rejection, to liken those who feel rejection because of behavioural choices they have made to Jesus is blasphemous.'
Miss Williams added: 'Jesus made high demands on how we are to behave particularly when it came to sexual expression, where he was clear that the only place for sexual expression is in the context of marriage between a man and a woman.'
She said that the BBC's timing of the talk is a 'serious matter' and said that the broadcaster should be looking to ‘educate and inform’ a population she claims knows ‘increasingly little about Jesus’.
In a related commentary for the Daily Telegraph, Mr Cohen criticises religious leaders for 'giving the impression that homosexuality is a choice'.
He says: 'I can promise you, it's not a choice, no one would chose to be different, to be discriminated against and to risk being abandoned by their family and their faith. I tried to have a girlfriend.'
Referring to Jesus being questioned on whether he was the Son of God, Mr Cohen adds: 'How different a situation is this to the questions and ultimatums given by some parents and some faiths to young gay people? Could Jesus have escaped his crucifixion by denying who he believed he really was?'
Director of Christian Aid Loretta Minghella also features in the Radio 4 series discussing selfishness, while Scottish author Alexander McCall Smith talks about ageing.
A BBC spokesman said: 'The theme of this year's Lent Talks is abandonment and features six well-known figures from public life, arts and religion.
'In this programme Benjamin Cohen talks about his personal fear of being abandoned by his own Jewish community for being gay.'
- Journalist Benjamin Cohen will make the comments in a talk on Radio 4
- He will liken the 'abandonment' felt by gay men to that of Jesus on the cross
- Will say that parents' rejection of children's sexuality has led to suicide
- [Christian group described the comparison to Jesus as 'blasphemous'
The BBC is to broadcast an Easter message that likens the treatment of gay people to the death of Jesus.
The talk, which will be broadcast on Radio 4, will compare the 'abandonment' felt by gay men to that experienced by Christ as he died on the cross.
Former Channel 4 News presenter and gay rights campaigner Benjamin Cohen asks how people of faith can 'reject' their children 'for something they can't help'.
Referring to Jesus's final moments on the cross after being handed over to the Romans, Mr Cohen says that gay men often suffer similar experiences at the hands of religious groups.
The talk, which will be broadcast later this week, will feature as part of the radio station's 'Lent Talk' series, focusing on the theme of 'abandonment'.
Mr Cohen, who founded gay publisher Pink News, discusses his experience of growing up in an Orthodox Jewish family and being educated in a Catholic school.
He will say that since coming out as gay, he has learned to view Jesus differently in light of his suffering.
Mr Cohen will argue that religion has been 'tearing families apart' and says that parents' rejection of their child's sexuality due to religious beliefs has driven many children to suicide.
He says: 'The feeling of abandonment by God in some ways has a resonance with the words of Christ in both the Gospels of Mark and Matthew, where he says, ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’'
Mr Cohen adds: 'Of course, I understand that for the very religious, it is difficult - an orthodox Jew really does believe the Torah is the literal word of God and a devout Catholic believes the Pope is infallible.
'But do people of faith really want to reject their children for something which I believe they can't help?
'Just as, the Jewish authorities rejected Christ - for something he considered he couldn't help- being the son of God?'
The comments have drawn criticism from religious groups who described the comparison as 'blasphemous'.
Andrea Williams, director of Christian Concern, said: 'Whilst we have immense compassion for those who feel rejection, to liken those who feel rejection because of behavioural choices they have made to Jesus is blasphemous.'
'The feeling of abandonment by God in some ways has a resonance with the words of Christ in both the Gospels of Mark and Matthew, where he says, ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’'
Benjamin Cohen
Miss Williams added: 'Jesus made high demands on how we are to behave particularly when it came to sexual expression, where he was clear that the only place for sexual expression is in the context of marriage between a man and a woman.'
She said that the BBC's timing of the talk is a 'serious matter' and said that the broadcaster should be looking to ‘educate and inform’ a population she claims knows ‘increasingly little about Jesus’.
In a related commentary for the Daily Telegraph, Mr Cohen criticises religious leaders for 'giving the impression that homosexuality is a choice'.
He says: 'I can promise you, it's not a choice, no one would chose to be different, to be discriminated against and to risk being abandoned by their family and their faith. I tried to have a girlfriend.'
Referring to Jesus being questioned on whether he was the Son of God, Mr Cohen adds: 'How different a situation is this to the questions and ultimatums given by some parents and some faiths to young gay people? Could Jesus have escaped his crucifixion by denying who he believed he really was?'
Director of Christian Aid Loretta Minghella also features in the Radio 4 series discussing selfishness, while Scottish author Alexander McCall Smith talks about ageing.
A BBC spokesman said: 'The theme of this year's Lent Talks is abandonment and features six well-known figures from public life, arts and religion.
'In this programme Benjamin Cohen talks about his personal fear of being abandoned by his own Jewish community for being gay.'
Yes, let’s see the BBC ‘balance’ their coverage by inviting Benjamin Cohen, the Jewish Gay campaigner to speak on a similar theme in honour of Ramadan
If only!