Monday, March 13, 2006

Don't Let the Kitchen Door Hit You...

I was prepared to agree with Isaac Hayes until I reached the end of the third graph.

Isaac Hayes has quit "South Park," where he voices Chef, saying he can no longer stomach its take on religion.

Hayes, who has played the ladies' man/school cook in the animated Comedy Central satire since 1997, said in a statement Monday that he feels a line has been crossed.

"There is a place in this world for satire, but there is a time when satire ends and intolerance and bigotry toward religious beliefs of others begins," the 63-year-old soul singer and outspoken Scientologist said.

"Religious beliefs are sacred to people, and at all times should be respected and honored," he continued. "As a civil rights activist of the past 40 years, I cannot support a show that disrespects those beliefs and practices."

"South Park" co-creator Matt Stone responded sharply in an interview with The Associated Press Monday, saying, "This is 100 percent having to do with his faith of Scientology... He has no problem _ and he's cashed plenty of checks _ with our show making fun of Christians." Last November, "South Park" targeted the Church of Scientology and its celebrity followers, including actors Tom Cruise and John Travolta, in a top-rated episode called "Trapped in the Closet." In the episode, Stan, one of the show's four mischievous fourth graders, is hailed as a reluctant savior by Scientology leaders, while a cartoon Cruise locks himself in a closet and won't come out.

Stone told The AP he and co-creator Trey Parker "never heard a peep out of Isaac in any way until we did Scientology. He wants a different standard for religions other than his own, and to me, that is where intolerance and bigotry begin."

They are both wrong, as are multiculturalists in general. Not all religions or cultures are created equal. If they were, it wouldn't make any difference whether you were a Jew or a Christian or a Muslim or a Buddhist. They'd all be the same. Scientology is a cult. I've already explained what they believe here. I wrote that article five months before that South Park episode, by the way. It was as though they'd read my post before they wrote their script. Not all religious beliefs should be "respected and honored," I don't care how sacred they are to people. We would never tolerate the human sacrificial culture of the ancient Aztecs in the 21st century. We have pretty much wiped out headhunting and cannibalism. And need I address the murderous 7th century religion of Islam? Only a Hollywood elitist or a pinhead professor would say they deserve to all be respected equally. As for Matt Stone, intolerance and bigotry do not begin where there is a different standard for different religions. That is where rational thought begins.

4 comments:

Cathy said...

LR: If this is ill constructed, please do not post it.

Well put. It is easy in today's society to put on a Stepford Wife smile and just nodd one's head blindly that all religions are good. However, truth be told, as a Christian it is my responsibility to follow the Word of God and pray and try to persuade those of other faiths to open their hearts and minds to the Christian faith.

That is NOT to say that individuals of other faiths are not good people. To the contrary, I find myself more often than not embarassed by the actions and words of some of my Christian friends and family not to mention leadership in the Christian community. My husband, an atheist, behaves more like a Christian than many Christians I know-- including myself.

To say that any and all religions are good is a New Age concept. Not to get weird... "that which isn't of God is of Satan...."

Mind you this comes from a back slidin' heathen so I have no authority in the matter...

Lone Ranger said...

I have learned to judge religions by their teachings, not by those who do not follow them. Those who reject Christianity because of the Inquisition are just as wrong as those who embrace Islam because of its charitable work. Who knows why knuckleheads believe the teachings of Scientology.

Steven Josselson said...

Sorry, I'm a little confused. Christianity is OK and Islam is bad (i.e. not to be respected equally)...I got that much. Bt what about Judaism and Hinduism? Are they equal to Christianity or in between Christianity and Islam?
Also, is Protesantism better than Catholicism?
I do agree with you that Scientology is a cult.

Thanks for your help!

Lone Ranger said...

That's for YOU to figure out. Most people just switch off their brain when the subject turns to religion. Are airplanes gods? Are the cargo they deliver gifts from Heaven? No? Then you can reject the South Pacific Cargo Worshippers as a true religion. It is either true that all religions are false or that one religion is true. But they can't all be true. That's where rational thinking comes in. It is up to each individual to find God, if God exists, not by embracing what feels good, but by rational thought and research.