On Behalf Of Christians Everywhere...

[yadayadayada]

I was referring to the original posters words "on behalf of Christians everywhere"

[LisaL]

I was referring to the original posters words "on behalf of Christians everywhere"

My bad!!

[surfgranny]

Jameka and Amber might learn a thing or two from a little more Bible reading:

From the book of Matthew on judging others: 7:1 Judge not, that ye be not judged. 7:2 For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. 7:3 And why beholdest thou the splinter that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?

From the book of Matthew on hypocrisy: 7:4 Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the splinter out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye? 7:5 Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the splinter out of thy brother's eye.

From the book of Matthew on dealing with assholes like Dick: 7:6 Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you.

That's all I have to say on Jameka and Amber.

As for how Christians are being shown on the show - well yeah, like nut jobs, but then the whole cast is a bunch of nutjobs.

As for CBS's part in this??? They issued this statement after public outcry over Amber's ignorant observations about Jews:

BIG BROTHER is a reality show about watching a group of people who have no privacy 24/7 - and seeing every moment of their lives. At times, the Houseguests reveal prejudices and other beliefs that we do not condone. We certainly find the statements made by Amber Siyavus on the live Internet feed to be offensive and they will not be part of any future broadcast on the CBS Television Network. Any views or opinions expressed in personal commentary by a Houseguest appearing on BIG BROTHER 8, either on any live feed from the House or the broadcast, are those of the individual(s) speaking and do not represent the views or opinions of CBS or the producers of the program.

This is admirable and the right thing to do, yet the producers do not afford Christianity the same respect.

• The producers didn't air Amber's anti-Semitic statements because they are offensive, but have aired several of Dick's offensive anti-Christian statements. They've played his "magic ping pong ball" statement several times.
• They show Amber and Jameka praying when they're upset and asking God to help them win - yet don't show them praying in a normal way, as they did with Kaysar's Muslim prayers in Season 6. Either they only pray when they're upset or the BB producers are intentionally highlighting the whacko aspect when it comes to how they practice Christianity.
• The producers include a tract of organ music over Jameka and Amber's prayers, yet they didn't play Korean music when Jee had his ceremony nor did they play an Imam singing prayers with Kaysar.

To CBS's credit, they have not (as of yet, anyway) aired one of the several times Dick has pretended to be a revival minister while ranting @ Jameka. He uses a trembling Southern accent similar to a cross of Dr. King and Jimmy Swaggart while mocking her at the top of his lungs. To me, that is just as offensive as if he'd pretended to be an Imam or a rabbi while affecting a stereotyped accent.

Frankly, I wish they'd just leave the religious parts out of the show. There's so much more going on in the house that would be easier to mock and more entertaining as well. There's an old maxim that it's better to leave politics and religion out of a discussion. If only the BB producers would do the same when editing!

[dumblonde]

Has anyone seen Amber pray when she wasn't upset? I haven't. Not saying it hasn't happened, I just haven't seen it

[surfgranny]

I can't remember seeing that either, but I saw Jam & Amber reading the Bible to each other on the live feeds a couple of times when they weren't upset, but that was when Jenn was Dick's target. To be honest, I've seen it more when Amber is upset - but finding a time when she ISN't upset would be a challenge in itself.

[djb]

The only time i've seen her praying was for personal gain. "Please let me win HOH next week, please let me get the letter from home" and whatnot.

[King123]

oh no, ive got in trouble last time i got into a conversation like this at mortys.

so i will just say a little thing

- Please don't judge all christians based on those two people. i know not everybody does. but they just choose people who are supose to represent christians. (kinda like when ive read about how black people think they dont get represented well on big brother either)

- I am a devoted christian, and i love to go to church, and help around the community, and i havent ever meet anybody like them 2 ever, and my church is pretty big too. I do beleive God knows how this game is going to end, But i think these two people are misinterpretating it. Like when Jenn drew Jameka's Ball, she took it that God wanted her to save jenn. and i dont nessacarly think that at all. i just think these 2 people interpret things wrong, and are crazy.

I dont like it when Dick disses them about thier faith, i dont think its right, but I also dont think jameka and amber should go around cussin all the time either, which only give dick more reason to say that stuff. although I dont like when dick does those things, i still like him as a Player, and im sure he is a good person, and i hope him and daniele stays. I have plenty of friends who aren't believers, and we get along fine, i dont think any less on them as anybody else.

it took me a long time to write that, cause i tried my best not to offend anybody or anything, and get in a big argument like before.

Good luck with HOH Daniele!

[dumblonde]

Don't forget djb... we gotta give credit once for Amber praying for someone other than herself because she did ask God for a perm for Jameka

[JFetch]

When I first saw this thread last night I thought it was going to go like this:

On Behalf Of Christians Everywhere..., RE Amber and Jameka

Sorry.

[MissyA]

:animated_rotfl: :animated_rotfl:

[Stepharoni]

Jameka and Amber could not change my opinion on anything because they just are such passive people in general. That being said, I think everyone has their own way of practicing their religion. Two people can go to the same church and believe in the same principles but carry it out completely differently. I despise Ambers prejudices. Christian or not that just disgusts me.

[abbeynormal23]

I think that most rational people would agree that everyone who refers to themselves as a Christian is not the same as every other person who identify themselves in that way. There are varying degrees to which people believe in the faith, and many different personalities of those people who identify themselves as believers. In my own personal experience, I have encountered numerous people of the Christian or Catholic faith who are so unaccepting of others who don't share their faith that they act in destructive manners. As a child, I was forced by my family to attend Sunday school and when I vocalized a disbelief, I was threatened and physically assaulted by the "principal" of the Sunday school. This event shaped my opinions of religious belief in general but as my life progressed, I encountered others who had different approaches to religion and while I did not buy into their faith, I didn't feel it was my place to judge (like I didn't want to be judged for my disbelief). With that being said, my opinion in the matter of Amber and Jameka's religion is that they shouldn't be judged.

I was very offended by CBS showing the clip of Amber in the HOH room crying and praying to God. That is a very personal relationship and it was trivialized for television. Regardless of whether or not you or me or anyone believes that Amber and Jameka don't adequately represent the tenets of their faith... to judge their personal relationships with God and their belief system is innapropriate. As I have said, I am not religious, but I do believe in concept of "do onto others as you would have them do onto you." I don't know how to properly characterize Amber's faith as she has a lot of emotional issues going on that tend to muddle her character, but I feel Jameka's faith being unfairly judged. The only time where she has made comments that seemed to "go against her faith" was when she was being verbally assaulted by Dick. She has held her tongue for a long time in that house and he manipulated her into a position where he was able to push the button that would send her over the edge. It is my belief that when people are put into a situation where they are being verbally assaulted, their brain immediately digs for something to say that would represent the most hurtful, offensive thing to the other person and spits it out. How many times have any of you gotten into an argument with someone and said something that afterwards you were appauled that you said because you didn't mean it? This certainly can be applied to numerous occassions in the BB house (not ALL, but certainly some.) It's completely unfair to assert that a Christian who calls someone's mother a bitch in the heat of the moment is automatically hypocritical. If Dick knows as much about religion as he claims, then he should know that people make mistakes and God forgives the repentent.

Personally, I agree with the people who think that the "message from God/God guided me to do xyz" stuff is a little well.. to nicely put it I'll say extreme. On the other hand I recognize the fact that everyone's personal relationship with God and personal belief system is different. If they want to believe that, I say let them... but that doesn't make them crazy. It's okay to make some lighthearted jokes here and there... but to dispell their personal beliefs just because they don't match our own is just wrong.

EDIT: I just read through that and I wanted to add that I didn't mean to point fingers... only to suggest another way to look at things. Maybe people will read it and think "hey.. that makes a little bit of sense" or "I never thought about it that way.. interesting" or "I disagree" or maybe people just won't read it at all because I write too much! Anyway... I don't want to start any fires with this... but I felt I should offer my two cents.

[djb]

Don't forget djb... we gotta give credit once for Amber praying for someone other than herself because she did ask God for a perm for Jameka

What a kind and caring individual, that Amber...

[1realitymom]

I do not believe it gives Christianity a tarnished appearance, rather the 2 women who claim to be Christians. I do not claim to be Christian, Protestant, Methodist, etc. All I know is I believe in GOD & what it represents to me. I would like to point out, that Kail is also religious & although she was not one of my favorite people, the way she handled Dick & his tirades was what I expected to see from someone who claimed to be devout in their faith. Perhaps I did not see a situation where she reacted to Dick's tirades the way Jameka & Amber have. Based on what I DO recall, she did not engage in a battle of attack with Dick, nor did she resort to calling his mother a b!tch. (which I thought was COMPLETELY out of line for Jameka to do). I do not agree with some of what Dick says, yet I do like that Dick will put it all out on the table & not talk trash behind someones back that he hasn't already said to their face.

[chichi]

I'm not religious...But different strokes for different folks.

Only an ignoramous would believe that one or two people are a reflection of an entire faith.

[Rejuvenated]

I honestly don't think Dick was making fun of Christianity, I think he even said as much. He was ridiculing THEM (Jamber) and the way they USE their religion.

[Katydidit]

< Hey, Rejuv - long time no see. Welcome back! >

They all, every one of 'em, fail on the Golden Rule.

So be next week they should move on to that other universal truth -- "Do unto others ....."

[yath]

Dick was using religion as his weapon of choice because he knew it would yank Jam's chain.

And it did.

Dissing on Jameka and Amber about what they say about their religion has nothing to do with attacking religion. I don't think anyone on these boards would criticize someone's religion (at least I hope they wouldn't).

But their crap has absolutely nothing to do with religion, or God (especially Jameka).

They're just COO-KOO...

[TCS]

Thank-you for your post Chillcity......I'm a christian and I totally AGREE!

[cenerentola]

Although I don't want to repeat the same sentiment ad naseum, I think Christianity is a well-known enough religion in the US to know that Jamber are not the representatives of the religion. On the other hand, I feel Kaysar had a much bigger role as a representative of Islam since our country is not as knowledgeable about Islam and it was soon after Sept. 11. Nevertheless, it is very likely that even then, people separated Kaysar from the religion and just liked him as a person, not as a Muslim. Usually when watching these shows, HGs only represent themselves, and for the truly prejudiced, they just might support their ideas on a certain group (e.g. anti-Christians might see Jamber as the reasons to dislike Christians, while the rest of us just don't like Jamber as people).

Honestly, I never understand the people in these games that pray (incessantly, not just momentarily) for God to help them win, especially if they believe God is just and loves ALL people. Because if that is the case, God should be helping the other side, too. So basically, I do think God is involved in the game, but he isn't going to take sides-- he is there for the important things like their emotional and physical health. But Jamber are too self-centered to see that view of God and think He is only there to help them.

[Mom2boys]

*clapping*

Well said OP and Yath.

I agree that he was calling them out on their actions! He is NOT making fun of their faith (or in my opinion, lack there of sometimes) he was making fun of them. He hit it where he knew it would hurt the most. Just as they did to him.

One is not better than the other.

I am quite certain some knowledge of faith has fallen on Dick with his mom being a minister of the church. Everyone is allowed to believe what they want to believe in the USA.

[yath]

Cerentola, I'm glad you mentioned Kaysar.

He was an intelligent, likeable man, who was deeply devoted to his religion.

In fact, his religion was not as well known to the HG's as Christianity is, and yes, it was shortly after 9/11.

In addition his religion required him to have prayer mats, wear certain things, face in a certain direction, and pray a couple of times a day.

So he certainly was a potential target.

Would anyone in the house have mocked his religious practices?

Never.

He treated his religion with the respect it deserved, and everyone else did too.

Jameka, on the other hand, is making much more of a mockery of her own religion than Dick or anyone else could possibly do.

[subtle]

I know I'm inperfect as a person and a Christian. Everyday I'll sin and that's why I ask for forgiveness. But I don't think I could bring God's name into the game as much as they do. It's one thing to pray for strength or even to win things but to act like everything is God's hand that is in YOUR favor yet everything else is not just shows some weakness on their parts. I appreciate that they don't talk down to people that don't agree with their beliefs cause I'm the same way but I take it a step further by not assuming I'm better than anyone because of what I believe and I think that's where they fail.

[worldpost]

As a Pagan.. I wish they didn't bring there religion to a secular game..

[King123]

people separated Kaysar from the religion and just liked him as a person, not as a Muslim

but kaysar didnt go around saying he was better then other people because of his religion

And worldpost,thats a dumb comment. sorry. but they should choose people who would make a good cast. and if somebody is religious and would be great on show, PUT THEM ON, but your saying everybody in the house should be nonbelivers, which is ridiculous (im not saying people who are nombelivers are ridiculous, but you shouldnt make it were only nonbelievers should be put in, SAME AS it shouldnt ONLY be religous people, thats why this season is good with DICK and JAMBER.)