After watching prime time shows on TV I usually end up watching this “Not So Goodnite Show with Jojo A.” just to break the boredom at 11 PM. Maybe if I have cable TV I might be watching Conan O’ Brian...yet...cable TV is quite expensive.
So I watch this local version instead. .
More often than not, I’m doing something in the computer while watching the show. Hehehe! Ears on the TV and eyes on the computer monitor. If I’m not writing any articles for my blog, I usually messing our Poser 7 program or trying to create a GIF animation or I might be reading some of my e-books. So I usually forget to turn off the TV after the program...so from time to time I unintentionally watch 700 Club Asia.
The program is a typical “fundy” entertainment full of godly praises, Bible stuffs and the regular “Christian testimonies” *sigh*... There is even this host who looks like a used car sales man. Christian TV shows like the 700 Club Asia is really too dreary and nauseating, but what really strikes me is the way they promote Christian belief.
Have you ever notice how a typical Christian TV show promote god, especially those so-called testimonies? Since I always see these “testimonies” on typical Christian Tele-Evangelism shows, I’ve classified them in 4 types. The first one is the “weird type”, something that seems to be emulated from The X-Files and Supernatural. Most of these testimonies consist of seeing hell, having a face to face encounter with a devil or a child who dies and saw heaven. I have seen a lot of paranormal programs both in TV and in the movies so I guess these testimonies have really no effect.
The second is the classic testimony about how god changes someone’s life (As if other things can’t change him). Yep I was once a murderer, a swindler, a conniving snake, a good for nothing son of a bitch, a no good bastard...and so on. Then I saw God and VIOLA! I’m a new man!
Really?
It is said that Christians have a habit on being too selective. Yep! It’s easy to show this guy in TV who claim to have been change to a better person because he was touched by god. Yet they will exclude any guy who will pronounce that Christianity hasn’t done anything new to him. In fact, they will even bar any person who will testify that he was once a Christian and now he becomes a Muslim. Talk about reality TV.
So do Christian claim of a so-called spiritual transformation always work? I know this fellow, a mother...who was supposed to be the spiritual leader of her family. They are “Born-Again” Christians by the way.
So this “Christian” mother loves to host regular Bible studies in her house. She always attends church and church activities. She also see to it that her granddaughters and grandsons regularly pray to Jesus...ehem.. Oh did I forget to mention that she also love to spread gossips about her son’s suppose affair with his maid and that she beat this maid with a 1x1 wooded club with a rusty nail sticking on one end?
So did Christianity change her?
How about this guy? We call this guy “Pastor” because he loves to imitate how a Christian pastor preaches. I don’t know, maybe he dreamed to be a real pastor some day. He always loves to challenge those who are not “Born-Again” Christians, base on his understanding of course. He is swollen with pride to be called a Christian and always carry a Bible with him. He loves to debate different Bible topics and he loves to preach. He claims that the power of the Holy Spirit is with him every time he spread the gospel. I sometime wonder...Is the Hoy Spirit with him when he took someone’s wife and have a “thing” with her? Does he carry the Bible every time he looks for bawds in Avenida, Rizal?
I have seen a lot of Christians who claimed that their life has been changed by the Holy Spirit. People who claim to have a special relationship with Jesus Christ...yet still addicted to gambling, young women, illicit sex, porno DVD’s and pornographic reading materials, drugs, you name it. So what TV show will feature these “Christians”?
The third type of testimony really sounds more of bribery than evidence. Love God, accept Jesus and be filthy rich! Majority of testimonies used in local TV evangelism are of this kind of variety.
So when a person accepts God he will become loaded huh? So every conniving privilege rat here in the Philippines has accepted Jesus as a personal savior? So every rich SOB who stole the poor farmer’s land has accepted Jesus as lord? Give me a break!
What happened to the poor, the destitute? Are they poor because they still haven’t accepted Christian claims? Are they still living under bridges and “esteros” because they are still not Born-Again? If a person becomes rich he is blessed by god. If he’s pitiable, god is just testing him. Gosh! Tabla-talo tayo nyan!
These types of testimonies are promoting people to become indolent. Instead of uncovering the reasons of his paucity, he will be satisfied with the explanation that a god up in the sky is just doing some callous experiment to test his abilities. Beside, why will a being that is presume to be omniscient test his lowly subjects? That is not very logical.
And last but not least...the “I was cured by God Hallelujah!!!” type of testimony.
So as one person was cured by God of his cancer, a million more is now suffering from tumors and malign cysts. I don’t get it. I remember a conversation I have with a Christian in relationship with this kind of testimony.
Christian: Have you read the paper John? A plane crashed killing all the 299 crew and passengers on board except a baby. Wow that’s a miracle! That prove God exist!
John the Atheist: Well...the death of all the 299 passengers and crew does prove that God doesn’t exist.
Christian: God blast you John!
Christian evangelists often use this kind of testimonies to win believers who are ill or suffering from an incurable disease. There are even these dissemble where the TV evangelist/host will place his hands on the camera and will pray to God. Then he will say that someone in the audience is being cured at that very moment. Boy! If these things really work, then we don’t need hospitals!
When I encounter this type of Christian testimony I always ask the Christian, “If God loves you then why did he give you that illness in the first place? And if God loves everyone then why not make being healthy contagious? Now that’s a miracle.”
Christian testimonies don’t prove anything. It is no different with selling something. When you’re selling something you have to win the costumers and the best thing to do is to give them what they want. You have to make the packaging attractive so people will purchase the product. That’s similar with these tele-evangelists; they have to tell people what they would like to hear so that tele-viewers will buy their pious platitude. They have to cook-up of some story so you will believe in the existence of supernatural beings like demons and gods. They have to convince you that god is capable of changing your life. They have to sway you to believe of a god up there that will give you the financial success that you’re been wishing for or that god will cure your ailments. All of this for you to become a member of their congregation so you can compensate them back...by paying your weekly tithe.
So who said that they’re not making any sales?
Until next time,
John the Atheist
