Have a little faith

The other day, I wrote about Mike Judge's new animated comedy The Goode Family, and lamented the fact that reactions had been so predictably partisan. The point is, it's OK to have conflicting viewpoints, and sometimes laugh at your own world-view. Beliefs aren't the problem, fanaticism is.

The last twenty or so years have seen fanatics in the US hijack religion and twist it to suit their own ends. Crooked televangelists like Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker, evil bigots like Pat Robertson, and flat-out fucktards like Fred Phelps and his inbred clan of hate screamers have all managed to misappropriate the meaning of Christianity.

So it's refreshing and more than a little heart-warming when other people with a recognisably religious persona speak out with a more progressive message. First up was tween legend Miley Cyrus, who took to Twitter to say "I am a Christian and I love you - gay or not - BECAUSE you are no different than anyone else! We are all God's children." OK, so the 'all God's children' bit was a little too Children of the Corn, but clearly her heart's as big as her gums.

This week, Marie Osmond (described on Wikipedia as 'actress, singer and doll-designer') spoke out in support of her lesbian daughter Jessica, calling her a "magnificent woman" and advocating equal rights for gays and lesbians under the law. This was in response to an article in The Globe, which alleged Marie was heartsick about her daughter's sapphic leanings.

Contradicting the widely-held view that, as a Mormon, she was sure to oppose the gay lifestyle, Marie said "I think it's sad when we have to separate something from society... There are a lot of women out there who have gay children, who cares?" she said. "I want love. I'm a Christian and Christ was that way - he loved everybody."

It's just a shame that so many people who identify as 'Christian' will commit the entire Bible to memory, and yet never once consider the meaning of the words that they scream at people from the roadside.