Why I Don’t Listen to Christian Talk Radio
I don’t listen to Christian talk radio. Frankly, I don’t really listen to Christian radio. However, today, on a trip to Lowe’s, I turned on one of the local Christian radio stations. At the time, they were not playing music. Instead, they were featuring a talk show led by a guy who is a well-respected child and family therapist. When it comes to families and children, I think the guy has a pretty solid line of thought. But, that’s not what he was talking about today.
His feature today was talking about the election. I heard very little talk of supporting, praying for, and encouraging our new president-elect. Instead, I heard about what a “huge blow, right to the back of the head” it was on Tuesday. Now, let me remind you, this same man had said that this would be the first election he could not participate in because he didn’t feel comfortable voting for either candidate (that is until some lady from Alaska was chosen as a running mate…yes, that convinced this guy he could participate…so, that sort of gives you a clear idea of his political leanings…and a decent foundation for why he shouldn’t talk about politics).
One of his guests, someone that he has co-authored books with, spoke of our upcoming governmental leadership as being a threat as huge as the one Hitler and the Nazi’s had on the world. I found myself laughing, getting angry, and asking, “Are you kidding me?” Another guest began to chime in…I thought he would be the voice of reason…but he affirmed the statement. The host said this is a low over the last 25-years because every thing they have worked for is going down the drain…abortion, family values, gay marriage.
The portion of the conversation I heard mainly focused on gay marriage. Let’s remember that marriage is a state issue. Let us also recall that both presidential and vice-presidential candidates defined marriage as one man and one woman. One party just spoke more openly about extending more civil rights and liberties to all couples. No one talked about legalizing gay marriage. Of course, I believe that gay marriage is less of a threat on our nation and the sanctity of marriage than divorce and infidelity. What screws a kid up more, their parents getting divorced or some person they’ve never met joining with someone of the same sex? I’m not saying I support gay marriage…I’m just saying that I believe there are bigger issues.
Comparing the upcoming presidency to the Nazi regime is irresponsible and unfounded. Over the past several months, conservative Christian talk radio hosts have been creating a sense of fear in their listeners over what would happen if a particular candidate was elected into office. And, they succeeded. Listen to the number of people talking about how terrified and fearful they are. I, for one, am thrilled about what the future holds for us. It will take time and a lot of work…there’s a lot of damage contol and repairs needed from the current administration. So, now, instead of calming everyone’s fears, these radio show hosts are continuing to breed on unhealthy sense of fear. And, because they are “Christian” many listeners take their word and don’t bother to look at the facts.
We have no more to fear with Barack Obama in office than we would if John McCain were in office. In fact, we probably have less to fear. Things sure can’t get any worse. Our relations with foreign countries will probably greatly improve. I am ashamed of the amount of hate and slander that has been focused on Barack Obama by so many “Christian leaders”.
Oh, and don’t even get me started on the guy that talks about healthy relationships and writes books about battles that each man may face. I guess he’s speaking from experience and his own personal failures. Maybe the next time you pick up his books, you should look at the names of who he thanks and see if the name of his wife is the same in each book. Then ask, “So, how did this guy end up with a new wife…who is young enough to be his daughter? Doesn’t he talk about healthy marriages and dating and morality?”
It’s all too obvious that I got a bit worked up on the 5-minute ride to Lowe’s. I guess my hope and prayer is that the expert on raising children would focus on his strengths and not spend so much time talking about politics. And, I guess I wish the relationship guy would get his own house in order before he spews out advice about marriage.
Now, I need to go deal with my anger!