from David Bowie...

"I don't want knowledge! I want certainty!!"

At Easter we get new specials every year attacking our faith, and the rest of the year we get so-called "human interest" junk like this where the real point they aretrying to get across is "Christianity is nothing but ignorant hillbillies being swindled by other ignorant hillbillies - so let's all laugh and point at 'em".

What they never focus on, or do any real "reporting" on is what the majority of actual Christians do, like sacrificing weeks, or months in helping others after disaters like hurricane Katrina, or who spend their entire lives helping people in their own communities and around the world.

Of course why bother when they have something as deep and meaningful and useful as Pastor Granny and her traveling sideshow to promote?

"...the majority of Christians" ??

I didn't realize one had to be Christian to help others. Of the thousands of people I've dealt with who are actively engaged in charity and good works, I don't recall ever knowing anything about their faith, or lack thereof. All I ever knew about most of them was that they cared about people.

And the lack of real reporting on Christianity might be compared to the lack of real reporting on being white or male. Not being Christian myself, I can probably tell you more about that religion than almost any other - right or wrong, it's very pervasive. Some might say 'smothering'.

How do you think Wiccans feel every Halloween? That's when 'witches' get interviewed. Or what about Africans (real ones) being the media target during Kwaanza, or Jews during Channukah (never mind that they have another more important holiday that gets ignored)? I get plenty of Christianity at Easter and Christmas, and am surrounded by it at work - email signatures with cute little ASCII fish and Biblical passages and requests for prayers and threatening notes on my desk for *not* being Christian. That, my friend, is how life is for those of us not "in the fold".

Anecdote time... One very prominent Jewish family I had the pleasure to work with spent almost every spare hour volunteering at the local YMCA. Mmm-hmm.. Young Men's CHRISTIAN Association. Their Synagogue didn't have an organized program, so they did what they could to help irrespective of faith.

Just face the fact that every group has its segments that the other segments wish they could ignore. Look at the Republicans and Democrats if you want stark examples.