I’m sitting here listening to a internet radio interview that is produced by Liberty University with Miss California, Carrie Prejean.
http://www.afr.net/index.php?option=com_sermonspeaker&task=singlesermon&id=11203&Itemid=0
Thus far she has been compared to Eric Liddle and Queen Esther of the Bible. Carrie has been lionized for her bathing suit high heeled stand for Jesus for saying that she was raised to believe that marriage was to be between a man a woman when asked about her thoughts on that subject during the Miss USA contest.
This post is not so much about Miss Prejean. I spoke to that in a previous post. Really, I’m quite pleased that Carrie answered the question the way she did as opposed to saying that she hopes one day herself to marry another woman. Further, I’m even willing to grant that it took admirable character of a sort to answer the question the way she did knowing full well that it would likely cost her the Miss USA contest.
This post is instead about the evangelical / fundamentalist reaction to Miss Prejean. Remember, a scant generation ago fundamentalists, such as those who created Liberty University, were the ones who frowned on card playing, movie watching, and women wearing pants. The fundamentalists have come a long way baby. Now the fundamentalists are talking about how the barely dressed Carrie Prejean is a role model and that they intend to tell their youth groups and Sunday Schools about the parading nearly naked and faithful Carrie Prejean.
Please don’t get me wrong. I have no problem with playing cards, watching movies or women in pants. Indeed, the rapacious side of me has no problem with ogling soft porn models in their underwear. However, the better Angel of my nature still does think that a young lady publicly displaying her under wear and selling herself as a sex object in order to win a beauty prize probably still defies the Scripture’s call for modesty. Just call me old fashioned.
I don’t know what to attribute the Christian community’s exalting of Miss Prejean to. Maybe it is because there is such a desperate need for heroes that the Christian community will glom onto anybody. Maybe everybody else grew up and I’m just being my usual curmudgeon, “why can’t anybody else see this except me” self. However, I think it more likely that what has happened is that even the Fundamentalists have defined deviancy down. In 2009 homosexuality serves as the definitional bar for deviancy, and so today a soft porn model can be seen as a hero for Jesus by Evangelicals and Fundamentalists for taking a mild stand against homosexual marriage. In 2049 it may be that Liberty University will be giving an award to and singing the praises of a transsexual Beauty Queen who took a stand for Jesus by mildly denouncing the push for mainstreaming bestiality.
Obviously the problem here is that the Christian community is allowing the culture to define deviancy, which has the added advantage of allowing Christians to partake in the deviancy of soft-porn, whether by being a soft porn model or by lusting after the soft porn models, while still giving them the ability to be self-righteous about homosexual marriage. This is a deal if there ever was one as Christians can satisfy both their lusts to be a Sex object or to objectify women and their need for feeling superior to other people all at one time.
If your a sinner like me any deal that allows me to be a horndog and sanctimonious at the same time is better than 2 for 1 coupon day at the adult bookstore peep show.
“If your a sinner like me any deal that allows me to be a horndog and sanctimonious at the same time is better than 2 for 1 coupon day at the adult bookstore peep show.”
Inexplicably hilarious. Keep ’em coming.
And, BTW, you’re not alone in your curmudgeonity (don’t judge me, Mr. computer spell-checker…you don’t know me): I spend too much time on social services like face-book, then gripe to my wife about friends particular posts — “Join our ‘get GOD back into schools,’ group” (I’d rather get godly families OUT of the schools) — “Come to our worship service Easter Sunday as we start our sermon series, ‘Where my Peeps at?'” (I’d rather…well, anything, actually).
Oh, GOD, how long will I wrestle with this body of corruption?
Jay
Spot on commentary about how standards have
slipped at LU. Keep ’em coming, indeed, – you
are a talented writer.
What would Falwell think?