Polygamy on TV

So apparently HBO has a new drama called Big Love about a polygamist family, however GetReligion.com reports it as being opposite of what traditional polygamist families are like- raping children, forcing them into marriage, etc. Rather, it shows them as "upright citizens" who "you'd let watch your children". Is it just me or are writers losing ideas about what kind of TV series to come up with? This is totally random and unnecessary. I'm sure it makes many Mormons uncomfortable, considering they wouldn't want negative publicity with something like this.

What's more surprising is that this series has become a hit according to the New York Sun. The fact that it "normalizes" polygamy is quite a frightening fact. Couldn't they have come up with some other story like? Anything?!

Batty Baptists

For those of you who don't know about this crazy group of Baptists, they basically believe that soldiers are dying from God's hate because of America's tolerances of homosexuals. They have been receiving an abundance of press attention and truly deserve, in my opinion, to be smacked in the head (to say the very least). Holding up signs saying "God hates America" and "You're Going to Hell" are definitely turning heads, and it really makes me wonder how fanatic groups of people like this come into existence. They deserve a serious beat down and I would like to give it to them. It's one thing to disagree with something and protest in a civil fashion like most people do, but going to this extend is just outrageous! Most people who believe in God know that he would never be like the people portray him to.

Welcome, Garcias!

I came across an article which I found very interesting and stunning at the same time. It reports that Hispanic surnames have doubled in the top 25 from 3 to 6, with Garcia and Rodriguez in the top 10 most common names! This is incredibly astonishing to me, as it shows the rapid rate at which the Hispanic population is growing. It is definitely not an easy feat to make it on a list of most common surnames, pushing well known American last names out of their rankings.

In the same article, it talks about how Hispanics' religious identity will affect politics. There has been a trend in Hispanics' religious identity, being that 25% of them convert to another religion or none at all. It also shows that half of Hispanic evangelical protests were former Catholics. It makes me wonder what would spur such a large about of one crowd to change their belief system.

Peaceful donuts

Last month, NewYorkTimes.com reported on Muslim Sam Habib and Orthodox Jew Cindy Gluck who run a business together- Dunkin' Donuts. It was a gamble that the majority of people would never make- in my opinion. I believe this because most people are so caught up in the stereotypes of Muslims and Jews and the concept of communicating with each other (let alone working!) is usually impossible. However, they are both respectful of the other's religion and plan their schedules accordingly: Gluck takes off Saturdays to celebrate the Sabbath and Habib worships at his mosque on Friday nights.

Stories like this are very uplifting because generally stories about Muslims and Jews are hardly ever peaceful. It shows that things like this are possible, and being the hopeful person that I am, they could spread their tolerance for one another around the world for others to learn from them.

Obama- Closet Muslim

An article on GetReligion.com reports on the widespread rumors about Barack Obama being a closet Muslim. The article clarifies that Obama is definitely a Christian man, despite crowds saying otherwise. Obama grew up in Southeast Asia which is the largest Muslim country in the world. Because of this, people automatically assume that he is Muslim, and he has been accused of received training in Islam in Indonesia during the time he lived there. It is reported that his grandfather occasionally attended mosque services.

I don't think people understand the fact that even though one generation of one's family grew up a certain way doesn't necessarily mean that they all share the same religions, believes, values, etc. So, Obama's grandfather may have been Muslim, who cares? If this is true, it just puts Obama in a better position because he has more experience with people who were involved in Islam- it does not mean he believes in it!

Meet Mohammed, the teddy bear

Gillian Gibbons is a 54-year old British teacher who teaches grade school in the Sudan. When asking her class of 7-year olds to chose their favorite name for a teddy bear, 20 of the 23 agreed on the name Mohammed, after a boy named Mohammed in the class. This obviously spurred great controversy in the area, and Gibbons was imprisoned for 15 days. Under local law, this is an insult to Islam, which is punishable by 40 lashes, 6 months in jail, and a large fine.

As much as I try to be a tolerate and open minded person, this situation strikes me as outrageous! Seriously people, this is kind of ridiculous. OK maybe she shouldn't have done that and could have been verbally reprimanded, but being thrown in jail, whipped, and going through any such atrocity is just crazy! If Mohammed was this amazing and peaceful man, I am sure he would not want others going through this, but then again, I don't know anything about Islam or their belief system so I am really not one to judge this situation.

Bono's Religious Drive

Everyone knows Bono as the rock star from the bank U2 and one who has played a huge role in fighting world poverty. What a lot of people don't know is how his Christian faith has helped him achieve these goals of giving aid. Getreligion.com wrote an article titled "Good old story about Bono history" that highlights Bono's faith and how he feels he had an advantage in being able to communicate with people on all ends of the spectrum- especially in Washington D.C. He explained that one of the advantages to his fame was that he was given the ultimate opportunity to reach out to the world and have an impact, and so it began.

I found this article very enlightening and it made me want to go out and help the world! Really though, I think Bono is one of the few people who actually uses his fame in a good way, and that is to fight poverty around the world. The fact that his Christian faith helped him do that is all the better because a belief system is really an empowering tool.