Championing the Jonas Brothers’ purity stance
The Jonas Brothers’ stance on purity — they wear purity rings to symbolize their decision not to have premarital sex — was mocked at Sunday’s MTV Video Music Awards, but the popular trio was championed by a fellow singer.
Awards show host Russell Brand, a Brit of dubious character (that’s my opinion, judging from reports of his tasteless comments about everything from the Jonas Brothers (pictured at left: Kevin, Nick and Joe) to President Bush), made fun of the Jonas Brothers’ purity rings several times during the show, according to the Associated Press and other news outlets.
Brand struck a nerve with Jordin Sparks, best known as last year’s “American Idol” winner.
Sparks (pictured below), who also wears a purity ring, championed the Jonas Brothers when she took the stage to present an award.
“I just wanna say, it’s not bad to wear a promise ring because not every guy and a girl wants to be a slut, OK?,” Sparks reportedly quipped.
My guess is that MTV chose Brand to provide a little spice to the award show. After all it’s known for outrageous spectacles a la the Britney Spears/Madonna kiss, etc.
The Associated Press reported that Brand “happy to apologize for any hurt feelings, but only to such a degree.”
Apparently after the show he told an AP reporter “I feel a bit bad that I kept talking about their vows to chastity and I’d like to take this opportunity to say no one ever have sex again. It’s a mad idea. What a way to spend an evening.”
I’ don’t know if Brand had any fans in America, but I do know that the Jonas Brothers have scores of them. Methinks Brand didn’t win any of them with his mockery of brothers Joe, Nick and Kevin and their stance on purity, based on their Christian faith beliefs.
What do you think about host’s jabs at the brother’s stance for purity?
Carla Hinton
Religion Editor
Teen mom and family gain Christian support
You’d have to be hiding under a rock somewhere not to know by now that the 17-year-old unmarried daughter of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin is pregnant.
And unless you have not seen a television or newspaper in the last couple of days, you already know that Palin is the running mate of Republican presumptive presidential candidate Sen. John McCain. As such her life, for better or worse, is an open book, she and her family are finding out today.
Several leaders of national Christian groups have come out in support of Palin’s daughter, Bristol, and Palin’s family for the way they have dealt with this situation thus far. According to news reports the family is supportive of Bristol’s decision to have her baby and they have announced that she is to marry the child’s father.
Read on for excerpts of statements from some Christian leaders:
Melinda Delahoyde, Care Net president: “Every day, a parent learns the shocking news of a child’s unplanned pregnancy. Some, while disappointed, respond with unconditional love and offer their support and care. Others, for numerous reasons, often pressured by what others may think, encourage their child to choose abortion. Children, out of deference to a parent’s career and reputation – whether it’s as a pastor or as an elected official – may choose abortion. This decision brings grief to the entire family.
“The Palin family, however, has chosen a path not without difficulty, but one without the grief of abortion. They have showed to their daughter what so many children go without – unconditional love. Their example will pave the way for other parents, especially those in high profile careers, who are faced with the same circumstances.
“With the love and support of her family, Bristol has made a brave and difficult decision. She and her future husband will be in our prayers. Instead of choosing a quick escape, they have embraced the circumstances and chosen to have hope in what the unknown future may bring.”
Wendy Wright, president of Concerned Women for America Legislative Action Committee: “The surprise announcement that Gov. Sarah Palin’s daughter is pregnant provided another opportunity for the vice-presidential candidate to make a politically convenient choice or the right one. The family could have treated the innocent baby as a ‘punishment’ and secretly snuffed out the child’s life to avoid a high-profile embarrassment. Instead, they are embracing this unexpected baby as a child worthy of love, a human being who deserves respect, a weak member of their family who needs their care. The Palins have opened their family’s challenge for all the world to see, providing a beautiful example for other families, many who have faced the same predicament.”
Rev. Bob Schneck, National Clergy Council president: “This is a private family matter. The Palins, especially their teenage daughter, are entitled to privacy on this matter. Anyone who cares about young people will back off and give this young woman the space she needs. Anyone who exploits her for political or commercial gain is disgraceful.”
(AP Photo above right: Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin comes off the stage to greet the crowd after appearing with Republican presidential candidate, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., not in photo, during the “Road to the Convention Rally,” in Dayton, Ohio on Aug. 29. With her are her children Bristol, left, holding Trig, and Willow, center.
Carla Hinton
Religion Editor
Faith’s view of political conventions
The PBS news magazine show Religion & Ethics Newsweekly features special reports on this week’s Democratic Convention and will also focus on the upcoming Republican convention.
As part of the program’s ongoing “2008 Campaign” coverage, managing editor and correspondent Kim Lawton began her series of convention reports on Aug. 22 with a look at the impact of religion on both parties as they head into the November election.
This week, Lawton will be on location in Denver at the Democratic National Convention to examine the Democrat’s new faith-based outreach strategy and the role religion has played during the convention.
The series concludes the week of Sept. 5 with a report from the Republican National Convention in Minneapolis where Lawton will explore the challenges facing the Republicans as they try to hold onto the support of social conservatives and reach out to faith-based moderates.
Log onto Religion and Ethics Newsweekly’s Web site here, R&E 2008 Campaign, or you can watch the show on your local public television station. The program can be seen in the Oklahoma City area at 2:30 p.m. Sunday on OETA-13.
Carla Hinton
Religion Editor
Rules for conscience-driven health care providers
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has issued proposed rules on protecting health care workers who object to performing certain procedures, including abortion, for religious or moral reasons, the Religion News Service reported. 
The proposed rules were released Aug. 21 by Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt.
The RNS said the 42-page document is available for public comment for the next 30 days and organizations on both sides of the abortion issue are urging their supporters to contact Health and Human Services.
According to the RNS story, several groups are already weighing in on the matter.
“Planned Parenthood continues to be concerned that the Bush administration’s proposed regulation poses a serious threat to women’s health care by limiting the rights of patients to receive complete and accurate health information and services,” said Cecile Richards, president of Planned Parenthood Federation of America.
A spokesperson for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops urged abortion opponents to thank Leavitt for his action, and Family Research Council President Tony Perkins said the proposal will “help protect religious organizations and individuals.”
To read a news release about the proposal and the document itself, click here: Regulation Proposed to Help Protect Health Care Providers from Discrimination.
Carla Hinton
Religion Editor
Faith in the voter’s booth
I was struck by the simplicity of Richard Land’s (pictured at right) message when I visited with the Southern Baptist Convention leader during his visit to Oklahoma City this week.
I interviewed Land briefly at last year’s convention annual meeting in San Antonio and had been to previous news conferences where the president of the SBC’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission held sway. I had always enjoyed talking to him because he doesn’t mince words nor does he appear to hesitate to speak exactly what’s on his mind (every reporter’s dream come true!).
So when I asked him to explain his general message to Southern Baptist these days I shouldn’t have been surprised that it was so simple and direct:
Register to vote.
Find out where you need to go vote.
Become informed about the candidates and …
Vote.
Land said that is the essence of his message — and he implores his audience of evangelicals (Land said one in three Oklahomans is a baptized member of a Southern Baptist church) to vote according to their Judeo-Christian value system.
The message is getting through, he said.
Land said Americans see the necessity of the seperation of church and state — a point emphasized by the country’s founding fathers. Americans don’t want government-sponsored faith, but they do want people of all faiths to have an opportunity to make their point in the public square, Land added.
He predicted that this will be borne out come the presidential election in November.
Meanwhile, here’s a heads up about a new prayer initiative that Land’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission is leadin.
The Nashville, Tenn.-based commission is partnering with the SBC’s North American Mission Board for a prayer initiative calling all Southern Baptists to engage in a time of prayer for personal spiritual revival and national renewal this fall.
The initiative, called the “40/40 Prayer Vigil,” will feature 40 days of prayer beginning Sept. 23 and concluding with a dedicated 40 hours of prayer that will begin at 4 p.m. Oct. 31 and end at 8 a.m. Nov. 2.
For more information, go to ilivevalues.com.
Get the scoop on “Sexless in the City”
If you are reading this blog posting, you may already have read my column about author Anna Broadway and her new book, “Sexless in the City: A Memoir of Reluctant Chastity.”
As promised, I’d like to share information about Broadway’s blog, which actually preceded the book.
For some interesting commentary on the issue of chastity in today’s society and other related dialogue, you can find her blog at annabroadway.blogspot.com.
There is also a related Web site at sexlessinthecity.net that you might find interesting.
I think many readers will find these sites thought-provoking and insightful, whether or not you agree with Broadway’s particular views.
When a Christian blogs …
Blogging may be a fairly new phenomena in terms of today’s technology, but not so new that there aren’t any rules to govern those bloggers with ethical standards.
Those ethical standards should be especially important for Christians — or other people of faith. One would think that the teachings of faith would help guide bloggers as they traverse their way through the blogosphere.
Several Oklahoma Southern Baptist bloggers I interviewed this week mentioned the personal attacks that sometimes are posted by other fellow Southern Baptists.
Each of the people I talked to said they wanted people to focus solely on the issues at hand, but a personal attack ripping into someone’s character or casting aspersions on an individual can cause undue harm. One blogger, the Rev. Ronnie W. Rogers of Trinity Baptist Church in Norman, said “spiritual harm” can be caused when bloggers air negative comments about internal affairs at their local church.
The Rev. Wes Kenney, a Southern Baptist pastor in Valliant, Okla., and one of the founders of SBCToday.com said he had noticed that some Southern Baptist bloggers had begun attacking some of the denomination’s leaders such as Paige Patterson and the Richard Land. Those kinds of postings can be discouraging, Kenney said.
The Associated Baptist Press recently had an interesting story on the issue of blogging ethics. That story by Ken Camp makes some interesting points.
Then I found Rebecca Blood’s Weblog Handbook on Blog Ethics.
This handbook includes six ethics rules for bloggers to abide by. Methinks they are pretty good, though they are not necessarily religious in nature.
Here they are:
1. Publish as fact only that which you believe to be true.
2. If material exists online, link to it when you reference it.
3. Publicly correct any misinformation.
4. Write each entry as if it could not be changed; add to, but do not rewrite or delete, any entry.
5. Disclose any conflict of interest.
6. Note questionable and biased sources.
With all that said, I guess it’s always a good idea to remind bloggers that their words are out there for all to see.
Rogers, in Norman, said he wondered if some bloggers realized that, say 20 years from now, the things they post will still be out there on the blogosphere — where they could potentially come back and cause them or someone else some trouble …
