Freethinker Sunday Sermonette: radio days

You can now listen safely without worrying your neurons will initiate a programmed cell death routine. No more anti-gay songs and sermons. Now it's Marvin Gaye's, Sexual Healing (one of our favorites, this being a public health blog and all).
It's a good news.

Reminds me of that famous sunday morning breakfast destination in Madison, WI: Bennett's Smut n' Eggs.

Sad.

Revere could have just let this one pass. But no, we have to celebrate moral degradation. Non-Christians get all upset when their moral and ethical values are questioned, but then they CELEBRATE a move like this.

Here are a couple more quotes from the article:

"with a suggestion that people under 21 not listen"

"Tamer songs are heated up by adding recorded moans and groans."

Again, this just saddens me. What will be next? "Welcome to our new format and new name, KDDE, Kiddie Porn Radio!" They could add in recorded sounds to Barney songs!

The celebration of this shows just how depraved you are!

David: You'd rather they'd listen to sermons that gays are evil? or that war is God's will? That's what I call celebrating moral degradation. Mais chaque a son gout. (I'm too lazy to look up the HTML for the diacritical marks).

No, I would not rather they'd hear sermons that gays are evil. I have never heard the station, so I am not aware of how whacked out their religious views are. I can not debate with you whether the airwaves are better off without the previous format. If they were as extreme as you portray, then they should be off the air, and it appears the market, Christian listeners, decided that since the owner had to sell the station. Most Christian stations are supported through listener donations. The fact that the owner had to sell speaks to the fact that his message was not supported by most Christians. I would not support such a station.

Again, my point was that you could have let this story pass by and found a different subject for your "Sermonette." It was the promotion and celebration of the new wonderful PORN format that bothered me. It would seem to me that you are intelligent enough to recognize that EXTREMISM to either side has no place. Gay bashing has no place on the airwaves... neither does PORN radio!

David: I'd say porn is in the eyes of the beholder. Titles of pop songs with sexual overtones isn't porn and that's what they are said to be playing. But even if it's dirty comedy, so what? If it degrades or humiliates, that's another thing and they'll have to answer to their listeners. Then I'll condemn it here. But sex? Doesn't bother me and I'd rather see that than Christian radio. We are all sexual. We aren't all believers.

"I'd say porn is in the eyes of the beholder." - To a certain extent yes. But again, my gripe is that you are applauding this. Also it is being advertised as porn. Not much to debate when they are labeling it themselves. It is not me judging it as porn.

"Titles of pop songs with sexual overtones isn't porn and that's what they are said to be playing." - And, according to the news articles, they are dubbing in moaning and groaning to accentuate sexual innuendo.

"But even if it's dirty comedy, so what?" - The FCC has regulations that allow for fines of over $300,000. And, the Fresno Chamber of Commerce has requested the FCC look into the situation.

"If it degrades or humiliates, that's another thing and they'll have to answer to their listeners. Then I'll condemn it here." - So porm is in the eye ( or ear ) of the beholder, a fuzzy area that requires each persons judgement. But you can easily make the judgement of what is considered degrading or humiliating? I am so glad that you have appointed yourself the judge of what is considered degrading and humiliating...

"But sex? Doesn't bother me and I'd rather see that than Christian radio." - So if its OK with you, it should be OK with all of us.

"We are all sexual." - Not germaine to the discussion. We are all sinners too, but that doesn't excuse it.

"We aren't all believers." - Obviously!!!

In your original post, you made the statement that there would be, "No more anti-gay songs and sermons." Can you give me the titles of these songs and the preachers of these sermons? I was naive enough to take you at your word that this was an extremist station. After reading your subsequent comments, "that's what they are said to be playing," I don't know if you had ever even listened to the station when it had the Christian format. Do you have facts to back up your statements about anti-gay songs, pro-war statements, and evil gay sermons? Or is this just your general patter that if it is a Christian station then it must broadcast this kind of stuff?

David, you have misquoted. Revere said it's tunes with sexual overtones the new station is said to be playing. I don't like the idea of porn radio either, but this sounds pretty tongue in cheek, at worst a bit naughty in the shock value stakes when the good christian listeners tune in for a bit of devotion. 'Quick, change the station, the kids might think sex is normal!'

I feel Revere is a little too bitter with the Sunday Sermonettes at times but it's his blog and he can say what he likes (apologies if it is a lady Revere who wrote this one, old patriarchal habits die hard). However, as a long-time pagan who has been told my beliefs are the work of their self-made devil by many so-called loving and forgiving christians (who really have no idea what I believe - they are too busy lecturing me to listen), while I believe an attempt at understanding is a more fitting resonse than anger I'm not about to jump in on their side.

If you feel you are a sinner that's up to you, but don't tar us all with the same brush. Please save your prayers for yourself. With all that guilt and fear you buy into your need is greater.

This radio thing is just a stupid manipulation of the porn word to get people to pay attention to a new format and sell advertising.

It has nothing to do with religion or sex.

I do not know where revere gets his severe anti-religion bias, but it is obviously EXTREME.

Actually, his declared preference for "porn" radio over religious broadcasting he never listened to demonstrates his focus is NEGATIVE---and will always be negative toward all religion.

I wish he would stop the Sunday Sermonettes since he is so biased and negative---BUT it is his blog as Dizzy says.
No one forces me to read the predictably annoying Sunday Sermonettes. Why do I read them? Because they are there.

I guess I will have to skip visiting the blog entirely
because of my own lack of discipline.

Earl: Whether my anti religious bias is extreme or not is a relative thing. Relative to you, it is extreme and relative to the usual rhetoric in the US, maybe also. But other than that there is nothing extreme about it. Do you you consider your religious views extreme? If not, why not?

Dizzy, please point out to me anywhere I misquoted. All my quotes either come directly from this blog, or from the AP article that revere linked to.

As far as this being revere's blog and he can say what he likes... I absolutely agree! And he has opened it up for comment, and I have that same privilege (unless he decides to censor me, which has never happened).

Sex is normal, but what is normal sex? Who draws the line between normal and abnormal, or perversion. Men tend to take the normal and stretch it to the abnormal. Adultery, is that normal? Group s3x, is that normal? Oral s3x, anal s3x? Pedophilia? Sad1sm, mas0chism? V0yeurism? Gay s3x? B3astiality, is that normal. Some people believe anything goes and probably go much further that I can ever imagine. (As a note, I had to use the numbers in the above words to get by the spam filter, it was not some ultra-religious aversion to typing the word s3x).

Folks get all hackled and cry "free speech" and "you can't legislate morality." But that is exactly what we do. "Cruel and unusual punishment" is a legislation of morality. The abolishment of slavery is a legislation of morality. The laws against hate crimes, including hate speech, is a legislation of morality. Hate crime laws limit our "freedom of speech," but we have decided hate speech is like yelling fire in a theater, it is not protected. But try to limit pornography and the outcry is enormous. This just confuses me. We put age limits on smoking and drinking and it does not keep kids from smoking and drinking. Do you think kids are not getting their hands on pornography, especially with the availability on the net? What do you want kids looking at when deciding what is normal?

I apologize for drifting so far off subject. I will again try to come back to my point. I was upset from the beginning that revere chose to celebrate the demise of a Christian station, and encourage people to listen to the new "porn" station. If he would have just pointed out that a Christian station was off the air, I still would not be happy, but what really moved me to comment was the "you can now listen safely" attitude.

Check out the article this article : http://www.fresnobee.com/local/story/12507975p-13223451c.html (you may have to register for the Fresno Bee in order to read it).

Here are a couple quotes (I have omitted quote marks since there are quotes within the article):

Even when the sexual suggestions in a tune may be a little vague, such as in Phil Collins' "In the Air Tonight," the songs are often accented with recorded moans and groans of a woman who appears to be in throes of ecstasy.

The songs on KFYE are separated by promotions for the station. Pre-recorded messages include "We are the only radio station with a stripper pole as a broadcast antenna" and a suggestion that those younger than 21 should turn off their radios because the station features "mild sexual content."

Members of the Kingsburg chamber already have contacted the FCC to inquire about making a complaint against KFYE.

End quotes.

As far as you being a pagan, and the response you get from Christians, you are right. Both terms, pagan and Christian, are far too vague for either of us to characterize the other. I would even go so far as to say you probably do have a better handle on what I believe than I do on what you believe since the term pagan has a broad range of definitions. If I were to speak personally with you, I would have the courtesy to listen. Revere has access to all our email addresses, he is free to forward mine to you.

Oh, one last thing, I have plenty of prayers to go around.

David I read your comment "that's what they are said to be playing," as referring to what revere heard on the christian radio channel. He was referring to the 'porn' channel.

You are correct, as far as I can tell you can voice your opinion freely as long as you are not intentionally offensive. And it would be a rather dull love-in if we all agreed all the time.

I don't think it's for anyone to say what normal sex is other than this: what's ok between consenting adults. Not married or heterosexual adults, just adults. I would define adult as someone who is capable of providing a stable and loving environment for a child (or responsibly avoiding this if they so wish).

I'm anti-porn because it's sole purpose is to exploit vulnerable people for money. It leads those who haven't had good guidance from their parents into believing that it's ok to detach sex from love and normalizes acts that are bad for a person's spiritual wellbeing.

The answer is to treat all children - all people - with love and respect, so that they have good self-esteem and understand what love truly is, and don't accept abuse as the norm. Rich or poor it shouldn't matter. My folks were poor but loving. Sadly most people are too judgemental for this to happen, and some people are labelled losers without being given a fighting chance. Ironically, the faithless revere is a shining light in this respect, championing the kind of equality that would bring us closer to making this possible.

If you are a true christian you know my ways better than you think, and also the ways of buddhists, muslims, jews and all others. It's the way of love. The main difference is there's no text book on how to be a good pagan. You use the gifts the divine spirit gave you, act responsibly and do what you know is right, offering utmost respect to our planet and it's inhabitants. And we all know what is right - but some people, in all religions, have more trouble doing the right thing than others.