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May 26, 2005Showtime smears “Mother F***** Theresa”Just as I can admire much in Christopher Hitchens, even though I know that on the subject of religion and faith he is reactionary, foul and tremendously unfair, against my better judgement, I have managed to be a luke-warmish fan of Penn and Teller. They are irreverent and sometimes brilliant…but this, for me, just goes too far, and for no good reason, because clearly whatever they believe, it is not belief that is formed from real understanding. I have, at times, been impatient with William Donoghue of the Catholic League - I don’t always like the way he goes about making his points…but this time he seems quite on the mark. There is literally NO REASON for what Penn and Teller have done here, and the fact that they have a young, impressionable audience is troubling. Are we going to have to worry about these Missionaries of Charity being bothered by people, now, as they do their work , the work no one else - certainly not the likes of Penn and Teller - would do? Viacom’s Showtime Slanders Mother Teresa When shareholders of media conglomerate Viacom show up for their annual meeting tomorrow, they’ll face the wrath of Catholic League President Dr. William Donahue over a shocking Showtime episode that slandered the late Mother Teresa and her order of nuns in the vilest of terms. …an episode of Showtime’s Penn and Teller show “Holier Than Thou” was a “Nazi-like assault on Catholicism, and on the person the show calls “Mother F***ing Teresa.” Showtime is owned by Viacom. Stormed Donahue: “In the 12 years that I have been president of the Catholic League, I have never witnessed a more vicious attack on Catholicism than what appeared this week on the Showtime program ‘Penn and Teller.’ The episode, ‘Holier Than Thou,’ was a frontal assault on Mother Teresa and her order of nuns, Missionaries of Charity (as well as Gandhi and the Dali Lama). “…Indeed, as the show progresses, the level of anger becomes palpable and the degree of distortion becomes mindboggling. This is no comedy – it is Nazi propaganda right out of the Leni Riefenstahl school of filmmaking. The Mother Teresa that the world has come to love and revere is made to look like a cruel, exploitative, self-serving nun who ripped off the poor. We are told that Mother Teresa intentionally let the poor suffer, providing neither beds nor bathroom facilities. ‘She had the f***ing coin and pissed it away on nunneries,’ says Penn. As for the nuns who worked with Mother Teresa, they are referred to as ‘f***ing c***s.’ “It does not bother me when they call me ‘Catholic Boy’ on the show (though the term ‘Jew Boy’ would never cross their lips), nor does it concern me when they talk about ‘f***ers like Bill Donohue [who] only see good in her.’ But when they mock the Catholic Church’s teaching on the meaning of suffering, and when they say of the poor that ‘They had to suffer so that Mother F***ing Teresa could be enlightened,’ then they are behaving like monsters.” Well, actually, they’re behaving like perpetual adolescents, but yes…I do wonder precisely what sort of monsters are out there going out of their way to foment hate, and more hate, and more hate toward Christians. It seems to have stepped-up a bit since JPII’s death and funeral, and the election of Benedict XVI, don’t you think? I do. A game is afoot. I’m feeling wide awake. Apparently, Don Feder is, too. H/T: Eternity Road. WELCOME AMY WELBORN READERS (and thanks, Amy for the link!) Today we are feeling a little exhausted from politics, so we’re linking to some uplifting reading or considering the clown eucharist. We’re talking about the mystery of human suffering. We’re contemplating how “recently” Muslims have taken to hate Americans, and I’ve decided that I need another - better - retreat. Preferably in silence. http://theanchoressonline.com/2005/05/26/showtime-smears-mother-f-theresa/trackback/ 32 Responses to “Showtime smears “Mother F***** Theresa”” |
May 26th, 2005 at 11:09 pm
>…I have managed to be a luke-
>warmish fan of Penn and Teller.
Having watched exactly one episode, I can say the show itself contains a generous dollop of that which it purports to expose. These two men are some of the most anti-Christian characters on TV, broadcast or cable. They make Bill Maher look like a juvenile delinquent.
I’m a Christian, but not a Catholic, and *I* am offended by this. The blows are aimed at Teresa and the order she headed, but fall squarely on all of Christianity, as they are intended to do. In my view, whether they are conscious of it or not, Penn and Teller are instruments of the Enemy, and are therefore objects of both wrath and pity–for unless we repent, we all shall perish.
Steve
DOUBLE TOOTHPICKS
May 26th, 2005 at 11:15 pm
The games been afoot for quite some time. We are in the end game now, and we must realize first that this is a war, make no mistake about it. The outcome will affect this country through the end of this century. The answer is simple, cut off the money supply of the Left. They chose their battlegrounds–the complete control of the MSM, entertainment–movies, TV, music, and education. Stop feeding the trolls. And let sponsors know why. Let your alma mater know why. Let your kids know why it’s important. Your future depends on it.
May 26th, 2005 at 11:52 pm
I just have a couple questions for Misters Penn and Teller: 1. How many poor have they brought off the street and fed and clothed and comforted? 2. How many sick and dying have they bathed, tended to with bedpans, hand-fed and kept vigil with? 3. How much have they given up of their personal wealth do they give away, or do they fritter it all away on hedonistic-secular equivalents of what they call consider “&*^%$ nunneries”–ie, big houses, fancy cars, and luxurious vacations?
I think when all comparisons are made, M.T. and the sisters are gonna look way better than MIsters Penn and Teller with their foul mouths and self-indulgent ways.
May 27th, 2005 at 1:19 am
Penn and Teller are “joke” magicians but they still are part of the world of professional magicians — people often scathingly contemptuous of paranormalist frauds, impatient with dupes, and scornful of superstition. (Doug Henning, however, was reputed to be rather credulous.) It’s a proud tradition among many pro magicians. Many of them, however, conflate ordinary religion with those things.
Penn also has a really crazy thing in favor of an awful band called Half-Japanese. In the movie he’s irrational on the subject; a friend assured me that neither the movie nor Penn’s rants were satire.
May 27th, 2005 at 5:48 am
” It seems to have stepped-up a bit since JPII’s death and funeral, and the election of Benedict XVI, don’t you think? I do.
A game is afoot. I’m feeling wide awake.”
And well you should. We’re watching the other side’s “battle of the bulge” offensive. They’ve sensed that they’re losing; it became undeniably clear at the worldwide outpouring of love for the late Pope John Paul II. They’re desperate to retake the ground they’ve lost to us in recent years — and they don’t yet understand that we did it simply by living our beliefs.
Compared to the attractions of sincere conviction, genuine compassion, and uncoerced adherence to self-evidently good rules for living, the corrosive streams of venom emanating from such as you’ve cited here — I used to think Penn & Teller were funny, too — have microscopic power to persuade. But apparently, that’s all they know how to do.
Hang in there, dear.
May 27th, 2005 at 8:17 am
Penn & Teller - another show I can make sure I continue to miss.
May 27th, 2005 at 8:30 am
I actually know Penn and Teller; in the past I’ve been a devoted fan, and even did some art work for them. But as the years go by, I’m finding it harder and harder to ignore the genuine malice and wickedness that runs through their work. It’s not that *I* have a love-hate relationship with them; I think *they* are driven by a love-hate dynamic. The love comes out in some of the beautiful magic that they’ve created; the hate is in this sort of attack on Mother Teresa and Christianity. Lately, the hate seems to be dominant, and the not surprising result is creative sterility. Scorched-earth destruction and debunking doesn’t produce anything. Anchoress, I don’t think this dates from JPII’s death; I think it goes back to 9/11. I’ve watched Penn & Teller closely for years, and I can state confidently that the religious strength shown by Americans in response to that atrocity threw them off balance, and I don’t think they ever recovered. In this world, they have less and less to say that’s worth listening to. You’re right, much of this reaction is the baffled fury of people who are losing and can’t understand why. Atheism seemed to have a bright future as we went through the 90s, but its chances of converting the world are fading with every day that passes. Christianity showed that it has lots of life in it; and beyond the Christians, there looms the growling beast of Islam. Atheism suddenly looks very puny and irrelevant in the face of these foes. Oh, and just to show that Penn & Teller are not newcomers at this tactic of scurrilous abuse, here’s a story from 2 years ago, when they did a skit mocking the Crucifixion: http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=30581. So you see, they’re old hands at this. The ‘no comment’ at the end of the story was pretty eloquent.
May 27th, 2005 at 8:55 am
I am very disturbed by all of the attacks against Christias, conservatives, etc…. I think when the more important reaction is to also publish a list of the show sponsors - so that we who are concerned - can let the sponsors know that we are done supporting them. Since they advertise on programs that show no respect for us (whichever category is attacked on the particular show) - we should let them know that we can’t support them anymore. This is a $$ game and we have to be willing to take the time and make the effort to express our displeasure. Tell a friend to contact them too if they are unhappy with the presentation. Until the sponsors of these shows feel it in their pocket - they won’t change anything.
Unfortunately, whatever comes out of the mouths of these “hip” “irreverent” “with it” performers - is accepted as truth by a crowd of willing lemmings who don’t know and don’t take the time to learn the truth
May 27th, 2005 at 9:11 am
This acrimonious atrocity reminds me why I don’t waste money on “premium channels.”
Where is there available a list of sponsors?
May 27th, 2005 at 9:39 am
Is this a new show of theirs? I have the first two seasons of a Showtime series of theirs, one that unfortunately I cannot mention in a family blog (although its title does begin with ‘B’) and find it quite amusing in many ways. I thought their examinations of mediums, alien abductions, and animal rights activists were brilliant. I thought their examination of the Bible consisted mainly of tired arguments that would really be valid only if someone were claiming there were hard scientific proof for its claims, which as far as I know no one does. I thought their show on profanity was pointless (they would have had a point if they were talking mainly about people trying to use the government to ban it, but they seemed to focus mainly on private people trying to encourage people to be more civil to each other).
Anyway, after seeing those two seasons I find their treatment of Mother Theresa to be lamentable, if all too predictable.
May 27th, 2005 at 10:20 am
I’m one of your typical live-and-let-live milksop agnostics. I don’t know if there are many others like me listening in here, but I’m finding myself increasingly sticking up for the Catholic Church, which I wasn’t even raised in. Strange times indeed. It is all beginning to feel like the Lord of the Rings where various oddly assorted folk join forces against a great evil.
May 27th, 2005 at 10:34 am
I didn’t dare check out Wanda’s link on the crucifixtion. Mother F***ing T was horrible enough. I have talks w/Spud, who claims he’s not smart enough to get into Heaven and only hears self-righteous rhetoric from the Right. He can’t figure out how each church thinks they have the Truth and the others are going to burn while they are the saved one’s. He feels judged when someone points out right from wrong… Oh, well. I told him that I just don’t understand the point of Liberalism. I thought they were the champions of the working class poor? If the Right is self-righteous, then the Left is elitist. The in-crowd in highschool. “Party at my house and you’re not invited”, in-your-face-elitist. And I must say that if the regular “Joe” doesn’t mind NOW, the ACLU, Al Franken… HOWARD DEAN… Penn and Teller speaking for them, then “Joe” is a sheep in need of a Shepard that knows the real Truth.
May 27th, 2005 at 10:40 am
Karen, Penn and Teller are not leftists. They are libertarians.
May 27th, 2005 at 1:26 pm
Hi Karen,
Spud doesn’t want to say directly that he really doesn’t believe in right and wrong. It’s all relative to him, an infinite number of shades of gray, never black and white. He does not know how to deal with anyone who holds concepts like right and wrong, because it is proof that indoctrination of the Left has not taken in your case. The Left have never been champions of the poor. They have such little regard for the poor that they believe their message of something for nothing–of transfer of wealth–will resonate among the poor. Nothing more.
Spud hears the Right saying that this is right, this is wrong, and he judges that to be “self-righteous.” Fine. Let him take comfort in his moral relativism. Just let him know that religions focus on who is to be Saved, rather than who is going to burn. He doesn’t believe in any of this anyway, he just wants you to question your Beliefs.
I’ve heard Penn Jillette(Gillette at some sources, including Vegas PR) speak on politics and it sounds Left to me. He only admits to voting Libertarian in 1992.
May 27th, 2005 at 1:52 pm
Karen, Penn and Teller are not leftists. They are libertarians.
You meant to say mean-spirited, malicious, anti-Catholic, anti-Christian, spit-on-the-dead, atheist libertarians.
There IS a difference…
May 27th, 2005 at 2:49 pm
Hey, I didn’t say they were great people. I just said they weren’t leftists. I certainly didn’t mean it as an insult to libertarians.
May 27th, 2005 at 3:34 pm
[...] neral — H.H. Patriarch Mar Anthony @ 3:34 pm
The Anchoress (who, by the way, I love to read) informs us of the latest [...]
May 27th, 2005 at 4:40 pm
VIACOM - Via Contempt
I cannot help but wonder if VIACOM’s “Showtime” is broadcast in Italy. If it is, will they be brought up on charges of defamation against religion, as was author Oriana Fallaci, when she wrote negatively about Islam in her latest book? In Italy, “a…
May 27th, 2005 at 5:14 pm
What this is about is well explained here: http://www.grecoreport.com/gramsci’s_grand_plan.htm
Prepare to have your consciousness raised if you take the time to get into Gramscian Marxism, because it is the reason we are where we are.
May 27th, 2005 at 5:19 pm
http://www.grecoreport.com/gramsci’s_grand_plan.htm
The previous link seems not to have taken, trying again.
May 27th, 2005 at 5:22 pm
Sorry . . .
Then go to http://www.grecoreport.com
and click “Culture War” - scroll to botton of that page and click link after “For 2001-2002 The Culture War”
Near the bottom of that page you will find links on Gramsci - the one in question being “Gramsci’s Grand Plan.
May 27th, 2005 at 9:38 pm
Outrageous- and sickening. Viacom is behaving as a Der Sturmer, villfying a group of people as a form of entertainment (with an agenda).
I would have been less outraged, if this were a conversation- as ugly as that might have been. However, to use entertainment to vilify a religious life/conviction is not much different (if at all) to some Arab countries airing anti semitic and anti Christian programming.
May 27th, 2005 at 9:52 pm
#19’s link doesn’t work because the commenting software converts the URL’s straight apostrophe to a curly one — not only in the visible URL but in the one which is actuallhy used.
When you click on it, and it results in a failure page, go to the URL window, and change the curly apostrophe to a normal straight one. Then click on Go.
May 27th, 2005 at 10:04 pm
Anchoress, as I have been saying all along, the MSM smear machine is just warming up. Penn and Teller are simply saying out loud what many in the CME (Coastal Media Elite) having been thinking all along. So why is anyone shocked to see this stuff like this happen? Really, you ain’t seen nuthin’ yet. It’s only going to get worse.
-
May 27th, 2005 at 11:43 pm
I have sent this post and the link to both of my Senators and asked them to begin making things like this an issue that needs to be addressed. I want the bashing of all Christians with Catholics in the forefront to be attacked with the same intensity as they take to stopping the hate speech of the KKK, the attack on Islam (who by the way attacked us on 9/11), and attacks on Jews and African Americans. I would like to see all 100 Senators have to vote on a resolution or law on this hate issue. Could prove interesting. Anyone with influence in any way should move to get this issue presented at the highest levels. Lets see some politicians have to stand up against this type of speech, especially when it comes from people like Moveon.org who is the funding arm for the Democratic Party and often leads the way with this hate speech.
May 27th, 2005 at 11:45 pm
I Don’t
Don Feder blasts MoveOn.org for anti-Catholic bigotry. (HT: The Anchoress, who’s blasting Viacom)
May 28th, 2005 at 2:37 am
Charles: #11 - I burst out laughing at your LOTR reference. But it may be true!
Are you a Hobbit?
May 28th, 2005 at 7:45 pm
Charles, you have to be careful. A lot of people who found themselves increasingly sticking up for the Church are now Catholics.
I’m saying that as a Catholic who until a few years ago knew she could never, ever become a Christian of any kind. Not that I want to scare you off. I think you may be on to something with the LOTR idea.
Wanda, about hatred now being more dominant in P&T’s act, you may be right about the post-9/11 world having something to do with it, but it may be partly just the advance of the years. I’ve noticed that atheists, as well as many non-Christians, anti-Catholics, and ex-Catholics tend to get angrier and angrier as the years go by. I noticed it in myself; while I started out as a live and let live type, by the last year or two I was a non-believer, I’d begun to feel angry when I’d see Christian bumperstickers or things like that. I’ve heard similar things in various conversion or reversion stories–for example, ex-Catholics who left for no particular reason finding themselves becoming more and more hostile to the Church as the years go by. And atheists often *start out* angry and hostile.
May 29th, 2005 at 9:53 am
Suzanne - yes, that’s quite true. Atheists sometimes do become angrier with age. Perhaps it has something to do with their view of the finality of death. If you’re not winning, and your chances of winning seem to be diminishing as time goes by, that does leave a person facing a sort of futility as the end of life approaches. And it doesn’t seem enough for anyone, atheists included, to be able to say, ‘Well, *I’ve* got it all figured out - who cares what the rest of the world does?’ We all want to feel there’s some permanent good that outlasts ourselves. But as far as this story goes, it seems public opinion must have had some effect, because Showtime pulled ‘Holier Than Thou’ off their schedule Friday night. That’s pretty fast work.
May 29th, 2005 at 2:15 pm
When going through channels, Penn and Teller is one show that I quickly pass through now. I believe I saw parts of the show in question, but didn’t last as long, or came in after, the comments about Mother Theresa. While I am not a Catholic, I am a Christian who is incensed about attacks like this on other Christians.
If there is one silver lining in this incident, it is that Christians of all stripes and flavors should wake up to the fact that we are living in a world that should not be us against us, but is really them against us. At the same time, we need to recognize, as Mother Theresa and other Christians through the ages have recognized, we are to live in an attitude of “us is for them.” (Love your enemies. Pray for them that spitefully use you.)
May 30th, 2005 at 11:41 am
Commentaries
Memorial Day Barbara Simpson Liberty wasn’t due to luck Craig Smith Commemorating our heroes Joseph Farah The meaning of sacrifice…
July 9th, 2005 at 5:51 pm
Hey, when you christians give up the concept of eternal damnation for those that dissent, then you can bitch and moan about Penn and Teller.
Gotta love the ridiculous irony of christians in america complaining of oppression and aduse. Your loonie mythology is infested into almost every aspect of this culture.