NBC Offends Christians Again

[PHOnos]

NBC Offends Christians Again
By Susan Jones
CNSNews.com Senior Editor
February 02, 2006

(CNSNews.com) - A conservative advocacy group accuses NBC of "hitting back" at the Christian community in an upcoming episode of "Will and Grace."

The April 13 episode will mock the crucifixion of Christ, the American Family Association said.

AFA pointed to wire reports saying that Britney Spears will make a guest appearance on the April 13 "Will and Grace," playing a conservative Christian sidekick to Sean Hayes' homosexual character, Jack.

When Jack's fictional TV network, Out TV, is bought by a Christian TV network, Spears hosts a cooking segment called "Cruci-fixin's."

"To further denigrate Christianity, NBC chose to air [the episode] the night before Good Friday," AFA Founder and Chairman Donald E. Wildmon complained.

"NBC does not treat Jews, Muslims or other religions with such disrespect. Yet the network demonstrates a deep of hostility toward followers of Christ."

NBC recently cancelled a series called "The Book of Daniel," amid loud complaints from conservative Christians who saw the series as a slur on Christianity. (See related story)

The series was canceled only three episodes into its season; NBC blamed low ratings, but Wildmon said it went away because "NBC had to eat millions of dollars each time it aired."

Now AFA is urging Americans to wage a similar protest against the upcoming "Will and Grace" episode.

"Call your local NBC affiliate and ask them not to air the April 13 episode of "Will and Grace," AFA said in a message to supporters.

The group also wants concerned Christians to send a letter of complaint to NBC Chairman Bob Wright, and to spread the word about NBC's latest insult in church bulletins and newsletters.

 

[saintpcr]

I wonder what would happen if they mocked Islam or some other religion...

 

[MULEY51]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div>

I wonder what would happen if they mocked Islam or some other religion...[/b]

We'll never know. They don't have the cajones...but it's ok to mock the Christians???

 

[Coues]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11097877/


Shiite clerics step on Danish flags in Baghdad on Wednesday in protest over newspaper cartoons depicting caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad.

 

[Marty]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div>

Feb 2, 2006

Newspapers in France, Germany and Spain have reprinted Danish caricatures of the Prophet Mohammed, saying press freedom was more important than protests and boycotts the cartoons have sparked across the Muslim world.
   
The Danish embassy in Damascus was evacuated after a bomb threat that turned out to be a hoax and Syria recalled its ambassador from Denmark in protest at the cartoons, one of which shows the Prophet Mohammed wearing a turban shaped like a bomb.
   
In Copenhagen, police met Islamic leaders to try to calm reactions there, and in the city of Airbus, the offices of the Jyllands-Posten newspaper that first published the caricatures last September were briefly evacuated after a bomb threat.
   
Two large Danish companies reported their sales falling in the Middle East after protests against the cartoons in the Arab world and calls for boycotts. Muslims consider images of prophets distasteful and caricatures blasphemous.
   
"Enough lessons from these reactionary bigots!" France Soir editor Serge Faubert wrote in a commentary explaining why his newspaper had printed the cartoons.
   
"Just because the Koran bans images of Mohammed doesn't mean non-Muslims have to submit to this."
   
Dalil Boubakeur, head of the French Muslim Council, denounced the publication of the drawings as "a genuine provocation towards France's millions of Muslims".
   
"The principle of freedom of the press, which the French authorities defend around the world, will not be questioned," French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy told a news conference in Ankara, adding that principle must, however, be exercised with a spirit of tolerance.
   
Germany's Die Welt newspaper reprinted the cartoons, saying: "There is no right to be shielded from satire in the West."
   
But Burhan Kesici, a leader of Germany's Turkish community, said they reduced Islam "to two or three terrorists".
   
Two Spanish newspapers, ABC and El Periodico, ran pictures of the cartoons on Wednesday. A German language newspaper in Switzerland published two cartoons on Tuesday. 
   
'Risk of escalation'
   
Jyllands-Posten has apologised for any hurt the caricatures may have caused, but police said the paper's offices in Aarhus were evacuated on Wednesday evening for the second time in two days after a bomb threat. Workers returned after the all clear.
   
The Danish government says it cannot tell free media what to do.
   
Danish police said they had told Denmark's imams they were "highly aware of the risks of an escalation of the case, including the calls to burn the Koran, which these days flourish on the Internet and via SMS (phone messages)".
   
Such calls could be attempts by right-wing extremists to exploit the conflict and divide society, police said.
   
Swedish Prime Minister Goran Persson said Danish premier Anders Fogh Rasmussen should have done more to explain the freedom of expression to envoys from Muslim states.
   
"It is clear that he gradually got himself into a defensive position," Persson said. "It would have been better to have gone more on the offensive."
   
Thousands of Palestinians protested against Denmark this week, and Arab ministers called on it to punish Jyllands-Posten.
   
Saudi Arabia has recalled its ambassador from Copenhagen and Libya has closed its embassy. Qatar condemned the cartoons.
   
The Danish-Swedish dairy product maker Arla Foods, with annual Middle East sales of almost $500 million, said it might have to cut 140 jobs due to the boycott.
   
"We are losing around 10 million Danish crowns (US$1.8 million) per day at the moment," a spokeswoman said.
   
The world's biggest maker of insulin, Denmark's Novo Nordisk said pharmacies and hospitals in Saudi Arabia had been avoiding its products since Saturday.
   
A Norwegian Christian publication called Magazinet printed the cartoons in January. On Tuesday, Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg expressed regret but made no outright apology.[/b]

 

[saintpcr]

Originally posted by MULEY51@Feb 2 2006, 12:17 PM
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE

I wonder what would happen if they mocked Islam or some other religion...

We'll never know. They don't have the cajones...but it's ok to mock the Christians???

[/b][/quote]
Most of the time it is... have you ever noticed that people swear using "God" and "Jesus Christ". Most people have no respect for Christianity. If we are going to be a "tolerant" society we should respect all religions, not pick and choose.

 

[Val]

It appears to me that everyone in this Country are just too sensitive. Some take offense to anything no matter what it is. If the TV program offends you, just don't watch it. If enough people are offended and don't watch it, the show will be cancelled due to lack of ratings. I'm not supporting this particular program, I won't be watching it. I'm just getting tired about all the complaining and protesting over just about everything that goes on in this country.

 

[saintpcr]

Originally posted by Val@Feb 2 2006, 03:26 PM
It appears to me that everyone in this Country are just too sensitive. Some take offense to anything no matter what it is. If the TV program offends you, just don't watch it. If enough people are offended and don't watch it, the show will be cancelled due to lack of ratings. I'm not supporting this particular program, I won't be watching it. I'm just getting tired about all the complaining and protesting over just about everything that goes on in this country.

But I think there's a difference between being overly sensitive and defending what is most sacred to your religion.

 

[dampfoot]

If it weren't offensive enough, just look at the timing. The night before Good Friday. It is as if NBC wants to offend. Does anyone know how people can find the major advertisers of a network without having to watch the garbage that is usually on? I have e-mailed NBC and plan on calling my local affiliate to ask them not to air it.

 

[30-06 lover]

Originally posted by Val@Feb 2 2006, 03:26 PM
It appears to me that everyone in this Country are just too sensitive. Some take offense to anything no matter what it is. If the TV program offends you, just don't watch it. If enough people are offended and don't watch it, the show will be cancelled due to lack of ratings. I'm not supporting this particular program, I won't be watching it. I'm just getting tired about all the complaining and protesting over just about everything that goes on in this country.

I'm with you...we live in a country that prides itself on being free. They have the freedom to show it, and you have the freedom not to watch.

 

[MULEY51]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div>

I'm just getting tired about all the complaining and protesting over just about everything that goes on in this country.[/b]

So stop "complaining" about the complaining...

 

[PHOnos]

NBC's 'Cruci-fixins' Were 'Leftovers' from Fox
By Sherrie Gossett
CNSNews.com Staff Writer
February 06, 2006

(CNSNews.com) - The NBC "Will and Grace" episode featuring Britney Spears hosting a cooking show called "Cruci-fixins" has been cancelled in the wake of Christian protests, but the term was actually recycled from a Fox network show.

It was first used on the oddball comedy "Arrested Development," when one of the characters quipped: "I think I'm going to go get one of those 'Corndog Crosses' -- with all the 'Crucifixins'"

"The Simpsons" cartoon also used the term in an episode that described a church ice cream social led by a character called Rev. Lovejoy. Lovejoy offered "Crucifixins," with flavors like "Blessed Virgin Berry," "Commandmint," and "Biblegum."

As far back as 1991, the term popped up in Advertising Age magazine, as part of an entry for a lighthearted contest to predict McDonald's next slogan intended to "pack in the pilgrims" at its new location in Lourdes. "Try our new Crucifixin's Bar" won an "honorable intention" award.

Since the term was coined on Fox, it has popped up across the Internet on blogs and other postings. The satirical "Faithway Foods" site offers "Crucifixins Table Seasoning."

After NBC began promoting the April 13 "Will and Grace" episode, which was to air on the day before Good Friday, the most solemn day on the Christian calendar, the American Family Association (AFA) posted a "special alert" at the top of its web page with the headline, "NBC to mock the Crucifixion of Christ." The story line of the episode had the fictional Out TV network being bought by a Christian network. Spears played the co-host of a cooking segment called "Cruci-fixin's."

The AFA viewed the "Will and Grace" episode as an intentional mocking of Christians, following a similar Christian uproar that led to NBC canceling "The Book of Daniel." Donald Wildmon, founder of the AFA, accused NBC of a "deep-seated anti-Christian bias."

A new press release from NBC said the original release was erroneous and the Spears episode had not yet been written. "We value our viewers and sincerely regret if this misinformation has offended them," the network stated.

The original announcement of the "Cruci-fixins" episode had generated press around the world.