The Reason You've Prospered

The Inaccuracy of Kathy Griffin's Remarks on Jesus
Thursday , September 13, 2007
By Lauren Green

I just don't understand comedian Kathy Griffin. Please understand that I like her. She's been on the FOX News Channel quite a bit and for the brief times we've talked, I've found her to be funny and self-effacing.

So, it puzzled me at first, then angered me second, that she would accept an award and then insult a man who preached love and acceptance. Why would someone do that? William Donohue of the Catholic League was so angry that he used the “b” word to describe her (rhymes with rich).

In case you haven't yet heard, on Saturday night at the Creative Arts Emmy Awards, Kathy Griffin won a trophy for her show, "My Life on the D-List." Griffin is sort of the female Rodney Dangerfield. Her gimmick is that she's an entertainer who doesn't get a lot of respect. When she accepted her long-awaited award, she said: "A lot of people come up here and thank Jesus for this award. I want you to know that no one had less to do with this award than Jesus."

Now I could have been mildly insulted at that and turned the other cheek, as the founder of Christianity taught. But then she went on to say "Suck it, Jesus. This award is my God now."

Needless to say, she offended me and millions of other Christians.

I don't know what went through her mind and why she would think that was cutting edge or even funny. But first, I want to actually show you that, in fact, Kathy Griffin is wrong. Jesus had everything to do with her winning that award. And here's the reasoning.

Jesus died on a cross 2,000 years ago. His dying words were, "Forgive them Father for they know not what they do." He died and they buried him in a rock cut tomb. Three days later, as the Bible says, he rose from the dead. That day is what Christians celebrate as Easter.

After the resurrection, Christianity began to take off like wildfire, spreading from the Middle East northward to Europe and westward into Ethiopia. In 300 A.D. Emperor Constantine accepted Christianity and it beccame the religion of Europe. Rome soon became the seat of the faith. After several years of human failings, the church went through conflicts and quite a few unbiblical years — the crusades and the inquisition to name just two. Out of that came the Reformation — the reforming of the Church, sort of a back-to-basics Bible and the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Out of the Reformation emerged a vision of law by Samuel Rutherford, called Lex is Rex, Law is King. From that, others devised a secular version that is used to help lay the foundation of government for a new land called America. Ninety-four percent of America's founding era documents mention the Bible; 34 percent quote the Bible directly. The idea of bringing unity to the universal is a particularly Biblical concept.

The freedoms we enjoy in this country to speak freely and to live freely are directly related to that man who died on a cross 2,000 years ago.

So, you see, Kathy Griffin, Jesus has everything to do with you winning that award. You live in a free country where your abilities can be recognized if you're willing to work hard enough. That's at least the dream of America. If you'd been born in many other parts of the world, your daily activity might involve seeking out a way to survive, or even trying to avoid persecution and death. Luxuries like pursuing a career in the entertainment industry would never have been realized; luxuries like being able to insult the founder of a religion of forgiveness and acceptance would not have been possible.

Kathy Griffin, just because you "can" say something, doesn't mean you "should." When you say "suck it, Jesus," you didn't just insult Christianity … you insulted the very reason you've prospered.

The Voice of This Hidden Immigrant

Definition of a TCK: third culture kid; children from one culture, living in other cultures, who among themselves form a third culture which is unique to their experience, has certain ties to their parent's work overseas and is unplaced geographically.

I started reading Hidden Immigrants: Legacies of Growing Up Abroad by Linda Bell. It's a collection of interviews Bell had with 13 TCKs stemming from all kinds of backgrounds (missionary, military, government job, international business) and who all lived in multiple countries growing up. Bell herself lived overseas with her husband and had two children. She noticed her girls struggling to be "Americans" in the States and decided to research the effects being a TCK has on your life by interviewing older TCKs.

So far most of what they've described while experiencing culture shock, is very similar to what i felt and thought. I'll be posting quotes that exactly represent my experience as I read.

Hopefully this will give you a better glimpse and understanding of what this hidden immigrant experienced 10 years ago and to some extent still struggles with even now...

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My coworker beautifully described the office drama we've experienced lately...don't worry, it has nothing to do with our actual work, but everything else that goes on beyond the cube walls...

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Tragic Ends

"It's a dangerous business, going out of your door. You step into the Road, and if you don't keep your feet, there is no knowing where you might be swept off to." -Bilbo Baggins