I just heard an interview by Dennis Miller of DC. Miller couldn’t figure out what DC was saying. So a caller explained: DC is proselytizing the west for Bhuddist* mysticism. Exactly. Fine, but why on earth is he on public TV (PBS)? Why are any of the mystical self-realization New Age folks on publicly funded broadcasting outlets? No, I don’t think they should give equal time to Christians. I don’t think there should be publicly funded Christian evangelism on public TV either. The PBS folks want my money (and yours). I say, quit spending it on Deepak Chopra and balance out the political/cultural coverage and I’ll think about it.
*Corrected -rsc
R. Scott Clark
R.Scott Clark is the President of the Heidelberg Reformation Association, the author and editor of, and contributor to several books and the author of many articles. He has taught church history and historical theology since 1997 at Westminster Seminary California. He has also taught at Wheaton College, Reformed Theological Seminary, and Concordia University. He has hosted the Heidelblog since 2007.
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Hey, I’m used to abuse by now (comes with the territory when you’re right about everything).
“Drilling into Stellman” was a poor choice of words. Sorry, Rev.
Zrim
Scott,
His journalism and general acumen. Sort of like the way I liked listening to Buckley. My hunch is that your “yikes” has something to do with content. But, like I keep trying to drill into Stellman, I happen to be of the persuasion that when it comes to the American project pluralism is actually a good thing; we need the diverse views to make it work well. You know, “it takes all kinds” and all that.
Whatever else the dictum of “the radical intolerance of things cultic and the radical tolerance of things cultural” might imply, I am persuaded it frees one up to not only find the value and merit in various views (as well as their shortcomings), but also enjoy a good episode of MASH even if one is a neo-con wingnut (!). Not only that, but when diverse cultural views can meet around the cultic (and intolerant) communion rail it would seem the Gospel is also “working,” as it were.
Zrim
Chopra is western New Agey in a way that he’s not really authentically Hindu or Buddhist, but to the extent that he’s one or another, he’s a Hindu (in background and in his participation in Transcendental Meditation, Yoga, etc. He has written a fictionalized account of the Buddha, but Buddhists have given it very mixed reviews).
The guy that bugs me the most is Wayne Dyer, a psychologist who teaches a kind of bastardized Buddhism mixed with bland American hedonism and optimism, who is a constant on every Orange County PBS pledge drive. But I’ve mostly given up on PBS ever since it’s become possible to find every kind of music except Classical.
Hi Christine,
Thanks for the correction. That’s what I get for shooting from the hip.
Hi Rick,
Okay. So it’s only partly funded semi-public Broadcasting. I’m a fan of several NPR programs.
Zrim,
Moyers? Yikes! What do you like about him?
Deepak Chopra is a Budhist, not a Hindu. His latest book that he was pushing is called “Budha, A Story of Enlightenment”.
As I watched DC’s PBS special this weekend I also wondered why PBS was allowing him several hours to preach Budhism. It was a 100% religious program promoting Budhism for health, peace, wealth and scores of other benefits.
Now if only they funded our, umm, “extra-curricular activities” with such caution….
Let it be known that the federal government funds Public Broadcasting to the tune of only around 5% of each stations budget – and that is a grant that each stations need to apply for each year (through the CPB). Some stations don’t get any help from the CPB. So if you’re upset about something you should just subtract 5% of what you were going to give that year.
I’ll see your concern and raise you:
Why are pastors of tax-exempt churches allowed to publically endorse Mike Huckabee? Why is public, taxpayer money given to private contractors to re-build the Iraqi infrastructure that we destroyed while our own bridges and levees are falling apart?
If I actually paid taxes, I think I’d probably quit….
I cannot comment. I love my job. The station I work for is local public TV and radio – I work in radio but the TV side pays most of the bills.
Me commenting here would be as dangerous as Hyde commenting on why he doens’t use the liturgical forms for the Lord Supper printed in the back of our Psalter Hymnal. 😉
Give me Bill Moyers any day of the week (but especially Friday nights).
Funny how we Christian secularists seem to have a bit of a better grip on just what secular means over against the secular leftists sometimes.
Hey, Rick, get on this, will you please? You can make heads roll at NPR, right?
Dennis Miller slays me, always has.
Zrim