Southern Hospitality
I happened to be checking out CNN.com and came across this article. Now, I'm not going to get deep into the creation vs evolution thing (unless you guys want me to). I personally believe that evolution was the process that God put in place to create everything as we know it. Catholic Church teaching (as defined in the Catechism of the Catholic Church) supports this. However, this is not the trust of this post.
I'm suprised that fundamentalist Southern Christians are so insecure in their beliefs. The article states that IMAX theaters in the south will not show a movie about volcanoes because of some references to evolution in the film. They say that since their movie viewers are conservative Christians that believe in creationism, no one will see the film. Ok, I can buy that to a certain extent. However, it strikes me that it is a little closed minded to say that evolution is so offensive to people that they should be protected from any information that might have a hint of evolution in it. Or that, God forbid, your kid might hear about this thing called evolution and then suddenly become some kind of atheist hethen. It seems to me that if you faith cannot stand the test of criticism, perhaps your faith isn't that strong.
Now, I don't want to give the impression that I've got a thing against Southerners. I don't have a thing against an group in general. I have things against people I've met and talked to. I've also lived in the South (Florida and Virginia). I can definately say I was happy to move back up North. There were many factors but one was certainly the culture and values I encountered down there. I found the New York to be more tolerant, at least on the surface, than the South. That and the fact that I enjoyed the diversity of cultures you find in New York State that seemed to be lacking in the places I lived.
Anyway, the big thing is that this move smacks of censorship and censorship pisses me off. I don't like the idea of theater owners, or school boards, or whomever, telling me what I should be exposed to and what isn't appropriate for me. I'm a big boy. I think I can figure out for myself what I and my children should see, thanks.
I'm suprised that fundamentalist Southern Christians are so insecure in their beliefs. The article states that IMAX theaters in the south will not show a movie about volcanoes because of some references to evolution in the film. They say that since their movie viewers are conservative Christians that believe in creationism, no one will see the film. Ok, I can buy that to a certain extent. However, it strikes me that it is a little closed minded to say that evolution is so offensive to people that they should be protected from any information that might have a hint of evolution in it. Or that, God forbid, your kid might hear about this thing called evolution and then suddenly become some kind of atheist hethen. It seems to me that if you faith cannot stand the test of criticism, perhaps your faith isn't that strong.
Now, I don't want to give the impression that I've got a thing against Southerners. I don't have a thing against an group in general. I have things against people I've met and talked to. I've also lived in the South (Florida and Virginia). I can definately say I was happy to move back up North. There were many factors but one was certainly the culture and values I encountered down there. I found the New York to be more tolerant, at least on the surface, than the South. That and the fact that I enjoyed the diversity of cultures you find in New York State that seemed to be lacking in the places I lived.
Anyway, the big thing is that this move smacks of censorship and censorship pisses me off. I don't like the idea of theater owners, or school boards, or whomever, telling me what I should be exposed to and what isn't appropriate for me. I'm a big boy. I think I can figure out for myself what I and my children should see, thanks.
Comments