Watch the trailer here, click on [behind the scenes] and then [trailer].
A Synopsis
Protestors who kill for their religious beliefs. “Patriot Pastors” who seek to change American culture through the ballot box. Zealots who target prime ministers and presidents with assassination for “subverting God’s will.” Parents who reject science education in conflict with their religious principles. Suicide martyrs who are revered as iconic heroes. These are “God’s Warriors” of Christianity, Islam and Judaism. They see contemporary society as corrupt and view themselves as the front line of defense in a battle for cultural supremacy and political power. They are changing the world.
CNN chief international correspondent Christiane Amanpour journeyed to seven countries over seven months to report for God’s Warriors, a CNN Presents worldwide television event about the global phenomenon of religious fervor upon politics, culture and public life. During six hours broadcast over three consecutive nights, CNN will reveal how “God’s Warriors” want to bring religion back from the periphery to the center of public life – and how far they are willing to go to transform modern society.
God’s Warriors includes thought-provoking interviews with former U.S. President Jimmy Carter; the late Rev. Jerry Falwell in his last television interview; Ayaan Hirsi Ali, a Muslim women’s rights advocate; Yehuda Etzion, a founder of the Israeli settlement movement; and Israeli President Shimon Peres.
See a more in depth Press Release here.
Protestors who kill for their religious beliefs. “Patriot Pastors” who seek to change American culture through the ballot box. Zealots who target prime ministers and presidents with assassination for “subverting God’s will.” Parents who reject science education in conflict with their religious principles. Suicide martyrs who are revered as iconic heroes. These are “God’s Warriors” of Christianity, Islam and Judaism. They see contemporary society as corrupt and view themselves as the front line of defense in a battle for cultural supremacy and political power. They are changing the world.
CNN chief international correspondent Christiane Amanpour journeyed to seven countries over seven months to report for God’s Warriors, a CNN Presents worldwide television event about the global phenomenon of religious fervor upon politics, culture and public life. During six hours broadcast over three consecutive nights, CNN will reveal how “God’s Warriors” want to bring religion back from the periphery to the center of public life – and how far they are willing to go to transform modern society.
God’s Warriors includes thought-provoking interviews with former U.S. President Jimmy Carter; the late Rev. Jerry Falwell in his last television interview; Ayaan Hirsi Ali, a Muslim women’s rights advocate; Yehuda Etzion, a founder of the Israeli settlement movement; and Israeli President Shimon Peres.
See a more in depth Press Release here.
8/22 Jewish Warriors (sorry I am posting late)
8/23 Muslim Warriors
8/24 Christian Warriors
All air at 8:00 pm central
13 comments:
I know it's a "party foul" to be the first to comment on my own blog. It hasn't ever stopped me before.
First of all, I very much respect Christiane Amanpour as a journalist and feel that she covers the issues without bias.
The Palestinian/Israeli conflict is one that is on the news often, but we don't always understand the history, especially when our local news only chooses to report the 20 billion murders in the metroplex and the fact that Lindsay Lohan is a drunk. So it’s nice to watch a program that offers history as well as current opinion on the conflict(s) and that presents its findings in a cogent, cohesive way.
Last night, for example, on Jewish Warriors I learned so much, especially about the occupied territory (The West Bank and Gaza) and about the ongoing settlement issue. I learned about how the settlements are funded (Evangelical Christians help in large part) and about the lobbyists who hold the purse strings/politician marionette strings. I learned more about the 6-Day War and the difference between Judaism as a religion and Judaism as a culture.
I think it is so important to understand the issues before we form any opinions, and I think that this program does a great job of explaining them in terms that even I can understand!!
Go watch it!
I only caught the last 30 minutes last night and I learned so much just from that! So I second Ginger's advice to watch.
They rerun the episode twice the same night, so I taped the first one. I have to tape the second one, too, since our family religion - US soccer - is on tonight, too. (And speaking of alliances, they're playing Sweden... I'll still pull for the Yanks. -- Ha ha. Accidental word play is funny.) I'll probably tape the third one, too, so if anyone wants to borrow it, let me (or Ginger, the better half of my brain) know and I'll get it to you.
I think I'll be coming back to this post after I've seen all of these episodes. This is exactly the kind of information I want in my brain right now, and I'll probably need help sorting through it all.
It's on cable, though, right? Oh well. Maybe someone will post it (in segments) on youtube so I can watch it, too.
First, I have to say sorry for not saying anything in a while. I guess it's the summer haze. I don't know how to explain that, or if it's necessary, but... well. There it is. Another week and a half and I'm off to another city. I might be stopping by the school for a visit before I move, though.
As for the CNN special, two weeks too early. No cable till I get to Austin. Though I'm not sure I'd watch it for any reason beyond channel flipping. It's not that I don't care or find it interesting. Back when I still lived over in the Sam Houston district, I would watch this channel called LinkTV that was always doing specials on that sort of stuff. But at this point, it's... well, I'm already pretty much irreversibly biased on the subject, or possibly just irreversibly disappointed. Something like that. I think the word I'm looking for might be "jaded."
All of this religious extremism... I know I shouldn't avoid it, but most of the time it just makes me want to puke. Maybe it's just because I don't really like religion at all. Which probably has something to do with not liking the idea of entire nations having entitlement complexes grounded in such and such religion. And also may be impacted by familial biases and personal values. It just makes all religious nuts get on my last nerve.
I'd rather sit back and enjoy a fudgecicle while waiting for the world to end or change or whatever it'll do in the next four or five years (that whole Mayan calendar thing, you know).
PS: Not sure how relevant any of that was to anything. I am probably giving myself reasons not to be disappointed about missing something that gives me fuel when playing the devil's advocate. Also, I like the sound of my own voice.
Hi Amira!
It is GREAT to hear from you!!
As always, I love your wisdom, especially when it involves fudgecicles.
Your philosophy is like mine is most of the time. Not that I don't care, but I am sickened by religious fanaticism and would rather spend my time working on what I can change. (See 'Jesus Camp' for extreme hurl motivation). In fact, last night I recorded the Christian segment because after working an 11-hour day, I had no stomach left for the Muppet Show. But I do know that in the Jewish and Muslim segments, I learned a lot of history/background information that I didn't know before. Even hearing the names of political figures pronounced correctly (as opposed to the bastardized Dubbya versions that make the US sound like a bunch of yokels) was worth the program for me. That and the fact that Christiane Amanpour is my hero! I value her take on the subject. She freaking wagged her finger at a Muslim cleric for what he initially said about women being allowed to have any sort of valid existence outside of the home! The cleric grinned at her and asked if he had offended her (she said yes) and then he clarified his statement. :) (Can't wait to see her reaction to the Christians!) But then I am a nerd.
Also, though, you're right to live in the moment. If everyone were as laid back as you, the world would be smooth sailing. :) And it would rock!
Please come by before you head to Austin. It will be great to see you. [Subliminal bring fudgecicles subliminal] LitMag is still 3rd if you're interested. We rearranged the room, and I have my own adult-sized desk this year!!!! It has a drawer! :)
More discussion on the program to follow.
Clarification: When I said, 'Can't wait to see her reaction to the Christians', I'm talking about the blind extremists on the program.
AND I want to make it clear that the program isn't all a parade of fanatic side shows. Represented too are some (in my opinion) true, rational individuals who are doing what they can in the name of Love, despite the damage done by others.
Judaism the Father
Christianity the Son
Islam's a feisty Spirit, or Goddamit, go get me a gun !
Hi Mark,
I keep reading your poem over and over. You can interpret it in many ways(probably the point). What is your interpretation? :)
Now that we’ve watched all the installments of the show, I have to say the most stunning aspect of the topic is the eerie similarity among all three groups of extremists. The only difference among them are the accents; all the rhetoric – even the exact words are spewed forth by the Jews and the Muslims and the Christians. We spend all our time focused Islamic extremists, but we need to realize that all three religious communities are the same. They are made up of a majority who strive for peaceful existence, and a minority reaching for domination by any means. In the culture we’re closer to we can separate the extremist abortion clinic bomber from the moderate church member, but in the unknown realm of Islam we don’t seem as able to distinguish the two. And vise versa.
I’ve finally figured it out.
Some Jews (and Christians) are 100% certain that the ‘Promised Land’ is given to Israel by God, so it is their sacred duty to kill anyone in the way.
And some Muslims are 100% certain that the ‘Promised Land’ is given to them by God, so it is their sacred duty to kill anyone in the way.
And all those involved are just as convinced there is but one God.
So here’s the solution: God’s screwing with them.
It is a worldwide celestial episode of Punked.
After watching the third in this trilogy, I found myself agreeing with most of what Gregory Boyd had to say. He believes that church and state should be completely separate. He believes that if we are to follow Jesus's example, we should be tending to the poor and supporting our communities through actions that are nurturing and uplifting, not through those that are divisive or reactionary. Instead of speaking condemnation for actions like homosexuality and abortion, he preaches 'love thy neighbor', regardless of your opinion about his action. Forget about whether or not the 10 commandments are able to be posted in whatever building and get out there and feed the hungry.
Something else that was interesting to me is that he pointed out what we tend to forget. That is that for some unusual reason, we like to highlight certain sins and neglect others. For example, we focus on the few times that the Bible mentions the'abomination' of homosexuality, but forget that other abominable sins, especially gluttony and greed (the two for which America is infamous), are cited a million times more often.
Honestly, I'm sort of 'over' any other kind of Christianity. I even hesitate to open the bible because I know that it is often used to support agruments that are contradictory to the teachings of Christ. It makes me uncomfortable.
It was nice to hear that some people still understand that the message is FAR more simple than people imagine. The answer to any issue is agape - divine, unconditional, self-sacrificing, active, volitional, and thoughtful love. That is all we need to know in any religion.
Here is an excerpt from Greg Boyd's blog:
'Jesus was a revolutionary on social issues, so his followers are to be revolutionaries on social issues. Jesus entered into solidarity with the poor, so his followers are to enter into solidarity with the poor. Jesus revolted against racism by the countercultural way he treated and spoke about non-Jews , so his followers are to revolt against all forms of racism. Jesus revolted against classism by the way he embraced social and religious “rejects,” so his followers are to revolt against classism. Jesus revolted against sexism by the counter-cultural way he treated women -- even women of ill-repute -- so his followers are to revolt against sexism. Jesus revolted against legalistic religion that oppressed people, so his followers are to revolt against legalistic religion that oppresses people.
'Jesus was a radical social activist, so his followers must be the same. It’s just that Jesus never once placed any trust in the government of his day to address social issues. He rather just addressed social issues by how he lived and taught. So too, we who are Jesus' followers are to place no trust in government to address social issues. We’re simply called to address them by how we live.
'Following Jesus’ example, we’re to place our trust in the power of the cross – the power of self-sacrificial love – not the power of the sword. We’re to trust the power of Calvary, not Caesar. And this is why I believe those who spend their time and energy trying to control the political arena “in Jesus' name” are profoundly missing the point. Our job is to love, serve and sacrifice for sinners – not argue about passing laws against them. For we are to know that, whatever sin we see in others, our sin is much worse (Mt. 7:1-3).'
His blog address is www.christusvictorministries.org/main/
I'll definitely see about getting some fudgecicles to the new desk some time next week (no promises about chocolate goodness though).
I think I've actually heard of Gregory Boyd before. I'm not sure, but I think some time last summer I watched a sermon of his when there was nothing on TV. He was, like, the only evangelist I've ever seen that didn't make me want to shout at my TV. Me and my mom and sister actually had a pretty thoughtful conversation as a result of that program (not that we don't usually). It was nice.
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