My TiVo Got Religion Last Night: A Christian Broadcasting Network "Newscast" on Iran

[CorpGovActivist]

Saying that a "conflagration" in the Middle East is all but inevitable, Pat Robertson last night led an ominous set of back-to-back-to-back segments on Iran.

I have no idea what possessed my TiVo to tune in, but I'm actually sort of glad it did. It prompted me to go to CBN.com out of curiosity, to see all the different Iran "news stories" they're running.

Here are a couple of samples:

http://www.cbn.com/CBNnews/109115.aspx

http://www.cbn.com/CBNnews/108453.aspx

http://www.cbn.com/spirituallife/churchandministry/churchhistory/islamhistory0212.aspx

Last night's ominous segments - with jaw-dropping insults to Islam, and Revelations-tinged doomsday narrative - reminded me that this stuff is still being preached in the pulpits.

Now, my TiVo and I need to have a talk - or an exorcism - but in case you were wondering where the religious right is coming from on the issue of Iran, do a little search of all the CBN stories mentioning Iran or Islam:

http://www.cbn.com/search/search.aspx?query=iran

http://www.cbn.com/search/search.aspx?query=islam

Best to all,

- Dave

[LiberalFighter]

1. I personally went and gave all the religious networks the 3 thumbs down

To make sure it didn't record.

I wonder if there TIVO operates on anything like website keywords?

[CorpGovActivist]

2. Seeing It Was Shocking, and Reminded Me of the Danger of Ignoring Their Views...

... what really frightens me, is that some people actually consume these CBN newscasts as their principal source of news, or one of them.

It would be interesting to see KO start a regular segment, debunking CBN and similar "newscasts," by taking on particularly egregious mis-reporting.

- Dave

[AlinPA]

3. I set up my TV remote to bypass all religious channels when the channel

up-down button is pushed. Also the Fox "News", the golf channel and shopping channels

[CorpGovActivist]

4. Maybe Outlets Like CBN Count on That Precise Phenom of Self-Selection...

... their core audience tunes in, and their potential adversaries tune out.

I'd really like to see KO or someone like him develop a weekly segment reviewing some of the more egregious right-wing claptrap re: foreign affairs, and exposing it to ridicule.

- Dave

[GreenPartyVoter]

5. It is amazing what TiVo will record. Crazy lil machine

[NYCGirl]

9. I turned autorecord off on Suggestions on mine. But I still check the Suggestions

list every couple of days to see what TiVo found.

[Catshrink]

6. Did he issue another Patwah?

That man is nuts, pure and simple.

[provis99]

7. quite frankly, I watch the fundamentalist religious channels for comic relief

John Hagee in particular makes my sides split. He did a book on the Middle East "proving" the Apocalypse is coming soon. Glad that all these religious extremists are suddenly experts on Middle East politics, the issues of which are so complex that I struggle to explain them to my students in my own college course on the topic. Maybe I should get my info from the Pat Robertsons of the world!

[CorpGovActivist]

8. Revelations Imagery and Tent Revivals

I remember the tent revivals in Appalachia discussing the national symbols of the USSR, Iran, etc., and citing those as "proving" that the conflicts of the 80s were celestial warnings from Revelations.

: /

- Dave