Now That I Think About It

I had planned to address the topic of Joel Osteen in today's blog, but then over the week-end, George Carlin died and I simply must acknowledge him. Then it occurred to me to cover both men in the same blog since they both are part of the entertainment industry, or now for George, were. I've been listening for the past couple of years, the people praising Joel Osteen and I found it interesting when Alan Colmes, a Jewish ultra liberal, promotes Joel Osteen's book on his website. I haven't read the book, but it sure made me wonder just how strong the conservative Christian message must be, if Alan Colmes is promoting it . . . And I've thought a lot about how much I enjoyed the perspective of George Carlin, but I didn't appreciate or agree with his animosity toward religion. Not that religion, in itself, isn't annoying, but he associated G~D with annoying religious individuals and I didn't appreciate or agree with that. As I remember the wit of George Carlin, I think of one of my favorite observations he made. I loved the way he commented on linguistics. He took the obvious and pointed it out. Often it wasn't the single example, but it was the way he could lead the mind to ponder. He mentioned how we use words wrong. He said, "We drive on a parkway and we park on a driveway!" The humor is not necessarily in what he said and the logic is certainly defied in the example, but the humor is in the fact, we do it and we say it! And the logic is in the fact someone had the unique and original insight to come up with the observation. Yeah George! That was what made George Carlin big in my book.
Now Joel Osteen, on the other hand, is telling antiquated jokes that have been around for years and as far as I can tell, he doesn't inspire anyone to think, but rather soothes and mentally massages them to feel good right where they are, but he entertains his crowd as well as George entertained his fans. There are times in which I would love to buy a ticket and sit and listen to someone say what I want to hear. George did that for thousands of people over the past many years and I know Joel does that for thousands of people, and is continuing to do so.
I do think George and Joel have one thing in common. I think they will both stand before the throne of G~D and discover they were wrong. George, in his passing, may already have discovered that G~D is not the annoying Deity that religious people make Him out to be. I hope he gets the chance to acknowledge his error. And Joel will someday discover he's lulled over 50,000 people into amused complacency and lead them away from The Truth. I hope they get the chance to realize their error.
woe unto them! for their day is come, the time of their visitation. a prophet of Holy Scripture