Fox News Accuses NBC of 'Declaring War' on Christians
Media network Fox News accused rival NBC of "declaring war" on Christians for a "Saturday Night Live" parody on Jesus and for bashing NFL star Tim Tebow's decision to speak at a conservative megachurch.
"Does NBC hate Christians?" The Fox News op-ed article asks, arguing that NBC made a number of targeted attacks against Christians right after the beginning of Lent last week.
As evidence, Fox cited the recent "Saturday Night Live" skit, which aired on NBC, which presented a fake movie trailer called "Djesus Uncrossed" featuring an actor playing Christ using guns and battling away Romans in blood-and-gore fashion mimicking director Quentin Tarantino's controversial style.
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"Offending Christians is apparently what passes for entertainment these days," the article states.
"I find it interesting that the networks always mock and ridicule Christianity – but they give other religions a pass," wrote Todd Starnes, the host of 'Fox News and Commentary.' "Why aren't the writers at SNL churning out weekly skits about Islam – or the Prophet Mohammed?
The Fox article then brought up the comments made by NBC Sports blogger Rick Chandler, who accused Tim Tebow of choosing to speak at a "virulently anti-gay, anti-Semitic" church. The NFL quarterback is scheduled to speak at First Baptist Church of Dallas, Texas, led by Pastor Robert Jeffress on April 28. A number of liberal news sites, including NBC, have said that Jeffress' ministry is strongly anti-gay, something that Jeffress has denied.
Chandler described Jeffress as a "a controversial evangelical Christian who has made quite a name for himself by referring to other religions as 'heretical,' and that re-electing Obama would lead to the 'rise of the anti-Christ.'"
Sing Oldham, a spokesman for the Southern Baptist Convention, denied those claims, citing that conservative Christians are often ridiculed for their beliefs.
"It's open season on those who profess personal faith in Jesus Christ and pattern their lives by biblical morality," Oldham said. "Evangelical Christians are treated with contempt and targeted for ridicule."
"And at the Peacock Network, the contempt and ridicule are on steroids," the Fox article continued, reminding readers that NBC removed the words "under God" from the Pledge of Allegiance during a video of U.S. Open tournament.
Starnes added that NBC also has a number of "religious-bashing" shows in their line-up, including "The New Normal" and "The Book of Daniel," which led to American Family Radio Chairman Donald Wildmon declaring that he is tired of "NBC's anti-Christian bigotry."
