Christian groups attack spongebob 47 replies

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20050121/music_nm/life_spongebob_dc

U.S. Christians Issue Gay Warning Over Kid Video

Thu Jan 20, 7:39 PM ET By Jill Serjeant

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Christian Conservative groups have issued a gay alert warning over a children's video starring SpongeBob SquarePants, Barney and a host of other cartoon favorites.

The wacky square yellow SpongeBob is one of the stars of a music video due to be sent to 61,000 U.S. schools in March. The makers -- the nonprofit We Are Family Foundation -- say the video is designed to encourage tolerance and diversity.

But at least two Christian activist groups say the innocent cartoon characters are being exploited to promote the acceptance of homosexuality.

"A short step beneath the surface reveals that one of the differences being celebrated is homosexuality," wrote Ed Vitagliano in an article for the American Family Association.

The video is a remake of the 1979 hit song "We Are Family" using the voices and images of SpongeBob, Barney, Winnie the Pooh, Bob the Builder, the Rugrats and 100 TV cartoon stars. It was made by a foundation set up by songwriter Nile Rodgers after the Sept. 11, 2001, hijacked plane attacks to promote the nation's healing process.

Christian groups however have taken exception to the tolerance pledge on the foundation's Web site which asks people to respect the sexual identity of others along with their abilities, beliefs, culture and race.

"Their inclusion of the reference to 'sexual identity" within their 'tolerance pledge' is not only unnecessary but it crosses a moral line," Dr James Dobson, founder of Focus on the Family, said in a statement on Thursday.

Rodgers was astounded at the attack. "That is so myopic and harsh. You have really got to look hard to find anything in this that is offensive to anyone. The last thing I am going to do is taint these characters," he told Reuters.

Dobson was quoted by the New York Times on Thursday as having singled out the wildly popular SpongeBob during remarks about the video at a Washington D.C. dinner this week.

SpongeBob, who lives in a pineapple under the sea, was "outed" by the U.S. media in 2002 after reports that the TV show and its merchandise was popular with gays. His creator, Stephen Hillenburg, said at the time that although SpongeBob was an oddball, he thought of all the characters as asexual.

It is not the first time that children's TV favorites have come under the critical spotlight of the U.S. Christian right. Tinky Winky, the purse-toting purple Teletubbie, was in 1999 declared a homosexual role model by Rev. Jerry Falwell.

These people honestly have nothing better to do than accuse spongebob of a political adgenda? :cort:

Conservative Christian groups are going to politically attack anything that comes out in public or in the media that they percieve acts as a threat to their belief system and the morals and philosophies that they are trying to spread and the ideals that they are trying to promote.

Considering all of the whining and complaining that they do, so far as I've seen they have relatively little influence on the resolution of cases such as this, whether or not they actually go so far as to turn into legal ones.

"promote the acceptance of homosexuality"

These people are disgusting me. This is pure and evil discrimination.

you guys really disapoint me, you take the actions of some extremists and impose them onto all the other pppl. im christian & conservative, and i think spongebob is kool, alot of christians do.

PLZ dont take the acions of a few and impose them on the rest.

I can't believe they did that, god/jesus does not preach hatred. Those kids will hear about gay people even they like it or not. Whether it's when the children's dad verbally hating them everytime he hears anything relating to gay. Or at school where fellow students promote their hatred against the gay people (when in fact it's their parents words they are using.) And to speculate homosexual tendencies in a kids television program is just sickening. Now it seems like these people want to go back to the 18th century. If they dont like democracy or the idea of a "true free country", then get out.

What in the hell is a spongebob, and how in the hell could a spongebob be homosexual?

That's so typical Christian's :mad: ! Maybe we should get rid of the christian's?? You know... a cleanout, :mad: ... Spongebob is just yellow... and a sponge, he aint gay"ish" :(

KorkeThat's so typical Christian's :mad: ! Maybe we should get rid of the christian's?? You know... a cleanout, :mad: ... Spongebob is just yellow... and a sponge, he aint gay"ish" :(

Im a cristian/conservitive and Korke I say fuck you, lets get read of the Islam community instead.

Meh i dun give a damn about tolerance or equal rights. Gays are not just un-christian. they are an abomination of nature. If people were supposed to be gay then there would not be men and women, just women to bear childern.

In the past gays were executed. this was normal. these people had the right idea.

KIL TEH GAYS!!

El_DestructoMeh i dun give a damn about tolerance or equal rights. Gays are not just un-christian. they are an abomination of nature. If people were supposed to be gay then there would not be men and women, just women to bear childern. In the past gays were executed. this was normal. these people had the right idea. KIL TEH GAYS!!

You must be mistaking, this ain't the melee you nazi! :smack: