Dr. James Dobson did not exactly say that....

Recently I had a discussion with a friend about how stupid we feel when prominent Christians say asinine things about the culture. The incident which was bothering us that particular day was the Sponge Bob flap that Dr. James Dobson stirred up. The press took his comments and ran with them, telling the world that the dope said that Sponge Bob is gay. This kind of stuff is particularly hard on Christians who work in an environment where they are the only Christians. The problem with this particular flap is that it is probably media created.

Here is what Joel Belz in World Magazine wrote in the February 12 issue:

Dr. Dobson mentioned a sensational fact during an inaugural-week speech in Washington: that a pro-gay group planned to use a video starring children's TV characters in schools nationwide during March to promote approval of homosexual conduct. When he referred to one of the characters in the video, SpongeBob SquarePants, the press frenzy began: Dobson the dope thinks SpongeBob is gay.

Of course he said nothing of the sort. Of course he was immediately Quaylized (as when Dan Quayle criticized the fictional TV character Murphy Brown for promoting single parenthood). And of course he will eventually be vindicated, as was VP Quayle (once safely removed from office) by an article titled, "Dan Quayle was right." But in the short range among those with short attention spans, the word went forth: Christian leaders are idiots.

So, the media would like you to believe that Christian leaders are dolts. We need to remember that whenever we read about some stupid thing a well known Christian says. I believed it this time. Dr. Dobson, I apologize.

You can read the entire article by clicking on the title. Even though I don't like to register for sites, I highly recommend this one. They have a uniquely Christian perspective on the news.

---Katie