This Acquire the Fire video is from the tour sometime between 1996-1998. Strangely, Teen Mania seems to be promoting a very harsh way of dealing with our non-Christian friends.
The video skit in question starts at 6:15.
The climax of the scene begins when the newly saved main character, Joe, starts getting rid of his secular music CDs, posters, etc. His non-Christian friend then walks into the room with a cigarette and asks, “Have you got a light?”
Joe replies angrily, “I’m gonna let it shine” and then punches his friend in the face!
His friend says, “What’s up Joe, are you crazy?!”
Then Joe turns to the camera and says, “Crazy? Yo loco por Jesus.” (I’m crazy for Jesus)
End Video.
It what universe is this acceptable Christian teaching or behavior? Especially when speaking to young, impressionable teens in an emotionally driven environment?
In what twisted interpretation can you equate “letting your light shine” with punching out a non-believer? This is nothing less than a gross misrepresentation of Scripture and an absolute perversion of the Gospel.
The lead up to this video is Ron Luce using the story of Josiah to advocate violent smashing of any “idols” (music, tv, drugs, sex, etc) – and with this video, that seemingly extends to anyone who is associated with those “idols.”
How appalling would this video be to Jesus of Nazareth? The one who said to “turn the other cheek” and wouldn’t even let Peter take up a sword to defend him against Roman soliders?
If you think this video is tongue and cheek, ask yourself how a young person attending this ATF who struggled with drugs, alcohol, music, etc. would feel. Would they feel welcomed, loved and accepted?
UPDATE:
Apparently, Ron also used this video in a 1999 ATF tv show. The topic was “How to Be a Real Man.” Even if you wanted to give TM the benefit of the doubt, watch how they use the skit here and be appalled. There is no getting around this.
Ron opens by saying viewers are going to learn how to be a real man of God and not some “sissy little limp wristed thing.”
@1:40 – Ron introduces the clip by saying, “What you’re about to see is an example of what a real mean is all about.” “
At the close of the skit, he says, “You can see the modern day translation of what it means to live like Josiah.”
Will nobody hold Teen Mania accountable for this gross distortion of the Gospel and advocating violence and hatred against non-Christians???
19 comments:
ROFL. nice mullet Ron, along with a nice emotional appeal. and what a fantastic way to promote violence among teenagers and more hatred towards Christians from non-Christians. Is there a WWE class going on at the Honor Academy these days? Sign up and we’ll teach ya how to take out a couple of your sinner friends…..riiiggghhht.
October 19, 2010 8:24 AM
heartsfire said…
Watching it again the way he related the biblical story really does leave a spirit of hate and violence instead of sending love to the world. Not surprised by the suggestion that throwing a world in need of love away was the theme even back then but dismayed. So this world needs the word of God and the love of Jesus for future and so that they can go to heaven, instead of doing so throw all of those people to the wolves and walk away and come to our internship…. I am ill with how many people that were suppose to be reached by the kids that were caught in this message and just tossed their friends aside.
October 19, 2010 8:42 AM
Steve Lumbley said…
This is not surprising since it is indicative of the deeper problem with Teen Mania and Ron Luce’s false gospel message. This is a group that is all law and no grace. This theme runs through all the stories on this blog. It’s all about what you must do to be acceptable to God. That is law, not grace. All groups who teach a law based gospel will always descend into using the law to try to keep everyone in line even though scripture teaches us that no one is justified by the law (Gal 2:16, Gal 3:11, Romans 3;20, etc, etc)
The comparison on the previous thread of Teen Mania to Westboro Baptist is not so far fetched. Both groups preach the law with no grace. The difference between the two is only a matter of degrees.
Someone also suggested that Dave didn’t realize his ideas would lead to a theocracy. I don’t believe that for a minute. He knows full well what he said and a theocracy is just exactly what these dominionist law keepers want to impose on the rest of us.
October 19, 2010 8:58 AM
layne said…
If a friend of mine punched me in the face after asking for a lighter… it wouldn’t end with a prayer circle. I don’t think Jesus ever advocated psychological instability or acts of violent lunacy in his name. Or maybe he did and I just missed all of those parts (probably went on a smoke break).
I’m having a bit of trouble swallowing this Westbro Baptist comparison, though. I disagree that the two “ministries” are all that similar.
October 19, 2010 9:19 AM
Anonymous said…
Are the forums shut down? I can’t seem to get to them. I keep getting an error page.
On topic – This is so disturbing.
October 19, 2010 10:49 AM
Recovering Alumni said…
I’m not having a problem…try pasting this into your browser:
http://forums.recoveringalumni.com/
October 19, 2010 10:52 AM
Jeremy said…
don’t crucify me but… I think the video is being taken out of context. the video is over done and outlandish. laughable at best.
October 19, 2010 11:24 AM
Recovering Alumni said…
Jeremy, I agree the video is outlandish and laughable – except for the context that Ron puts it in. He shows this video to thousands of teenagers and says THIS is a modern day Josiah. This is what you should want to be like. He provided the context, not me. If this were a spoof, it would be funny. The fact that its not is what is so scary.
October 19, 2010 11:31 AM
Mifune said…
Here’s how I see this all going down….
Ron: We should do a video showing like, a modern-day Josiah.
ATF Staff: OK. We’ll hire a guy to do that.
Video Dude: I’m done, here’s your video.
ATF Staff: …this is retarded. But it’s the only video we have for the message. And the marketing team and Ron seem to like it. I guess we’ll use it. I need a smoke break.
Other ATF Staff: Face punch! Haha. Like in the video?
ATF Staff: Ha. Very funny. We now have a new inside joke.
—–
Again, I can’t take it as a serious call to violence against non-Christians. But what is an issue is the mixing of a serious message with a fully tongue-in-cheek video. It’s not a great combo for teaching. I think that’s what the conflict is here – a serious message combined with a joking video.
October 19, 2010 11:55 AM
Recovering Alumni said…
Mifune – I worked as Ron’s assistant for a year, I can tell you that he has MUCH more control over things than you think. I’m sure he approves every script, every band, every part of the ATF message. If he didn’t like something it wouldn’t make the cut. Period.
October 19, 2010 11:56 AM
LizBR said…
My word, the anti-gay rhetoric in that second video is appalling.
October 19, 2010 12:11 PM
Anonymous said…
I think I was in that audience…must have blocked out the content!
October 19, 2010 1:25 PM
Mike Doughney said…
Whenever something like this gets put out in public, somebody comes along and screams something about “context.” Never mind that this time there’s 12 minutes of context for a minute and a half video.
So here’s your context. What is an “Acquire the Fire” event? It’s a gathering where a bunch of adults led by, among others, Ron Luce try to get a bunch of teenagers to DO something. Whether it’s to go on a mission trip or buy one of Teen Mania’s programs, or just to become an insufferable twit by trying all the time to convert one’s classmates, behavior change, if not a specific kind of drastic behavior change in an environment where it will be remembered for the rest of one’s life, is somewhere around the core of what an ATF is all about.
“Tongue-in-cheek,” “overdone,” “outlandish” and “laughable” are weak excuses given this is not some offhand comment; this video, a substantial production, is pitched in the context of telling a story from the “Word of God” itself as an example of proper action after that moment of conversion. Who can possibly argue with that, with the use of a particular role model from “Scripture” as backing for this example? (Yes, I use “scare quotes” around those words. Deal.)
Personally, I come at this from the background of having spent considerable time with people who’ve been the nonstop targets of harassment, death threats, violence and even assassination by Christians who said they were motivated by their faith to do those things.
That there isn’t a whole lot more organized violence by Christians against others, in the light of things like this that surface from time to time, only shows that in American culture, it’s a lot more difficult to get people to act out violently against others than even the Christians who run outfits like this admit. Ron Luce later wailed throughout the BattleCry campaign that secular media is to blame for teen violence; the violence, often suggested and occasionally demonstrated like this, in his own productions must somehow be just fine by him.
Which is perhaps the most disturbing aspect of this video, in that, since, as RA confirms, these videos are approved by, if not written by Ron Luce himself, it provides a bit of a window into the workings of his brain. Disconnected from the reality the rest of us inhabit, it’s a hyperrealistic universe in there, in that everything works exactly the way he’d like it to work. In there, God’s wrath is Ron’s to carry out, since he and his people are merely God’s “hands and feet,” and such Biblical stories, taken literally, are instruction manuals for action to be followed to the letter. Evidently, he sees nothing wrong with the use of violent imagery – as long as he’s the one using it for the ends for which he believes God approves.
October 19, 2010 1:59 PM
Eric said…
The only “context” that could possibly make this acceptable would be if he followed it with something along the lines of, “I’m kidding! I’m kidding! That’s just a joke; please don’t really do this, ever! That would be wrong!”
He doesn’t. He follows it with “This is what a real man is all about.”
P.S. Has anybody submitted this to Everything Is Terrible? They’d love it.
October 19, 2010 3:04 PM
layne said…
Does it say specifically that the smoker is a non-christian?
October 19, 2010 3:30 PM
heartsfire said…
@layne I do not think it does. All it shows is that he smokes and asked for a light.
October 19, 2010 4:10 PM
Anonymous said…
I’m gonna have to put my two cent’s in about context as well.
@Liz, I know, limp wristed? What the heck? Don’t show weakness at all? Don’t show emotions? I think that’s what he’s saying. “Don’t be meek or anything, be like Jesus.”
Not ok.
This was played to a bunch of kids. Ron said that was a modern day Josiah, he put his stamp of approval on it publicly. Is the video poorly made? poorly written? poorly acted? yup. Is Ron thefreakingbomb.comamazing and should totally not be like super dogged on or held accountable or anything? uh. no. It is what it is people.
October 19, 2010 8:13 PM
Mike Doughney said…
@layne – There seems to be a bit of wrong place, wrong time in this – the target is the “other” of the moment in “Joe’s” post-conversion frenzy and specifics don’t seem to matter much or are left to the imagination, which makes the video even creepier for me. Cigarettes have served as a marker for insufficiently-pure or non-Christians in at least one other Teen Mania video.
October 19, 2010 8:27 PM
ShadowVoice said…
LOL I remember the loco por jesus vid. I loved it as a teen, but that was mostly because the guy reminded me of my youth pastor who at the time I’d had a mad crush on :-D. I was 14, sue me!
October 30, 2010 12:38 PM
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