Comments on: A Courageous Stand of Faith on Survivor China

By: StephAnie

StephAnie — Wed, 03 Oct 2007 20:03:05 +0000

i’m glad to see people commenting on this! i was so proud to see her get up and leave and she even seemed teary at first! how nice to see someone taking their faith seriously and not willing to “go through the motions” of the world. anyone else thinking that leslie is an awesome example of a modern-day shadrach, meeshach and abnego?
also, kudos to you, geoff for how you handled the NoPatience comment… Not that i’m going to attack the comment or the person who made it, but i thought it was a good reply that you gave.

By: Geoff Baggett

Geoff Baggett — Sat, 22 Sep 2007 13:43:43 +0000

Liz,

I understand your reluctance to participate.

NoPatience,

I respect your opinion, but I have to disagree with it.

The issue is not a lack of respect or even being “exposed” to the religious symbols of others. I am quite sure that she had no qualms about visiting a Buddhist temple or observing a service. Indeed, I have visited such a place before. I was curious, and a bit enlightened to the practices of others. The issue is actual participation in rites of worship. That is where people who actually have deep convictions regarding their own faith have to draw the line.

In our faith, God forbids the worship of other (false) gods. Indeed, it is that important that the Ten Commandments address the issues of “other gods” and “idol worship.” Indeed, they are so important to God that He included them in His “top ten.” Serious stuff…

If you paid any attention at all to what was happening on that program you saw people bowing on mats, folded hands, and Buddhist monks enforcing the right and proper way to hold hands, bow, etc… There were, undoubtedly, many aspects of the event that were not televised.

This woman detected, within her spirit, an overwhelming darkness that comes from being in the presence of forces and symbols that are contrary to the Bible and the standards of Jesus Christ. She had to walk away to remain true to her faith. It wasn’t that her faith was “tenuous.” She simply refused to worship anyone or anything other than her Lord.

And … by the way … you are also wrong about your understanding of the faith atmosphere in China. There is a HUGE population of Christians there … one of the largest populations of Jesus-followers in the entire world. Buddhism is simply more historically associated with China and its environs.

BTW … welcome to my blog. I always enjoy when people who disagree with me stop by for dialog. I hope you’ll come back sometime.

By: NoPatience for Bigots

NoPatience for Bigots — Sat, 22 Sep 2007 13:23:56 +0000

I am not a Christian. I can’t even begin to tell you how many Christian funerals I’ve gone to that seemed to be an hour of “Nyah, nyah, nyah, we’re going to heaven and you’re not.” Exclusionary as all getout. But did I walk out in a huff? No. I stayed out of respect for someone else’s beliefs and their house of worship.

If Leslie Nease’s faith is so tenuous that being exposed to someone else’s spiritual symbols is somehow “corrupting”, then it can’t be that strong. If you want to live in a world where nothing that isn’t Christian doesn’t touch your delicate eyes, then DON’T GO TO CHINA. Or is her greed for the million bucks so strong that she forgot that China doesn’t exactly have a huge Christian population?

I thought it was disrespectful and appalling.

By: Liz

Liz — Sat, 22 Sep 2007 04:43:12 +0000

I watched the first Survivor. I chose not to “get hooked” on it again and that meant never watching it. I hate reality TV and the control it has over us when we think we can’t miss it.

I am very proud that she made that stand and that they didn’t cut it off the program. Children are being introduced to similar experiments in some schools and their parents aren’t there to tell them it is an act of worship to imitate the rituals of other religions. I hope her stand was discussed in homes around America.

By: Friday Finds « Excogitating Engineer

Friday Finds « Excogitating Engineer — Fri, 21 Sep 2007 17:40:42 +0000

[...] 21st, 2007 by excogitatingengineer A Courageous Stand of Faith on Survivor China (HT: Along the [...]

By: Paul Kullman

Paul Kullman — Fri, 21 Sep 2007 14:22:16 +0000

Geoff:
My oldest daughter got us hooked on the second season (Outback)and we have watched it ever since. We even took a trip to Katy, Texas to meet Coby.
I saw the Buddhist temple and just knew Jeff would have them do something inside it. I told my family that a believer cannot participate in such a ceremony. A few minutes later Lesley walked out and made her statement. Jeff was wrong to phrase it as “not worship.” I hope he was not being disingenuous, but, after all, it is entertainment.
It will be interesting to see Lesley continues with this assorted mix of characters.
Paul

By: Tim Rogers

Tim Rogers — Fri, 21 Sep 2007 02:08:14 +0000

Brother Geoff,

This is a great stand for Christ.

Blessings,
Tim

By: Sam Williams

Sam Williams — Fri, 21 Sep 2007 02:06:20 +0000

Geoff,

Just a quick note on Leslie – she is a morning co-host on New Life 91.9 (Christian radio)in Charlotte, NC. She had been off the air for some time and they explained recently her participation on Survivor. I didn’t get to see tonight’s show so I am glad to hear about her stand. I will defintely tune in next week!

God Bless, Sam.