Yes, sometimes Hispanics and blacks are made fun of on these cartoon shows, but the main focus of people worldwide in watching The Simpsons is to have a good laugh at a stupid American middle class white guy. As a Christian, American, middle class white guy I resent the show. When you think of the nuns on the Catholic channel praying to Mary over and over that doesnt seem like a much better idea either. Why cant people be encouraged to watch Pat Robertson? That is the closest show, in biblical terms, to what God wants us to watch over most of the shows on tv.

From among the descendants of Eve, God chose the Virgin Mary to be the mother of his Son. "Full of grace", Mary is "the most excellent fruit of redemption": from the first instant of her conception, she was totally preserved from the stain of original sin and she remained pure from all personal sin throughout her life.
Mary is truly "Mother of God" since she is the mother of the eternal Son of God made man, who is God himself.
Mary "remained a virgin in conceiving her Son, a virgin in giving birth to him, a virgin in carrying him, a virgin in nursing him at her breast, always a virgin" (St. Augustine, Serm. 186, 1: PL 38, 999): with her whole being she is "the handmaid of the Lord" (Lk 1:38).
The Virgin Mary "cooperated through free faith and obedience in human salvation". She uttered her yes "in the name of all human nature" (St. Thomas Aquinas, STh III, 30, 1). By her obedience she became the new Eve, mother of the living.
Today, Christians go to HER to seek the Lord God; Knowing Mary, we are led to Her Son, JESUS, who leads us to the Father. These are inseparable means of fully understanding and drawing closer to God; It is the fullness of the Christian faith.

Because Pat Robertson is a raving nutcase?

Clay – Before you heap too much praise on Pat Robertson keep in mind the following:

According to a 2 June 1999, article in The Virginian-Pilot, Robertson had extensive business dealings with Liberian president Charles Taylor. According to the article, Taylor gave Robertson the rights to mine for diamonds in Liberia's mineral-rich countryside. According to two Operation Blessing pilots who reported this incident to the state of Virginia for investigation in 1994, Robertson used his Operation Blessing planes to haul diamond-mining equipment to Robertson's mines in Liberia, despite the fact that Robertson was telling his 700 Club viewers that the planes were sending relief supplies to the victims of the genocide in Rwanda. In response to Taylor's alleged crimes against humanity the United States Congress passed a bill In November 2003 that offered two million dollars for his capture. Robertson accused President Bush of "undermining a Christian, Baptist president to bring in Muslim rebels to take over the country." At the time Taylor was harboring Al Qaeda operatives who were funding their operations through the illegal diamond trade.

Robertson is a fan of Thoroughbred horse racing, he paid $520,000 for a colt he named Mr. Pat. Trained by John Kimmel.

Also he has had political ambitions in the past which tend to blur the line between government and religion.

Just some food for thought. If we want we can always find things to criticize other denominations on.

Clay evidently, has forgotten, or never heard about, Pat Robertson's use of his "ministry's" planes to take token donations to Zaire under the guise of "Operation Blessing" and returning with smuggled blood diamonds.

The story was first reported in April 1997 and the only clip I can find in my files at the moment, is from the Albany Times Union, on April 28th of that year, that quoted, "Airplanes sent to Zaire by evangelist Pat Robertson's tax exempt humanitarian organization were used almost exclusively for his diamond mining business, say two pilots who flew them." The report further stated, " Three airplanes were flown to Zaire in September 1994 by Operation Blessing. However , chief pilot Robert Hinkle said only one or two of the roughly 40 flights during his six months in the country could be considered humanitarian. " "All the rest of the flights were mining related, he told the (Norfolk) Virginia-Pilot."

I think Clay is buying his heroes out of a manure bin again.

pattycakes - Snorting fairy-dust and then spewing rubbish only cements the opinion that you and Clay are the only bonafide boneheaded Taliban type Christians posting here, although at times others approach your level of delusion. Jesus supposedly (according to your Buy-Bull) had other younger siblings whose mother was the same as his. I suppose you can tell us all how that was accomplished, without her losing her virginity and without your god being also the father, using the same technique used to father Jesus. Of course that would mean that god had more than one child (god/Human hybrid) voiding the unique claims of the exclusivity of Jesus. Also, unless you can demonstrate how a woman can deliver a child without losing her so called maiden-head, the idea that virginity was maintained is absurd.

You've all proven the point that the Simpons got spot on. Get over your bickering and put your trust in the Lord, not your own ideas of what is 'correct'. It's nice to see that the church has recognized this.

Wow! The church loves to be lampooned, has seen redemption in the Simpsons, and some of its members can write this eloquently----the L'Osservatore Romano with this description has shown that the Church may not be completely brain dead and may even have a sense of humor. But Ravensfan--what miracle has occurred here? Is the Apocalypse in the offing? You and Robert Littel on the same side--so where did this Robertson go? To Zaire or to Liberia or to both places? Why wasn't he arrested for his contraband digging of diamonds in war torn Africa? What happened to the blood diamonds--did he put them into his church or into his own deep pockets? And Clay seems to have disappeared under the thickness of this assault leveled against his favorite hero. Imagine Clay, if you will, a clay pipe in his mouth, tobacco smoke like a halo around his sanctimonious head, a Jesus prayer on his devout lips, listening to the simpering Robertson on the Seven Hundred Club, tell his dumb followers that the Lord watcheth every move a man makes, even as his privately hired miners were digging, digging, digging away to glory for diamonds, in the blood soaked soil of Liberia. So Taylor meets justice but Robertson does not? The man--Pat Robertson-- has con artist written all over him--as does the ever smiling adherent of the Christian faith called Joel Osteen--now that man is a big kahuna of a hypocrite--he's running an empire at the behest of some mind boggling Christians who sway to every word he utters, wiping away crocodile tears from their ever brimming eyes--do you like this Osteen guy too Clay or do you consider Pat Robertson holier than Osteen? Yes, Ravensfan, the Protestants do have some Jesus cults going strong on TV--evengelical fervor and love of diamonds--all in a day's work for the cult developers and worshipers--Jesus of course loves them all and forgives them, no matter their sins.
Ravensfan Anon

If Pat Robertson has been doing improper things then watch Franklin Graham. The point is watch something that helps you in your relationship with Christ. It is very simple. Thanks.

The Simpsons are a tongue-in-cheek laugh for a lazy day! More often then not they take irreverent jabs at faith, however if you are going to spend your time being educated by a program on a tube produced by the gelastic Matt Groening, then by all means... go for it!

Robert - One of the greatest mysteries of the Catholic Church; the doctrine of Mary's virginity throughout her mortal life, has been met with secular as well as religious curiosity for ages. I am not surprised in the least that you affirm this as rubbish. In the context of faith, the teaching of Mary's virginity is one of the most fundamental and reasonable conclusions from which to arrive at the fulness of Christian faith. As you seem to be watching/reading too much National Geographic or other Masonic media/publications with the way they attack Christianity by undermining fundamental teachings and promoting confusion, I would suggest researching what Catholics believe and why in order to draw your own conclusions on Catholic teachings. Maybe even look into theism before you even start coming to the table on matters of a faith formulated in a deity you claim to be rubbish in the first place.
"From the first formulations of her faith, the Church has confessed that Jesus was conceived solely by the power of the Holy Spirit in the womb of the Virgin Mary, affirming also the corporeal aspect of this event: Jesus was conceived "by the Holy Spirit without human seed". The Fathers see in the virginal conception the sign that it truly was the Son of God who came in a humanity like our own. Thus St. Ignatius of Antioch at the beginning of the second century says:
You are firmly convinced about our Lord, who is truly of the race of David according to the flesh, Son of God according to the will and power of God, truly born of a virgin,. . . he was truly nailed to a tree for us in his flesh under Pontius Pilate. . . he truly suffered, as he is also truly risen.
The Gospel accounts understand the virginal conception of Jesus as a divine work that surpasses all human understanding and possibility: "That which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit", said the angel to Joseph about Mary his fiancee. The Church sees here the fulfillment of the divine promise given through the prophet Isaiah: "Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son."
"People are sometimes troubled by the silence of St. Mark's Gospel and the New Testament Epistles about Jesus' virginal conception. Some might wonder if we were merely dealing with legends or theological constructs not claiming to be history. To this we must respond: Faith in the virginal conception of Jesus met with the lively opposition, mockery or incomprehension of non-believers, Jews and pagans alike; so it could hardly have been motivated by pagan mythology or by some adaptation to the ideas of the age. The meaning of this event is accessible only to faith, which understands in it the "connection of these mysteries with one another" in the totality of Christ's mysteries, from his Incarnation to his Passover. St. Ignatius of Antioch already bears witness to this connection: "Mary's virginity and giving birth, and even the Lord's death escaped the notice of the prince of this world: these three mysteries worthy of proclamation were accomplished in God's silence."
Mary - "ever-virgin"
"The deepening of faith in the virginal motherhood led the Church to confess Mary's real and perpetual virginity even in the act of giving birth to the Son of God made man. In fact, Christ's birth "did not diminish his mother's virginal integrity but sanctified it."And so the liturgy of the Church celebrates Mary as Aeiparthenos, the "Ever-virgin".
Against this doctrine the objection is sometimes raised that the Bible mentions brothers and sisters of Jesus. The Church has always understood these passages as not referring to other children of the Virgin Mary. In fact James and Joseph, "brothers of Jesus", are the sons of another Mary, a disciple of Christ, whom St. Matthew significantly calls "the other Mary". They are close relations of Jesus, according to an Old Testament expression.
Jesus is Mary's only son, but her spiritual motherhood extends to all men whom indeed he came to save: "The Son whom she brought forth is he whom God placed as the first-born among many brethren, that is, the faithful in whose generation and formation she co-operates with a mother's love."

pattycakes - You are clearly insane. There is NO PROOF of any of the crap you have spouted above and to have the gall to hold it up to support your ridiculous god concepts, only shows how out of touch with reality you really are. You will believe anything your stinking religion tells you, you will forget the suffering and death of hundreds of thousands they caused to people who objected to their views over the centuries, you blindly tout their dogma and you have given up any pretense of being a thinking Human being. Pattycakes, you are the reason why we are here, to show you for the ignorant idiot that you have gone way out of your way to to prove you are, by every stupid thing you type. You have out Clayed Clay and we can only hope you are not able to pass your mental deficiencies on to future generations of blithering automatonic delusionalists, who will, no doubt, be quite unable to walk and chew gum at the same time, just like you.

Did you ever get the impression that putting down Christians and complaining was more important to some people here than finding out what God has in store for them?

Franklin Graham has been criticized for the amount of money he makes. From just two sources of income alone in 2008 he was awarded $1.2 million.

Graham came under criticism for comments he made about Islam in the wake of the September 11, 2001 attacks when he referred to Islam as "a very evil and wicked religion."

Graham has also been criticized for refusing to participate in 1994 peace negotiations between the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) and the Sudanese and Ugandan governments When Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir was indicted by the International Criminal Court in March 2009, Graham argued in an op-ed in The New York Times that Bashir should not be indicted for alleged genocidal acts because the indictment would lead to the collapse of the 2005 peace agreement. People for the American Way, among others, criticized Graham for downplaying Bashir's war in mostly Muslim Darfur because of peace in the mostly Christian south of Sudan and because Bashir has allowed Graham and his Samaritan's Purse latitude in operating in Sudan.

Franklin has also been involved in thousands of people coming to the Lord after he preached. Does this mean anything to you? Think positive for the new year. Thanks.

Hey Clay, Hitler saw to it that a lot of people went to heaven. Maybe he wasn't so bad after all, ya think?

"Franklin has also been involved in thousands of people coming to the Lord after he preached. Does this mean anything to you?"

So have other groups you have criticized like the Catholic Church in your first post here.

What dio you consider positive thinking? Thinking the same way you do or as the Bible teaches?

Robert Littel - Congratulations you just made Clay look like a genius with that post of yours.

Fake Anonymous - Evidently, both you and Clay don't have a grasp on the concept of sarcasm.

Clay is a genius compared to you Anonymous.
Ravensfan Anon

I never said that the Catholic church never had anyone come to Christ in it. I said that praying to Mary wasnt the way to get there. Trying to teach what the bible says is always positive if people obey. Thanks.

Clay now appears mutated as Clayrise--wow! Have you had a sex change operation Clay or were you an android before and we didn't know?
Ravensfan Anon

Someone posting under Anonymous calling another Fake Anonymous congrats you move to the top of the idiot list. BTW I have a good grasp of sarcasm and an even better one of atheist nut jobs.

I meant to post as Clay. I had the other name on here as a possible nickname that I never used. Sorry about that. I dont know why people on here cant put on their names or at least a nickname. Anyone can post as anonymous and then put ravensfan anon in the text because you dont have a name locked in on the site as yours.