Oprah, Breast Cancer, Cheryl Crow, and Religion

[salib]

Got this from my wife:

interesting... cheryl crow... breast cancer... interviewing with oprah... never mentioned god

oprah tried to lead her that way and she didn't go there

so i guess she (cheryl) got through breast cancer without believing in god

[Lars39]

1. I wish I could have caught that episode.

You'd be surprised at the people that hint that you must have done something God didn't approve of.
Or think that now you've had breast cancer, you've hit bottom and are ready to accept God's control.
I have had to become more vocal in my views just to keep from being steamrolled by the god squad members wanting to pray over me. Sucks.
I sometimes wish there were cancer support groups just for agnostics and atheists.

[Ilsa]

2. Good for Crow. And who does Oprah think she is,

trying to get someone to publicly proclaim a personal experience like God's place (or none) in a such a nasty illness?

[Oilwellian]

6. That's not what happened

I saw the interview today and the OP has grossly twisted what occurred. The entire theme of today's show was learning lessons during difficult times. Ellen Burnstyn was a guest who expressed incredible hardships she's endured in life and what she learned from them. Sheryl Crow also talked of her breast cancer, treatment, and a spiritual philosophy that helped her through it. Oprah in no way pushed religion into the conversation...it was actually Sheryl Crow who pushed her spirituality and it was quite beautiful.

[fairfaxvadem]

3. I really hate those discussions.

I find them offensive. A person having cancer has no relation to whether or not they believe in God or, more importantly maybe, whether there is a God or not.

As someone who believes that God DOES exist, God does not go against the laws of nature - his own laws. Whether or not someone recovers from cancer or any illness has nothing to do with a belief system. It's the way we're built.

Same thing with folks who die in accidents, etc., and those who survive. There isn't any "list" out there of who lives and dies today. It's called "free will." If someone chooses to do something risky, then there is a chance someone may get hurt. If someone drives drunk and there is a fatal accident, it's not because the Almighty decided to take that person out. It was because of the drunk driver.

But, I guess that is too freaky for a lot of folks to buy into, so it's more comforting to say, "well, it must have been God's will." Well, God's will is that you use the brain he gave you to make the right choices. As for the terminal or not-terminal illness, it's all about medicine and genetics. Again, the brain he gave us to try to fix these things, and the laws of nature.

And how awful is the thought that God would "let" some folks live and others not? Why isn't someone's 8-year old with terminal leukemia any less deserving to live than someone who gets to be 90? That's just ugly, and I don't believe the good Lord operates that way. I think God accepts life and death as it turns out, not because he moves everyone around like some chess pieces.

[MountainLaurel]

5. Thank you for saying that

I'm involved in a discussion on another board where a self-proclaimed Christian is noting that AIDS is what you get for engaging in risky, ungodly behavior.

[fairfaxvadem]

7. Isn't that sad?

On a purely technical level, getting AIDS through unprotected sex has been added to the very old and ancient list of syphilis, etc. But I'll bet that's not what that poster is talking about. It's all about "God's Judgment" and there is never any discussion about human biology and the biology of viruses, bacteria, etc., which are, of coure, living things too, if I recall my science classes correctly, and part of the whole big picture, free from moral judgments.

[Berry Cool]

8. "God's will" and "God's judgment" is a bunch of garbage

when it comes to who lives and who dies. And I say that as a believer.

[fairfaxvadem]

10. Same here.

I think it belittles the nature of God.

[Nobody]

13. And they never think about

the spouses of HIV positive partners who got it from somewhere. Many women who are HIV positive got it from partners whom they have been faithful to.

I'm sure these asshats are all to happy to judge these innocent people, just as they judged 8-year old kids who got it from blood transfusions back before precautions were routinely taken to prevent that from happening.

People who want to judge will look around and find excuses to judge. And often they will be wrong.

[DemoTex]

4. I just got back from Grayton Beach.

No Cheryl Crow sightings. She lives a few doors down from my brother. The spec-house on the other side of Cheryl's house is $4.5 million.

[I_Make_Mistakes]

9. There are some people who believe really not, in

predestination. I asked my pastor about it, and she said that no one was teaching that anymore, but they are!

When someone says that bad things come upon you because you aren't right with God, I just say, yeah tell that to the Apostles (let's see which one's life ended in luxurious living and no suffering?, Oh yeah, not one!).

It is actually the truly GOOD PEOPLE, those chosen by GOD himself, who have the most suffering in their lives in the Bible, perhaps someone should inform those who choose to say otherwise!

[greenman3610]

11. I saw the interview, Crow talked about meditation

spiritual growth, and time in an ashram.
So whether she believes in "God", or not, she has
been trying to get a deeper vision.

[PA Democrat]

12. I lost a very dear friend to cancer several years ago. She was one of those

rare Christians who actually lived her faith on a daily basis and up until a few weeks before her death she was still doing volunteer work. She didn't thump her bible and scream, "LOOK AT ME! I'M A GOOD CHRISTIAN!" She quietly reached out to other people in need and brought help and comfort to them. She died. She suffered horribly. She left behind two disabled children.

I'm sick of these assholes who feel that when they are spared it is somehow proof that God has "chosen" them. It's complete bullshit and insufferable arrogance to believe that you are somehow better than the millions of people who don't get the second chance at life or the "miracle".

[SoCalDem]

15. I lose respect for people like that.. years ago, my boss said something similar to me

Our first child was born with a serious birth defect and she said. "How wonderful for you, God must know you are the perfect parents for this child, and he never gives you more than you can handle"..

I know she was trying to "be positive", but i could have popped her one..

For her to just "assume" that we were re;ligious and "thankful" for the trauma we had just started with, was more than I could bear..

She had to really woo me to get me back to work, and I never thought of her as a "kindly grandma-type" again..

[breakaleg]

14. A friend of mine had a family member survive cancer twice

and she is very religious. When she talks about God helping her through that time in her life, it's more from the perspective of the strength it gave her to cope with it and to believe in a positive outcome, not that her husband survived because he was a devout catholic.

[Pastiche423]

16. Hey! I got through cancer w/o believing in good, too!

That bothers me too about Oprah and god. I watched the show and she was expecting Cheryl to go there. I was thinking to myself, No, Cheryl! Don't do it!

And she din't.

Ellen Burnstyn looked wonderful. What a lady!