Wednesday, May 09, 2007
One Good Christian
Tammy Faye Messner, formerly known as Tammy Faye Bakker, has been undergoing chemotherapy treatments for inoperable lung cancer for the past few years. Recently, her doctors have announced that they're ceasing the treatment. Basically, it's up to God and Tammy Faye's immune system now.
When I was younger, I did a school project on the Metropolitan Community Church. As part of the project, I read Rev. Troy Perry's autobiography. When I got to the chapter on AIDS, I read about all these televangelists, like Robertson, Falwell, and their slimy ilk, who used the AIDS crisis to point at the homosexuals and say that God was taking suitable revenge on them. Not Tammy Faye. Tammy Faye had people suffering from AIDS-- including gay men-- on her show. She asked the audience to pray for them, not to pass judgment on them. In those times, in that atmosphere, she saw the basic humanity of the suffering, and told them that they were still God's children.
It hurts to see this happen to such a good woman. When I was back from break, I flipped to the Sundance Channel and ended up watching her son Jay's program, One Punk Under God. It was the season finale, where Tammy was dealing with problems from the treatment, and Jay wasn't even sure she would make it. I hadn't watched any of the series, hadn't even thought about Tammy Faye for months, but watching them both try to deal with the whole mess just hurt a little. I don't even know why. Perhaps it's because this woman honestly cared. She honestly read the Bible and believed in Christ's message of acceptance, even when perched amongst fire and brimstone slingers of snake oil. It just hurts to see her go through this while Pat Robertson goes through life unmolested.
Good luck, Tammy Faye. And if the Lord calls you home... well, know that it'll be for all the reasons he didn't call home Oral Roberts.
When I was younger, I did a school project on the Metropolitan Community Church. As part of the project, I read Rev. Troy Perry's autobiography. When I got to the chapter on AIDS, I read about all these televangelists, like Robertson, Falwell, and their slimy ilk, who used the AIDS crisis to point at the homosexuals and say that God was taking suitable revenge on them. Not Tammy Faye. Tammy Faye had people suffering from AIDS-- including gay men-- on her show. She asked the audience to pray for them, not to pass judgment on them. In those times, in that atmosphere, she saw the basic humanity of the suffering, and told them that they were still God's children.
It hurts to see this happen to such a good woman. When I was back from break, I flipped to the Sundance Channel and ended up watching her son Jay's program, One Punk Under God. It was the season finale, where Tammy was dealing with problems from the treatment, and Jay wasn't even sure she would make it. I hadn't watched any of the series, hadn't even thought about Tammy Faye for months, but watching them both try to deal with the whole mess just hurt a little. I don't even know why. Perhaps it's because this woman honestly cared. She honestly read the Bible and believed in Christ's message of acceptance, even when perched amongst fire and brimstone slingers of snake oil. It just hurts to see her go through this while Pat Robertson goes through life unmolested.
Good luck, Tammy Faye. And if the Lord calls you home... well, know that it'll be for all the reasons he didn't call home Oral Roberts.
Comments:
<< Home
I also remember an interview where she was sincerely flattered by the attention her "distinctive look" has gotten from drag queens.
Post a Comment
<< Home
