Episode 7 - The Daily Show's Jon Stewart & Living Legend Liza Minnelli

I'm hoping to keep today's recap light, but we'll see how it goes. I've always struggled with brevity--see my regular blog for proof :)
Jon Stewart

Recap
Oprah thinks Jon Stewart is one of the smartest, funniest people in earth. His show has earned 14 Emmy's, and... this is either funny or sad. He was voted the most trusted newscaster in America. Whether or not you agree with his politics, it's interesting that he was voted more trustworthy than, say, Brian Williams, Diane Sawyer, or Katie Couric being that his show is on, you know, Comedy Central.

Ever the joker, he comes out with a suitcase because, "This is Oprah. She can do whatever she wants!" He's waiting for a trip--can you blame him? They spend some time rejoicing over the opening episode and then cut to a clip of Stewart on his show. He's having a Rally to Restore Sanity on October 30th on the Washington Mall to celebrate the "80-85% of normal Americans" who have to cook dinner.

Oprah asks Stewart what he thinks about the plans to build a Muslim mosque so near to ground zero. Stewart's stance: the people who own it should build what they want to build and the emotional attachment to that particular piece of land doesn't give them the right to build what they want.  Muslims are being judged, he says, by the tiny, most radical element of their religion. Plus, as he points out, some say they aren't against a mosque being built, just not three blocks away, but is ten blocks really all that different? If they're peaceful they're just as peaceful nearby, and if they're terrorists then ten blocks isn't really going to make a difference.

Next up, Arizona's controversial immigration law.
Stewart's stance: He jokes that it's a fair law because "you can sense it." Then, more seriously, he states that we have real problems that we want worked out, but it tends to be the most extreme end that get all of the attention. 


Stewart's big point is that you cannot legislate our country to the craziest two ends of the spectrum. He's looking for normal people who, you know, have guns but also enjoy arugula. He and Oprah then banter about why she's never been on his show; he says she's never come, he says she's never invited her. Now he does. Ta-da, she accepts.


After the break, we see a clip of Rod Blagojevich on The Daily Show. Stewart quips about having a good time on the show after seeing the clip of him poking joking with the former governor. Next we get a plug for Stewart's new book, Earth: A Visitor's Guide to the Human Race. Oprah loves it so much that she's giving it for Christmas present. Stewart jokes about it being one of her favorite things, and I'm not sure I've ever seen her laugh so hard. Good times.


Stewart reads an excerpt from his book regarding marriage. His joke is that it's an institution that society is based on, ergo it must be protected from gay people. His joke about parenthood? It's an amazing opportunity to ruin someone from scratch. Then, more jokes! A page left out is one trying to explain Oprah to the aliens. The page just shows up, and Stewart jokes about wanting a sandwich. She's not a god... but, ok, with all of her power, maybe she is. Ba-dum-chuh.


Next is a fun clip of Stewart surprising a large lecture hall of students at NYU. One girl starts crying in a manner ala blonde braces girl weeping over Sanjaya on American Idol.  Another book plug! Ta-da. He gives the entire lecture hall a copy of his book. Happy day. His wife of ten years, Tracy, is in the audience and the thing she says we'd be most surprised to know is that he's nothing like this at home. He never talks about politics or current events and she "forget[s] how smart he is until [she] see[s] him on television." Stewart tells Oprah that his wife is so out of his league that he had to get a TV show just to nab her. 


After the break, oh the hilarity, a sandwich shows up for him to snack on. Stewart swears he will never run for public office, because it requires a certain discipline and collaborative spirit that he doesn't possess. He says that those used to running their own thing don't do well in public office. Also, he's a lot better at making jokes than solving problems. 


Oprah states that Jon Stewart is one of the sharpest, smartest people she knows, so they put up a picture and Stewart says the first thing that comes to his mind.


Image :: Stewart's Response
Tiger Woods frowning whilst wearing golf gear :: Hole in one...in the cup.

Lindsey Lohan :: Sad girl need hug. 

Lady Gaga's meat dress :: [looks at his sandwich, which appears to have roast beef] Oh my god, I'm never going to eat this sandwich now. 


Glenn Beck :: That's Glenn Beck--he's my moneymaker. You know what I call him? My kid's college fund.


Stewart in college :: That is the face and that's what I still feel. He thinks of himself as "nice Jew-fro"


Oprah reaffirms that she'll be on his show, plugs his book again, and says to stay tuned for Liza. 


Liza Minnelli 


Recap
Ah, Liza. We watch a clip of her accolades. Oprah says she's a national treasure and, for any 30 Rock fans, she's got the EGOT! That's an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony. We get to see rare imagery of Liza singing onstage with her famous mother, Judy Garland (you know, Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz). Minnelli has been very open about her struggles with addiction and four failed marriages.

Also, in good Liz Lemon 30 Rock fashion, Oprah announces Liza Minnelli with her famous bellowing voice. We get to hear Liza joke about how she's 64 and going strong and doesn't plan to quit. Oprah posts a picture of Liza when she first started out and asks what Liza would tell her younger self. Liza's reply? "Hang on, honey, here we go!"

There's joking about four failed marriages and the lesson learned is "don't do it again." Her last marriage was such a public spectacle and Oprah asks what she was thinking; Liza says she had brain encephalitis when she married him (for those who don't know, it's an inflammation usually due to viral infection). Michael Jackson was at that wedding, and Liza was close to him. She says what people don't know is he had a great sense of humor about himself. Her favorite part of her career? The songs written for her.

We're off to break, and then Liza comes back and performs some of her famous cabaret songs. They're more story telling than sing-alongs, and though she's not my style, Liza's still got it. Yay for her.

And the end!

Gospel Filter Review

I'll pick two things from today. One is related to the mosque but focuses on Islam, the other is about marriage. I will try to keep these very short and sweet, despite how controversial these topics are.  

Islam & the ground zero mosque
Jesus is the Son of God. Anyone who rejects him as such rejects the Father, and therefore anyone who doesn't go through Jesus will not spend eternity with the Father (Mark 1:1, Luke 1:35, I John 2:23, John 10:30, John 14:6). Saying Jesus is God isn't enough--it's only through receiving forgiveness of sin from Jesus' death, burial, and resurrection that someone can be claimed by Jesus and thus have access to the Father.  Here is a short clip from a recent sermon from the book of Luke (it even references Oprah!) about Jesus' claim that He and the Father are one; the part about Islam is at 1:42. This is a GREAT clip, so take 5 minutes to watch it. It's oozing with Gospel truth.

The consequence is that any religion that denies Jesus' equality with the Father is a false religion and the people who adhere to it do not know the Father God of the Bible; instead, they are deceived by the father of lies, the one who has sway over this world and is warring against God as his enemy. His name is Satan (John 8:44, I John 5:19). Ergo, since Islam denies that Jesus is equal with God and it denies His crucifixion, Islam is a false religion and the Allah of Islam is not the God the Father of the Bible.

That said, it is my personal opinion that Christians should be less worked up about the building of the mosque near ground zero and more concerned with praying for Muslims, that they would no longer be deceived and ushered out of their Satan-ruled ruled religion of lies and darkness and into God's kingdom of truth and light, receiving redemption and forgiveness of sins (Colossians 1:13&14). Pray that God's will be done, but worry less about a Muslim place of worship and pray that they would be turned from their sin and worship the one true God.

Gay Marriage
I wrote extensively last week about why homosexuality is sin, but that Christians need to start praying for and loving gay people more and throwing around bigotry and hatred less. For the record, to say it is sin is not hate--it's the most brave and loving thing a person can do, I believe, to honor God's opinion and love someone in sin with His love. This is again my opinion as I best understand the Bible, and I have wrestled with this for a long time, prayed about it, sought my husband's counsel, sought any evidence in the Bible, etc.

The Bible makes it clear that God not only created marriage to be between one man and one woman (Genesis 1-3), but that marriage is meant to represent the ultimate marriage in heaven of Jesus Christ the groom to His bride the church (Matthew 9:15, Revelation 19:7-14, I Peter 3:1-7) . Marriage is always referred to, both old testament and new, as being for husbands and wives (see previous verses). Most notably, from the I Peter passage, men are to love and  lead their wives as Jesus loves and leads the church and women are to submit to their husbands as the church submits to Jesus . Therefore marriage between two men or two women, or someone who has had a sex-change operation to become a different sex than God created them to be, is not a marriage honored by God.

However, this doesn't mean Christians need to hold marriage rallies and picket gay weddings. When given the opportunity to vote, a Christian can choose to vote according to their conscience regarding gay marriage. But I'm convinced that God is far less concerned with the state institution of marriage and utterly concerned about Christians seeking Christ to be the center of their marriages, then loving others around them and allowing their marriage to be one that both encourages Christians to grow in Christ and non-Christians to be drawn to Christ.

__________________

Yowza. Two very hot topics and probably not the typical evangelical Christian response. However, these are the very sorts of reasons why I am writing this blog. I agree with Jon Stewart, actually, because Christians are judged generally by the crazy ones that frequently are full of opinions that have a lot to do with morals and tradition but very little to do with Jesus. I pray, as always, that what I have said reflects the heart of God and that people are pointed to Him and drawn in by His character.

Up Tomorrow
The Bravest Mom in the World Set Free: Ingrid Betancourt. Oprah interviews a woman kidnapped and held captive in the jungle for six years.