Koko’s Message for Us

 

People have questioned the exact nature of animal intelligence. Some wonder if their beloved pets have souls and will be in Heaven with them. While many have very firm opinions on the matter, the hard answer is that no one knows for sure. The Bible does not speak on the issue in any clear way.

Modern science asserts that animals have some sort of intelligence and personal identities. The level of intelligence varies depending on the type of animal, but some animals clearly exhibit emotions, social structures, teamwork, wars, use of simple tools, recognize themselves in mirrors or photographs, long-term memory, play video games, food preferences, manipulative behaviors, favorite toys, and the choosing of a favorite person.

Koko was a lowland gorilla who lived at The Gorilla Foundation in California (USA). Obviously, it is anatomically impossible for gorillas to speak in a human manner, but an attempt was made to teach Koko some simple manual sign language. She learned over 2000 signs and was able to carry on what appear to have been intelligent conversations with people.

https://www.google.com/search?q=koko+the+gorilla&rlz=1C1CHBF_enUS864US864&oq=koko+&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUqCggCEAAYsQMYgAQyBggAEEUYOTIGCAEQRRg7MgoIAhAAGLEDGIAEMgoIAxAuGLEDGIAEMgoIBBAuGLEDGIAEMg0IBRAuGIMBGLEDGIAEMgcIBhAAGIAEMhMIBxAuGIMBGK8BGMcBGLEDGIAEMhAICBAAGIMBGLEDGIAEGIoFMgoICRAuGLEDGIAE0gEJMTAxOTlqMGo3qAIAsAIA&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

Koko had a pet cat which she named All-Ball and she babied and pampered it as if it were her child. When the cat died, Koko went through a grieving period.

Koko’s daily routines included watching television. Her favorite program was Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood. When Fred Rogers came to visit her, she was delighted and, after she hugged him, she took off his sweater and shoes, just as he did in every episode of his program.

https://www.koko.org/research-care/796/kokos-farewell-to-mister-rogers/

Another of her television favorites was the comedian, Robin Williams. When Williams came to visit, the pair hugged and laughed repeatedly. They played Tickles.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I9I_QvEXDv0

Listen to what Koko said to us at the age of 44. She died at the age of 46.:

“I am nature. I am flower, animals. I am nature. Man Koko love. Earth Koko love. But Man stupid. Koko sorry. Koko cry. Time hurry. Fix Earth. Help Earth. Hurry. Nature see you. Thank you.”

https://au.news.yahoo.com/gorilla-uses-sign-language-voice-035805465.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAIvldsBZX40yfisATqjYKZzeG7_iCd1n-_DDWeMVkzuXHtHAxFZ6C-EgXiKbtMnI9KcnSHRYfCGkND3T_IBQrNKhaXzgGCGnDPEwXhW6FBdj4tLsNDC0RVcyUlNZw3dE1saGbR1Xg_WIerPKhvgFI7q6retmf_7UHbs2a-GG54Xg

and

https://www.the-independent.com/climate-change/news/koko-gorilla-cop21-environment-message-noe-video-a6800761.html#:~:text=The%20Gorilla%20Foundation%2C%20which%20looks,'%20and%20fix%20the%20problem.%22

Not the Real Thing

 

Free over the air television in the United States is advertiser supported.

During the United States NCAA National Basketball Tournament (we call it “March Madness”), the television viewership numbers are enormous. As a result, companies pay large sums of money to run 30 second commercials for their products during the broadcasts. The link below is one of the commercials: for AT&T, American Telephone and Telegraph.

At every game during the tournament, vendors gather to sell memorabilia relating to the participating college teams: hats, caps, shirts, jerseys, sweatsuits, flags, banners, magazines, figurines, toys, and other doodads. Doodads, that is a good slang word meaning little ephemeral items that your children will insist that they must have but which they will discard, break, or lose as soon as they get home. In the South, we also call them doohickeys or whatchamacallits. Merriam-Webster https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/doodad defines doodad as “an often small article whose common name is unknown or forgotten: gadget.”

In the commercial in the link below, the vendor is obviously trying to avoid the cost of paying royalty licensing fees to the universities. He is selling counterfeit items. His main problem is that his counterfeits are glaringly obvious. The university names are spelled incorrectly, or the colors on the items are not the colors associated with the university. His counterfeits include: Unsee instead of UNC (The University of North Carolina), Gonzaza instead of Gonzaga University, Markett instead of Marquette University, Oregano instead of The University of Oregon, and Dook instead of Duke University.   

Not all counterfeits are as obvious as these and, sadly, they also occur in spiritual matters. There are spiritual counterfeits which have arisen from well-intentioned ignorance and stupidity, or from peculiar mis-readings of the biblical texts, or from secular concerns being forced into the scriptural interpretation (eisegesis).

            Eisegesis is reading a pre-held belief or agenda into the scriptural text rather than determining doctrine from the text outwards (exegesis). Theologically orthodox and conservative theologians reject this since it imposes ideas on the scriptures, rather than seeking to understand their original meaning. Eisegesis is usually well-intentioned.

            There are also more sinister counterfeits, sometimes resulting in enormous profits for the perpetrators. Some want to tap in to the eager Christian market without any actual personal input, no real study, no real discipline, no real cost to themselves. This is a form of the sin of simony. The results can be very doctrinally suspect and doctrine does matter.

            https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=usN32eMIc6k

            or, https://www.ispot.tv/ad/TGQy/at-and-t-inc-march-madness-jersey

The Restrainer

 

            In the city in which I live, one of the local television stations carries a weekly broadcast of the Sunday morning worship services of a large local church. Every week, immediately after the church service broadcast ends, a commercial begins for a local gambling casino. The world is always ready to pour in if the Church, the ἐκκλησία, is not present as a restaining influence.

            The word, “restrainer, “ is from the Greek word Κατέχον (Strong’s 2722) which is used in the Bible to express ”hold down,” “hold back,” “detain,” “restrain,” and other similar meanings.

            2 Thessalonians 2:6-8 says that “the restrainer,” the one who holds back the world, will continue to do so until he is taken out of the way.  To modern readers, it may not seem to be clearly stated who this restrainer is. A literal translation of the Greek of verse 6 into English is "And now that which is restraining, you know, for to be revealed him in his time."

            Many believe that the restrainer is the Holy Spirit who indwells all the Christians who make up the Church. The removal of the restrainer could reference the removal of the Church at the time of the Rapture.  The Antichrist is to be revealed when the one who hinders his presence is removed.

            These concepts are involved in controversy among theologians over how to interpret eschatological doctrines. I will not tell you what you should believe but I will say that we should, at least, discuss it and not ignore it. Paul assumed that his contemporary readers understood what he was referencing ("you know"). Paul was talking to us also.

Distractions

My wife and I were downtown at the courthouse to get a license plate for our new car when we saw a man trying to parallel park. He was not extremely successful to say the least. He backed up, then inched forward, and then moved out of the space to try again. It took several attempts before the driver had his car in place. When we finally were able to drive around him we saw the reason for his troubles. He was talking on his cell phone!

Put down distractions like a cell phone when you are driving or moving your vehicle around among other vehicles. Surely your telephone conversation is not more important than your own safety or the property of others.

We are all too distracted by life. How many of us do our Bible study or prayer with the television turned on?

The Lord's Prayer in Klingon

Klingon (actually Tlhingan) is a fictional language created by the linguist Marc Okrand for the Klingon race of aliens featured in the numerous Star Trek movies and television series. The Klingons are an interplanetary race of fierce warriors who control the vast expanses of outer space claimed by the Klingon Empire.

Klingon has been built up into a full totally functional language with a written form, literature, plays, operas, translations of The Bible and the works of William Shakespeare, and even dictionaries. There are now estimated to be 50,000 to 100,000 people who are fluent in the language. Below is The Lord's Prayer in spoken Klingon.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IbRTFfdeIj8  

Happy Trails to You

Roy Rogers (Leonard Franklin Slye, 1911 - 1998) and Dale Evans (Lucille Wood Smith, or Frances Octavia Smith, 1912 - 2001) are buried in the Sunset Hills Memorial Park in Appling Valley, California (USA).  The couple were the premier country and western stars of television, movies, and music in the 1940’s, 1950’s, and early 1960’s.  Dale Evans wrote many songs.  In their later years, especially, they were devoted active Christians.

A performance of "Happy Trails to You" while the couple were in the prime years of their careers.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XcYsO890YJY

A performance of "Happy Trails to You" by the couple with their son.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gh05Wdnu3Cg

http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=pv&GRid=3206&PIpi=85662

http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=3206

http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=pv&GRid=3206&PIpi=85663

http://morbid-curiosity.com/id131.htm

http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=4218

http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=pv&GRid=4218&PIpi=1050561

Christians

At some time during their lives, the following people have publicly identified themselves as Christian.   Inclusion in this list does not indicate approval or disapproval of the person, of their orthodoxy or lack of it, or of their actions.  Some of those listed may surprise you.  Readers are encouraged to suggest persons who should be included on this list.  This is a recurring segment in this blog.

Bob Newhart: ((b. 1929, Illinois, USA; aka: George Robert Newhart) Stand-up comedian, television and film actor. Roman Catholic.

Virginia Quinn Newhart: Wife of Bob Newhart. Roman Catholic.

Chloe Grace Moretz: (b. 1997, Georgia, USA) Child film actress most known for her controversial roles in Kick-Ass (2010) and Carrie (2013).  She says that her family is “very Christian.”  I am not sure what she means by that and whether or not she, herself, is a Christian.. 

Reginald Howard White: (b. 1961, Tennessee, USA – d. 2004; aka: “the Minister of Defense”) College and professional football player and a member of the Hall of Fame at both levels. Ordained Baptist minister and evangelist.  His views on race and homosexuality became very controversial.  Late in his life, he learned Hebrew and studied under Nehemia Gordon, a Karaite Jew, who is based in Jerusalem.  White's profound interest in Torah led many to believe that he became a Jew, but he never renounced his Christian faith.

Daniel Meyer: (b. 1957) World’s only Christian sword swallower. Clown, juggler, stilt walker, fire eater, glass eater. 

Fourth Trimester Abortions

I would think that this is a spoof or a satire (like Jonathan Swift’s “A Modest Proposal”) if I did not know that it was true.  Melissa Harris-Perry, an anchor on the MSNBC news television network, has suggested “fourth trimester abortions.”  Think about that, post birth abortions.

This link gives one of the less agitated responses which have flooded the internet.

http://www.naturalnews.com/041398_post-birth_abortion_infanticide_Melissa_Harris-Perry.html

These two links are about Melissa Harris-Perry:

http://tv.msnbc.com/shows/melissa-harris-perry/

http://melissaharrisperry.com/about.html

Harris-Perry has said controversial things before.  MSNBC is one of the lesser viewed news networks.  MSNBC is an anagram of Microsoft and the National Broadcasting Company.

http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2013/07/30/cable-news-ratings-for-monday-july-29-2013/194545/

http://tv.msnbc.com/

Many will disagree, but the teaching of the Bible is clearly against abortion.
http://carm.org/bible-abortion

When You Have a Fifth Place Car

On a recent NASCAR television broadcast, Kyle Petty, a former driver and now a television race commentator, was talking about one driver who was unable to pull any closer to the lead than fifth place in the race no matter how hard or well he drove his automobile.  Petty said, “Sometimes you just have a fifth place car.”

Then, Petty added this, “When that happens, your responsibility is to come in fifth.”  Do not make excuses.  Do your best with what has been given to you. You are responsible for your use of what you have been given.

Christians call this stewardship.   To be a steward is to manage the property or affairs of another person.  Christians are expected to use their God-given gifts to further the work of the Lord.

What? You say that you do not seem to have any “gifts?”  All Christians have at least one gift, the unearned and unearnable free grace of God who spent the most valuable thing in the universe, the life of Jesus Christ, to provide for our salvation.  He spent this resource for me and for you, as a gift to us, as if each of us was the only one.  The sacrifice of Jesus did restore order to the entire universe, but it also was made for each of us … individually.  A gift.

No Christian should think to use their lack of ability as an excuse for not performing a task which God has clearly assigned to them.  He gives us whatever time or resources we need to do whatever He asks because nothing and no one can stand in His way or prevent Him from achieving His purposes.  “For the LORD of hosts hath purposed, and who shall disannul it? and his hand is stretched out, and who shall turn it back?” Isaiah 14:27

    

As members of the ἐκκλησία we each have been given specific gifts so that we may perform specific functions.  “And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.” Genesis 2:15

All the gifts are needed and none of the gifts are more important than any of the others for the proper function of God’s plan.  Some can teach, some can comfort, some can do manual chores, some can provide financial resources, some can preach, some can pray, some can nurture faith in others, some can care for the sick, some can cook, some have a special connection with children, some are judges, some are peacemakers.  All the gifts are exercised under the leadership of the Holy Spirit..

“For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ.”  1 Corinthians 12:12

“For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office:” Romans 12:4

“As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.” 1 Peter 4:10

“For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office: So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another. Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith;” Romans 12:4-6

James, the brother of Jesus, gave us the other side of this, a warning. “Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.” James 4:17

Escapism Has No Place in the Church

Recently, at work, I went to supper expecting to watch the evening news on the break room television.  The television was turned off and everyone in the room was looking down.  No one was talking to anyone.  They were all focused on their personal devices: iPhones, iPads, Kindles, etc.  I did not want to be rude and to disturb them, so I did not turn on the television.  

None of them looked up or acknowledged that I had entered the room; they were each in their own little world, shut off from everything and everyone else around them.  One was reading Facebook posts.  Another was playing a TETRIS-like game in which the falling items were various pieces of candy.

On another night, the other person in the room was already watching a rerun of the comedy series Seinfeld instead of the news.  Seinfeld can be hilarious, but the creators and actors involved with the series have been totally honest in declaring that it is “a television show about nothing.”

There is nothing inherently wrong with games, social media, or funny television programs, but they can become “wrong”when they are used as shelters,  What all of these people had in common was that they were “escaping.”  They were withdrawing into comfortable little corners where the world could not touch them.  None of them was curious at all about what was going on in the outside world.

I had object proof of this one night when I did have the televison set on the evening news.  There was a story about the dedication ceremony of our new hospital building.  One of my co-workers inquired, “Who is that man?”  The man was the governor of the state in which we live.

Christians are not immune to this.  I understand and agree with the separatist impulse among conservative Christians.  Indeed, we are told to be in the world but not of the world and to come out from among them.  We are told to be holy (meaning separated for God) because God is holy. (Leviticus 11:44, 19:2, Isaiah 52:11, James 4:4, 2 Corinthians 6:17, 1 Peter 1:6)

Some Christians make the mistake of carrying this to such extremes that they remove themselves from any meaningful involvement in the outside world.  They use the church and church activities as an escape.  This, in effect, removes them from many opportunities to share the Gospel.   We have been told to go into all the world and to spread the Gospel to all nations.  We are also told to be aware of what is going on around us: to be as wise as serpents but as gentle as doves. (Mark 16:15, Matthew 10:16)

Just Another Thing to Argue About

For those who live in other countries and may not know, the United States is currently sharply divided along ideological and political lines.  Many people, on both sides of the divide, are primed to be offended at the drop of a hat, even by a television program about the Bible.

The History Channel is broadcasting a ten hour minseries entitled The Bible.  Some have criticized the miniseries for its sporadically episodic nature, for its omissions, for its sometimes less than state of the art special effects, for its uneven acting, etc.  The USA Today newspaper ignored all of these to report that the “History Channel opens the gates of Hell.”

What the newspaper was talking about was the appearance of Mohamen Mehdi Ouazanni as Satan.  Twitter and the internet are buzzing about the fact that some people are convinced that Ouazanni as Satan looks like an evil dark version of United States President Barack Obama.

Mark Burnett and his actress wife, Roma Downey, are the executive producers of the series.  Burnett had this to say, “This is utter nonsense.  The actor who played Satan (is) a highly acclaimed Moroccan actor.  He has previously played parts in several Biblical epics – including Satanic characters long before Barack Obama was elected as our President.”

Downey added, “Both Mark and I have nothing but respect, and love our President, who is a fellow Christian.”   She was expressing the biblical view of government, that it is ordained by and put into place by God.

What They Think of Us: God Blames Us for His Mistakes

“We must question the story logic of having an all-knowing, all-powerful God, who creates faulty humans and then blames them for his own mistakes.’  Gene Roddenberry (1921, Texas, USA - 1991), American television screenwriter and producer, World War II combat pilot, police officer.  Roddenberry was the creator of the classic television program, Star Trek.  He was inducted into the Science Fiction Hall of Fame and the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Hall of Fame.

This is a common criticism of Christianity from nonbelievers and it should not just be dismissed out of hand.  It assumes that God, if He exists, is flawed and imperfect, or even that He is unfair.  The challenge requires an answer.  How would you answer?

Earliest Easter Memories

This morning our Sunday School teacher asked each one of us to tell the class about our earliest memories of Easter.  I made the class laugh.

My earliest memory of Easter is from when I was about four or five years old.  My parents got us ready and carried us to the 5 AM Easter Sunrise Service on top of Red Mountain .  I remember being angry because I was going to miss the 6 AM broadcast of the Gumby television series.

Gumby Episode #28, "Melon Felons" is below.

Some videos will not play properly when you click on the triangle.  Instead,  click on the title line in the picture and the video will begin .  When the video is completed, close the You Tube pop-up window to return to this blog.

Film Comment: The Stuff

The Stuff (1985) is a science-fiction/horror/comedy directed by Larry Cohen, who has given the world God Told Me To! (see the Labels below for "film comments") and the particularly disturbing killer infant film, It's Alive! (What would you do if everyone, including the police, wanted to kill your newborn son because he used his claws and fangs to massacre everyone in the hospital delivery room immediately after his birth?)

In The Stuff, a corporation begins marketing a yogurt-like dessert called The Stuff and it quickly becomes a sensation.  People love it and quickly develop a missionary-like desire to get all their family, friends, and acquaintances to eat it, even if they have to force them to do so.  Devotees of the dessert call themselves Stuffies.  A television commercial presents the the snappy jingle, "I just can't get enough of the stuff!"

Enter an industrial spy, Mo Rutherford, who's trying to discover (steal) the secret of the dessert's popularity.  He discovers that it is not manufactured at all; it is siphoned from a hole in the ground and is alive and sentient.  One boy, who allies with Rutherford, ran away from home after he saw The Stuff move in his refrigerator and his Stuffie parents tried to force him to eat it.

Rutherford realizes to his horror that The Stuff is colonizing those who consume it, hollowing them out inside, making them empty.  He teams up with the young boy, a group of right-wing militiamen led by a possibly insane Colonel, and Chocolate Chip Charlie, a cookie manufacturer who has lost control of his company due to other's stock manipulations (think of Famous Amos ).  This odd conglomeration of people set out to do battle with the dessert.

This is a pointed social satire about our shallow and empty modern consumer society.  We jump on fads and trends and pursue them with gusto, even when they are clearly damaging to us.  Many of us put pressure on others to join us in our self-destructive ways.

Whatever we continually think about and do repeatedly becomes our God.

Super Bowl Advertisement Rejected for "Religious Content"

Watch this You Tube clip.  An Alabama based group,  Fixed-Point,org, attempted to place this as a national advertisement during the recent broadcast of Super Bowl XLV.  They intend to try again to place the advertisement in 2012. As it now stands, they may have to to as they did this year and place the piece with local television stations.  This year the ad appeared in Alabama and Washington, DC.

The advertisement is not asking you to buy anything or to send any money to the organization.  The Fox Television Network rejected the advertisement as "offensive" because of its "religious content."  Obviously, the network feared that non-Christians might take offense at the simple, non-threatening presentation. We truly live in a wimpy, whiney world!

In truth, this borders on censorship of thought and free expression.  Sexual innuendos and vulgarities are permissible in television broadcasts, but anything of a religious nature is rejected.  The attitude is that religion is outdated, old-fashioned, divisive, offensive, closed-minded, and any number of other negative stereotypes.

By rejecting this advertisement, Fox placed it among a list of other advertisements which have been rejected, some very deservingly.


Below is a message from Fixed-Point,org, filmed at Legion Field in Birmingham, Alabama.

What They Think of Us: Klingons for Jesus

Klingons for Jesus (http://klingonsforjesus.50webs.com/ ) is a spoof website based on the savage, brutal, but noble alien race from the Star Trek series of television programs and feature films.  The Klingon culture is based on a military model in which promotions come primarily from killing your superior in hand-to-hand combat.
Some of the tenets of the Klingon Jesus Movement are:
1. "Jesus was tortured, Klingons like torture."
2. "We believe it is our duty to force others to believe as we do."
3. "You can be a mass murderer or serial killer as long as you accept Jesus."

Links from the site take the reader to other spoof sites:
Two Guys from Andromeda for Jesus
 Microsofties for Jesus
Landoveroids for Jesus
Lizardoids for Jesus
Orion Slave Girls for Jesus
Ferengi for Jesus

Fundies Say the Darndest Things!

Fundies Say the Darndest Things! (a title stolen from Art Linkletters' television program, Kids Say the Darnedest Things!) is another one of the Christian-hater websites which seem to be all over the internet. The word, "fundies: is a derisive shortening of the the label, fundamentalist. The website claims to have the world's largest collection of what it calls "hilarious, bizarre, ignorant, bigoted, and terrifying" quotations from Christian blogs, forums, etc. The problem with this website is that the quotations are exactly what fstdt says that they are. People!!!!!  Don't give them any ammunition!  They already think that you are idiots. Christians should be in the intellectual forefront of discussions on every topic, not running around saying stupid things.


There is a saying that it is better to remain silent, and be thought stupid, than to open your mouth and prove it. This has been attributed to numerous people: George Eliot, Confucius, Abraham Lincoln, Mark Twain, Samuel Johnson, Benjamin Franklin, Socrates, etc. Actually, the saying probably originated from a mangled mis-quotation of Proverbs 17:28. " Even a fool, when he holdeth his peace, is counted wise: [and] he that shutteth his lips [is esteemed] a man of understanding."

What Does It Mean?: Why Jesus Spoke in Parables

"And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables?  He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given. For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath. Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand."  Matthew 13:10-13.

Many modern theologians make a major point about the fact that Jesus never came out and simply declared, "I am God."  They speak of the Incarnational Mystery and wonder if Jesus thought of Himself as God.  Two points:

1. The rabbis and religious Jews who heard Jesus speak knew exactly what He was saying but thought that he was speaking blasphemy.  “The Jews answered him, saying, For a good work we stone thee not; but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God.”  John 10:33

2. Jesus used parables to teach.  The simple stories made His meaning easy to understand for even the most literal of His followers.  The parables also served a second purpose: to conceal.

In Matthew 13:10-13, the disciples asked Jesus about this.  The parables made no sense to those not equipped to understand them.  It is like us being immersed continually in showers of television and radio signals but hearing and seeing nothing because we don't have an internal receiver;  we are not physiologically equipped to perceive the information.

Without the Holy Spirit, the message of the parables makes no sense to those who don't belong to Jesus.  Jesus' motive for this is simple to see:  He wanted followers by faith, not by sight.  “Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.”  John 20:29

In Constantine (2005), a secular horror/action film, a cancer-ridden detective named John Constantine is desperately trying to impress God by hunting and killing demons.  He tells the angel Gabriel, "I believe."  The angel replies, "No, you know.  There's a difference."

TV Guardian

TV Guardian (http://www.tvguardian.com/gshell.php) is "The Foul Language Filter." Parents may be interested in checking this out. There are demonstration clips on the website. What the service does is drop the sound for the duration of the offensive word/s. Warning: the demos include the edited and unedited versions of the clips. The service works with television and films.