I know you can use statistics to say just about anything. After all, Mark Twain was quoted on that. But, in the days where Barna and Gallup rule our instant-information society, you gotta chuckle at this…
Yesterday, I ran across this article about how FAT Christians are, particularly Southern Baptists. The culprit? Use of religious media. Holy 700 Club…are you serious?!? In fact, the research indicated "Fundamentalist groups are more prone to an absolutist approach to things such as smoking and alcohol," said Ferraro. "These groups, by and large, don't put much attention on (other) issues relating to physical health."
That women were 14 percent more likely to be obese if they used religious media resources, including television, radio and books, three or more times per week. And among denominations, the study reaffirms Baptists are most likely to be obese, regardless of where they live. I'm not sure if it's an indictment of how much we watch TBN and read Beth Moore books, or if maybe I should call Rick Warren and get him to put out a Purpose-Driven Treadmill…
But, here's the funny part.
This morning I received my copy of SBC Life in the mailbox. In the Mosaic section, I read this article that suggests that watching wrestling may lead to violence. I'm not sure what kind of rocket scientist it took to figure that one out, but I'm guessing he's on to something. In his research, he figured out a "direct correlation between teens who watch wrestling on TV and those who demonstrate violent behaviors."
Not to make light of either of these two serious problems, but God has given me a solution to it all. Really. It's a no brainer.
Step One: Make those in the first study watch massive hours of wrestling and UFC programming. That'll motivate them out of that religious-media induced coma enough to hit that Purpose-Driven Treadmill.
Step Two: Force-feed the wrestling junkies to read Beth Moore, listen to FFH, and watch the Left Behind video series. (The last one alone may be sufficient). Call it spiritual Valium, but I think it'll work.
Problem solved.
