VMA Music Awards: I thank God?

I wanted to send you this article so that you can know things that are going on in the culture around us. It is nice to see that they are at least acknowledging God exists, but this is also a good time to review the third and seventh commandments from our book The Ten Commandments here. http://www.gnmagazine.org/booklets/TC/thirdcommandment.asp


Youth Culture Window: The MTV Video Music Awards-The Night Belonged to Brittany, Li'l Wayne... and God?
by Jonathan McKee and David Smith
No celebrity fistfights. No lesbian lip locks. Slightly fewer racy jokes and censored vulgarity. Has MTV gone soft? Unfortunately no; the 2008 MTV Video Music Awards still had plenty for youth workers and parents to detest.This year provided some of the most ironic "I thank God" accolades yet, a host with no refrain from ridiculing the Jonas Bros about their purity rings, and an impressive retort from 2007 American Idol Winner Jordin Sparks. Who knows? Maybe the message communicated this night was "not as it would seem."Nothing Is As It Seems...That's what this year's host Russell Brand kept telling viewers at the 25th Anniversary of the Video Music Awards (VMAs) hosted live on MTV. Not only did the entertainment include an exciting lineup of stars that just kept getting hotter, but the "nothing is as it seems" theme kept audience members on the edge of their seats. Just when viewers thought that a concert was happening across town, a wall would fall and reveal the singer in-house. A celebrity might go missing temporarily, only to be found by a frantic race around the studio. Several times, artists would strut in from the "back lot" of Paramount's huge property. Remember, nothing is as it seems.Even when it comes to God.Our DisclaimerNow, I don't want to lead you astray with my title; yes, we at TheSource4YM.com would consider this to be a "tamer" VMA than we've seen in the past, but keep in mind that "tame" is relative when MTV is involved. (Here's our re-cap of the 2005, 2006, and 2007 VMAs so you can decide for yourself.)Nobody ever truly knows what to expect from MTV's live VMAs each year. But given that this was the 25th Anniversary of the awards show, and MTV has a reputation for being...well, MTV...some of us were holding our breath to see what was in store for America's youth.As far as celebrity behavior was concerned, most of them - I repeat - most of them, kept it fairly clean. However, while commenting on Katy Perry's song " I Kissed A Girl," host Russell Brand said, "I was so inspired by Katy Perry's song's message that teenage girls will do anything for the taste of cherry chap stick, that I'm currently going through nine chap sticks a day, and my bleep has never felt more moisturized."And when Christopher Mintz-Plasse (of "Superbad" fame) snuck on stage with Slipknot, the metal band's leader explained that Chris had been doing body shots backstage. Chris' reply? "Is that what I was doing? I don't even remember how the hell I got out here...I'm bleepin trashed!"Far more damaging than the verbalized personal moisturizing practices of the host, and the pre-show stunts of Chris "McLovin" Mintz-Plasse, were the comments about God. All of them!I'd Like To Thank God...That's how several of the artists started their acceptance speeches. When Britney Spears held her first of three Moonmen aloft for Best Female Video in "A Piece of Me," she gave credit to God for her "blessing." When the same video earned her a second award, this time for Best Pop Video, she repeated her gratitude to God. (View the video here to see if God had any part in its production. Be warned; it's typical Britney!)Next up was the Pussycat Dolls. That's right, the Pussycat Dolls. They won Best Dancing in a Video for "When I Grow Up," a song all about becoming rich and famous. How they beat the incredibly talented (and fairly clean) Chris Brown with their mediocre yet racy moves is beyond me, but after securing their Moonman, front woman Nicole echoed Britney's praise of God. So I guess God really does want us all to be rich and famous! (You can view that theologically-challenged video here.)And, in a moment that I can only call ridiculous, Lil Wayne held up his award and thanked God for allowing him to win the Best Hip Hop Video award for "Lollipop." Here are a few lines from his risqué hit:
Man, she ain't never had a love like mineAnd man I ain't never seen an ass like hersAnd that pu**y in my mouth had me loss for wordsTold her back it up like erp erpAnd I made that ass jump like jerk, jerkAnd that's when she lick me like a lollipop (oh yeah I like that)she lick me like a lollipop (I like that)she lick me like a lollipop (I like that)she lick me like a lollipop
I don't think I need to link the video. You can go ahead and thank God for that.Frankly, I wish some of these stars would stop thanking God. With celebs like Paris Hilton and Amy Winehouse, it's probably true that there's "no such thing as bad publicity." But I do think "bad publicity" exists when it comes to God...and I think this was it.But MTV wasn't done...
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