{"id":174,"date":"2006-02-28T12:00:00","date_gmt":"2006-02-28T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/idolchatter\/2006\/02\/colbert-and-campolo.html"},"modified":"2006-02-28T12:00:00","modified_gmt":"2006-02-28T12:00:00","slug":"colbert-and-campolo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/idolchatter\/2006\/02\/colbert-and-campolo.html","title":{"rendered":"Colbert and Campolo"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>\n

After reading about “The Colbert Report<\/a>” and its penchant for luring distinguished public figures into making complete fools of themselves, I tuned in last night, and who was the guest? None other than a Beliefnet favorite, Tony Campolo<\/a>, a nationally known Christian author and speaker.<\/p>\n

What a delight to watch a seasoned pro (Colbert) try to stump and trap an evangelical (Campolo)–and instead be left speechless himself. And, in the process, I think he opened the door for a whole new audience to discover the radical words of Jesus. Here were Colbert\u2019s best attempts at leading Dr. Campolo toward putting a foot in his mouth:<\/p>\n

COLBERT: \u201cYou claim to be a member of the \u2018Evangelical Left.\u2019 Isn\u2019t that a contradiction in terms?\u201d<\/p>\n

CAMPOLO: \u201cThere are people who care about the poor, who take the words of Jesus literally, and if one would do both, then I think the two words belong together.\u201d<\/p>\n

COLBERT: \u201cBut you\u2019re saying that Jesus hates America. Sean Hannity\u2019s book said \u2018deliver us from evil.\u2019 Do you watch Hannity & Colmes?\u201d<\/p>\n

CAMPOLO. \u201cJesus loves the United States. Jesus loves Iraq. Jesus loves Afghanistan. He calls all people to love each other, get along with each other. He loved Afghanistan before the U.S. went there… before it was even Afghanistan.\u201d<\/p>\n

COLBERT: \u201cYou make Jesus sound like the U.N.\u201d<\/p>\n

CAMPOLO: \u201cIf the U.N. would listen to Jesus, the whole world would be in good shape.\u201d<\/p>\n

COLBERT: (speechless)<\/p>\n

CAMPOLO: \u201cJesus transcends partisan politics.\u201d<\/p>\n

COLBERT: \u201cSo you\u2019re saying Jesus doesn\u2019t care who is President?\u201d<\/p>\n

CAMPOLO: \u201cI\u2019ve got a feeling that if Jesus went into the voting box, he\u2019d be very confused, because there\u2019s stuff on both sides to like and not to like. They\u2019ve made Jesus into a Republican, and he\u2019s not.\u201d<\/p>\n

COLBERT: \u201cDo you get a frosty reception from the evangelical pancake breakfast?\u201d<\/p>\n

CAMPOLO: \u201cI don\u2019t get invited anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n

And finally\u2026<\/p>\n

COLBERT: \u201cHas religion changed politics, or has politics changed religion?\u201d<\/p>\n

CAMPOLO: \u201cIt\u2019s like mixing ice cream and horse manure. It doesn\u2019t hurt the horse manure, but it hurts the ice cream. Politics has hurt religion, more than the opposite.\u201d<\/p>\n

COLBERT: (pause)<\/p>\n

COLBERT: \u201cWould you come back another time to sift the turds from the cream?!\u201d<\/p>\n

And then they shook hands, laughed, and shared a moment that\u2014to this viewer\u2014looked like an authentic connection. Campolo won this round, in my opinion, but the real winner was the audience. This frank and funny dialogue was one of the more civil, humorous, honest and challenging discussions two people could have about authentic spiritual searching and its connection to real-life decision-making–all while keeping us laughing. All in all, time well spent.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

After reading about “The Colbert Report” and its penchant for luring distinguished public figures into making complete fools of themselves, I tuned in last night, and who was the guest? None other than a Beliefnet favorite, Tony Campolo, a nationally known Christian author and speaker. 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