Sam Harris

Billy Graham’s daughter was talking on Fox news about her father, and she was talking about how spiritual he is.

And she said something which I thought was strange.  She said that her father would never get into an elevator if there was a woman already there.  And both she and Hannity thought that that was a very spiritual thing to do.

HOw is not getting into an elevator while a woman is already there spiritual?  It seems that repression of sexuality is tied up with the so-called spirituality of “revealed religions” like christianity, Islam, Judaism etc.

Airy Spirit - 28 December 2009 06:32 AM

Billy Graham’s daughter was talking on Fox news about her father, and she was talking about how spiritual he is.

And she said something which I thought was strange.  She said that her father would never get into an elevator if there was a woman already there.  And both she and Hannity thought that that was a very spiritual thing to do.

HOw is not getting into an elevator while a woman is already there spiritual?  It seems that repression of sexuality is tied up with the so-called spirituality of “revealed religions” like christianity, Islam, Judaism etc.

It’s not spiritual—it sounds self-protective to me since it sounds like he’s afraid of scandal.

It’s not news that when you are a “mainstream” theist, and you tag things as “spiritual”, you magically and immediately categorize them as outside of criticism.

Just sounds like a way to be late to wherever you’re going.

I suspect it’s simple, old-fashioned, Victorian-era style prudery.  It’s not unheard of among the religious.  I knew a pastor when I was a small boy who had two daughters that he would not allow to use their backyard swimming pool at the same time.  That much exposed flesh was sinful, don’t you know, so they couldn’t be allowed to see each other in bathing suits.

And he’s also an old man.  When he was young, there really were different standards of decorum.  I saw a show once, set in the 1940s, where a woman came to see a man at his apartment, and they were careful to leave the door open while she was there so no one would get the idea they were having a relationship.  I’ve asked people who were alive back then, and they’ve told me that that sort of behavior was considered appropriate between men and women who were not married or otherwise related.  Graham may just be adhering to a rather rigid standard from the days of his youth.

Ok, so why did Hannity and his daughter give a glowing approval to that behaviour?

Airy Spirit - 04 January 2010 11:11 PM

Ok, so why did Hannity and his daughter give a glowing approval to that behaviour?

Because they look up to him, consider him a role model, and regard this as further proof that his behavior, his moral standards, and his sense of propriety and decorum are a cut above those of ordinary people.

Why does this surprise you?  Centuries ago, people viewed insane “holy men” who climbed up pillars and stayed there for decades without ever coming down (Simeon Stylites was the first of several), not even to eat, bathe, change clothes, etc. in precisely the same way.  People who admire religious people look at their insane habits or behaviors as proof of their holiness, not as evidence of prudery, weird hangups, out of date standards of behavior, or even outright craziness.