It is vital to have joy and humor in all aspects of your life,including religion. St. ignatius himself, the founder of the Jesuits addressed the importance in having joy and humor in our lives. Kudos to you, Father Martin and Stehpen Colbert. It was fun wastching you have fun!
Joan E check out Fr. Martin's book "between heaven and mirth." Talks about exactly what you said. And points to how humorous the Bible actually is when understood from a 1st century Jewish perspective. It's an excellent read. You won't be disappointed!
Awesome to see you guys having a fun, casual conversation about religion. People often forget just how much love and joy is found in faith. And there can't be many people alive more loving and joyful that Stephen. Thanks for the vid.
I love the rapport between these two! Both of these gentlemen dispel the lie that people of faith are dour and deadly serious. Far from it. People living their faith glow with joy and laughter! God bless!
Stephen Colbert is just grateful to be alive: "That act, that impulse to be grateful, wants an object. That object I call God. Now, that could be many things. I was raised in a Catholic tradition. I'll start there. That's my context for my existence, is that I am here to know God, love God, serve God, that we might be happy with each other in this world and with Him in the next -- the catechism. That makes a lot of sense to me. I got that from my mom. And my dad. And my siblings."
As a former Catholic and currently an Atheist... I will say it's rather nice to see Colbert be so happy about his faith. I myself don't care someone has a certain religious belief so long as it doesn't disturb or interfere with legislation and the lives of others who don't really believe in the same things. Colbert does a great thing where he keeps any of his faith and belief system out of his, sometimes, rather harsh and honest critics and opinions about certain faiths and political views. I do find it strange that a person who's so wise and intellectual as Stephen, still goes back to a faith which has had so much controversial and horrible things happen either 'in the name of' or just by people within said faith. Now remember this may not settle well with some (most) and I understand but note that this is what I think as a former Catholic myself who's witnessed and seen so much corruption and horrible manners in which a lot of Catholics carry themselves. It just surprises me that such a wise man is still in the whole religion thing. That aside, I will say I did enjoy one thing about my former faith. And that was the sense of community one felt within said religion. I didn't enjoy that horribly long time one spent inside the Church on Sundays, especially with all the kneeling and standing and sitting. Maybe if it were more just sitting, then I would have enjoyed it a little more. But, nonetheless, I'm an Atheist now so I don't worry. I guess I can at least say I did enjoy some of the good that came of my parent's faith. Their work ethic; their unconditional love for their family and friends; Their overprotective nature, which I hated as a kid but I can appreciate some of it now that I reflect on it. It was a good run but now I've grown up. Good on Stephen though that he at least likes to dabble on the good side of Catholicism rather than the bad.
As a former Catholic/current agnostic, I concur on both counts. It puzzles me that the rest of my family still has their faith, but I also miss the sense of community I had when I truly believed.
pushpopLoC909 Your logic fails, so you think I should leave my faith because of bad Muslims and really ignorant atheists?! Why? Why should I silence my own heart and mind because of fundamentalists of both sides. I refuse to do that, and so should you, especially if you have genuine faith.
shuhan No, you should leave your "faith" if it's not genuine first of all, and secondly because you know for a fact that there are quite a bit of bad people excusing their poor behavior and poor judgement with said religion. This applies for all religions not just Catholicism. Whether you want to believe in such stories is all on you. Just don't put that shit in my kid's schools or in legislation. And I never really turned away from religion because of the bad shit within it. I turned away because it just never made sense to me and it never really fit in with the reality we're living in as a species. It was never influence of any kind that led me to move away from religion if that's what you think. It was influence and practically forceful ways in which I was indoctrinated into religion and I came out that cocoon on my own. I grew out of it basically. Never really had a "genuine" faith. It was all up in the air even as a kid. I never really took the stories seriously, or at least not literally. Let's not assume things here. A LOT of atheists/agnostics come from religious backgrounds so there was little to no influence to sprout out of it. The little influence there is, is logic. That is all one needs to bloom and free oneself. But hey.... that's just me and my group of atheist pals. We tend to be a little more genuine and straight forward with our feelings and opinions even when we tend to differ in said opinions. We just don't need a book or a religious leader telling us what is right and wrong. We determine our morality based off empathy and evolved morals that came from out nature rather than a book. If you need a book to tell you you shouldn't kill then there is something fundamentally wrong there.
To many, faith in Christ allows them to love and forgive their neighbors including their enemies when their instinct is to hate and seek justice. Why? Because God chose to love and forgive us 1st. Not everything you hear from the Palins or Franklin Graham or John MacArthur or Shirley Phelps is Gospel.
Todd Boden Well then that would beg the question. If you need someone to tell you to be a good person rather than being a good person because it comes to benefit both yourself and others, are you not just admitting to not being a good person from the start?
I love Colbert. I grew up Catholic and loved Jesus as a kid. My life went downhill during my teenage years when feelings of same-sex attraction came up, and I couldn't suppress them. I convinced myself I going to hell because of what the Church taught. I soon grew to hate myself for being gay and eventually attempted suicide. After years of therapy I accepted my sexuality and began to question religion and the Bible. Though years of thought and toil, I eventually left Catholicism and now identify as an atheist, but I was still very bitter towards the Catholic Church for the harm I feel it had done to me. The Church is not perfect, but Stephen Colbert, has helped me heal my hard feelings towards the Roman Catholic Church--not all Catholics are radical conservative apologists for their religion. It took a comedian to heal a wound in my personal past. I highly, highly doubt I will ever journey back to Catholicism--I have always been a skeptic and never understood faith--but I am happy I no longer feel *personally* angry towards the Church.
Jack Landwehr I really appreciate your previous messages. But for one to deny a part of one's humanity, sexuality, and remain chaste, because of 2,000+ year old dogma and religious rules? That doesn't make much sense to me. Enough people have been tortured from "Catholic guilt" concerning their sexuality. I think the Church has to come to terms with the fact that the Bible was written not by God but by fallible goat herders and fisherman who believed the earth was flat. The texts in the Bible supposedly inspired by God were determined by.... humans... and not by God him/her/itself. (This is where faith come into play, but also, for those like me, skepticism and doubt.) Best.
+Christopher Carey I am Catholic as well, what most Christians and Catholics especially fail to comprehend is that Jesus sees us all the same and loves us all the same no matter what our flaws and qualities are...Do not let the Church discourage you in pursuing your relationship with Jesus because you are gay, do not let anyone take that relationship away from you, because at the end Jesus is loving and understanding and not condemning and heartless...Only him, will tell you who you truly are IN HIM. Be blessed!
+Christopher Carey Funny you mention this. I went to a Catholic High School in the 80's and the gay students were not harassed by the other students, teachers or the priests running the school. I rejected Catholicism because I never made the effort in learning what it means to be Catholic. I made the effort and re-entered the church. Don't let others dictate whether or not you should be a Catholic. Best wishes.
+Christopher Carey Funny you mention this. I went to a Catholic High School in the 80's and the gay students were not harassed by the other students, teachers or the priests running the school. I rejected Catholicism because I never made the effort in learning what it means to be Catholic. I made the effort and re-entered the church. Don't let others dictate whether or not you should be a Catholic. Best wishes.
I feel so blessed to have had a neutral experience growing up in the Catholic Church, in regards to homosexuality. It simply was never mentioned, for better or for worse. I'm so glad that you stumbled upon Stephen's interview. He is a very healing person, in my opinion. And he shows what I believe to be the loving Catholicism I experienced as a young person. Blessings on your journey, Christopher!
"Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that faces total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will let it pass over me & through me. And when it passes over me, I will turn the inner eye and there will be nothing. Only I will remain." (hope I quoted that from memory correctly)
Sometimes this makes me hope one day that America becomes a full-fledged Catholic country full of Catholics like Colbert, a person who knows his faith inside and out like a scholar but can still express it openly in a very cool silly happy way like a layman. I was raised Catholic, then became an atheist for 15 years, and now less than a month ago have rediscovered the faith I grew up with. Watching this helps me feel it was the best turnaround decision I ever made in my life. Yes, Catholicism still has its problems but so does any other belief, and we could all concentrate on promoting what good it brings while working on resolving what is bad. Goodbye, Catholics!
+bordertown Is America not already full of Christians? As i understand Atheists are in the minority in the U.S...but at least let everyone have their freedom about what they wish to believe.I believe in many things but i would never want everyone around me to believe the same things,if the world would be like that we could not grow and get smarter and no beliefs would ever be tested or challenged.Have a good day now :)!
Human Seeing It's true America is full of Christians, but they are mostly Protestant. From personal experience it's pretty difficult to be Catholic in America, and Catholic culture in general is mostly nonexistent here despite how many members there are. Most are just Catholic in name only.
OMGosh - I remember "Sons of God"... hear his holy word. Gather 'round the table of the Lord. Eat his body, drink his blood, and we'll sing the song of love - allelu, allelu, allelu, alleluia!
There is a recent Ray Repp CD of many of those guitar folk mass hits of the 1960s. The music was revolutionary at the time and was an approach to religion celebrating an imminent god.
Anyone who hates on Colbert because of his gentle faith has got their priorities reversed. Also, it could just be that his best qualities grow out of his orientation. Not every religious person is a bible thumping extremist. This makes me miss New York.
Steve. Have fun for 10 years on the tonight show. Keep the beard and long hair. We love it! And when you are interviewing 7,000 celebrities who have 70,000,000,00 fans, we won't even need to hold elections anymore. YOU SHALL BE KING!!
Dennzer1 Better not mention the Pope either. lol. Well, maybe not, but it might put a damper on the evening. My husband doesn't even know who Frank Herbert is. If he did, I may have had more than 3 children. lol.
One never knows the options made available to each other. I may not respect his politics, nor do I consider him a "barometer" of middle-America, but if he is proud of his Catholic faith, and is willing to profess it, God Bless him.
I was totally lost in my religion or lack of until this guy who calls himself a Comedian came along to fix all that. Now I know what Religion really is. Thanks Stephen, oh and that dude with the weird collar who slow pitched you those questions too.
Jesus elevated Marriage to a Sacrament,between a man and a woman. No matter what man does or says can and will never change the teachings of Christ. The Holy Roman Catholic Church is the Mysterical body of Christ.
OMG. I almost couldn't believe my eyes. Hitherto I could not STAND Stephen Colbert, but in his "real" personality he's act-ually kind of cool... who knew!
Father James it was a great opportunity to hear you speak at RECongress 2015 this past weekend. Keep inspiring the laughter, the good Lord knows we need it!
I am not Catholic, but my parents are/were and I come from two large Catholic families. Being a liberal/reformed Catholic is a complex thing. People really do enjoy the kinship and traditions while keeping their own social and political beliefs. There's a lot of respect for the scholarship of 'good' clergy/nuns and a lot of foundation of principle and habit. I have dozens of relatives that go to mass at least several times a year but I would not call them devout believers, my parents (my father especially) I would call a believer but I'm not sure I would call devout. It's more complex then being Catholic or Atheist. There's more gray area and degrees than that. I have been a devout [heh heh] Colbert viewer since the beginning and I have always gotten the same subtle message of being a Catholic and being fond of the tradition and kinship but not being die-hard jesus freak bible thumper and there being a complex relationship between his intellectual ponderings and his faith that is often hard to reconcile. Anyone raised Catholic will always know and instinctively remember the traditions; lord's prayer (my dad recently taught me how to pray the rosary, that is quite the ordeal!), hymnals and fearing nuns with rulers, but don't confuse that with evangelical zealotry. Seriously though, that muthuh-fuggin beard! He literally sounds more sagely with it, I want to start a petition to implore him to keep it when he takes over for Letterman.
I'm not Catholic but most of my ancestry was of course. Most recently my Mom, who left the faith in 1955-56. God is easy and religion is hard, so I have REAL problems with rituals of any kind,ANY KIND.I do know that rituals are culturally binding and important in the lives of the participants. Steven is a GREAT example of a human who has a wonderful loving spirit and a great story to share.
John Booker I feel like I know alot of people who share your same sentiment I'm that they seem to be off put by "organized" religion. I think something that's helpful in understanding Catholic ritual/liturgical practices is that it come passes down from Jesus and the Apostles. in fact God had always throughout salvation history used a communal form of worship and celebration to underline that we are saved only as a member of the body of christ. God is a father and we are his family, and he wants all his children to come to him together. I hope that helps
If the previous comment is an example of the intolerance of others that atheists carry within themselves, then I want nothing to do with being an atheist.
Stephen Colbert is a charming man and obviously has a good heart, but why does he get a pass on rejecting the Church's teaching on life and sexuality? Honest question. Regular people have been rejected from the Church for holding those beliefs but Colbert is praised because he's a celebrity? Are we supposed to honor and follow the Church's teachings or not? I'd love a response from America Magazine. Thanks.
The only thing is, in Lent you are supposed to give up something you can't live without. What if your friends tell you to give up something you can't stand?
Matthew 6:25-34 25 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat [or drink], or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds in the sky; they do not sow or reap, they gather nothing into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are not you more important than they? Can any of you by worrying add a single moment to your life-span?* Why are you anxious about clothes? Learn from the way the wild flowers grow. They do not work or spin. But I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was clothed like one of them. If God so clothes the grass of the field, which grows today and is thrown into the oven tomorrow, will he not much more provide for you, O you of little faith? So do not worry and say, ‘What are we to eat?’ or ‘What are we to drink?’ or ‘What are we to wear?’ All these things the pagans seek. Your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom (of God) and his righteousness,* and all these things will be given you besides. Do not worry about tomorrow; tomorrow will take care of itself. Sufficient for a day is its own evil.
If being Catholic meant checking my knowledge and critical thinking skills at the door, I'd know for sure that the religion was NOT a branch of the one and only Church founded by Jesus to bring people into a closer relationship to the one and only God. I'd run for the hills, too! :-) Many groups who claim to be Christian actually seem to be practicing an insipid form of idolatry where they elevate Scripture from its proper place as a tool to get closer to the Almighty Eternal One to the place that belongs to Him alone. It's fundamentalist fanatics who do that: in both the Jewish and orthodox (catholic, small 'c') faiths, the continuing, living oral traditions are an integral part of the faith; in fact, it is just this that Jesus Himself draws upon in His teachings.
In the interest of full disclosure, I am a practicing Cafeteria Catholic over age 50, and I do know the "rules" of the Catholic Church. So if anybody can please explain something to me about Stephen Colbert, I would like to hear from you. By his own admission, Stephen Colbert said this: "I am actually an ordained minister of the American Marriage Ministries," he said, presenting a certificate from the organization, calling the title "the most prestigious ministry certification you can get online while also being on the toilet." As many here may realize, Mr. Colbert actually performed a wedding ceremony: the host married Mike Cassesso and MaiLien Le, a couple who had planned to have their wedding at the Jefferson Memorial. This was done during the government shutdown. Knowing what I do know about the Catholic Church, in the eyes of the church, a couple is not married unless they got married within the church, preferably the Catholic Church. Whether anybody here agrees with that or not is irrelevant. MY point is that as an active practicing Catholic, Stephen Colbert is forbidden to perform secular wedding ceremonies because the Catholic Church does not approve of them. SO...how does he remain in good standing with the Catholic hierarchy since he blatantly disregarded one of their big rules? NOTE: I am NOT attempting to be judgmental here; I am simply trying to understand how he reconciles this ability to perform secular weddings with his Catholic faith.
Dessert Tray "Well Nation, I promised you on night one of the shutdown that as leader of the Colbert Nation and Earl Lord of the Afterscape, I would provide all canceled government services, and that includes weddings." -Stephen Colbert Marriage is a government institution, and just because the catholic church does not recognize it, doesn't make it any less legitimate. The Catholic church does not recognize secular unions within the walls of the church. Outside of the church, they are recognized, and a catholic can still perform a marriage, just not under the name Catholic church. Catholics break the rules all the time, why is this such a big deal? Even the Catholic church recognizes that not all marriages are based in the Catholic faith. Why is this a hard concept?
Jenna P. Marriage is a government institution, and just because the catholic church does not recognize it, doesn't make it any less legitimate. It's illegitimate according to the Roman Catholic Church. Hence one of its own members, who proudly proclaims himself to be a practicing Roman Catholic, is thus blatantly disregarding the church's rules (the church that Mr. Colbert proudly says that he is a member of) on marriage by performing a ceremony, even if it is secular and not religious. ...and a catholic can still perform a marriage, just not under the name Catholic church... Since When? Please cite your source that says that the Catholic Church permits its members to perform secular ceremonies. Even if a Catholic Justice of the Peace performed a ceremony, Mr. Colbert is not a Justice of the Peace; he said he got his certificate to perform legal wedding ceremonies through American Marriage Ministries which is NOT affiliated with the Catholic Church and it does NOT make him a Justice of the Peace. Catholics break the rules all the time, why is this such a big deal? Because the Catholic hierarchy is very staunch about considering their church "the one true religion" and they still insist on everybody towing the line and believing in everything that the Catholic Church teaches is true, and this includes Mr. Colbert who proudly claims himself to be a Catholic. Yes you are correct in saying that Catholics break the rules all the time (I'm a prime example as a Cafeteria Catholic), but that doesn't mean that the Catholic hierarchy approves of it. Don't believe me? Check out how they treat politicians who support the pro-choice movement; Cardinal Burke insisted that NO PRIESTS were allowed to knowingly serve Communion to politicians who publicly supported pro-choice legislation. Why is this such a big deal if Catholics break the rules all the time? What makes this a big deal is that unlike myself, Mr. Colbert is in a celebrity and in the public eye, and is thus expected to be setting an example of good Catholic living, since HE is the one claiming to be a practicing Catholic. By the way, recenlty Mr. Colbert was mocking the Supreme Court Justices who dissented by voting against gay marriage. I certainly hope that Mr. Colbert will show some consistency by publicly mocking the bishops and leaders of the Church that he belongs to, as I feel it would be rather hypocritical for him NOT TO, seeing as how the American Catholic bishops and many Catholic priests have also condemned rather vociferously the recent Supreme Court decision that now says that all fifty states must recognize gay marriage as legal and legitimate. So Mr. Colbert: Will you be consistent and mock the dissenting hierarchy of your church? Or will you be a hypocrite and give a pass to your church leaders when you would not do that with the four dissenting Justices of the Supreme Court? I eagerly await your response. And yours too, Jenna P.
I assume you mean the Dune stuff. He references the Muad'Dib and Kwisatz Haderach both of which are names given to Paul Atreides - a saviour type character in Frank Herbert's sci-fi novel Dune. You can google those for more info.
Trolling republicans and atheists at the same time. You know he has to be more aware then his persona allows. You really can't be agnostic in today's society. I guess claiming Catholicism is a way out and to be more publicly understood. But he's listen and given time and effort to serious study about the universe. His job is being the guy you want to talk to.
I remember an interview with him (about 10 years ago) where he called himself catholic and going to mass but not really religious. So I guess there are roughly these possibilities: 1. He was religious back then and now but has become more comfortable to share/ wasn`t quite truthfull back then. 2. He wasn`t really religious back then but has become over time. 3. He wasn`t really religious back then and now but stresses his (small amount of) religiousness more now to appeal to a network audience. What do you think?
Stephen Die The Beard Black And Keep It For The Late Show it's A Great Look can't wait you and Jimmy Fallon Are Gonna Dominate Late From Both Sides #GodLovesYou # Godbless
0:20 *Um actually* George V does actually look the way Stephen was trying to look but George III was the "mad king". That is all, carry on with your day
