"God or the Girl": reality tv's cry for help or an all-time low?

while flipping through the channels today, i came across a segment on Entertainment Tonight that was featuring a sneak-peak of a new reality tv show called God or the Girl - conveniently set to air on Easter weekend.

five young men in their 20s (who appropriately enough, *just happen* to be good-looking) must decide between serving in the priesthood or living a life free to date and mingle with girls - the gist of the show is to follow them through a series of days and "trials" that are supposed to help sway them towards making *the* decision, of which the final verdict will be declared on national tv at the end of the show's duration.

now, sure; i admit that i do enjoy watching reality tv every so often and allow myself to be sucked into the craziness (and perhaps stupidity) of it all. but c'mon now - does anyone else find this particular concept even the least bit disturbing and just plain... weird? has reality tv actually come to the point where they've finally run out of ideas - i mean, i thought the train unofficially made its final stop at MTV's Surreal World - yeesh, i guess i was wrong.

one clip that i found particularly uncomfortable to watch was of one of the guys who felt that he had to serve his penance by carrying a life-size wooden cross on his back while travelling 80 miles on foot as a result of his guilt for lusting over a girl at one point in his life; unworthy because of the things he had done in the past - and meanwhile, he had his own coaching squad guiding him through the long trek as if his very life depended on it.

after watching that 5-minute preview, i just felt really... sad - not only for him, but for the possible reactions that could potentially evolve from this show. though some viewers could take this show "seriously", others could and probably will consider this show as the punchline to their daily conversations. and what doesn't help much at all is that this is the type of thing that usually feeds into into all of the negative views and stereotypes that people have towards religion, especially with regards to Christianity/Catholicism.

perhaps i'm being bias to this whole thing due to the idealogies my own spiritual upbringing has instilled in me, but maybe - just maybe - reality tv has gone a little too far with this one.

by the way, has anyone had a chance to watch passions in the past couple of days? apparently whitney saw God in the chapel of her convent, who she claims told her to brutally flog herself in order to pay penance for her sins of committing incest with her half-brother, chad.

and with that, i leave a resounding OY.

... and it's march.

februrary has come and gone.

these past few weeks i decided to take a temporary haitus from blogging and get back into the groove of writing in my journal, of which i haven't done in quite some time now according to the date of my last entry along with the evidence of accumulating dust particles gathering on its surface... perhaps it's the old-fashioned writer in me, but as fond as i am of the wonderful world of blogging, still nothing can compare to the spillage of thoughts on paper - it's been good to get the ink flowing out of my pen again; refreshing, really. and spending the time documenting everything down from mental vomit to lyrical goodness has only made me realize how much i've missed it.

and while rediscovering the writer within, i've also had blessed opportunities to spend some quality time getting to know a few amazing people; coming to truly value the beauty of relationships in every sense of the word.

i think i am always going to be awestruck with my limited understanding of this wonderful phenomenon, regardless of how close i may come to grasping it entirely. sometimes i think that God has quite a sense of humor when it comes to relationships; and what always fascinates me is how He intervenes at times when i least expect it.

the people we meet in our lives i believe are never by chance - no matter how long you've known someone; whether it be hours, days, years - somehow an impact is made. even with the friends we've met over a short amount of time; though we may not possess a concrete knowledge of each other, we get by with what we know, and we genuinely appreciate what we do know. it's funny how life presents opportunities where you find yourself making friends with with people that you never really expected to form friendships with in the first place - all it really takes is just that one moment where you allow yourself to see someone in a totally different light. sometimes i still find myself asking, "why him/her?", "why not him/her?", or even "why now, and not then?" but even though the answers may not be clear as to why or how the nature of any relationship comes to evolve over time, there's a reason somewhere behind the scenes - an unknown purpose that excites me when i think of what could develop, ever so gradually unveiling the pieces of the "why?" puzzle as time goes on.

it's this exact framework of relationships that never ceases to amaze me.

I thank my God every time I remember you.
-- Philippians 1:3 (NIV)