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March 18th, 2013
01:59 PM ET
Producer: Claim of Obama-Satan likeness nonsenseBy Dan Merica, CNN Washington (CNN) – The third episode of the History Channel's miniseries “The Bible” was supposed to be remembered for the brutality of Babylonian ruler Nebuchadnezzar, the strength of Daniel in the lion’s den, and the birth of Jesus Christ. But after viewers claimed there was a striking resemblance between Satan’s human form and President Barack Obama, that probably won't be the case. Buzz on Twitter quickly grew. According to Topsy.com on Monday, there were an estimated 20,000 tweets containing the words “Obama” and “Satan” since the 9:00 p.m. ET hour on Sunday, the hour in which Satan appears in the two-hour show. In a statement, miniseries producer Mark Burnett called claims there was a resemblance "utter nonsense." Burnett said the actor who played Satan, Mohamen Mehdi Ouazanni, "is a highly acclaimed Moroccan actor. He has previously played parts in several Biblical epics - including Satanic characters long before Barack Obama was elected as our President." Ouazanni has had roles in two biblical TV movies - "Jeremiah" and "The Ten Commandments." Executive producer of the miniseries Roma Downey, Burnett's wife, added, "Both Mark and I have nothing but respect and love our President, who is a fellow Christian. False statements such as these are just designed as a foolish distraction to try and discredit the beauty of the story of The Bible." Follow the CNN Belief Blog on Twitter Satan appears during the miniseries’ retelling of the Temptation of Christ, when Jesus fasted for 40 days in the Judean Desert. Satan tests Jesus’ faith, asking him to make bread out of stone and jump from a cliff, but he refuses each temptation and returns to the Sea of Galilee to begin his ministry. In the desert, Satan is draped in a long, black, hooded robe and with a slight silver tint to his face. Both Downey and Burnett supported Obama's first campaign for president in 2008, according to Federal Election Commission reports. Downey gave $5,000 to the Obama Victory Fund and $2,700 to the Democratic National Committee in 2008. Burnett also donated to Obama's first campaign - $2,300 in 2007. Neither gave money to Obama's 2012 campaign. While the show was airing, tweets poured in noting the resemblance. [tweet https://twitter.com/glennbeck/status/313120671297306624%5D [tweet https://twitter.com/lkspringer/status/313470968448315392%5D [tweet https://twitter.com/DanAmira/status/313491508391182336%5D Not everyone on Twitter agreed, though. [tweet https://twitter.com/joshuadubois/status/313489150118608896%5D [tweet https://twitter.com/jbouie/status/313498892148830208%5D [tweet https://twitter.com/scottgrimm1/status/313652372561858560%5D After three episodes, the show has scored strong ratings. Its first episode drew 13.1 million viewers, ratings that trumped CBS’s “60 Minutes” and AMC’s “The Walking Dead.” The second episode drew 10.8 million viewers. Ratings for the third installment in the five-week miniseries have not been released. CNN’s Belief Blog: The faith angles behind the biggest stories The project has been a three-and-a-half year process for The History Channel and for Burnett and Downey. Burnett - who is better known as a king of reality television, with “Survivor,” “The Voice” and “The Apprentice” all under his name - told CNN earlier this month that this project was “personal.” “It was time for an updating, adding fresh visual life to a sacred text,” Burnett said. Both Downey and Burnett were raised Catholic, Burnett in England and Downey in Ireland. They still regularly attend Mass in Los Angeles. Growing up, both watched the classic biblical films that the Hollywood of yesteryear churned out, like “The Ten Commandments” and “The Greatest Story Ever Told.” To film their Bible series, the duo set off for the southern tip of Morocco with a crew of around 400 people. Burnett and Downey consulted a wide range of pastors and academics, including a major evangelical leader and a Catholic cardinal. Their advisory panel consisted of many people from varied backgrounds familiar with sharing the stories of the Bible, rather than a who’s who of biblical academics. Joel Osteen, a popular television preacher and pastor of the 30,000-member Lakewood church in Houston, was among those consulted. Osteen and Burnett are friends and were developing a television series together that went on the back burner during the production of this series. Osteen even took his family to Morocco during some of the filming. While the History Channel owns the exclusive North American rights to the project, Burnett and Downey own the rights to global distribution and theatrical airings, which are in the works. The project also has a book tie-in, games and apps. - CNN’s Eric Marrapodi and Eric Weisbrod contributed to this report. soundoff (2,474 Responses)« Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 Next »
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The CNN Belief Blog covers the faith angles of the day's biggest stories, from breaking news to politics to entertainment, fostering a global conversation about the role of religion and belief in readers' lives. It's edited by CNN's Daniel Burke with contributions from Eric Marrapodi and CNN's worldwide news gathering team.  |
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Atheists are so kewl. We like don't believe in God and stuff. We're just like so super smeert and kewl. We're like total rebels. Like oh my God, we're just too cool for school. I'm totally going to go get a mocha right now.
There are as many atheist denominations as there are christian denominations:
libertarian atheists, Marxist atheists, scientific determinist atheists, existentialist atheists, humanist atheists, Nietzschean atheists, etc., etc.
We Christians might not believe in that kind of god either. In fact, the Romans persecuted Christians on the grounds that they were “atheists”; that is, they did not believe in the gods of the cultural pantheon.
So provide some evidence of a god – convince us with reason and logic.
We are anti-theist.
S.uck our tiny female balls.
@ In Santa we trust
Quit begging Christians for proof.... you just want to prove you are superior. Get over yourself.
dim·wit
/ˈdimˌwit/
Noun
A stupid or silly person.
Synonyms
fool – booby – blockhead – dunderhead – dunce
No, I don't Think Satan looks like Obama, I think Obama looks like Satan.
Yo yo, listen to my new flows all you peeps...
Wanna be thug and still live at home
Just got me a brand new obamaphone
Got 13 brothers and sisters cuz my moms a slllllut
Never worked a day cuz I dont give a fuk
Walk around with a gat even though I'm a felon
I sure do love me some fresh WAWDERMELON!!!
How yall shizzies like dem flows?
Holla at a playa sho sho!!
First I thought OBAMA is Urkel.. as in Urkel goes to Washington.
Then I thought.. oh wow.. OBAMA is actually RuPaul out of drag and Michelle is RuPaul in drag.
But NOW.. OBAMA IS SATAN!!!!
Wow love the Obama White House sitcom.. its like watching LOST with all its twists and turns.
I have never had time to read that Big Book, so can someone explain it all to me quickly?
Is the Devil bad, or is God? And what they one of them do that was bad? And did either of them do anything good?
I like to make an educated choice, so if I have to choose between 2 deities that I'm not familiar with, I like to get some background. It's just like voting for President or Congress – we elect the person who we think will help our nation the most. (oh by the way, I said 'we elect'. Sometimes I think American forget who is responsible for those in Congress.)
Amazing...The GOP think all black people look alike
Yep, that's exactly what we discuss in secret meetings – you caught us. We also plot how to really stick it to the sick and the poor, I mean really, what a drag on society.
Why does the devil have to be dark skinned?
It's a serpent dust on the ground thing. Sorry, still don't see the similarity between the actor and Obama and I'm not an Obama worshiper.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_h_T3EYCsKI
You can use the same pattern to make Jesus – just tilt the 'X' a little more upright.
Obama is Satan. Yep, that sounds about right.
His right hand man at the very least.
Although Obama is a lefty. I believe.
I guess I see a resemblance, but only because it's being pointed out.
Mostly, I just think it's funny that The Bible in on the History Channel. It's like America is constantly like trying to one up its own stupidity.
Yo yo yo, yo
I be slinging crack rock from the streets to the roof tops
WORD!!!!!!!!!!
The devil doesn't exist. Obama looks like Obama and he stinks like Jimmy Carter.
Whenever there is an article on Christianity the Atheist's come out of the woodwork to spew their own religion. The persecution of Christianity has been going on forever. Satan is alive and well. Thanks to the Atheist.
Whoa, what part of 'athiest' do you Hari-Krishna types not understand.
We know there is no little red man with horns holding a pitchfork living 500 miles deep in the core of the earth.
So ... no ... us athiests do not beleive in your little red man any more than we believe in your fat white man in the clouds.
Nice try ... NEXT!
I don't believe there is a little red man 500 miles deep down into the earth. I think he walks right by your side telling you to keep up the good work. You may not believe in much now, but you will, one day.
libertarian atheists, Marxist atheists, scientific determinist atheists, existentialist atheists, humanist atheists, Nietzschean atheists?
Atheists (NOT "atheist's") don't have a religion. That's the whole point, you knuckle-dragging idiot.
Who cares. there is no devil. That's if you don't count drug dealers, child molesters and the extream right.
You are warped!
He looks more like Reagan
Yes, the character looks like Obama. It cannot be a coincidence. How racist to depict Satan as a black man. Perfect stereotype of black men as evil. In fact, Jesus, as a Semitic Jew would have looked more like Obama than he would a white European man. Breathtaking that this type of racist stereotyping is still prevalent in mainstream media. Something I'd expect from Fox and the other rightwing extremist media entertainment complex. Sad and profoundly disappointing.
The serpent crawls on the ground eating dust and is dusty. It's a fairy tale and doesn't much matter to me but if you follow the storyline, it fits.
Jesus would look more like Obama and a European? And you're saying others are being stereotypical?
I agree William and don't think that sick message isn't lost on most of us normal white people.
Boycott History channel and all Mark Burnett productions. Unless...This is what Glenn crazy wants. Hell just boycott all of them. So what else is Glenny boy going to tell you all about this stupid show ahead of time?? This is what happens when multi-millionairs get stuff ahead of the pee-ons. that pays the History channels bills.
Sith Lord
Ridiculous! Seems the left and atheist are thin skinned, offended by anything Biblical.
Yes Randy and the bible is nothing but fairy tails. Just made up stories.
god doesn't exist.
Sith Lord
Really George, You have to drag Star Wars in to this? lol.