51 thoughts on “Finding Conspiracies In…The Wizard of Oz?”

  1. This guy is not helping the Southern Accent recover from it’s use as Hollywood shorthand for stupid.

    L Frank Baum was a Christian, albiet a liberal one.

    The message of the Wizard of Oz is political, not religious, although it’s not a far stretch to interpret it that way.

    But still, this man must not read a lot if he’s reacting so violently to ‘the power to do this was inside you all along’ message. I wonder how his version of the Little Engine that Could would read?

    “And the little engine just couldn’t do it on his own, until he reached out to God and got Jesus to push him up the track…”

    1. The Origin of Species, I am hereby taking your first statement and putting it into my “Favorite Quotes” list (crediting you with it, of course). 😀

    2. Okay, now I’m seeing Christ giving the Little Engine a push and saying, “There you go, my son, you just needed a little help.” 😆

  2. I was gonna say that too RJW. That’s another hyper-fundie hallmark…out of shape, overweight, many times downright obese preachers. Comes from all those “pot-lucks” I guess.

  3. I don’t suppose it bothers him that Oz actually DOES come through on his promises of brains, courage, and a heart.

    Stuff Fundies Like: misinterpreting EVERYTHING.

  4. I wonder if he noticed that gluttony is a sin. Looks like his belt is a leather fence around a chicken graveyard.

  5. I love when preachers go straight to the “this is one of worst (insert item) in the history of the world” or “(insert name) is one the biggest God-haters in the history of the world”. Seriously? The people that made The Wizard of Oz are some of the biggest God-haters of all time and the movie itself is one of the most evil in the history of film? Based on what?

  6. Alternate titles for this post (other stuff fundies like):

    * Non-sequitur pseudo applications (“and she gets whirled away in a storm — and storms come in our lives — and …”)
    * Making fun of “midgets”

  7. I think I laughed the whole time. Especially on what Origin said. The movie was based on the politics at the time. Like the tinman was oil companies. And Oz was the president at the time (Roosevelt? I forget). But anywhos. Random non-related history lesson.
    But again. The mis-interpretation of something simple to the wild extreme.

  8. The Wizard of Oz is one of my all time favorite movies. So this guy must be real hard up for things to preach about. Maybe he shoul;d be searching tghe Scriptures instead of watching fairy tale movies.

  9. Actually. Strangely. He seemed to know and was able to act out quite well the munchkin part…Curious eh?

  10. The book is supposed to be an allegory similar to Pilgrim’s Progress. I cannot remember all the details of interpretation, but I have been told that it was written as part of the dispute over the silver versus gold standard for US money. (Yes, once upon a time we had a non-fiat currency.)

    The land of Oz (ounce) is Washington, D.C.; the yellow brick road represents gold; the shoes, red in the movie to be better seen on the screen, were silver, part of the “free silver” movement; the cowardly lion was William Jennings Bryan, a champion of the free sliver movement (see his famous “Cross of Gold” speech). I can’t remember any of the rest, but you get the idea.

    The book is a period piece, as Nathan has said, and as such its value is ephemeral. The real issue is hermeneutics. Why was this book written? This should drive interpretation.

  11. I just love how this sickeningly-corpulent moron keeps saying “mmmidgets” as though being a Little Person is an unspeakable evil. That “pastor” needs to be punched in the neck.

  12. His punishment for being a fundamental legalist will be an eternity as a midget!! Be careful what you focus on in life!! It just might eat you in the end!!

    He needs to find a real relationship with God…and focus on the things that matter…People! and his own heart.

  13. Dude. If you’re not going to quote any scripture, at least research your pop culture references…

  14. I never cease to be amazed at the ability of people to find conspiracies where they don’t really exist. I suppose that we really do find what we are hunting. To take a story that most highschool US History students are taught is an allegory dealing with our national history, and make it some anti-God or anti-Church piece kills any credibility that this guy might have had. Admittedly, that’s not a big loss since he was obviously lacking in that department before he ever said a word.

  15. The Bible doesn’t teach that Heaven has streets of gold. That’s the New Jerusalem.

    (Nit pick)

  16. I thought for a moment that this was an advertisement for “Super-Size Me – Part 2” a documentary, and then realized my speakers were turned off. Turned them back on and wish I would have kept to my original thought process! 😀

  17. “…snakehole salesmen preaching that junk everyday on tv”

    Apparently he’s exempt from this statement…

    Nice one Mark.
    And months later, this is still hilarious.

  18. This is pointless drivel in my opinion.
    What in the world is wrong with the people in the pews?
    The Wizard of Oz has nothing to do with religion.

  19. I swear David Grice is fatter than John Hagee. And every bit as big of a fruitcake, if not more so. I’d love to hear his take on another Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer blockbuster from that same year (1939), “Gone With The Wind”!

  20. He must not be aware of any movies or culture beyond 1939. I am sure very few in a normal congregation would even be as intimately aware of the plot line of the Wizard of Oz. But when conspiracies and obscure Levitical passages are the basis for your preaching any old thing will do.

  21. if he thinks “the wizard of oz” is wicked, he should read “wicked” and subsequent books. talk about godless! great reads, though.

    1. I didn’t like the books, but I’ve heard the musical is really good (although I know people on facebook who did the whole “holier than thou” bit questioning someone who would dare attend a show with such an evil title).

  22. The Origin of Species says:
    “This guy is not helping the Southern Accent recover from its use as Hollywood shorthand for stupid.”

    Really.

    And Jenn says:
    “My gaydar is going off watching this guy speak.”

    Mine went through the roof. I used to think the claim that every homophobe is a closeted gay was exaggerated, but now I’m starting to wonder.

  23. I wonder if commenting about the Illuminati will get this post a bit higher in the google rankings for Wizard of Oz conspiracies?

  24. I was just going to say this guy needs to shut up,enjoy the movie, and eat his popcorn. However,these guys never shut up,he already hates the movie, and I have a feeling popcorn wouldn’t have much of an effect. Now cotton candy,yeah he could relate to that. It’s mostly hot air anyhow.

  25. If Eric Cartmen ever grew up and became an IFB preacher, he would be….this guy.

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