Christian Groups that have opposed Lady Gaga’s South African tour are glad that they have taken a stand even though the controversial pop megastar is on track to perform at the FNB Stadium in Johannesburg on Friday and at the Cape Town Stadium on Monday.
“At least we have made many people aware of the bad role model that she is for our youth at a time when our country has a serious problem with crime, violence, rape, drugs and Aids,” said Elfrieda Fleischman of the Concerned Young People of South Africa (CYPSA), which launched a petition campaign against Gaga’s tour and got to air its views on several radio stations. CYPSA is involved in rehabilitating drug addicts and reaching out to street children.
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Fleischman said it was surprising how many people, including representatives of the Film and Publications Control Board, said they were not aware that Gaga, whose tens of millions of fans around the world are mostly under the age of 18, promotes drugs and pornography.
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She said that there was a great need for the youth of South Africa to stand up against harmful influences on young people like Lady Gaga. She said that some of the 581 people who signed the CYPSA online petition said in comments accompanying their signatures, that listening to Gaga’s music had destroyed their lives.
Need to talk about ‘wrongs’, not rights
“It is not good enough to talk about people’s rights to choose what performers they want to see. Let’s rather talk about the ‘wrongs’ that result from people like Gaga influencing our young people. We have lots of studies on the link between porn and violence. Where are the people in authority to protect us?”
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Reverend Mxolisa Sonti, who is Secretary General of the Youth Forum of the South African Council of Churches said in an interview today that the forum recently delivered a memorandum against the Gaga tour to the offices of the Department of Arts and Culture in Pretoria and Cape Town. The memorandum expresses concern about Gaga’s “satanic” influence.
In addition to the group’s concerns about the anti-Christian content of Gaga’s message during her performances, he said the SACC was also concerned that many young people did not seem able to afford to buy tickets to attend sports matches that “can unite people” but they somehow seemed able to afford expensive tickets to listen to Gaga’s music which “can divide people”. Concert ticket prices range from R715 to standing-room-only tickets at R415.
Earlier this month, SACC Youth Forum President Vuyani Pule told Gateway News that officials of the Department of Arts and Culture, who received the anti-Gaga tour memorandum in Pretoria, said they were not aware that the singer’s visit had negative connotations.
In Cape Town, Abraham Warren, of Christians For Truth, who recently organised an Anti-Gaga tour march to the office of entertainment promoter Big Concerts, said although they had been sworn at by members of the public, called fundamentalists, and belittled in media reports, they were glad they had made their stand.
He said they had also delivered a memorandum to a representative of the Office of the Executive Mayor of the City of Cape Town. The memorandum tells the Mayor not to be surprised if the floodgates of evil open in the city after the concert because of allowing Gaga a platform to influence large numbers of young people. The memorandum refers to Gaga’s open mockery of all religions and her sexual promiscuity on stage.
In other Christian responses some 2 300 people joined a facebook page that was launched in opposition to the Gaga visit, and 688 people signed another of several online petitions against the tour. But the Christian voices against the tour are small in number compared to the tens of thousands of ‘monsters’ (Gaga fans) who have rushed to buy tickets for the two shows. Mainstream media reports and social media voices have also dismissed the Christian protest as absurd, narrow-minded and misguided.
There are a number of articles on the Internet that describe Gaga as a satanist. There are also comments by Gaga supporters who say she is a Roman Catholic and supports worthy causes. There is no doubt that in her performances she mocks religion, makes liberal use of satanic and occult symbolism, is sexually obscene, promotes the use of illegal drugs, and portrays death and darkness. From a Christian perspective she is clearly a lost person and an appalling role model for youth or anybody else. Well done to the Christian groups that have dared to take a stand against the Gaga tour. Let’s pray for Stefani Germanotta (Gaga’s real name) to be set free from the darkness that surrounds her. Let’s pray for public officials to be better informed and more discerning about people who want to influence our young people. And let’s pray for the protection of the crowds of young people who attend the concerts on Friday and Monday — if they do in fact take place.
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Well I’m looking forward to her show! Who the hell are you to tell me what I can and cannot listen to watch or read. If fundamentaists such as youselves could have your way in this world then we would be far worse off than what apartheid did to us as a nation and it was a reprehensible policy. That your very brand ideology and dogma wants to have a say in our social, cultural, political and religous life disturbs me.
Your faith is no greater than the others practised in this country. You have taken the bible and completely destroyed the true meaning it gives to living a life filled with peace, love truth and justice and used it to justify hatred and contempt towards those different from yourselves
Hi Winston. Thanks for taking the time to share your views. At least we agree that the Bible is about peace, love, truth and justice. As a Christian I believe that Jesus uniquely offers every one of us a way of enjoying a relationship with the God of the Bible. You disagree; that’s fine. From a Christian perspective, it is loving and just to seek to protect children from somebody like Gaga who is hugely influential and promotes a destructive lifestyle and worldview. You don’t even have to be a Christian to get that promoting drugs, sexual promiscuity and satanic symbolism is not what the youth needs in a society struggling with AIDS, teenage pregnancies, addictions and crime.
Dear Winston,
If you would standing on a cliff and your next step would be detrimental, I would not ask you permission before I would try all in my power to stop you… we warn because we don’t want you to lose your freedom. (If you would get depressed sometime after attending her shows, and feel life is useless… you can gladly come to us for help.) We have helped many others, and can also help you to find your perfect purpose in life.
Thanks for the reply Andre. I appreciate your view. I am a Christian with a universalist view of the world and a supporter of the inter faith movement. I just think that we have so much to do for other people that our energy is been wasted on issues such as this.
Well put Andre. I also believe that as Christians we need to have the courage to speak the truth (in love) without being afraid of being labelled as hateful, fundamentalist etc. Everyone is welcome to their opinion and so are we. I will seek to protect our children from destructive lifestyles no matter what the consequences. Winston I respect your views and opinions but there can only be one truth, there can never be different variations of the truth. One day we will all be called to account and it is at that time that the truth will be known without doubt. It is therefore important to know what that truth is right now, no compromise of the truth, just simply straight up and down the way it is. God bless
I find it intriguing albeit boring that people like Winston fly off the handle with acrimonious attacks. “who the hell are you” is a nice start. Last time I checked fundamentalist was not a four-letter word either. By definition it describes a person who unwaveringly holds to his beliefs. But back to the reactionary responses. Why can Islam and any other faith raise their objections (usually vociferously and often violently) but Christians may not? Double standards boet. And when the fruit of this kind of rubbish ravages the community some time latrer, these hot-head responders are nowhere to be seen. Wake up.