Comments | roman_machine: Evangelicals scare me.

roman_machine

Evangelicals scare me.

Sep 21, 2006 20:19

I've never been a big fan of Christianity. Maybe it has to do with where I was raised. Around here, to anyone with an ounce of sense, Christianity has become synonymous with hypocrisy. That's not to say that all Christians are hypocrites(although I will admit to a small personal bias against them), but, in my own experience, the "good" Christians ( Read more... )

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Comments 8

makethemmakeout September 22 2006, 14:03:30 UTC

I have a tshirt that says: Jesus Loves Me (But I Make Him Wear a Condom).

Yes, I'm afraid all kinds of fundamentalism continue to worry me. It's the only thing I hate about the prospect of moving to the US, that it is just more fundamentalist than where I live now.

As the Reverend Fred Phelps (of www.godhatesfags.com and westboro baptist church fame) said: God is not love. God is hate. It's in the bible. Good on you Fred, that's what we need you for, a bit of clarification.

residentgeek September 22 2006, 19:06:39 UTC

I'm just down the road from that guy, and damn, he's scary. Too chicken to protest the local stuff in Kansas City, though - he's gotta go out of state to do stupid shit like that.

I did see a few of his "followers" protesting a Melissa Etheridge concert a few years ago, but the crowd chased them off pretty quickly, before we even had a chance to get over there and say anything.

roman_machine September 22 2006, 21:55:34 UTC

I read an interesting article once on Fred Phelps(that I can't find now or I would link to it.) He's apparently quite the kook, and I don't just mean 'cause of his blind hatred for damn near everything. I mean, even though he would like us all to believe that the hatred comes strictly from God's teachings, most likely it comes from his near-sociopathic mentality. He's quite the bastard to his family. I would say family AND friends, but I can't imagine he has many of the latter.

I have to ask - where did you get that t-shirt? :)

dathon September 22 2006, 17:41:07 UTC

Heh. I agree with Sandy... if only it were always spelled out as clearly as in that Fred Phelps example. Sometimes it's more thinly veiled and insidious.

It saddens me to always jump to the conclusion that Christian = scary and hateful and bad, especially if it's someone that immediately claims out loud that he/she is Christian. Too many of the most unChristian things have been done in the name of Christianity. My problem is that I still cling to the naive idea that God (in whatever form) is good and anything in the name of God should be pure and loving and... good, right? Right?

roman_machine September 22 2006, 21:49:18 UTC

That's not a naive view. It's a correct one. I've always argued that the baser emotions - hatred, jealousy, etc. - wouldn't be felt by an omniscient being because it was, well, omniscient. So, consequently, any rules made for us wee humans wouldn't reflect those emotions. *shrugs* Haven't found anyone yet who agrees with me.

That jump bothers me, too, because I find it a much easier assumption to make than Christian = love.

residentgeek September 22 2006, 19:15:31 UTC

Yeah, it seems like it used to be people could be faithful and not have to convert everybody. It used to be a personal thing. But lately, the Evangelicals have been taking over and it seems like it's in your face all the time.

It's gotten so bad around here, we can't sign the kids up for after-school events because they all require some kind of Bible reading or forced prayer as part of the participation. Even the damn martial arts classes. We have to go closer to the city to find a program that is just a program, and not a brainwashing in disguise.

roman_machine September 22 2006, 21:42:24 UTC

Oh man, you have those "Christian martial arts" places, too? Those always get a snort of derisive laughter from me. Breaking boards for Jesus.

I skimmed through a book once by Bob Larson that listed martial arts as a cult, and I thought "who the hell really believes that?!" Apparently, quite a few people.

I hate the fact that an activity can't just be what it is anymore. You can't want to play a sport or join a group without also having to give "Glory to God" or something equally ridiculous.

residentgeek September 23 2006, 00:50:42 UTC

Actually, it was a flier sent home with the kids, and they were really wanting to do it, and it was cheap - but it turned out it was run by the local Baptist church and they were doing a prayer meeting at the start of every class. So we had to tell the kids they couldn't do it.

It's especially frustrating when they send stuff like that home with every kid. I thought you weren't supposed to be able to do that in a public school.