Comments | thestickywicket: Are You There God? It's Me, One of the Non-PSYCHOS

thestickywicket

Are You There God? It's Me, One of the Non-PSYCHOS

May 16, 2006 10:22

"Christians have an obligation, a mandate, a commission, a holy responsibility to reclaim the land for Jesus Christ -- to have dominion in civil structures, just as in every other aspect of life and godliness ( Read more... )

teh crazy

Comments 38

puffingnoise May 16 2006, 14:42:40 UTC

Yes, what you quoted there is a bit extreme and makes me feel a bit sick inside to know that there are Christians out there who think that way. But the truth in it is that Christians are supposed to make the gospel heard by people who've never really heard it before. And if it's done right, it's not pushy and annoying and it doesn;t feel like we're trying to "conquer" the world. Christians like myself just want to sapread the word, make God's word heard and hope people will be saved by it.

thestickywicket May 16 2006, 19:13:40 UTC

Let me preface this by saying I know talking about religion can get very personal and I'm not trying to offend you. I'm honestly asking:

Christians are supposed to make the gospel heard by people who've never really heard it before. And if it's done right, it's not pushy and annoying and it doesn;t feel like we're trying to "conquer" the world. Christians like myself just want to sapread the word, make God's word heard and hope people will be saved by it.

Can you understand why the portion that I've bolded is troublesome to me? I was raised Christian, and I've studied other religions as an adult, and this notion of saving people has always bothered me. I don't know how it can not be pushy to try to "save" someone. That, of course, implies that the person needs saving from, I guess, what another person feels is a poor or lacking life. And this life is lacking because they haven't heard or don't choose to follow one interpretation of the Bible? I've been to evangelical churches in Oklahoma and Texas and Missouri, where the ( ... )

puffingnoise May 16 2006, 20:23:50 UTC

No, I totally get your point. I know how people would get annoyed if people tried to tell them that what they believed their whole lives may not be true ( ... )

zandras_court May 16 2006, 21:42:52 UTC

But all you have to do to be "saved", which I didn't know until a couple years ago because I grew up Catholic and never actually read the Bible or heard the term "saved", is to believe that Jesus is the Christ. The Bible says, "He who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved."

Not to be nitpicky here, but you talk about believing in Christ as the way to salvation, yet you cite a verse from the Old Testament (Joel 2:32), that is referring the Jews to Zion. Therefore, at the least, all the Jews are saved too, yet they do not believe in Christ.

See, I have never liked the term "saved". I don't consider myself "saved" or "born again" or anything other than that my life is better for my belief in Jesus and my attempts to follow his teachings as much as I am able ( ... )

Thread 23

alto2 May 16 2006, 16:26:37 UTC

Did you read either of the articles that Harper's ran last May? One was called "Soldiers of Christ," and the other "Feeling the Hate with the National Religious Broadcasters." I read the latter, which was terrifying enough, but I have both of them in PDF format if you're interested (and can stomach it).

Suffice it to say that these people scare the hell out of me.

thestickywicket May 16 2006, 19:17:07 UTC

Oh, sure! Send 'em on, thanks. I need some new ranting material. ::g::

alto2 May 16 2006, 19:53:12 UTC

Sent 'em, though I forgot your Gmail address and sent them to HI, so they may or may not bounce. I have since found at least a few of my brain cells, so if I do get it back, I'll send it to an account that can handle larger files. Sorry about that!!

thestickywicket May 17 2006, 20:28:05 UTC

Can't remember if I replied via email, but thanks -- I got the articles and dl'ed them. Haven't steeled myself to read them, yet, but I will. ::nods::

zandras_court May 16 2006, 20:11:56 UTC

Who said the first quote? I'd love to sent the source/article to sojo.net
Or are they both from Salon?

thestickywicket May 16 2006, 21:55:56 UTC

They're both from the Salon article, but the first is text from a book published by one of teh crazies that's quoted in said article, if you followed that. ::g::

zandras_court May 16 2006, 22:07:30 UTC

I did, thank-you. And I forwareded that text to sojo. I'll be curious if/how they will respond.

simonthecat May 16 2006, 22:45:32 UTC

Oh boy! I would just LOOOOVE to reply to comments on this post, as a lapsed Christian myself!

However, my views are rather strong and likely to cause offence to the original commenters. So I shall refrain fom expressing my opinions on their comments.

Let's just say, I find the idea of any religion pushing itself on other people by whatever means, to be offensive. No matter how "gently" this proselitizing is done, it is still an attempt to take the weak and vulnerable and force them into a way of thinking that takes away some of their freedoms.

dianora2 May 17 2006, 00:39:55 UTC

I just have to say this icon is cracking me up as it looks almost exactly like MY cat. :)

thestickywicket May 17 2006, 00:47:04 UTC

Aww, it looks like my cat, too, but it may just be the attitude. Not that you can tell from the Broken!Cat icon pic, but whatever.

KITTIES!

simonthecat May 17 2006, 07:59:35 UTC

Awww, poor kitty

Thread 8