Is Christian Evangelism a threat to our way of life?

[Seth]

In the UK EVangelical Christianity is mostly nigger stuff - probably something to do with not being able to sit still for more than 5 minutes without dancing or going "whoop whoop". Also maybe something to do with not being very bright.

So, overall I think quite a good thing - as not exactly an advert.

? I'm not normally one for "appropriate" posts, but what the fuck did you mean by that? Are you a racist? That seems like overt racism to me.

This from the guy with a racist avatar...interesting.

[Pappa]

In the UK EVangelical Christianity is mostly nigger stuff - probably something to do with not being able to sit still for more than 5 minutes without dancing or going "whoop whoop". Also maybe something to do with not being very bright.

So, overall I think quite a good thing - as not exactly an advert.

? I'm not normally one for "appropriate" posts, but what the fuck did you mean by that? Are you a racist? That seems like overt racism to me.

I think only about 1.3% of Santa's posts are serious. I doubt that's one of them.

[Ayaan]

Christianity is not going to be able to compete with football in the UK on a Sunday morning, not now not ever obviously its more than a match for American Football but thats not as good a sport.

And due to the love of Brits getting wasted every weekend down the pub you can forget islam as well. The only religion that has any chance in the UK is one that encourages lots of sex, football and booze

I may be reading you wrong, but you seem to imply that football isn't a religion.

I think football, both the American and European versions, can be classified as religions.

[Svartalf]

pfftt, most spectator sports have their own church, some are just larger than others... I know various people who worship tennis, swimming, figure skating or RSG

[Cormac]

In the UK EVangelical Christianity is mostly nigger stuff - probably something to do with not being able to sit still for more than 5 minutes without dancing or going "whoop whoop". Also maybe something to do with not being very bright.

So, overall I think quite a good thing - as not exactly an advert.

? I'm not normally one for "appropriate" posts, but what the fuck did you mean by that? Are you a racist? That seems like overt racism to me.

This from the guy with a racist avatar...interesting.

Papa Lazarou is not a racist character. He is an evil freak.

[Cormac]

In the UK EVangelical Christianity is mostly nigger stuff - probably something to do with not being able to sit still for more than 5 minutes without dancing or going "whoop whoop". Also maybe something to do with not being very bright.

So, overall I think quite a good thing - as not exactly an advert.

? I'm not normally one for "appropriate" posts, but what the fuck did you mean by that? Are you a racist? That seems like overt racism to me.

This lot live in Milton Keynes:-



Apparently one is now an Archbishop. and another a Liberal Democrat MP. But they all look the same to me.

Yes, very funny.

(I don't think so).

[tattuchu]

In the UK EVangelical Christianity is mostly nigger stuff - probably something to do with not being able to sit still for more than 5 minutes without dancing or going "whoop whoop". Also maybe something to do with not being very bright.

So, overall I think quite a good thing - as not exactly an advert.

? I'm not normally one for "appropriate" posts, but what the fuck did you mean by that? Are you a racist? That seems like overt racism to me.

This from the guy with a racist avatar...interesting.

YOU'RE MY WIFE NOW, DAVE!

[tattuchu]

Anyway, yes, they are a threat to my way of life. The fuckers are everywhere, even insidiously infiltrating my family.

[hiyymer]

This will vary from country to country, but here in the UK, church attendances have been steady decline for decades. People no longer feel stigmatised for not going to church any more, so those that don't believe stopped going. The whole time we've also seen a steady rise in secular thinking, but an equal rise in stupid woo too. In the last decade or so in the UK though, while church attendance as a whole has been in decline, evangelical born-again churches have been growing and attracting quite a significant number of new members. Evangelical sects couldn't be more different to the sedate, traditional options of CofE and Catholic. They tend to take the bible more or less literally and they have an annoying habit of being pro-ID creotards. We've grown accustomed to seeing secularism move in one direction... ie, more all the time. While we still have many, many lingering attachments to our religious past, such as Bishops in the House of Lords, religious school services, etc., it has always seemed (to me) that as we're moving gradually in a direction that removes religiousity from public life, the end result would presumably be complete secularism, individual freedom to follow a religion of your choice and likely a very widespread agnosticism/atheism. However, is this unidirectional change real? Not long after the Tories were back in power here, there were signs that "traditional Christian values" might start playing a part in our political climate again. Before that, Tony Cunt Face Blair had a direct connection to god inside his head and apparently thought it was good to go to war because he felt god thought it was the right thing to do. He also wasn't bothered that some academies were teaching creationism in science lessons. In recent years it's far more common to see street preachers with creationist literature than it used to be. Is all this the death throes of a failing religion, or a phoenix from the ashes (or neither)? Is the recent rise in Evangelism a danger to the way of life we've come to expect?

Or it may be that the situation is being entirely misread. Some time ago I read an interesting theory that Europe is not nearly as secular as people think. What happened is that while the state religions were stripped of their political power, at the same time they remained under the wing of the state and the cultural religion of the population and had a sort of monopoly for many years. And because the state religions were run by bureaucrats they became entirely vacuous and uninteresting and people stopped going to services. Now gradually free religious competition is growing in Europe in the American form, filling the vacuum left by the state religions. It's just the beginning.

[Audley Strange]

Free market faith eh? Heh. Honestly though what do we expect? The secular world relies to a great extent on the impression of those being in power knowing that they should be working in the interest of the public. The last decade has shown that in fact they are corrupt fucks who engage in increasigly incomprehensible and costly wars that they can't afford espcially after nearly gave the whole game away to their risk addicted pals who left millions of people out on their arses, with pretty much nothing in the way of support, while those who fucked up got all the support they wanted.

And where state fails, other charlatans will creep in and offer solutions. From what I've seen of the States, the Evangelical movement is not only offering support, but an alternative to the many who have been disenfranchised by the Regime. Sure they might be hypocritical, reality denying megalomaniacs, but if they are offering support that the godless hypocritical reality denying megalomaniacs should be, but aren't. If they are offering a comforting narrative, then of course they are going to become more successful in the hearts and minds competition.

As dangerous as this may well be, Christian Evangelism appears to offer something to people that the "our way of life" is not. However they would not be a threat if we hadn't put our faith in another bunch of dangerous fools who are just as much a threat to that "way of life".

Those who feed you and protect you are mother.

[hiyymer]

Free market faith eh? Heh. Honestly though what do we expect? The secular world relies to a great extent on the impression of those being in power knowing that they should be working in the interest of the public. The last decade has shown that in fact they are corrupt fucks who engage in increasigly incomprehensible and costly wars that they can't afford espcially after nearly gave the whole game away to their risk addicted pals who left millions of people out on their arses, with pretty much nothing in the way of support, while those who fucked up got all the support they wanted.

And where state fails, other charlatans will creep in and offer solutions. From what I've seen of the States, the Evangelical movement is not only offering support, but an alternative to the many who have been disenfranchised by the Regime. Sure they might be hypocritical, reality denying megalomaniacs, but if they are offering support that the godless hypocritical reality denying megalomaniacs should be, but aren't. If they are offering a comforting narrative, then of course they are going to become more successful in the hearts and minds competition.

As dangerous as this may well be, Christian Evangelism appears to offer something to people that the "our way of life" is not. However they would not be a threat if we hadn't put our faith in another bunch of dangerous fools who are just as much a threat to that "way of life".

Those who feed you and protect you are mother.

I think your analysis suffers somewhat from the perception that human beings are conscious rational deciders. Think of it like you are a scientist studying the behaviors of a species. Ultimately our choices are determined by the brain and the evolved biological regulation that makes us what we are. We do what we feel like doing and the real causes are entirely unfathomable and not consciously ideological. Our best explanation is to understand the nature of societies from the point of view of the evolutionary mechanism; what are those behaviors doing to fulfill the life intentionality of the organism. The conscious rational thoughts are only the tool of the brain; patterns of neurons firing to sort out the rational relationships; the decision matrix. But the life response will always be felt and not logical. Projecting conscious human rationalizations as explanation is kind of futile.

For me the easiest way to generalize it is to think of the specific implicit biological motivations of the organism that express it's particular genetic life intentionality. To me societies are a balance between motivations of cooperation and motivations of dominance. Ideologies are just group markers. But the balance is always shifting with the fortunes of the society itself. The west is in a state of incipient decline and the motivations of dominance and conformity are gaining ground; the natural biological state of a society that is under economic pressure. "Evangelical" is just a label. The ultimate motivation lies in the assertion that this is the "right" way; not, I would opine, in any need for mindless comfort.

[Seth]

Anyway, yes, they are a threat to my way of life. The fuckers are everywhere, even insidiously infiltrating my family.

And how, exactly, does this threaten your way of life? Are you being held as an involuntary captive in a religious cult?

More importantly, what on earth would lead you to any sort of belief that the religious preferences or practices of others are yours to control or even complain about? Have you no respect for the rights of others to live their lives as they please?

Other people are not obligated to live their lives according to your preferences or for your benefit or pleasure, and they may do as they please without giving you any consideration whatsoever, and may indeed live their lives in ways which infuriate and sicken you and your moral outrage is not anyone's concern.

In point of fact, if the lifestyle of others displeases you, you have only one choice: fuck off somewhere else and leave them alone.

Now, about "gay bashing..."

[tattuchu]

Maybe not so much a threat to my way of life, Seth. In fact, I'm not sure what "a threat to my way of life" means exactly That may be a little melodramatic. But the fact that so many members of my family are religious loonies, or otherwise loony, means I essentially have no family. I have, actually, fucked off and left them to their own devices. They can certainly do as they wish, and have every right to do as they wish. But my father is born-again, my twin sister is born-again, my step-sister is born-again, and my mother is insane, so far into the lobster trap of (in her case non-religious) woo that she'll never find a way out, and my little sister is brain damaged as the result of an accident. So for all intents and purpose I have no family. I suppose it's a threat to my way of life in that I no longer have a family life.

I don't understand the last line of your post.

[hiyymer]

Anyway, yes, they are a threat to my way of life. The fuckers are everywhere, even insidiously infiltrating my family.

And how, exactly, does this threaten your way of life? Are you being held as an involuntary captive in a religious cult?

I have a sweet younger sister who is quite intelligent and well educated. She was "saved" which resulted in her dumping her husband of the moment (since he was not "saved" with her), and in subsequently devoting her life to her small evangelical church in California. At first it was hard because you couldn't talk to her without her friend Jesus being injected into the conversation, but she has mellowed out over the years and we now get along quite well. The only thing that appalls me his her politics. It is very clear that her religious ideology trumps the constitution. To her way of thinking the only hope for the country is if everyone finds Jesus and gets close to God. To an evangelical it is crystal clear that the world is incredibly imperfect, and the mission is for everyone to be a Christian and live the Christian life. You really shouldn't delude yourself that this is a harmless non-threatening phenomenon. If the evangelicals gain political control (which they DO want), then you cherished delusions of individual freedom will be flushed down the toilet of religious conformity.

[JimC]

Anyway, yes, they are a threat to my way of life. The fuckers are everywhere, even insidiously infiltrating my family.

And how, exactly, does this threaten your way of life? Are you being held as an involuntary captive in a religious cult?

I have a sweet younger sister who is quite intelligent and well educated. She was "saved" which resulted in her dumping her husband of the moment (since he was not "saved" with her), and in subsequently devoting her life to her small evangelical church in California. At first it was hard because you couldn't talk to her without her friend Jesus being injected into the conversation, but she has mellowed out over the years and we now get along quite well. The only thing that appalls me his her politics. It is very clear that her religious ideology trumps the constitution. To her way of thinking the only hope for the country is if everyone finds Jesus and gets close to God. To an evangelical it is crystal clear that the world is incredibly imperfect, and the mission is for everyone to be a Christian and live the Christian life. You really shouldn't delude yourself that this is a harmless non-threatening phenomenon. If the evangelicals gain political control (which they DO want), then you cherished delusions of individual freedom will be flushed down the toilet of religious conformity.

They are exactly the same in Oz, but they are a fuck of a way further off achieving what they want, given much smaller numbers...