Castiel233 Posted July 25, 2014 Share Posted July 25, 2014 I was in town a few weeks ago, and this chap wheeled out a portable loud speaker, plugged it in and knelt on the ground. Then for I don’t know how long, he chanted, “We worship you Lord Jesus”, knelt forward and touched the ground with his forehead….over and over again……..a few people looked at him (no one approached him). He spoke with (I think) an African accent. He had plenty of watchers, I wonder if God was one of them. Then some weeks later, I was in Coventry with my family. As we walked down one of the main shopping areas, I spied a large woman, with “Israel”, printed on her T-shirt. As we got closer (the area as very busy) she stood up and in a loud voice, said “Can I have everyone’s attention please, I am an American and I am not ashamed of the Lord Jesus Christ, I am a Christian and a follower of the Lord”……that was the gist of it anyway. No one paid her anymore then the most basic attention, mixed in with pity I would guess. I guess these people feel the need (and are Biblically mandated) to share their religious views, but I think the UK is very barren ground indeed for the Hebrew God and His followers. There’s an old saying, “have you ever noticed that people who are keen to share their religious views with you, rarely want you to share yours with them”. I knew an English woman, who was so keen on Jesus (handing out Bible tracts to children on Halloween) that when her wealthy father died, he left his money to her, via a trust. If she wanted something (a new television for example), the trust would buy it for her. She was not allowed the cold hard cash, because her Dad was well aware she would give it away to her church. My ex wife, fell briefly in with this woman and sent the local vicar round to convert me………he got tea and biscuits, but no conversion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seven77 Posted July 25, 2014 Share Posted July 25, 2014 Once a few years ago, there was a new church starting up not far from where I live. There is a busy shopping center up the main road. The church decided that it would be a good idea to have a guy dress up like Jesus and carry a homemade wooden cross through traffic while some other people handed out fliers at the intersection. That was pretty crazy and eventually the local police department came down and told them that he couldn't walk through traffic. Dangerous, you know. They accused the police of violating their freedom of speech in the local paper. A bunch of townsfolk responded by telling the church that no one cared what they said or believed, it was a matter of public safety. The intersection they had been trolling is busy and contains a lot of traffic coming off of a roundabout. It's a dangerous place for pedestrians. Cars don't always see them crossing. The church shut up after that, but it has always stuck with me. Since I live in the middle of fundie land, I see all kinds of things. People praying loudly at restaurants. People putting tracts on windshields in parking lots. Occasionally people try to evangelize. Knocking on doors, and that sort of thing. It all seems rather pointless to me. In this day and age, most persons have heard the Jesus story. The internet has made a lot of things available to us, like bibles, videos, etc. The information is out there. Why is it necessary to publicly profess faith anyway? Why try to convert people? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Castiel233 Posted July 25, 2014 Author Share Posted July 25, 2014 "The information is out there. Why is it necessary to publicly profess faith anyway? Why try to convert people?" I guess to earn happiness points with the Big Guy upstairs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Castiel233 Posted July 25, 2014 Author Share Posted July 25, 2014 Castiel233, I've been noticing your posts and I like reading them. Good story. You're an observant and thoughtful person. I especially like your insights about people so eager to share their beliefs but not as eager to hear someone else's. That's a strange phenomenon where somebody shouts out in a public place their faith in Jesus or God. It's almost like an initiation rite. When I was a Christian, we shouted in church or in outdoor praise gatherings or concerts. But to go into a neutral setting and do it that way doesn't seem very effective, other than giving people the impression of mental disorder. I like your pithy ending,"he got tea and biscuits, but no conversion." Keep writing! Human Thank you, your very kind. I once read that evangelicals of the keener type sometimes visit Israel, and once stepping of the plane, become utterly convinced they are the reincarnation of John The Baptist or other NT figures.......after a few days of treatment they return to normal. If only we could so easily treat people who believe they are in a relationship with the King of the Universe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roz Posted July 25, 2014 Share Posted July 25, 2014 " As we got closer (the area as very busy) she stood up and in a loud voice, said “Can I have everyone’s attention please, I am an American and I am not ashamed of the Lord Jesus Christ, I am a Christian and a follower of the Lord”……that was the gist of it anyway." Dear England, We're really sorry -America Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seven77 Posted July 25, 2014 Share Posted July 25, 2014 The only place for evangelism is the public toilet. Even then, the efforts should be limited to tracts printed in biodegradable paper that won't clog the toilet when it is flushed. Lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Castiel233 Posted July 25, 2014 Author Share Posted July 25, 2014 " As we got closer (the area as very busy) she stood up and in a loud voice, said “Can I have everyone’s attention please, I am an American and I am not ashamed of the Lord Jesus Christ, I am a Christian and a follower of the Lord”……that was the gist of it anyway." Dear England, We're really sorry -America Dear America We forgive you, but please don't send anymore -England Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roz Posted July 25, 2014 Share Posted July 25, 2014 We can't promise that, you should vacation here and see the fundies we have. It's much more exciting than going to an African safari because the wildlife is much more ludicrous. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gall Posted July 26, 2014 Share Posted July 26, 2014 I was in town a few weeks ago, and this chap wheeled out a portable loud speaker, plugged it in and knelt on the ground. Then for I don’t know how long, he chanted, “We worship you Lord Jesus”, knelt forward and touched the ground with his forehead….over and over again……..a few people looked at him (no one approached him). He spoke with (I think) an African accent. He had plenty of watchers, I wonder if God was one of them. Then some weeks later, I was in Coventry with my family. As we walked down one of the main shopping areas, I spied a large woman, with “Israel”, printed on her T-shirt. As we got closer (the area as very busy) she stood up and in a loud voice, said “Can I have everyone’s attention please, I am an American and I am not ashamed of the Lord Jesus Christ, I am a Christian and a follower of the Lord”……that was the gist of it anyway. No one paid her anymore then the most basic attention, mixed in with pity I would guess. I guess these people feel the need (and are Biblically mandated) to share their religious views, but I think the UK is very barren ground indeed for the Hebrew God and His followers. There’s an old saying, “have you ever noticed that people who are keen to share their religious views with you, rarely want you to share yours with them”. I knew an English woman, who was so keen on Jesus (handing out Bible tracts to children on Halloween) that when her wealthy father died, he left his money to her, via a trust. If she wanted something (a new television for example), the trust would buy it for her. She was not allowed the cold hard cash, because her Dad was well aware she would give it away to her church. My ex wife, fell briefly in with this woman and sent the local vicar round to convert me………he got tea and biscuits, but no conversion. Why did you even give him tea and biscuits? I would have looked out my window and went back in the other room it is no way to win friends and influence people for them to never listen to you talk about yourself. Thankfully Carnagy was a little crazy and it keeps most christians from actually influencing anyone that already likes themselves. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Castiel233 Posted July 26, 2014 Author Share Posted July 26, 2014 "Why did you even give him tea and biscuits? I would have looked out my window and went back in the other room " As an English gentlemen I am usually very polite. It would have been awfully rude to tell him to buzz off. To be fair he was an Anglican minister, so it was the "Isn't Jesus super, would you like to come to the church fete for tea and scones" brand of Christianity, rather than the bug eyed "guess where you will be in the year 3000", brand. So it wasn't too bad. Not long after our meeting , he transferred to another parish anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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