The Official Christian Media Bashing Thread

[GraphicsGuy]

Christians are always bashing "Harry Potter" (or the author J.K. Rowling) or certain movies, books, science and/or scientists...

 

Let's bash back! Hell, we've all got certain things that affected us. We can quite easily prove that some so-called "Christian" media is in fact very damaging to people.

 

NearlyInsane and Japedo mentioned the old movies, "A Thief in the Night" and "A Distant Thunder"...bash away!

 

I'll start with two things...

 

First, the "Left Behind" book series. Why do people accept these frivolous, garbage novels practically as "fact"??? I've only read the first two and I got so angry I quit. Book two, Tribulation Force is especially ridiculous. Yeah, it's the "job" of those left behind to start an army to fight the anti-christ. Give me a break!

 

Second, the play Heavens Gates/Hell's Flames. Whoever wrote this play should be the one to burn in hell! This is nothing short of terrorizing people, especially children, into accepting Christianity as "the way". Faith based on fear is not faith! It is brainwashing people into blind acceptance and it can be pushed on them time after time to make them behave.

[Sexton Blake]

Considering the popularity of the Harry Potter books, etc I think the church are doping themselves harm in the eyes of young people by criticising the HP phenomenon.

 

Religion which tells us how to live has so many things wrong with it. It is like politicians telling us how to speak the truth.

 

I watched the Left behind films and found them to be typical bible trash. The great lie of the church is that Satan is evil yet in the bible he is the good guy who gave man freewill. He never murdered millions of people, created hell, etc. That was down to the god christians somehow see as the good guy.

 

Like all religions, carrot and stick. Obey god and you go to paradise. Disobey god and he'll torture you forever. god even admits he wants to be feared.

[GraphicsGuy]

The great lie of the church is that Satan is evil yet in the bible he is the good guy who gave man freewill. He never murdered millions of people, created hell, etc.

 

Haha, this is great, kaneda. I was thinking about this the other day and wondered if anyone has ever written a story/novel based on that premise.

 

If the God of the Bible and Satan is real, what if the Bible is a skewer of actual facts? What if God has some horrendous plan for the "saved" of humanity and Satan rebelled when he discovered what the plan was? He gives man the knowledge of good and evil so they don't simply become mindless drones. God contacts a select portion of humanity and paints the devil as the bad guy. He provides a book for them to follow. He provides a "sacrifice" to turn those who accept into mindless drones again.

 

Exorcism is free will being cast out of a person. Tongues is a sign of the return to the "drone" state.

 

I love it...someone let me know if it's been done before...I want to read it!

[LosingMyReligion]

Has anyone read an entire Left Behind book? They are so tedious and badly written. And they are LITTERED with grammatical errors. A third grader could have written that series.

[GraphicsGuy]

Has anyone read an entire Left Behind book? They are so tedious and badly written. And they are LITTERED with grammatical errors. A third grader could have written that series.

 

Haha, I wasn't going to bring it up since I'm hardly a literary critic, but I do agree that they are rather poorly written. Not to mention the big print and heavy paper kind of makes them a money gimic. There's what? 10, 12 books? The content could have been fit into 4 or 5 mass-market paperbacks pretty easily.

 

The believability factor is pretty low too and that's incredibly important to a good story. I read a LOT (sci-fi/fantasy) and just based on story alone the LB series rates pretty low.

[Astreja]

I read half a page of one of the Left Behind books once, and that was quite enough, thank you. I've read better stuff from the winners of the Bulwer-Lytton contest.

[Eccles]

I have never heard of these books so I checked Google and got the Wikipedia entry:

Author Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins

Country United States

Language English

Series Left Behind (series)

Genre(s) Christian fiction

Publisher Tyndale House Publishers

Publication date 31 December 1995.

 

Two things about that. I was not suprised to find they are published in the United States, or as it should be called, the United Christian States of America.

Next the Genre is listed as Christian fiction. The Bible should come under the same Genre. I am glad the movies did not do well at all.

[Jun]

"Beware Christians With Guns"

[Guest Marty]

The great lie of the church is that Satan is evil yet in the bible he is the good guy who gave man freewill. He never murdered millions of people, created hell, etc.

 

Haha, this is great, kaneda. I was thinking about this the other day and wondered if anyone has ever written a story/novel based on that premise.

 

If the God of the Bible and Satan is real, what if the Bible is a skewer of actual facts? What if God has some horrendous plan for the "saved" of humanity and Satan rebelled when he discovered what the plan was? He gives man the knowledge of good and evil so they don't simply become mindless drones. God contacts a select portion of humanity and paints the devil as the bad guy. He provides a book for them to follow. He provides a "sacrifice" to turn those who accept into mindless drones again.

 

Exorcism is free will being cast out of a person. Tongues is a sign of the return to the "drone" state.

 

I love it...someone let me know if it's been done before...I want to read it!

 

 

There actually is a short story by an author I can't remember his name...Harlan something? But he flips the garden story and asks the question, who is the bad guy in this story? Who is the one who tried to limit the potential for humanity? Who is the one that gave mankind knowledge of good and evil?

 

I will look for the book today and post back when I can find it.

[Ro-bear]

I was not suprised to find they are published in the United States, or as it should be called, the United Christian States of America.

 

Damn it, man, don't give them any ideas. I still live here!

[Robbobrob]

I had a discussion once about the Left Behind series with some Fundies. They took great offense at me calling it Fantasay Fiction.

 

They believe that that series is an accurate portrayal of Revelations.

 

I only got through the first like 3 or 4 books. Once they tried to make be believe that the leader of the United Nations would ever actually have any real powers, I gave up on the books. I can more easily buy the fantasy of a rapture than I can the fantasy that the UN has any relevance to the control of the world.

[GraphicsGuy]

They believe that that series is an accurate portrayal of Revelations.

 

That is completely what irritates me the most about them. They think it WILL happen just that way.

 

Once they tried to make be believe that the leader of the United Nations would ever actually have any real powers, I gave up on the books.

 

Yeah, it's a recurring theme in end times doctrine. Even the old 70s movies that were pointed out end up with the UN being the ones that were beheading all the Christians and declaring martial law.

 

Who would anyone bother with beheadings anymore anyway? So messy. Firing lines, gas chambers, and mass graves are far more practical...

 

Not that I'm condoning such things, just pointing out the obvious benefits to those who will be eventually working for the antichrist. Really, those of us on this site will be her right hand men and women (oh, yes, the antichrist is a woman). We're following her now. She's slowly building her resources and a secret army and is just waiting for her opportunity to manage a hostile takeover of the US and the UN (next election she's hoping). She'll have martial law declared a few days after that and will start locking Christians up in concentration camps before the first month is up. I sooooo cannot wait for the slaughter to begin!

[centauri]

First, the "Left Behind" book series. Why do people accept these frivolous, garbage novels practically as "fact"???

 

It appeals to two of the most most primal aspects of humans, fear and greed.

It employs the fear of punishment on the one hand and the promise of great reward on the other.

Proper behavior(belief) is rewarded, improper behavior(unbelief) is punished.

Christians use these factors to become authority figures for society because they understand the "rules" and are best qualified to explain reality to others.

If they bothered to read Revelation carefully, the whole sham of Left Behind would be exposed.

Those events were to happen long ago, not 2,000 years into the future.

Rev 1:1-3

The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John:

Who bare record of the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all things that he saw.

Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.

[GraphicsGuy]

I have often thought that most faith is based on fear. Fear of life, fear of death, fear of afterlife, fear of no afterlife, fear of no purpose for life, etc.

 

As to Revelation, well, you certainly know how Xians explain away every argument you have. "All times are short to God" is the most common to what you have pointed out.

[centauri]

As to Revelation, well, you certainly know how Xians explain away every argument you have. "All times are short to God" is the most common to what you have pointed out.

 

Yes, I certainly agree. Christians have no problem rationalizing anything that fails to produce results.

Rev 22:12

And, behold, I(Jesus) come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.

 

The word behold suggests that something is about to happen but that doesn't mean anything to the apologists.

[Japedo]

If they bothered to read Revelation carefully, the whole sham of Left Behind would be exposed.

Those events were to happen long ago, not 2,000 years into the future.

Rev 1:1-3

The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John:

Who bare record of the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all things that he saw.

Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.

 

 

Why would they bother reading it? They claim the Buybull is the book of truth and just cherry pick their favorite parts, ignoring all the ugliness and contradictions. Why should the book of Revelations be any different?

 

All the Fundys will use as their evidence is No man knows the hour or the day verse. Gawds time isn't our time and so on and so forth. We've all heard it said a zillion times from the pulpits You can't use logic and reason with mental midgets who ignore half their book in order to support it. Anytime a verse is shown to them that goes against what they personally believe, they use the old... You're using it out of context or twisting it BS. They side step any fact that makes them uncomfortable, they are the Olympians of mental gymnastics.

[Onyx]

I absolutely recommend "Apocamon" by Patrick Farley over Left behind by La Hayfever, this comic series is superior and it has the feel of a Jodoworsky movie. Come back and try to tell me the bleeding Sheep walking over to get the scroll as depicted by Patrick ain't a bonker visual moment!

[Ahh!]

This pretty much sums up the Left Behind business.

 

http://uncyclopedia.org/wiki/Left_behind

 

"Left Behind

 

The Amazing God-Inspired Story of the Creation of Left Behind

 

Jerry and Tim, biblical literalists, decided one day that they could make an assload of money by writing a book about the end of the world. Instead they wrote a bunch of books about the end of the world. As long as people keep buying them they'll keep writing more books about the end of the world[1].

They're cool like that.

 

The Many, Many Books of the Left Behind Series

 

General Plot

 

All True Christians ™ are magik'd away and it's up to those Christians Left Behind, the ones that weren't smart enough to worship the correct version of the One True God ™ to mend their unpious ways. They do this by saving people or killing them. Saving people is hard so, for the most part they kill them and let God[2] sort them out, thus readying the world for the return of a little known man named J.C.. Jesus Christ, Prince of Peace, won't come back until all of the Jews, atheists, buddhists, Muslims, Catholics, Baptists and other have either converted to Protestant fundamentalism or been killed, apparently.

In short, the books have no plot[3]. Still, there are eighteen of them (so far), and they've sold a lot of copies, plus they're the books most commonly stolen from libraries (as the thieves don't plan on coming back), so they must be good. Things that are popular are good, right?"

 

(I'm having a hard time copying this so click on the link for more.)

[Ahh!]

And John Hagee is a stupid son of a bitch. I don't even know how to express that in an entertaining way.

[Luke Wolf]

Two things about that. I was not suprised to find they are published in the United States, or as it should be called, the United Christian States of America.

It's not quite that bed.....yet.

Allthough I'm sure if Bush could have another term in office it would become so. But, that is what rebellion was invented for.

 

To sum up my rant against Christian media...take all books, TV shows, music (save for a few groups, mainly the non-gospel ones such as Demon Hunter and Under Oath), and everything other media form, and with confidence I will say it all sucks.

[Guest ThemOrUs]

And John Hagee is a stupid son of a bitch. I don't even know how to express that in an entertaining way.

 

He's a festering, loudmouthed pustule of pernicious putrescence! He's one of the foremost mixtures of zeal and stupidity on the evanjellycal scene. His reach and influence make him extremely dangerous. He commands a large horde of brainwashed sheeple. And I used to like the guy . Benny Hinndrance is another...crooked devious ass-carrot he is...

 

Todd in Cheesecurdistan

[Robbobrob]

Not that I'm condoning such things, just pointing out the obvious benefits to those who will be eventually working for the antichrist. Really, those of us on this site will be her right hand men and women (oh, yes, the antichrist is a woman). We're following her now. She's slowly building her resources and a secret army and is just waiting for her opportunity to manage a hostile takeover of the US and the UN (next election she's hoping). She'll have martial law declared a few days after that and will start locking Christians up in concentration camps before the first month is up. I sooooo cannot wait for the slaughter to begin!

 

this is where I must respectfully disagree with you. The decieved who follow the anit-christ MUST be those who believe they are following a Holy Man, maybe even Jesus Himself. Otherwise, where is the deception.

 

The Army of Darkness will rise, not from the Atheists or Satanists, but from the most hardcore of Christian Fundementalism. Only they are in a position to become decieved. All the threads on this site point to how easily they allow themselves to be duped into believing things without proof. They are the ones ripe for a coming Anti-Christ.

 

Which leads me to the real fear of selfulfilling prophecy. And these people are nuts enough to make it happen.

[BlueGiant]

May I go after a sacred cow, then?

 

 

C.S. Lewis.

 

Ok, I enjoyed the Chronicles of Narnia. Screw the allegory, the series is some thoroughly enjoyable fantasy, though there is better out there, it is nice being able to read a series that was completed prior to the author's death. I have yet to read The Screwtape Letters, though the premise amuses me.

 

Mere Christianity, though, that is a complete piece of drek. These are the arguments that we have slammed left and right on this site, completely debunked even by those with a minimal number of actual working neurons, and yet it is held up as a great apology for the faith (rather than something that requires a great apology from the estate...). I'm sorry but when it comes to that sort of defense, Lewis is a two-bit hack.