Naughtyhamster Posted August 2, 2007 Share Posted August 2, 2007 I overheard an xtian co-worker of mine saying how he's into a "relationship" with Gawd and not a "religion". I've heard this cliche so many fucking times I would be a millionare if I got a nickel for everytime I heard it. Anyway why would anyone want to have a relationship with someone so destructive, cruel, and abusive? As a xtian I always felt like gawd favored other people and probably hated me as it seemed as no matter what I did and how much I prayed good things only "fell out of the sky" for other people. I mean would you be friends with someone who treats you like shit, probably will zap you with terrible diseases, and send you to a firey hell if you don't do everything they say? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dr_funkenstein Posted August 2, 2007 Share Posted August 2, 2007 I love it. For some reason, these people can get away with behaviour that - were it not within the "special case" of religious experience - would be an instant ticket to psychiatric care. Hearing voices in your head is never a good sign. But besides that, the logic that xians use to reach this conclusion is faulty anyway. Their definition of a religion is a set of rules and practices that must be followed in order to achieve some spiritual goal. They claim that since xianity only requires their faith in order for their salvation to be assured, that they are somehow different. If ever a xian uses this on me, I'll point out to them that since there are no legalistic requirements (like other religions) then as long as I believe in my heart I can do whatever I want. "oh but I have FAITH, so I can continue in my sinful life. Besides, it's my RELATIONSHIP with god that matters... don't be so RELIGIOUS! In any case, the blood of christ washes away all sin... so let's partayyy!" You'll see pretty quickly that in fact there ARE legalistic requirements needed to demonstrate that you are saved. Yep - xianity is a religion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grandpa Harley Posted August 2, 2007 Share Posted August 2, 2007 To use a word that was overused in "V for Vendetta" - Bollocks, dear. They're talking bollocks... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thurisaz Posted August 2, 2007 Share Posted August 2, 2007 Should anyone ever try to pull that relationship thingie on me, my reply will probably be "Good for you - I got a personal relationship with Thor. You disagree? Prove me wrong". And then, let's see what echo will come... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lycorth Posted August 2, 2007 Share Posted August 2, 2007 That irritating catchphrase never failed to irk at me, even when I was a Xian. But I was mostly a Catholic, and as such never heard it. I only became aware of it during my little Protestant phase, but when that petered out, so did my tolerance for the catchphrase. Even as a Xian, I always wanted to say "what, is Jesus supposed to come down and have a beer with me?"or something to that effect. As a Catholic, I was fine with worshiping a distant, aloof wannabe-king of a god; this "personal relationship" drivel sounded like so much limp-wristed sappy crap, and didn't ring of the good old-time religion of terror and self-righteousness I had come to love at the time. The fact that this "personal relationship" stuff isn't even biblical (to the best of my knowledge, unless I'm forgetting stuff) helped with my rejection of it. And yes, why would anyone want a relationship with a god like that? The relationship Xians propose is an abusive one, anyway; devote yourself to a god who never shows up, doesn't answer cries for help, and threatens you with eternal pain if you don't do your best to suck up to him. How lovely :angry: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OnceConvinced Posted August 2, 2007 Share Posted August 2, 2007 In my book I'm writing, I'm trying to come up with a list why a so-called Relationship with God is not really a relationship at all. So far I've only come up with a couple of points and it still needs a lot of work. This is just a rough draft: 1. Two way communication. As a Christian we are always told we should spend time in prayer, because we should be talking to God, after all, if we love someone don’t we talk to them? But why is it that we should be made to feel guilty for not talking to God, when God never talks to us? Now before you protest and say “Hold on, God does talk to me!” Let’s not forget that no relationship ever succeeded by telepathy. A married couple for instance cannot communicate effectively through popping little thoughts into each others mind. Communication doesn’t work that way. One of the things as a Christian is we are told we need to learn to hear God’s voice. So we pray and read the word so that we can get to know his voice better. And that works. But only because the older we get, the more knowledgeable and wise we become, so because of experience we start to make better decisions. 2. You learn about the person from the person In any relationship, the way to get to know someone is to spend time with them, communicate with them and experience them on a personal level. However, with God, although we are told we should be spending time with him in prayer, the only real way we can get to know him and his ways is through reading the bible. Imagine if you were to meet the woman or man of your dreams and you asked them out on a date. How would you react if that person then turned around to you and handed you a stack of diaries and told you if you want to get to know me better, read these. Would you want a relationship with that person? How successful would that relationship be? Furthermore, what if those diaries weren’t even written by this person, but by people who knew them. Perhaps the writers claimed they were inspired to write the diaries on behalf of your new love interest. Would you really feel you were getting an accurate indication of what that person was like from reading them? So then how can we really get to know God simply by reading men’s accounts of him? But what of the Holy Spirit, you ask? You say you have a direct line to God through that. I learn more and more about God everyday. I come to know his voice better, I become more in tune with him. But don’t forget, that the bible is the benchmark. Everything you hear and feel from God through the Holy Spirit must line up with that, otherwise it’s not God at all. I'm sure glad I don't need to consult a manual on my loved ones to be able to have a relationship with them. ........................ The other thing about a relationship with God is that there is a lot of fine print. It's all very well to say all you have to do is repent, but we all know there is a lot more to it than that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Sage Nabooru Posted August 2, 2007 Share Posted August 2, 2007 I had to leave Christianity before I had any kind of a personal relationship with God. I was too afraid of his tyrannical majesty beforehand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fweethawt Posted August 2, 2007 Share Posted August 2, 2007 I remember the old Malt-O-meal commercials where that little kid had a personal relationship with his friend, Maynard. "Good Stuff, Maynard." Anyone else remember that one? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lerato Posted August 2, 2007 Share Posted August 2, 2007 If fundie christians don't believe that they are members of a religion then maybe their churches can start paying taxes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Everglaze Posted August 2, 2007 Share Posted August 2, 2007 Personal relationship with god my ass. How can they possibly have a relationship with a fictional being or one that only exists inside of a book? Can people have relationships with other people just by knowing a few things about them from reading a biography about them? No. The same thing should be applied here, yet why it's not is beyond me. There's not much of a difference between the relationship aspect and the religious aspect of Christianity, seeing how following god and having a relationship with him is following the instructions of the book. The book also contains the whole 'go out there and preach' lesson, which gathers more followers and thus it becomes a belief system aka religion. Also, god favours the Israelites all the way through the book and calls them his people. When I was a Christian, I felt like I didn't belong in the circle because of my different race. I often wondered why I was even worshiping an Israel god. I guess people love doing evil just like it says in the book and that evil is following this racist god. Such contradicting nonsense. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilentLoner Posted August 3, 2007 Share Posted August 3, 2007 Tell me about it. My female parental unit says the same thing all the time. She's not "religious" she's just "spiritual." Same fucking thing seeing what she does. I think I hate the "personal relationship with gawd" lines even more than churchgoer ones. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freeman Posted August 3, 2007 Share Posted August 3, 2007 Personal Relationship?! I always knew gawd was a female because I would always call out her name during that personal relationship (sex) OH GAWD! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amethyst Posted August 3, 2007 Share Posted August 3, 2007 If fundie christians don't believe that they are members of a religion then maybe their churches can start paying taxes. Good point. They could also be treated like any other business (which they are), so then they would be open to lawsuits proving that their product (god) exists. If they can't prove their product exists, then it's just a scam operation and we should get all the money back we wasted on offerings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mythra Posted August 4, 2007 Share Posted August 4, 2007 The first thing that the "relationship" hucksters do is provide a phony definition of religion. They all say that religion is people obeying a set of rules in order to gain favor with God. So, for starters, we could talk about a proper definition of "religion": re·li·gion (rĭ-lĭj'ən) Pronunciation Key n. Belief in and reverence for a supernatural power or powers regarded as creator and governor of the universe. A personal or institutionalized system grounded in such belief and worship. The life or condition of a person in a religious order. A set of beliefs, values, and practices based on the teachings of a spiritual leader. A cause, principle, or activity pursued with zeal or conscientious devotion. So, what part of the above definition do christians not adhere to? And, I suppose the second argument against this nonsense is - name one religion where its practitioners don't think they're in some kind of relationship with one or more deities? But, good luck arguing with any of these self-deluded patsies. Anyone who spends half their day talking to a pretend friend, you'd best just leave them alone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OnceConvinced Posted August 4, 2007 Share Posted August 4, 2007 There is a huge list of religious rituals Christians do. I defy any Christian to say they haven't done any of the following: Baptism Communion Speaking in tongues Laying hands on people while praying Annointing with oil Casting out of demons Standing in a congregation together and singing together Raising hands to God Holding hands with the person next to you Dancing to God Reading the bible daily Praying Going to church every Sunday So if even one of these is practised on a regular basis, that is religion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grandpa Harley Posted August 4, 2007 Share Posted August 4, 2007 Raising hands to God... the ego of someone who wants to share their armpits defeats my comprehension... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
white_raven23 Posted August 4, 2007 Share Posted August 4, 2007 One of the things as a Christian is we are told we need to learn to hear God’s voice. So we pray and read the word so that we can get to know his voice better. And that works. But only because the older we get, the more knowledgeable and wise we become, so because of experience we start to make better decisions. Isn't it funny that's the only voice you have to LEARN to HEAR??? Hearing is a physical thing. You either hear something, or you don't. Even deaf people. If they suddenly become capable of hearing via hearing aid.....I don't think anyone needs to tell them they are hearing. Now....interpreting what is heard into something meaningful....that falls under "listening" and "understanding". And that is something can can be screwed with by cultural interpretation. God's voice could be anything from the sound of the wind to the sound of your Rice Krispies crackling in milk. And even THAT would make more sense than "learning to hear god's voice" to begin with, because at least other people are able to hear your noisy cereal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanInPA Posted August 4, 2007 Share Posted August 4, 2007 I remember the old Malt-O-meal commercials where that little kid had a personal relationship with his friend, Maynard. "Good Stuff, Maynard." Anyone else remember that one? Must've been before my time, Fwee Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grandpa Harley Posted August 4, 2007 Share Posted August 4, 2007 One of the things as a Christian is we are told we need to learn to hear God’s voice. So we pray and read the word so that we can get to know his voice better. And that works. But only because the older we get, the more knowledgeable and wise we become, so because of experience we start to make better decisions. Isn't it funny that's the only voice you have to LEARN to HEAR??? Hearing is a physical thing. You either hear something, or you don't. Even deaf people. If they suddenly become capable of hearing via hearing aid.....I don't think anyone needs to tell them they are hearing. Now....interpreting what is heard into something meaningful....that falls under "listening" and "understanding". And that is something can can be screwed with by cultural interpretation. God's voice could be anything from the sound of the wind to the sound of your Rice Krispies crackling in milk. And even THAT would make more sense than "learning to hear god's voice" to begin with, because at least other people are able to hear your noisy cereal. Mate of mind who had a cochlear implant maintains you have to learn to filter the signal from the noise. maybe that's what they mean... I also had a migraine experience where every noise was given equal weighting by my sensor decoding apparatus. Hearing a ticking clock with the same priority as speech is weird. On can, based on that (wholly subjective) experience, see what they mean by 'learning to hear'... but it is, I believe, a matter of giving a voice in your head equal priority to those outside... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eccles Posted August 4, 2007 Share Posted August 4, 2007 All I say is: "WHAT GOD!". There ain't a "god". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grandpa Harley Posted August 4, 2007 Share Posted August 4, 2007 what do you mean What God? We have pictures of him.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mythra Posted August 4, 2007 Share Posted August 4, 2007 Isn't it funny that's the only voice you have to LEARN to HEAR??? Hi White Raven. Been behavin? You should know that in order to hear the voice of God you have to develop your spiritual ears. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
white_raven23 Posted August 4, 2007 Share Posted August 4, 2007 Behavin? Me? Spiritual ears eh? Since they are spiritual they aren't limited to being located in the same place as physical ears. I suspect they are located closer to the buttocks given as evidence the stuff fundies choose to hear as opposed to what is actually said. Wish I had paintshop....I'd get me a picture of a butt and paste ghostly translucent spiritual ears on each cheek. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mythra Posted August 6, 2007 Share Posted August 6, 2007 People claim to have a relationship with God. Big fuckin deal. I have a relationship with my car, for chrissakes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fweethawt Posted August 6, 2007 Share Posted August 6, 2007 I remember the old Malt-O-meal commercials where that little kid had a personal relationship with his friend, Maynard. "Good Stuff, Maynard." Anyone else remember that one? Must've been before my time, Fwee Bite it, Dan... Just bite it. And bite it hard... I'm not THAT old, ya know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts