Thurisaz Posted July 9, 2008 Share Posted July 9, 2008 ...sooo, why did I do "it"? It has much to do with having to stay up late/very early (from midnight to about 1:30/2:00 am) due to work issues, and having to wait for much of that time. The time comes when you remember that braindead but perversely funny/fascinating jebus cult brainwashing channel available via internet even here in Germany...and not too soon after that your hand moves the mouse to click on the bookmark of that page That said... ...I still find it both funny and enlightening to watch what the US morontheists call "church service" and compare it to church services like I got to know them from German (mainstream) Lutheranism. Let's see... church how I experienced it: - mostly always the same old tired ritual - only the songs and the sermon slightly change - hard to stay awake most of the time - but if you stay awake and something captures your attention it tends to be one of those messages in the sermons that commonly focus on "Love your neighbor!", "Love your neighbor!" and "Love your neighbor!". Hell? End times? Ummm, yeah, the bible does say something about that too. Now back to "Love your neighbor!"... Compare to what I saw/know of morontheist ceremonies in the US (the type I see on TBN): - each day seems to bring a new pulled-out-of-da-preacha's-arse unsupported assertion like "I think what the bible says, literally, is..." (Literally? Then why do you have to interpret it and are unsure that you got it right? ) - hard to think a coherent thought due to all the induced mass hysteria - the message of the sermon tends to be almost entirely about YOU. What gawd will do to YOU, how YOU are better than everyone else just because you follow the cult's dogma, how YOU will be one of the few to survive and get to see the others get tormented throughout eternity while you enjoy the niflhel of a boner you'll get from watching, how gawd will give YOU a billion bucks just for believing in him (if you only first give some few hundred bucks or so to the preacher telling you that of course )... et cetera... ad nauseam. The former, as I see it, is (kind of) religious. Not the kind of religion I like, but... religious. Somehow. The latter is merchandising and brainwashing. And merchandising and brainwashing. Nothing else. Too bad that to understand what's going on there you have to be quite adept in English. Otherwise there'd be so damn many of my fellow Germans who don't understand why I have an issue with the US (and US-style) morontheists who'd understand immediately... if only they could follow the madness brought to everyone via TBN each and every fucking day... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R. S. Martin Posted July 9, 2008 Share Posted July 9, 2008 Is that what I have to recommend the UK athiest on another forum who KNOWS hell is not part and parcel of religion? He wanted to reprogram people not to pair the words "fundamentalist" and "extremist" together. I explained to him the difference between UK and North American religion, i.e. that hell is the power behind religion and that hell is part and parcel of religion in North America. He just says I beg to differ with you, and list a lot of denominations that he thinks don't have a literal hell. (He doesn't even use the term "literal hell." I doubt he knows it.) He tells me how irrational/illogical such beliefs are and what the word really means. Excuse me! Illogical or no, this is what these people believe. Empirical research proves this. He can read the faith statements and online articles himself. Historically the RC taught it--he can read up on Catholic theology. The RC still teaches it. I linked him to the Catholic Encyclopedia artcle on it. It remains to be seen whether he accepts evidence. Whew! I can see why some people hate atheists. It's not the atheism that makes a person intolerable; it's the know-it-all attitude--religious or atheist or otherwise. Was it a mistake what you did, Thurisaz? I can't judge. You needed to while away the hours somehow and you have no one around you who understands. This gave me opportunity to rant, too. I think you did the right thing. American fundamentalism needs to be ranted. BIG TIME. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thurisaz Posted July 9, 2008 Author Share Posted July 9, 2008 Well I do have a few people here who understand... but those who I'd really like to make understand what I mean have a hard time with it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts