Revisiting The Idea Of God,''not Being A Respecter Of Persons''

[angusodinson]

I am sure this has been addressed many times over but everyone as their own story based on their own experience.....this is my first post too.

 

So basically i want to get this off my chest.I spent much of my christian experience in charismatic churches which were and i was personally very influenced by the christian speaker circuit,espcially end times BS and prophets,prophecies etc etc.

 

Somthing that used to irritate me intensly,although I used to quash that natural feeling since it was sin, was that you would get some guy who has just spent an hours talk telling you about what God has shown him;often in the ways most christians would have loved.You kno this guy had an active speaking ministry,lived by faith,got dreams and visions,beautiful wife the whole thing.....and then he goes, ''listen folks,I'm no one special,I'm nothing,what god has done for me he'll do for you too' !!!!!!!!????????

 

i meanits blatently untrue.He was special,god was treating him in a special way and god clearly didn't do all that shit for everyone.And No Mr! you are clearly not ''nothing'' and you know it.Yoy have acheived a lifestyle that brings you in significnt salary,plenty of free travel and hotels to recount your tale;heck who would not want that life.But not eevryone in the church could do so,could they?

 

i heard variations on that nonsense so often.It was a cruel hoax,such a lie.....vulnerbale people who weremaybe genuine tho misguided in there faith would then go home asking God to use them in a similar way;of course you would want god to give you dreams and visions,a sense of such guidance in your life would be great!

 

I don't need that anymore as i have been deconverting/ed for nearly four yrs now.just hated THAT particular lie.

[andyjj]

I remember reading 'The Cross and the Switchblade' and being amazed at the power of God's Holy Spirit in Nicky Cruz's life-but left wondering why I experienced nothing like it

[angusodinson]

yeah I expereinced that feeling about lots of ''the greats'' I read or heard.

[DesertBob]

Reminds me of the song:

 

It is no secret

What God will do

What he's done for others

He'll do for you

 

With arms wide open

He'll welcome you

What he's done for others

He'll do for you

 

This is indeed the empty promise of Christianity, leveraging the fact that "hope springs eternal in the human breast".

 

I don't think this disingenuous nonsense is the sole province of Christianity though. Every "ism" promises a silver bullet because that's what people want. They are tired of obtuse, arcane, baroque, ineffable, occult "truths" that reveal themselves only reluctantly and then require non-intuitive leaps of (il)logic and harsh self-discipline applied over time to get questionable results. In this regard, arguably, classical Buddhist thought stands alone in admitting that "life is difficult" and being up-front about the amount of effort that must be applied over time to its teachings for the HIGHLY questionable benefit of escaping the cycle of reincarnation an eternity or two sooner than you otherwise would. I think this illustrates that sometimes the very process of clawing and scratching your way out of shit-holes appeals to some, in and of itself.

 

All I know is that these self-help gurus, be they televangelists, special guest speakers, or Deepak Chopra with his bejeweled glasses and arrogance, hold up to people something to emulate in exchange for a better life when in fact it's all smoke and mirrors. At the end of the day, it's far better to just accept life as it IS rather than trying to make it something it refuses to be.