When They Claim Their Lives Are Hard As Christians

[Kaiser01]

I get so mad when they claim that their lives are so much more dificult becuase their christian, i feel the need to stand up and call total bullshit.

 

more kids under the age of 5 die of starvation than any natural disaster that has ever happend, the equivilent of the 2006 tsunami happening overy 10 days killing people under the age of 5. There are millions of people trapped in human traficing, most of them wont live more than a few months to a few years but hey its nothing compared to the pains of christianity. there are over one billion people in the poverty trap where they are so poor they have no means to change their situation at all in any way. Millions of people die every year from illness easily healed in the west every year but compared to christianity thats a peice of cake.

 

These people who claim their lives are terrible as a christian because maby once or twice in their life time a person will disagree with their philosophy so that means their persecuted. People who have half a brain not running on sensationalism will understand if you live in the first world your not suffering, you may have problems but you dont suffer like others do in the third world.

[SilentLoner]

[jackbauer]

Christian persecution (at least in America) is a huge joke. It's either blown out of proportion or self imposed. There's some verse in the bible which says that "true Christians" will be hated. They think people hate them because it reflects their sin or some bullshit. What they fail to realize is that the reason they are being hated is because they are judgemental, obnoxious, assholes. These are the people who threaten you with hellfire for failing to change your ways, try to hold society and civilization back, have no problem talking smack about others, but can't handle any criticism of their precious Jesus. If you try to debate or challenge them, that just reinforces their thoughts that you're just rebelling against God. They are impossible.

 

What I also hate are those who say that your life as a Christian isn't supposed to be easy. They actually reinforce destructive, self defeating behaviors to encourage that Christian martyr complex. Then when they succeed in alienating people who take offense to their destructive philosophy, they can get on their cross. After all, they aren't trying to be popular. Ugh!!

[Thurisaz]

It's as usual with authoritarian "thinking". Their (/ their führer's) dogma says they are persecuted so as good obedient slaves there's not doubt to them that they really are persecuted.

 

Don't ask them why. They don't know. They don't care. All they care about is that if they (claim to) are persecuted, that means they are good and obedient.

[GothiCat]

I ran into this attitude all the time when I lived in the mid-west and got so fucking sick of it. All of my step-mom's bat shit crazy church friends went on and on about how persecuted they were. The truth is they want to feel that they are persecuted to validate themselves, to make themselves feel "special" and better than anyone else because their invisible friend in the sky says so. Christians are the persecutors, not the persecuted.

[BrotherJosh]

I saw a bumper sticker today, "No Worries God Is In Control. That's easy to say in a first world country. I'd like to see that overweight fuck try to say the same thing while digging through a garbage dump for food.

[Thurisaz]

I saw a bumper sticker today, "No Worries God Is In Control. That's easy to say in a first world country. I'd like to see that overweight fuck try to say the same thing while digging through a garbage dump for food.

 

I guess that ties in nicely to the cliche (?) of the average US citizen thinking her nation is the only one on the entire fucking planet...

[stryper]

.....The truth is they want to feel that they are persecuted to validate themselves, to make themselves feel "special" and better than anyone else because their invisible friend in the sky says so. Christians are the persecutors, not the persecuted.

 

Exactly, and that specialness must constantly be re-enforced. It is a false panacea. You have accepted Jesus so you are in a special group. People will hate you, but you've got to go out and spread god's love. If they hate you, then why in the world would any sane person talk to them. When they hate you it's because they want to have what you do. And they can if they follow these simple rules.

 

1) spend 3-4 days a week at church

2) Mention Jesus every other sentence.

3) force your kids to convert then abandon any family that won't

4) only vote Republican, or whatever the conservative equilvalent is in your country

5) see satan in everything

6) but believe god is all powerful.

etc etc etc etc

 

oh and don't forget to stop thinking. That is key.

 

Certainly sounds special alright.

[expat674]

Christians are persecuted in other parts of the world, like the Middle East. But in the West, it appears that they are the people doing the persecution.

[Ro-bear]

I saw a bumper sticker today, "No Worries God Is In Control."

 

If the Bible is to be believed, God in control

is a good reason to worry.

[mcdaddy]

Christian persecution (at least in America) is a huge joke. It's either blown out of proportion or self imposed. There's some verse in the bible which says that "true Christians" will be hated. They think people hate them because it reflects their sin or some bullshit. What they fail to realize is that the reason they are being hated is because they are judgemental, obnoxious, assholes. These are the people who threaten you with hellfire for failing to change your ways, try to hold society and civilization back, have no problem talking smack about others, but can't handle any criticism of their precious Jesus. If you try to debate or challenge them, that just reinforces their thoughts that you're just rebelling against God. They are impossible.

 

What I also hate are those who say that your life as a Christian isn't supposed to be easy. They actually reinforce destructive, self defeating behaviors to encourage that Christian martyr complex. Then when they succeed in alienating people who take offense to their destructive philosophy, they can get on their cross. After all, they aren't trying to be popular. Ugh!!

 

PREACH IT BROTHA JACK!!! CAN I GIT A WITNUSS!!!

[ShackledNoMore]

I would like to just once, JUST ONCE, see them switch places, particularly for the obnoxious ones who are most likely to yell persecution.

 

If they have bibles at their desks, flaunt xian themed jewelry, sport clothing and have bumper stickers that say things like WWJD or have bible verses, bow their heads in the cafeteria before they eat, try to proselytize two or three times per day, sprinkle every other sentence with christianese, and otherwise pull their god into the conversation a couple dozen times per day even when they're not proselytizing, I'd like to see them somehow have a chance to appreciate some sort of inverse to what they experience for identical behavior from a non-believing perspective.

 

I'd like to see them just once, appreciate the reaction, the difference in reaction they'd get from laying out Dawkins books at their desk, flashing around jewelry with well recognized atheist symbols and wearing shirts denying god's existence or calling out biblical absurdities. And from hunting people down to tell them that they're misguided, evil bastards for their christian beliefs and they need to trade them in for a new set of beliefs. And from incessant references of how their god doesn't exist artificially interjected throughout the day.

 

If only...

[ConureDelSol]

I saw a bumper sticker today, "No Worries God Is In Control."

 

If the Bible is to be believed, God in control

is a good reason to worry.

 

My dad just used this phrase TODAY trying to comfort my mom.

 

I like to compare Christianity to a spoiled child. They get everything they want and then, when they don't, there's no end to their horrible pouting. Then daddy (the government) gives in to them to make them shut up most of the time.

[older]

I saw a bumper sticker today, "No Worries God Is In Control. That's easy to say in a first world country. I'd like to see that overweight fuck try to say the same thing while digging through a garbage dump for food.

What needs to be done is to tie these folks to a chair and show them the photos of the children of Chernobyl by Paul Fusco

( http://inmotion.magn...essay/chernobyl )and then finish up the session with a viewing of the film War Photographer featuring James Nachtwey. After seeing that, I don't see how anyone could continue to believe.

[Mitzer]

I ran into this attitude all the time when I lived in the mid-west and got so fucking sick of it. All of my step-mom's bat shit crazy church friends went on and on about how persecuted they were. The truth is they want to feel that they are persecuted to validate themselves, to make themselves feel "special" and better than anyone else because their invisible friend in the sky says so. Christians are the persecutors, not the persecuted.

That's odd. I live (born and raised) in the midwest (St. Louis) and for all I see and people I talk to, I don't encounter too many who give religion/God a whole heck of a lot of thought in conversation even if they are believers. Seems most people believe there is a God but bringing it into discussions isn't all that common. Mostly, it's African Americans who do (sheesh...I hope that doesn't sound racist! I don't mean it to be if it does). Rarely do I run into Christians who try to convince me they're being persecuted. In fact, I can't even think of one specific instance right now. I'm sure there are some that do and I'm sure I've probaby heart it, but evidently not many. There's a very strong Catholic influence here in my city...maybe that's why. Looks like it's a cultural thing.

[Thought2Much]

My father in-law tried to convince me this past Christmas that since some towns no longer put up nativities on public property, this means that Christians are being persecuted. He went so far as to use the word "persecution" to describe this. My response to him was "So what? Are they stopping you from putting a nativity on your lawn? Or the church's property?" He then went on to tell someone else in the room about how some towns are not putting up nativities, someone that he knew would say, "Yes! Yes, you're right! Surely this is the end times, pastor!"

[NeverAgainV]

I saw a bumper sticker today, "No Worries God Is In Control. That's easy to say in a first world country. I'd like to see that overweight fuck try to say the same thing while digging through a garbage dump for food.

What needs to be done is to tie these folks to a chair and show them the photos of the children of Chernobyl by Paul Fusco

( http://inmotion.magn...essay/chernobyl )and then finish up the session with a viewing of the film War Photographer featuring James Nachtwey. After seeing that, I don't see how anyone could continue to believe.

 

Older....I went to that site. Fuck...that just puts so much into perspective! I remember Chernobyl. I think about what happened recently in Japan & the reactor after the tsunami/earthquake...a lot of suffering going

on there too. I heard an interesting NPR program on it. Xians have no right to bitch & moan about being "persecuted" because others call them out on their bullshit religion.

I think of xpastard who is spoiled & narcissistic & who knows nothing of the real world.

[NeverAgainV]

I ran into this attitude all the time when I lived in the mid-west and got so fucking sick of it. All of my step-mom's bat shit crazy church friends went on and on about how persecuted they were. The truth is they want to feel that they are persecuted to validate themselves, to make themselves feel "special" and better than anyone else because their invisible friend in the sky says so. Christians are the persecutors, not the persecuted.

That's odd. I live (born and raised) in the midwest (St. Louis) and for all I see and people I talk to, I don't encounter too many who give religion/God a whole heck of a lot of thought in conversation even if they are believers. Seems most people believe there is a God but bringing it into discussions isn't all that common. Mostly, it's African Americans who do (sheesh...I hope that doesn't sound racist! I don't mean it to be if it does). Rarely do I run into Christians who try to convince me they're being persecuted. In fact, I can't even think of one specific instance right now. I'm sure there are some that do and I'm sure I've probaby heart it, but evidently not many. There's a very strong Catholic influence here in my city...maybe that's why. Looks like it's a cultural thing.

I think you might be right about the "cultural thing"

I have heard St. Louis has a lot of Catholics...compared to the rest of the state of Missouri. I recall Missouri being mostly a protestant/baptist state. (I believe Missouri was considered a "slave state" except for the city of St. Louis which was against slavery.) In many cases it was the protestants/baptists who were pro-slavery as they used the bible to defend it. (however there were groups of protestants that were against slavery as well)

Remember in the USA Baptists & other protestants looked down their noses at Catholics & many still do. In most cases Catholics don't tend to wear their religion on their sleeves as some dogmatic protestants & baptists do.

Though I wonder if there isn't a shift...considering Santorum, who behaves much like a fundy, not a Catholic.

Of course the Catholics can be just as bad as fundy's considering their abusive past & present of no birth control...sorry quiverfuls, but the Catholics had you beat on that eons ago

OK I'll shut up....

Although I do get a bit irritated when even my own siblings, who were raised liberal catholic do the "praise the lord...this & that.." UGH I just try to block it out. I used to be the religious fanatic of the family...so I try to have compassion.

[Exevolt]

Xians always like playing the victem role, it makes them feel "special". They boast massive numbers, have control of pretty much an entire political party and have made laws that fit their dogma, but somehow are the ones being persecuted.

[jackbauer]

Xians always like playing the victem role, it makes them feel "special". They boast massive numbers, have control of pretty much an entire political party and have made laws that fit their dogma, but somehow are the ones being persecuted.

 

Yeah. It's also a sympathy play to distract from the simple fact that they usually persecute others. Most of the hate Christians get are because people are sick of being run by them. But if they can find one instance when teh ebul seculars *might* have crossed a line, they'll milk it for all they got. They are manipulative bastards.

[BrotherJosh]

OP, please don't kick my ass too hard for this- it's a respectful disagreement:

 

I find it troublesome when secular people, usually political leftists, start in about how only people in the Third World "really suffer"; our problems are only "First World problems", etc., etc. It reminds me a lot of Christian moralism, actually, or like good old Mom yelling about those starving children in Timbuktu every time you don't want to eat your boiled liver guts like a good kid.

 

People in "the First World" "really suffer", too- would we tell some terminal leukemia patient in a hospital bed, or some jobless abuse-surviving single mom of 3, that their problems are "nothing" compared to those of a hypothetical stranger from India or Sudan, just because they're from a developed nation?

 

Look, I'm sorry, but I chafe at all moralism- no exceptions.

 

 

 

Though, I do have to add that the OP is specifically dealing with very, very superficial Christians/First World Inhabitants who take for granted their daily trifles, and view them as real problems. Example being a woman that my mother knows. This woman does not work, stays at home, and basically does whatever she wishes all day, every day, since her husband has worked for HP since the 70's. Her tennis racket isn't new, her dog chewed up a dog bed, the lawn isn't perfectly green etc...I get your point though. Someone in a first world country who loses a friend or family member to sickness is truly suffering, and it's wrong to dismiss that just because, "there are starving kids in Africa". In my opinion, no one is dismissing those serious claims. At the same time, I think it is important to call out the vanity and shallowness of our current culture that views a long line at the grocery store as a serious life issue.

[Mitzer]

I have heard St. Louis has a lot of Catholics...compared to the rest of the state of Missouri

 

Lol...St. Louis has a lot of Catholics compared to the rest of the COUNTRY! You should see our Cathedral Basilica here...massive, extremely ornate, gorgeous and one of the most architecturally significant churches in the USA. Visiting is almost like a visit to the Vatican. The city is full of old Catholic churches, many are huge, all are very beautiful. One on the south side is art deco to the hilt. In school (and I went to public schools) the majority of my classmates were Catholic.

 

I was raised Lutheran (Missouri Synod...lol...is it really a coincidence that the largest Lutheran sect has it's headquarters in such a Catholic city?). Seems members of my former church I've had contact with are more liberal than when I attended church (that was until the early 1970's). Those individuals know I'm gay, have met my partner, and have invited us to attend church. Far more liberal than when I attended!

 

I really am confused (and alarmed) that fundamentalism and all the crap that goes with it has become so popular with some Christians. My thought on this is because the bible belt (the deep south), which once was a poor and distressed area, is now strongly economically fueled, and that fuel has brought clout. The pains in the loss of all the great wealth after the civil war is still very ingrained in many southerners. Maybe this is where and why this fundamentalism and claims of discrimination comes from.

[TheUnknown]

Christian persecution (at least in America) is a huge joke. It's either blown out of proportion or self imposed. There's some verse in the bible which says that "true Christians" will be hated. They think people hate them because it reflects their sin or some bullshit. What they fail to realize is that the reason they are being hated is because they are judgemental, obnoxious, assholes. These are the people who threaten you with hellfire for failing to change your ways, try to hold society and civilization back, have no problem talking smack about others, but can't handle any criticism of their precious Jesus. If you try to debate or challenge them, that just reinforces their thoughts that you're just rebelling against God. They are impossible.

 

 

Xians always like playing the victem role, it makes them feel "special". They boast massive numbers, have control of pretty much an entire political party and have made laws that fit their dogma, but somehow are the ones being persecuted

 

Indeed, they remind me of this cartoon strip

 

[Akheia]

I don't think we know what real suffering is, most of us. Most of us haven't ever been hungry, or in serious danger of execution for our beliefs. We're protected against real injustice (most of the time anyway), against real pain, against real terror. Our daughters can go to school without worrying about the school getting bombed by men who don't think young women should get educations. Our sons probably won't ever have to choose between crime and starvation. Our pain threshold is so minimal. Hell, at a call center I worked at, one of the callers who stands out in my memory is a crazy asshat with a long-cancelled account who insisted that because my company couldn't give her an unlock code for her four-year-old cell phone, she felt like she was being raped. No lie. Not getting a SIM unlock equaled forcible violent rape to her. I had no words. It's not just Christians who act like a stub of the toe means an ER visit.

 

So to a Christian, persecution really can look like not getting a nativity scene on a courthouse lawn. It can start looking like getting a prayer banner taken down. It can look like getting slapped down on Facebook for posting something idiotic and unsupportable. That they can even equate a removal of unwarranted privilege with real and genuine persecution speaks to how civilized we are as a culture. But it certainly doesn't mean we let up to spare their pweshus widdle feewings. It's on them as mature adults to figure out how to manage their feelings of stinging rejection, not on us to let them run roughshod over everybody like feral toddlers.

[Exevolt]

I don't think we know what real suffering is, most of us. Most of us haven't ever been hungry, or in serious danger of execution for our beliefs. We're protected against real injustice (most of the time anyway), against real pain, against real terror. Our daughters can go to school without worrying about the school getting bombed by men who don't think young women should get educations. Our sons probably won't ever have to choose between crime and starvation. Our pain threshold is so minimal. Hell, at a call center I worked at, one of the callers who stands out in my memory is a crazy asshat with a long-cancelled account who insisted that because my company couldn't give her an unlock code for her four-year-old cell phone, she felt like she was being raped. No lie. Not getting a SIM unlock equaled forcible violent rape to her. I had no words. It's not just Christians who act like a stub of the toe means an ER visit.

 

So to a Christian, persecution really can look like not getting a nativity scene on a courthouse lawn. It can start looking like getting a prayer banner taken down. It can look like getting slapped down on Facebook for posting something idiotic and unsupportable. That they can even equate a removal of unwarranted privilege with real and genuine persecution speaks to how civilized we are as a culture. But it certainly doesn't mean we let up to spare their pweshus widdle feewings. It's on them as mature adults to figure out how to manage their feelings of stinging rejection, not on us to let them run roughshod over everybody like feral toddlers.

^