Chikirin Posted March 12, 2013 Posted March 12, 2013 I sometimes read certain Christians and they are very good at playing the good cop as opposed to the bone-headed "bad cop" content that you usually hear (you're gong to Hell!) etc. Instead these good cop Christians like to talk about the kindness and mercy of God and being complete in Jesus and being made whole and things like that. I'm fascinated how this type of Christian is able to do this. Maybe they are genetically "glass half full" types who are wired to always see the positive things?
Vendredie Posted March 12, 2013 Posted March 12, 2013 I actually seem to meet way more "good cop" Christians than "bad cop" Christians. I think it's a general cultural tendency to "look on the bright side" rather than something genetic. Some of it could be ingrained, but I think it's just mostly culture. Even the bad cops are ditching their fire-and-brimstone scare tactics for the 'good cop' veneer... they're still out there and still as nasty as ever, they just spout off a bunch of meaningless buzzwords and euphemisms to cover up their hate. The genuine "good cop" Christians tend to be more liberal, and the fake ones tend to be evangelical. 2
Chikirin Posted March 12, 2013 Author Posted March 12, 2013 yeah, I guess I mean the ones who are evangelical but who are really good at softening the verbiage to where one easily forgets that they believe the same things as the bone heads. its the good cops who's verbal skills kept me stupefied and in the flock for so long.
Vendredie Posted March 12, 2013 Posted March 12, 2013 yeah, I guess I mean the ones who are evangelical but who are really good at softening the verbiage to where one easily forgets that they believe the same things as the bone heads. its the good cops who's verbal skills kept me stupefied and in the flock for so long. Yeah. the good cops made me want to go back a few times and at other times I just couldn't come up with an argument against them. But they're definitely appealing to emotions, and emotions can be hard to fight with logic.
Vendredie Posted March 12, 2013 Posted March 12, 2013 IT doesn't even have to be vague, just emotional.
DrNo Posted March 13, 2013 Posted March 13, 2013 But they're definitely appealing to emotions, and emotions can be hard to fight with logic. This x 100. I was not able to start accepting the logic until my emotional ties to the religion were weakened. Before that I was living in denial and self-delusion.
Lilith666 Posted March 13, 2013 Posted March 13, 2013 The good cops are the ones who talk about how X invented the golden rule and how he's the only one who volunteered to die for everyone. Well, obviously, because none of the other religious leaders taught that people collectively deserve to die. Lee Strobel and Ravi Zacharias come to mind.
Guest r3alchild Posted March 13, 2013 Posted March 13, 2013 All christians will play good cop bad cop its the only way they can induce a forced confession.
Akheia Posted March 13, 2013 Posted March 13, 2013 Well, there are some nice Christians, but it's not their religion making them that way. I love John Shore's blog--he seems like a genuinely good person. I'd love to have him as a next-door neighbor and friend. But his version of Christianity would be almost unintelligible to most Christians, and mainstreamers show up on his blog constantly to comment about how he's going to hell for not being more judgmental and repressive. I don't think people like him are good cops. Good cops are more like those Christians who seem all nice and sweet, but get them away from having to put on a show for the non-believers, and they turn just as toxic as the rest of that vile and depraved group. The proof is seen in how they treat their believers--do they pull the rug out from under the poor marks and suddenly their religion is a lot more toxic after conversion than it was before? Like an abusive spouse's honeymoon period, it seems to me. That's how the Pentecostal church was. At first it's all "the burden is soooooo light" and afterward it turns on a dime to "LAW! RULES! BRUTE FORCE! OBEDIENCE!" 1
Guest r3alchild Posted March 13, 2013 Posted March 13, 2013 All christians are two faced, one face is heaven and one face is hell. There for good cop and bad cop.
BendyLine Posted March 13, 2013 Posted March 13, 2013 That's how the Pentecostal church was. At first it's all "the burden is soooooo light" and afterward it turns on a dime to "LAW! RULES! BRUTE FORCE! OBEDIENCE!" That's a perfect summary of what it's like in a pentacostal church. 1
midniterider Posted March 13, 2013 Posted March 13, 2013 That's how the Pentecostal church was. At first it's all "the burden is soooooo light" and afterward it turns on a dime to "LAW! RULES! BRUTE FORCE! OBEDIENCE!" That's a perfect summary of what it's like in a pentacostal church. Well if one tactic doesnt work, you gotta switch. When people start to backslide then the bad cop has to make an appearance.
RipVanWinkle Posted March 13, 2013 Posted March 13, 2013 I have the impression as result of reading about Xtian history that the tactics changed for Xtians following the Enlightenment. I don't mean right away, but gradually. As time went on it became more difficult for Xtians to defend their faith in view of scientific discoveries. Historically the Catholic church used the threat of hell as their main tool for control. But when scientists began discovering many things that conflicted with Xtianity, the churches began using this new tactic of peace, tranquility, success, etc. . A big impact was Darwin's evolution theory. Even though churches were a little slow to react to this new theory, it ultimately became their Public Enemy Number One. And it still is. After the Protestant Reformation, as you know all these new denominations popped up. The churches started having to compete for believers. US brought competition to a whole new level. The churches became part of full fledged Capitalism. Well, one does not market a service very well if the threat of eternal torture in hell is the main selling point. I'm sure there are many exceptions, but all of the churches I have attended in the last 40 years or more have not emphasized hell, but rather uplifting of the spirit, peace that passes understanding, love. forgiveness, etc. Why? They are competing for customers. Of course there still are plenty of hell, fire and brimstone types. But before the Enlightenment that's virtually all there were. But once the customers are hooked, then the threat of hell is used as needed. Have any of you scene this pattern, too? bill
DrGuitar Posted March 15, 2013 Posted March 15, 2013 Christians stopped killing heretics when they no longer had the support of the secular authorities...thats the only reason why..so if they somehow get secular power again (many ar trying) ...youll see burnings...these people arent well and xinanity is as toxic as can be because it is void of love...its all about blood, death, sacrifice, crucifixion nd conquest..the Muslims are finding that out now thanks to John Hagee and the CUFI bunch and their rabid war mongering... 1
Akheia Posted March 16, 2013 Posted March 16, 2013 No kidding. If they were able to impose their religion by force onto everybody else, they'd do it. All that stops them is the law--certainly not their Christian "love."
raoul Posted March 16, 2013 Posted March 16, 2013 Akheia - your last comment finalizes it all - the good cop can be as dangerous as the bad cop if given the right circumstances. For some crazy reason, it reminds me of when I was in the private sector and the company began downsizing and other harsh measures - not for profits since they were in the billions of dollars. They just wanted more and more. Anyway, we began noticing that managers who had the reputation of being easy going or good to their people began behaving like the other ones who were total bastards. The more the 'good' ones were getting squeezed about head counts, bottom line results, etc., the more they resembled the bad ones. In the end, when I left the company, we couldn't tell the difference between the two types. I guess some aspects of human nature never change - when the crap hits the fan, the real leaders will not be swayed and will continue on whereas the majority of the rest will simply go along with the flow. Hope this makes some sense to the discussion. When I was in the cult and was an apologist I was one of those alleged 'good' cops. Whenever an atheist hit me with something odious from the bible, usually ot, I did a dance that would make any ballroom dancer jealous. 1
Akheia Posted March 16, 2013 Posted March 16, 2013 WALTZ WITH ME, SATAN Oh yeah. I used to work for a phone company that prided itself on being honest, fair, and forthright with customers and kind to their employees. It never outsourced customer care to foreign countries; it was up-front about all its fees; it was quick to work with customers to correct problems and misunderstandings; it gave its employees excellent pay and incredibly timely, thorough training. It had a sterling reputation for all of these things. Until it turned out that most customers don't care about that shit. They want free smartphones and low teaser rates for new customer sign-ups. That's it. That's what they want. Telling them that their monthly rates would skyrocket to make up for these perks, and that over time they'd save thousands by NOT falling for these scams? Are those free smartphones and new customer specials? No? Then we could go to hell. The market simply didn't reward ethical behavior or long-range planning. So the company stopped caring about it. Agents were put on commission to get contracts and sales, new customer teasers went crazy low, and you could kiss fee waivers and "working with you" goodbye.
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