1984 Describes Christianity

[dirwid]

I just finished reading 1984 by George Orwell, and the whole time I was reading it, I couldn't help but think that so many things about Ingsoc mirror elements found in Christianity. I would not be surprised at all if Orwell made a very careful, in-depth examination of your average Christian's thought processes as inspiration for the belief system behind Ingsoc. It's such a dead-on, eye-opening, and horrifying analysis of Christianity. There's too much to say about it in one post. It's something you really have to read. 

 

I felt like the main character, Winston, who for some reason or other did not succumb to the backwards thinking ("doublethink", for instance) required to actually believe all the teachings of the Party. 

 

I cannot recommend it enough. To be honest, I think 1984 is my favorite book. I'm not free to say that on Facebook, though. "The Bible" is the only acceptable answer to that question in my circle of friends. :/ 

 

How many of you guys have read 1984, and what are your thoughts/favorite quotes? 

[Thurisaz]

Orwell wanted to point at totalitarian regimes in general, but yes, much of it fits the jebus taliban quite well, because that is a totalitarian system. I'd think though that on the Newspeak front, morontheists still have things to learn from history's greatest fuckfaces. Oh they do have some Newspeak but methinks they could do better. Though I hope they never will.

[quinntar]

5 hours ago, dirwid said:

I just finished reading 1984 by George Orwell, and the whole time I was reading it, I couldn't help but think that so many things about Ingsoc mirror elements found in Christianity. I would not be surprised at all if Orwell made a very careful, in-depth examination of your average Christian's thought processes as inspiration for the belief system behind Ingsoc. It's such a dead-on, eye-opening, and horrifying analysis of Christianity. There's too much to say about it in one post. It's something you really have to read. 

 

I felt like the main character, Winston, who for some reason or other did not succumb to the backwards thinking ("doublethink", for instance) required to actually believe all the teachings of the Party. 

 

I cannot recommend it enough. To be honest, I think 1984 is my favorite book. I'm not free to say that on Facebook, though. "The Bible" is the only acceptable answer to that question in my circle of friends. :/ 

 

How many of you guys have read 1984, and what are your thoughts/favorite quotes? 

I'm going to read that now, anything that helps me understand the Christian mind set is very helpful to me. The sad reality though is with a lot of Christians you can't engage them in civil debate about their beliefs, this is because they see it as a threat to those belief's. However this should be the opposite, as it's a commandment "Be prepared to give an answer with the hope that's within you" 

 

But Christians seem to struggle with so many of these little verses, it's as if they have spiritually de-evolved and they can't process simple commandments such as those. But that's not the truth, they are a riddle wrapped in a enigma, wrapped in a vest. A very tight vest, that they really don't like, but they continue to wear it for fear of being rejected by love.

 

Who the fuck knows, but one thing is a fact. Christians mostly react the same when the hammer falls on their heads.

[Thurisaz]

3 hours ago, theanticrash said:

I'm going to read that now, anything that helps me understand the Christian mind set is very helpful to me.

 

Not directly related to the jebus cult but while we're at the topic of 1984...

 

...yes do read it, it's a damn good book (in a frightening way but still). Let me recommend two things though: First, as I see it, the most brilliant part is not the main plot but what the protagonists read in the Forbidden Book(TM) of the novel's totalitarian regime. It's an analysis of how the sick system of the novel's world works. Also (though if you're reading it from a specifically anti-christian perspective the risk isn't that big), people often assume that the book is a damning critic of surveillance technology; while that does play an important part in the book, what Orwell really aimed at was the manipulation of thought processes by limiting the vocabulary the sheeple know (I guess that will sound familiar to you, depending on the specific brand of jebus cult you're thinking of...). That is not detailed much in the novel itself but explained very precisely in the appendices, so do read those too

[Lerk]

I'm in the middle of it. We read "Animal Farm" in high school but not "1984" (That was over 40 years ago!)

 

I'm currently reading it while I sit in church on Sunday mornings.