Truth in Manipulation

[1989]

I was catching snippets of a local church broadcast and saw something kind of amazing: a preacher being brutally honest.  It happens here in the mid-South on occasion.  He was talking about how you shouldn't let Satan, the god of the World manipulate you.  He then gives two options: let the World manipulate you or turn to God and let him manipulate you.  He said that we have to think for ourselves and make our own decisions, but really, the message I got is that you, as a human, don't really have the will to think for yourself, so you choose what makes you think.  His choice was the obvious one, and he railed against mainstream media as the agents of Satan, spent a lot of time talking about Ahab and Jezebel, realized the world is changing, and made his plea to keep members in the church.  Still, the whole message was kind of refreshing.  Sure his truths were toeing the party line, but outright saying that God manipulates people was pretty cool nevertheless.

 

We're all slaves to something, even if it's salvation.

[◊ DestinyTurtle ◊]

On 7/1/2018 at 10:54 PM, 1989 said:

We're all slaves to something, even if it's salvation.

I dunno, man. People tend to project their own worldview onto the world, and assume every other person behaves and thinks the way they do - thereby justifying their thought and behavior. I once met a person, who looking back I am now convinced was nearly-psychopathic, who manipulated people a lot. When I cornered him on it, he argued that "It's ok to use people as objects because that's just what people do to each other." At the time I thought he was probably just being eccentric and edgy, but over time I realized that that is actually how be believed and lived. I distanced myself from him.

 

I for one thinks it's irrational to think of everything in terms of manipulation, and the casual assumption in doing so speaks to me of a really disturbed person. I get what you're saying in that it's refreshing in a weird, unexpected sort of way, but I worry that the speaker/preacher probably means what he's saying more literally and more viciously than you realize - like that it's ok to lie to your children or threaten your wife because "everything is manipulation anyways".

 

Or maybe I'm waaaaaaaay overthinking this and you're just pointing out a funny unexpected thing you heard on the broadcast. lol. Just ranting.

[Geezer]

Religions clearly manipulate people, that's how they survive. That preacher was being more honest and forthcoming than he realized or intended. Oops, it seems he accidentally let the cat out of the bag. 

 

It doesn't matter most of his congregation probably wasn't listening anyway. And those that were likely didn't make the connection. 

 

[♦ Fuego ♦]

3 hours ago, Geezer said:

Religions clearly manipulate people, that's how they survive. That preacher was being more honest and forthcoming than he realized or intended. Oops, it seems he accidentally let the cat out of the bag. 

 

It doesn't matter most of his congregation probably wasn't listening anyway. And those that were likely didn't make the connection. 

 

 

Or they turned it into a positive. "YES! Manipulate me Jesus!" Kinda kinky when I say it that way... Which reminds me of a lady in my former congregation that sounded like she was climaxing with Jesus during worship. Made others uncomfortable enough to complain.

 

 

[buffettphan]

11 minutes ago, Fuego said:

 

Or they turned it into a positive. "YES! Manipulate me Jesus!" Kinda kinky when I say it that way... Which reminds me of a lady in my former congregation that sounded like she was climaxing with Jesus during worship. Made others uncomfortable enough to complain.

 

 

 

 

Jeeezusgasm.   Having the time, energy, and desire to climax with Jesus while ignoring your real life partner.  

[1989]

On 7/21/2018 at 10:32 AM, DestinyTurtle said:

Or maybe I'm waaaaaaaay overthinking this and you're just pointing out a funny unexpected thing you heard on the broadcast. lol. Just ranting.

 

I think maybe.

 

On 7/21/2018 at 11:17 AM, Geezer said:

It doesn't matter most of his congregation probably wasn't listening anyway. And those that were likely didn't make the connection. 

 

I'm pretty sure the congregation wasn't entirely ignorant of what the preacher was saying.  There weren't a lot of people there, and there was a lot of hoopin' and hollerin' going down there.  They's probably had the slaves of God thing so ingrained in them that manipulation is just the same word as far as their concerned.

 

On 7/21/2018 at 3:05 PM, buffettphan said:

 

 

Jeeezusgasm.   Having the time, energy, and desire to climax with Jesus while ignoring your real life partner.  

 

I've listened to enough Skillet to have a good idea of what that is.  Totally not gay for men though.  Can't get the Hell in Jesus.