“A Voice in the Desert” – YouTube

[Hierophant]

Another member mentioned a YouTube channel called, A Voice in the Desert, and was concerned the producers of the channel were accurate in their interpretation of the Bible (which is an issue if you think the Bible is credible). I decided to give the channel a view and see what I thought of it.

My viewing did not last long. I stuck around for their intro video and then video number two. Video number one is the big setup. It covers how every church and religious denomination has it wrong, and that only a few people are Real Christians™. Video number two was based on what the producer thought was the most simple and objective teaching of Jesus, and that is, not using titles such as “Master,” “Teacher,” “Rabbi,” “Father,” etc. It was not too long into the video that the narrator indicated that titles such as “Dad,” “Mother,” and “Doctor” were also out of line because they were a derivative or play on the titles Jesus forbids. It was at about this time I had to quit watching because my patience was already tapped out and I knew exactly what I was dealing with, another fundamentalist that does not know squat about the historical context of the Bible. Another ignorant, religious zealot – imagine my surprise.

I would watch more, but I would want to be pointed to the exact videos other members are concerned about, otherwise I will jump off a ledge listening to the narrator swim in a sea of fallacies and unchecked assumptions.

Here is a book I recommend that uncovers the mental gymnastics the Bible requires:

Inerrant the Wind: The Evangelical Crisis in Biblical Authority by Dr. Robert Price

On a side note for those who are struggling with Christianity, one of the best things you can do for yourself is to give yourself a mental break from it. Watching videos or visiting websites from apologists will only keep your mind trapped in the endless cycle of self-doubt, guilt, shame, and anxiety. I know, I did it, for far too long. It was so unhealthy I started to have mental breakdowns. One of the best things you can do is to read critical commentary on the Bible and Christianity. Start to see if from a new light opposed to the fundamentalism indoctrination; by the way, fundamentalism is a rather new development, an idea born in the early 20th century.

[alreadyGone]

18 hours ago, Hierophant said:

...

 It covers how every church and religious denomination has it wrong, and that only a few people are Real Christians™. ...

 

 

Exactly..

They believe that the Bible is the inerrant word of God provided to us as a gift for the spiritual education of all believers. And at the same time they are convinced that only they and no one else is able to truly understand it.

 

They are rewarded with this deeper understanding because they and only they are so especially diligent in their spiritual quest, doing the work and putting in sufficient prayer time, thereby advancing to the rank of Real Christian (tm).    

(even as they also know that their best efforts are only as 'filthy rags')

 

(Brother Mario, are you there?)

 

I heard that same thing too many times...

"that's where everybody else has it wrong! I've read the Bible beginning to end, twice, and I can tell you that what it really says is....  yada yada"