Discussion: How Conservatives Are Pushing Liberals Out Of Christianity

TPM Article Topics
#81

I always wonder how to interpret such statistics. Studies show that church-goers (group statistics, not every member) terribly exaggerate how often they attend church. On polls, 45% say they attended church in the past week, but based on the number of butts in church, it appears that it is more like 21%.

Likewise, I would guess that many of the 45% who say they believe Genesis is a literal recounting of history might secretly doubt it, but have to hold up the facade of belief in order to maintain good standing in their religious community. Or at least, I dearly hope that is the case.

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#82

What if this world we are in right now IS Hell?

#MindBlown

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#83

Maybe it’s not so ironic in the end, since really they only “support” Israel in order to hasten the Second Coming (though I never understand why if this is destined to happen anyway they still think they have to help God achieve his ends). Then FINALLY those stubborn Jews will accept Jesus. But of course it’s for their own good, so in the end these “Christians” really do care.

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#84

Uh, no. Matthew 25 tells you why you’ll go to hell, and it’s for treating the less fortunate like shit. That’s right: A fucking shit ton of sanctimonious bible thumping hypocrites, who think they’re super-Christy, are condemning themselves to hell by virtue of deliberately violating the most fundamental admonitions of Christ. It’s hilarious, really. They’re so self righteous, and so fucked.

And I like to ram it down their throats whenever I can. I don’t even have to make an argument. I just quote this:

Matthew, Chapter 25:

When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit upon his glorious throne,
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g and all the nations* will be assembled before him. And he will separate them one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.
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He will place the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
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Then the king will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.
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h For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me,
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naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me.’
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Then the righteous* will answer him and say, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink?
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When did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you?
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When did we see you ill or in prison, and visit you?’
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i And the king will say to them in reply, ‘Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.’
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  • j Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you accursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.
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    k For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink,
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    a stranger and you gave me no welcome, naked and you gave me no clothing, ill and in prison, and you did not care for me.’
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  • Then they will answer and say, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or ill or in prison, and not minister to your needs?’
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    He will answer them, ‘Amen, I say to you, what you did not do for one of these least ones, you did not do for me.’
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    l And these will go off to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”

There is no leeway there. If you’re treating the poor like shit, like most of these self-righteous assholes do, you’re going to burn in hell.

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#85

I agree with you. In some cases people may think they literally believe in the bible, but if you press them at all–“So Jonah really was in the belly of the whale for however many days?”; “Astronomy and geology and physics are really all completely wrong?”–their literal belief quickly crumbles.

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#86

Here is a group that provides an example to your point. But I have to say the article makes a fine case that resonates with me: the right wing is walling off Christianity. I think many of us have experienced this in various ways and the media certainly is culpable in presenting Christianity as a right wing faith. To my mind the faith is fairly corrupt and the loudest public face presents the opposite of what it stands for. Honestly, I don’t want to be associated with that hypocrisy.

#87

I thought you were going to write, “you better watch out, you better not cry, you better not pout, I’m telling you why: Santa Claus is coming to town!”

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#88

One of these Godsquadders tried to ‘save’ me at the local cafe and smiled smugly when I said I didn’t believe in hell. She said she and her fellow believers were going to be in heaven and live forever and that’ s when I said. “That’s probably what bugs me the most about Christians. That fake humility of theirs.”

Boy did THAT ever get her attention.

I said, “Christians always talk about how humble they are when actually they are some of the most smug, sanctimonious and egotistical hypocrites on the face of Planet Earth. You have no problem at all sitting up there in your little celestial theme park watching me and others burn for all of eternity just because we don’t believe in the story YOU believe but can’t give me one shred of evidence for. Your heaven sounds like a terrible place filled with terrible people. Close your mouth before a bug gets in there.”

She said she’d pray for me. I said, “It’s so cute you think that’s going to do any good.”

Then I went back to my fish sandwich platter and ate in peace.

If somebody reading this gets mad and threatens me with hell, my answer is “threaten me with the Boogeyman too while your at it. He doesn’t get a lot of pub anymore when you’re over three.”

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#89

I’m not a Christian, but I am a Historian of Religions and a Theologian who is familiar with the history of Christian thought. This is the primary reason I am not a Christian. When you say someone who professes Christianity is not a Christian, you are generally talking about the other 33,000 Christian Churches YOU do not belong to. So this is an ancient and never ending argument–who is a true Christian? But leave it to Erickson to get one thing completely wrong, inside out, and upside down. You do not possess Christ. Christ possesses you. The Truth possesses YOU. This is a distinction that means all the difference in the world. It is the difference between profound meaning – and absurd meaninglessness. I would venture to guess that any wisdom from the Christian tradition is LOST on Erickson, who doesn’t seem like a very bright fellow to begin with.

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#90

Well actually that’s God’s decision and not that of a redneck that drives a car. No one’s going to Hell unless that’s where God wants him to go and God does not do dirty work for religions hustlers.

#91

My own experience is closer to the President’s: A real sense of God’s power tends to humble you, to make you realize how little you know and understand of all there is to know and understand. Many non-believing posters here on TPM seem to be very, very certain of the truth they proclaim-- and the stupidity of those who think otherwise.

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#92

Erickson, the insignificant can’t contain the whole.

Quoting lyrics from “Particle Man” by They Might be Giants:

Is he a dot, or is he a speck?
When he’s underwater does he get wet?
Or does the water get him instead?

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#93

If you have a circle labeled ‘Believe Something There Is No Evidence For,’ don’t all the circles representing Christian sects touch it?

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#94

Burn the witch!

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#95

It takes time to be an atheist. Such things as the revelation that they are threatening you with something that doesn’t exist keep occuring as ephiphany by ephiphany you slowly rise up from the ashes of thoughts that kept you bound to traditions of servitude. After many years the shroud is torn, the mist is lifted and you are left with just yourself, unbound. You begin to feel your freedom.

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#96

The idea of heaven and of hell is a construct of certain human beings who sought (and continue to seek) to control the populace. “Fire and brimstone” preached by religious charlatans, along with the phrase “God-fearing this and that” is a similar construct. The brainwashing continues, alas…

#97

Nope. There are plenty of agnostics who nonetheless consider themselves “Christian” in the sense that their moral code is derived from the teachings of Jesus.

And then there’s the Unitarians, a denomination seemingly devoted to the confounding of Venn diagramists.

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#98

This headline is grating - who makes such asinine declaration of pushing anybody out, of a faith tradition with more than 300 denominations? So, conservatives represent bullies in a school-yard turf fight?..they’ll get a slap on the back of the head at the pearly gates

#99

“When we possess Christ, we possess truth.”

Agreed.

Look at his quote. Erickson actually believes that he “possesses” Christ (and truth). For these con-artists, even Christ is just another possession, like a car or a shiny bauble. Something he owns and you don’t.

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#100

If God created us in his own image, we have more than reciprocated.

  • Voltaire
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