Jesus Would Be Ashamed Of You

[filkertom]

From triggur, by way of the inestimable unclekage, a site which shows modern, loving Christianity.

Comments

[darkwolf69.livejournal.com]

Rock and roll. This guy makes a lot of sense.

Of course, what he's railing against is nothing new. Abrose Bierce, in The Devil's Dictionary, wrote this (published in 1911):

CHRISTIAN, n.
One who believes that the New Testament is a divinely inspired book admirably suited to the spiritual needs of his neighbor. One who follows the teachings of Christ in so far as they are not inconsistent with a life of sin.
I dreamed I stood upon a hill, and, lo!
The godly multitudes walked to and fro
Beneath, in Sabbath garments fitly clad,
With pious mien, appropriately sad,
While all the church bells made a solemn din --
A fire-alarm to those who lived in sin.
Then saw I gazing thoughtfully below,
With tranquil face, upon that holy show
A tall, spare figure in a robe of white,
Whose eyes diffused a melancholy light.
"God keep you, stranger," I exclaimed. "You are
No doubt (your habit shows it) from afar;
And yet I entertain the hope that you,
Like these good people, are a Christian too."
He raised his eyes and with a look so stern
It made me with a thousand blushes burn
Replied -- his manner with disdain was spiced:
"What! I, a Christian? No, indeed! I'm Christ."
G.J.

[neadods.livejournal.com]

Except... the site owner has a point. This is a rally call against that kind of insanity, not applause for it.

... Hi! You're new here, right?

[filkertom.livejournal.com]

Ummm... yeah. Which is why I used sarcasm, I'd thought. :) You didn't actually think I agreed with all the yahoos in the photographs, I hope not....

Re: ... Hi! You're new here, right?

[baavgai.livejournal.com]

Actually, I really liked the guy with the "We are Idiots" sign in the middle of the anti-whatever protest. The woman in front of him just looking up to see the sign. There's an entertaining story after that shot, to be sure.

Thanks, a good site to know of, hope he manages to keep it up.

Re: ... Hi! You're new here, right?

[neadods.livejournal.com]

I didn't think you agreed with them, but your wording was a little hard to parse... the sarcasm at "modern loving Christianity" could have been either aimed at the people in the pictures or the guy who made the website. And since I also read dark_christian (which is about watching the kind of people who consider those pictures another day doing the Lord's Righteous Work) then it gets harder to figure out.

Actually, you slightly know me by proxy, although we've never met. I'm a friend of the Boogie Knights.

[gan-chan.livejournal.com]

Good article in the latest issue of The American Prospect on Rod Parsley, the perceived successor to Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson (http://www.prospect.org/web/page.ww?section=root&name=ViewPrint&articleId=10473) for the title of most un-Christian evangelical.

For a saner take on Christianity I recommend the collected writings of Bishop John Shelby Spong - Why Christianity Must Change Or Die, Living In Sin?, Rescuing the Bible From Fundamentalism, etc.

[eibii.livejournal.com]

This just faintly reminds me - I think there were some guys who protested the Phelps rally in South Dakota (my home state) a year or two back by dressing up like ninjas with random signs. I want to find them and hug them.

Thanks for the link, suprisingly heartening.

[ororo.livejournal.com]

When I saw the URL, I expected something like God Hates Shrimp. The pictures stunned me with the sheer amount of hate in them. I hope their god is ashamed of them.

[sifractusfortis.livejournal.com]

This is a GREAT site. Bookmarked.

[gypsy1969.livejournal.com]

I want to create pamphlet out of those words and images to pass out. It so expresses my sentiments.

[catalana.livejournal.com]

Today on the Quad there were some preachers holding up signs that said "You are going to Hell." (Yes, it was capitalized - I don't know why. I don't think they mean the town.) I was a bit confused, as what I could make out of their sermons seemed to involve football games and hell, but I'm not sure why.

The really amusing thing is that there's a Positive outlook club on campus that does nice things for strangers (some days they're giving out hot chocolate for free, sometimes they offer hugs to anyone who wants one, and so forth.) There were three of them on the edge of the Quad holding up signs that said stuff like "You're just fine!" and "Don't worry!"

I thought that was an incredibly amusing counterprotest - and probably a lot more effective than the preachers.

[hitchkitty.livejournal.com]

Erm, okay, gonna play Grammar Nazi here.

"Hell" was capitalized for the same reason you capitalize "New Jersey" or "Nantucket": It's the name of a place, at least in the protestors' cosmology.

[catalana.livejournal.com]

Uh, I don't think it's playing Grammar Nazi to answer a question. I didn't know the answer; you gave me one. Unless you're actively trying to be offensive - which I don't think you are - there doesn't seem to be any reason to cast yourself in a poor light.

Two types...

[the-blue-fenix.livejournal.com]

I find it convenient to divide Christianity into two overarching groups: God of Love and God of Hate. It's much more useful than dividing them into denominations and so forth.

Sadly, relations between the two are a classic case of the best lacking all conviction while the worst are full of passionate intensity.