Precisely why no one should be encouraged to have children they do not want, godddamnit!!

The children suffer the consequences of this dreadful coercion.

What if,

the only people to get it right are some little tiny tribe in the Amazon,

that worships the Happy Six Toed Monkey God.

Won't you all feel silly when you go before him and forget your ceremonial offering of leaves and fruits. You'll be cast into a giant pit of pudding and ketchup.

See how stupid that sounds, now write down your own theorie.

If you dunk your head in water, and live according to this plan, you'll go to a big place with clouds and angels and live for ever and ever.

See that, just as dumb.

(When are we as a species going to come to terms with the fact that we are just biological beings. We are chemical reactions, completely inside our heads. When you die, you wont notice, exactly like the last 5 billion years before you were aware you were alive. Live life the best you can, respect other life, and smile.)

P.S. and don't let anyone tell you they know otherwise, they just want something from you. Plus everyone knows tattos are just a fad, if you got one in the last 5 years, youre just a wannabe dork.

I always find it interesting which passages of the Bible those who believe every word is God's literal truth choose to ignore. There are so many lovely opportunities for irony. Take tattoos, for example. I wonder how they choose to literally interpret Leviticus 19:28 "Do not cut your bodies for the dead or put tattoo marks on yourselves. I am the Lord." Of course I acknowledge that all interpretation of the Bible and attempts to consistently follow that almost inevitably involve some hypocricy, some place where belief and action do not match, where one passage is interpreted one way and another a different way for no real logical reason. There's so much more scope, though, for these kinds of happenings when it's all literally true and doesn't take into account historical context.

Additionally, communities such as this one are the reason that I, a pastor's kid, almost always felt isolated and alone when surrounded by large groups of other Christians. It seemed to me that one needed to believe certain tenets or follow certain rules to be accepted, to be loved. There could be a "check your brains at the door" mentality. If I disagreed the community members might "lovingly" disagree with me and try to talk to me about it, but too often their "talking" was more an argument for why I should clearly and obviously believe what they did, because if I didn't, there was something wrong with me. The words "I'll pray for you" can be one of the most condescending, hurtful phrases in Christian jargon, all the while the speaker believing they're righteous and kind to be doing so.

This is not to say that all Christians are condescending, knowingly or unknowingly. I know Christians who are indeed wise, loving and caring individuals who would help you build a fence regardless of whether or not you were Christian, regardless of whether or not you went to their church. On the other hand, most of my close friends are not Christian. Christian or not I know that the love of these friends is not conditioned on me meeting certain predetermined behavioral precepts, nor upon upon me professing the exact same beliefs that they do. Still, it seems a shame sometimes(for Christianity and sometimes for myself, as it is sometimes nice to be able to discuss my Christian beliefs with Christian friends) that I find more of these people outside Christianity than inside it.

Thanks Laura Sandler for an excellent article. You summed up perfectly why the Mars Hill church is growing in the following words:

“When Christians describe God's love for his children this is the word they invoke … a love that will soothe the pain of breakups and breakouts, heal the wounds from shattered families, make bearable the awareness that we are each a solitary speck in an illimitable world.”

Poco: "Have you taught them to fear and hate others, because they believe or practice a different philosophy? What is "the love of God" to you? Do you practice it? What kind of "love" do you practice? One that is intolerant of others?"

Yes, end of times Christians who say openly to non believers that they're going to hell are SOOOOOOO tolerant and respectful. Christians who say that gays are molesting babies and puppies are demonstrating great tolerance. Promise Keepers telling husbands to reclain their rightful place as the Great Phallus of the household are just practicing their beliefs innocently, not forcing anyone to do anything.

Right.

We have the right to be angry at these hucksters and cultists. If you want to play Psych 101 word games and accuse anyone who disagrees with you of being insecure, that's fine, but turnabout is fair play.

Really? That's good to know. Egalitarianism is the belief in the equality of all people, and of a classless society. The opposite of egalitarianism is totalitarianism. And these people want political power? Fuck them; it's more dominionist/Christian-Nationalist bullshit. But at least we know who they are, and can prepare for the day we'll have to fight them...literally.

Thanks for sharing. I think I know where you are coming from. I started out in a "motorcycle ministry" and have hopefully matured in the faith some by now. You know what was cool about that ministry that starkly differentiates it from the CGM/Seeker movement? Our pastor said "If you are still here after two years. Something is wrong, and you are not growing". He recognized that his ministry was not for the spiritually mature. But it was a great way to introduce bikers (real Detroit bikers - not Sears bikers) to a concept very foreign to them. I just wish these other, similar ministries could come to grips with that concept. Is it great that Mars Hill attracts individuals who are extremely "individualistic", however, upon maturity, the true Christian has no identity other than that of Christ. Eventually the tattoos, bizarre hairdo's and style of dress are seen for what they are; a distraction from what we are really trying to draw attention to (He must increase and I must decrease - John the Baptist saw his own fame as a hindrance). That's where I think these churches go astray.

Best Wishes,

Poco