Had a conversation with christian zealots

[Big J Q]

Hehheh, we had a christians here at school (I'm workpractising as a kouluavustaja) preaching about drugs, alcohol and such things, and... Well, half the time I had hard time containing my laughter, and the other half I was shocked by the speeches they gave to the kids.

Already the beginning was hilarious; One of the teachers had birthday, so one of the zealots congratulated (onnitteli) her by saying "Happy Birthday in the name of Jesus!" If they only had seen my face...

The fun didn't stop at that point. "I received a new life in the Christ!" (Sain uuden elämän Kristuksessa)-talk made me smile several times...

But when they started their...propaganda/drug-show, my smile vanished in a puff of logic. One of the ex-drug addict told that Jesus appeared to him saying: "If you don't stop using that stuff, you'll die tomorrow".

"Most of the people who live in India are heathens". To us there's nothing odd in that sentence, but what do the kids think? "The people in India are obviously wrong, and us the christians have the right to decide that we're right".

"There are people sitting in prison, who are not guilty of anything except for the life without god". What should we understand of this? Godlessness and Heathendom are crimes?
This particular statement made me very anxious.

At the end of the show they made the kid shout out loud:"Jesus is the lord!" several times. Brainwashing?

The most interesting part was afterwards, when we had a conversation on our views. We didn't agree with much of the stuff, but one of the older person said to me:"You and God think much more alike than you might think." In addition, we agreed on some points, such as the church is irrelevent and that there are lots of hypocrites in the ranks of christians.

Interesting.

[vitr]

Scary... we got that crap at our school and I stayed silent for the bits we were supposed to say stuff.

I wasn't brainwashed a bit, kids are much cleverer than we think, there is no force in the Universe that can break the spirit of a child. :)

They didn't get me, you, Allissson, and squillions of others. They won't touch most of the kids, they will probably say at the dinner table, "Mummy, we had some religious weirdos in assembly today," and all have a laugh. Just like I did. My parents believe in God and heaven but don't go to church or believe that anyone goes to hell. :lol: They piss themselves at religious people. :evil:

[Big J Q]

Yeah, you're probably right. It's just that... they are constantly bounding "Be a good christian or haista vittu"-ideology to the children's heads. Since we are not kids anymore (are we?), we can't be sure about how critically the kids relate to this stuff. They quite happily did what the "preachers" told them to do, but that could have just been "let's be nice to those...people"-thinking.


You should have seen them. "We are SURELY NOT descendants of apes, we are god's creations."

[allissson]

Oh, I WISH I had been there BigJQ. I would have made their stay a very awkward one indeed!

Tell me, will they allow Heathens to go to the schools to talk to the kids too?

[vitr]

No wonder there are so many suicides, if people believe we are all descended from apes!

Joke courtesy of my housemate. Only 23 days left until I get outta that freakhole. :p

[mmtutti]

this reminds me of a tragicomical encounter in confirmation class (I didn't bother going to the stupid camp), the mere thought of which has been enough to tick me off ever since. an elderly Christian dominatrix came to educate us of the perils of role-playing games and "heavy rock music".

I, who at that point had dabbled with both, thought, "oh great, here we go again. whatever took you so long?" so, after she had attempted to scare us with a very standard characterization of satanism/devil worshiping, she displayed some covers of RPG rule books, most of which had nothing to do with religion. one of them was Call of Cthulhu, a game that I had been playing for a year or two. I don't recall the rule book ever once even mentioning God or Satan. Lovecraft himself was atheistic. it's all mythology, like Kalevala or something. any game becomes satanic if you choose to play it that way, even Monopoly, for crying out loud!

so, I played role-playing games, I listened to metal, yet there I was, in confirmation class. and I wasn't even wearing anything black! what really irks me, and not just because I'm directly involved but generally speaking, is that everything is always blamed on harmless entertainment, and the good, educational kind at that. another thing taken after the Land of Milk and Honey, while forgetting that everything is bigger there -- including hysteria.

I was at a loss: should I laugh, should I be content to sigh audibly, or perhaps have a fit of rage... I ended up playing along: the crone asked us whether anyone had played role-playing games. I told her I had, with an evil air of disdain upon myself. ha! she was a bit taken aback by this. she then asked us whether anyone knew the "sign of the devil worshipers". I did. ooh, the way she pierced me with her gaze! that was a moment of gratification, I tell you.

[Big J Q]

To mmtutti:

I also told them that I've been watching violent movies since I was 2 or 3 (I remember watching James Bond when we still lived in Vaasa), and I that listen to "filthy music". I'm not entirely sure what they thought at that particular instant, but they told me it is programming or something. It affects other people (they told me a story of a man, who could take a few beers a night without any problems, but his wife was something of an alcoholic; So the man's innocent drinking had a terrible effect on wife's drinking), and that when I'm in a tight situation, something just snaps in my head and... Well.

To Vitr:

I think Darwin's theory is quite plausible.

To Allissson:

I believe they allow only christians to come to schools to TELL THE TRUTH. Some others, ie. muslims could be allowed to tell their views, but NOT THE TRUTH. However, all the concerts and speeches I've seen in schools have been very christian (talking about 12½ years of experience).

Once we had a gospelconcert in the upper secondary school, and me and my friends demanded to have also a blackmetalconcert, but no one approved of that idea ;)

[Pakana]

>I think Darwin's theory is quite plausible.

Ha! It is God who has placed the phossiles into the ground to lead heretics astray! :lol:

[allissson]

Hearing all these things makes me thankful for one thing - that religion is not allowed in public schools in USA because if some idiot like that Riku Rinne or anyone else went to my son's school talking that paska I would have my son removed from the classroom during the presentation. We raise him with NO religion and are quite adamant about it too. I don't think it's a parent's right to make that decision for their child.

[mmtutti]

decidedly so. children should be given the freedom to decide for themselves. if they are interested in religion and want to know more about it, let it be taught to them, but otherwise not.

my friend told me a story of how she once came home from school and asked her father if he believed in God. after a moment of squirming he said no. my friend then wept, for her father would go to hell. so they had told her at school. it was hard for her to get over this.

I myself remember feeling betrayed: they had told us that God was the Heavenly Father for us all. I could not accept this. my dad was my father, not some old geezer on a cloud. in retrospect, I think this was the moment that my hatred for Christianity first developed.

"I feel like killing" -- Chris Barnes.

[allissson]

I'm very sorry to hear that happened to your friend and to you. NO kid should have to be made to feel distressed over sh.it like that. That sux.......

[mmtutti]

aye, lass, dark times are these... *slams down mug of ale* and I say 'tis time something be done about it! *rises to his feet. the pagan inn grows silent as all eyes are fixed on him* who is with me? let us form a party of adventurers, and bring doom to the dragon! who is with me?

[allissson]

give me a minute to change into the chainmail robe and grab my sword and spellbook and I'll be right there :)

.........oh, and while you're waiting, order me a large vodka straight up ;)

[Maschtischaddu]

...and on the 8th day I'll destroy God's creations... especially all that sheepish x-ians...:evil:

On your knees!

[mmtutti]

"on the first day God created light, and that must have been a very bad decision, because ever since that, Monday has been a shitty day..." -- M. Mikael Tutti, 2000.

[Maschtischaddu]

M. Mikael Tutti - you're a wise guy, I worship you. Let's fight for the abolition of Mondays...(and of the rest including the Fridays as well!):lol:

[mmtutti]

yes... God shall yet rue the day.