Someone on Twitter said something snarky about Dolly Parton's recent admission that she thinks black lives matter. Apparently this viewpoint doesn't sit well with some Christians.
In the ensuing snowballing of anti Dolly comments one lambasted her for not being a really Christian and just being in it for the money. Then someone else chimed in something like "she doesn't even believe in hell".
I could take it no longer and pointed out that actually hell is barely even mentioned in the New Testament and even then only in relation to where bad angels are sent, also that is perfectly possible for people to be good without buying into the modern invention of hell.
Predictably that didn't sit well and the OP chimed in to lambast me for my error and quoted Mathew 5:29
"If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away; it is better for you to lose one of your members than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away; it is better for you to lose one of your members than for your whole body to go into hell"
Perfect. I told her the original oldest record of this is scripture is Greek. In that it doesn't say hell, it says γέεννα (English transliteration "Gehenna" ) which is the name of a valley that was South of Jerusalem in Biblical OT times. There trash and bodies those denied "proper" burial were burned. So it makes perfect sense that a body (or parts) of someone no longer considered worthy of a proper burial would end up in γέεννα No hell required at all.
That didn't go down well and I was told "You’ve twisted Scripture in order to justify your sinful lifestyle." and she told me "goodbye". Not to be deterred I pointed out it was bogus translations that were twisting the original scripture which many Christians consider the literal written word of God.
I then tried to be somewhat Socratic and asked what would happen if someone she respected (not me) proved to her hell was a human invention. Would she change her behavior, does it change how she feels about being good, is hell necessary to her to be good or to convince others to be good?
I'm not expecting this to go any further. I'll probably get blocked but I figure it is worth a try.
For now I'll get back to my "ainful lifestyle". Woot, no hell for me, just moldering in the grave - or hopefully turned to compost and into a tree.
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28 comments
Feel free to reply to any comment by clicking the "Reply" button.All lives don't matter until black lives matter.
The friends of racism are desperate to make black lives matter be a racial superiority thing, failing that they try to paint us as terrorist.
It's so upside down they attack anti fascist as terrorist, the God Damned fascist.
You don't fear antifa if you're not a fascist.
Willow_Wisp
Level 8
Aug 16, 2020
10
Well said.
Red lives matter here on stolen land blood soaked soil polluted rivers destroyed ecosystems by genocidal xian invaders who kidnapped And raped Africans to murder Native Americans.... globally racist religious violence defines borders by the only species that invented misogyny and shamanism
precisely
@Larry68Feminist the greatest genocide ever committed against a people was the systematic murder of the Native American people by those fine white European christians......
@Redneckliberal true Captain Obvious but most liberals think TrumpOLINI is the PROBLEM while voting for the BidenS crime families only makes it all worse inciting riots over every killer cop never lifting a finger @ Standing Rock
@Redneckliberal fascist thug Ruth Bader Ginzburg wrote the majority opinion upholding Vatican Admiralty "law" 1450 denying Seneca Nation the right to buy back stolen lands next to reservation land and quit paying New York taxes....these vicious murderous thieves like Sotomayor and Thomas are called libs by fake news NPR et al
You can lead a horse to logic, but you can not make it think.
Fernapple
Level 9
Aug 16, 2020
6
True. I'm waiting to be told "I'll pray for you" just so I can bust out "I'm thinking for you" although that is always a bit of a game ender IMO.
I have some mad respect for you right now. Well done.
Freespirit64
Level 8
Aug 16, 2020
6
I used to do that for my own amusement, but then I realized how futile the time spent was, so I stopped trying. Deprogramming the brainwashed requires time and dedication, none of which I have, to be absolutely truthful.
Mofo1953
Level 9
Aug 16, 2020
6
So true. So unsatisfying. But his argument was spot on. Such a waste of genius on an ignorant....sigh...
You can't educate them either.
@Mofo1953 This amused me. Once you wipe the slate clean what do you put back in there? Anything that that sticks?
There are some that are so far gone that if you get them to admit it is B.S. they still cling to it, because that is all they know.
@PossiblyNuts what amused you?
So if you sinfully "cast thy seed upon the ground", must you cut off your member and chuck it in the bin? Bet that would go down a treat with all those righteous, evangelical, Christian boys!
Petter
Level 9
Aug 16, 2020
3
Why stop with dismembering the member... The brain is at fault so just drive a bolt into your frontal lobe and be done with it. Nuns can keep your lobotomized self alone and harvest you seed for sinless and lustless procreation by others when the time comes Brave New World style.
Thank you so much for this entertaining recount of your experience on FB. Your erudition made you my hero. For I also come across my share of lame brains on FB and I just loved reading about how you handled this one.
think-beyond
Level 7
Aug 16, 2020
5
I second the idea Dolly is a national treasure. I am not even a country music fan. But aside from her creativity, wit, and work ethic, she seems to be a genuinely really nice person, aka "not judgmental."
I agree with her detractors about one thing....she is way too good a person to be "a real Christian."
As for the back and forth debate, it can be satisfying confronting Xtian "warriors" on their errors and fabricated morality, just so long as we remember they likely will never actually listen to reason.
MikeInBatonRouge
Level 8
Aug 16, 2020
4
I would like more knowledge my self, to show where "Bogus translations twisting original scripture" occur
Good Job prometheus !
twill
Level 7
Aug 16, 2020
4
If you have $600 or so you can get a copy of LOGOS. It us a bible study program with many different translations. Several of them have a reverse inter linear feature, which gives you word by word the actual original language word (and it’s official dictionary entry) in the text. Very informative as to who is grinding what axe.
I used Google and found this handy site that gave a word by word translation. I liked how it also have links to many versions back to 1550 plus Hebrew and Aramaic versions.
My original inspiration was this Medium post which gives a good run down of all the mistranslations: [medium.com]
However I believe I'd previously read somewhere else that both hell and purgatory where relatively modern creations.
I'm not sure what is in the Old Testament, didn't check into that yet. Of course American Christians will either completely discredit the OT, or hold it to be gospel depending on what you're quoting back at them. They like to have it both ways.
You are correct but you are dealing with faith, not reason. It is fun to do something like this now and then, but mostly a waste of time.
Mitch07102
Level 8
Aug 16, 2020
4
Is it not written that "music hath charms to soothe those savage beasts"?
waitingforgodo
Level 8
Aug 16, 2020
4
Which football stadium did she fill with 80 thousand fans ?
Ive met Dolly several times over the years...a kinder heart you will not find....screw her ignorant detractors...
Redneckliberal
Level 7
Aug 16, 2020
3
Engaging with the religious, you are always going to be wrong and they will always be right. It’s futile, but I understand wanting to try. Good luck!
AgeofReason
Level 5
Aug 16, 2020
3
I engage with such wingnuts because I am curious which particular logical fallacies they trot out and in what order.
I engage with them because it's fun to see how they cope with science.
There's the great twitter post by Dolly of a YT vid of two black teens reacting to "Jolene" and how much they dug it. She tweeted, cheekily, "It's too late with these two - Jolene already got 'em!"
I was grinning ear-to-ear at that. And had Jolene stuck in my head for a solid two days.
MakeItGood
Level 7
Aug 16, 2020
3
Nicely done, though it's anyone's guess as to whether or not any of that will be able to creep into her consciousness.
tinkercreek
Level 8
Aug 16, 2020
3
Yes, this is one of the many reasons people like Martin Luther preached against education (for anybody but priests, I guess). Too much knowledge is bad for faith. Probably why I never really developed any, not for lack of trying at one time. Then again, if you have to try to have faith, you can see where that's going from the start, right?
Paul4747
Level 8
Aug 16, 2020
3
Why waste time arguing with deniers, just get on with life. As Cipolla said "there are more stupid people around than an intelligent person can expect and they sre more dangerous".
[en.m.wikipedia.org]
FrayedBear
Level 9
Aug 16, 2020
2
Thanks to everyone for your comments, I never imagined this would be so popular. Unfortunately after saying "goodbye" I didn't hear anything back. Although not blocked I imagine I've been ignored which actually I take as a small victory. Or maybe she was just trying to avoid influence from my sinful lifestyle. I'm unsure if that summation of me was ascertained by looking at my Twitter activity or she just assumed it - after all to some denying the holy spirit is the ultimate unforgivable sin.
Anyway I'll keep at it and report back if there are further noteworthy interactions.
prometheus
Level 7
Aug 17, 2020
1
You really just can't win arguing with the brainwashed religious people, damned if you do and damned if you don't.
DaleGoldsberry
Level 4
Aug 16, 2020
1
There’s a joke that relates arguing with fanatics to mud wrestling with a pig. “You can’t win and the pig enjoys it”.
Don't bother tangling with those hopeless haters. It doesn't benefit anybody.
BitFlipper
Level 8
Aug 16, 2020
1
I have tried in the past to get such people to use what few grey cells they possess, and I was permanently banned from Twitter as a result.
anglophone
Level 9
Aug 16, 2020
1
Wow, that sounds like quite the story. Did any of them get banned because I'm imagining conversation got heated and both sides said things that could be construed as violating Twitter user contact agreement. Or were you never told what you did to deserve it?
@prometheus None of "them" got banned. I was told by Twitter that I was banned for violating their Terms of Service. It seems that "they" are allowed to mock me personally but I was not allowed to mock their claims. Go figure!
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