"We should always be prepared so as never to err to believe that what I see as white is black, if the hierarchical Church defines it thus." - Ignatius of Loyola (the founder of the Jesuits)
“Those who control what young people are taught, and what they experience—what they see, hear, think, and believe—will determine the future course for the nation.” - James Dobson, founder of Focus on the Family
If you have ever been a believer, or have come from a religious family, have you ever wondered how much indoctrination and influence religion still has over your life? How much consideration, even subconsciously, that you give or yield to religion and belief?
Consider these scriptures:
Jesus, wanting to say something really deep and sappy but couldn't think of anything, said to the disciples, “If thou art very naughty, when thou dost get to heaven, God will giveth thee ‘The Holy Red-Ass’, a very bad spanking. I’m mean it, it really stings and it will hurt like the dickens for at least 10 minutes.” And the disciples said to Jesus, "Master what must we do to be saved." Jesus said, “Thou knowest what the prophets have said, ‘Do not spit into the wind. Do not pick your boogers in public. Do not eat crackers in bed or you will get crumby sleep. Do not eat watermelon in bed or you will have wet dreams. And do not fart in an elevator unless there is an old person there to blame it on.’” When the disciples heard this they were sore afraid and asked "Who then can be saved?”
Immediately Jesus made Mary and the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side of the lake. After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside and pisseth behind a bush. Later that night, he was there alone, and the boat was already a considerable distance from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it.
Shortly before dawn Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were sore afraid. "It's a ghost," they said, and cried out in fear and soiled themselves.
But Jesus immediately said to them: "Take courage! It is I. Don't be afraid. I have brought you supper."
And Jesus, pointing at his feet, showed his disciples that he had caught a fish on each one of his toes. The disciples were sore amazed. "Master, how is it that thou hast caught 12 fish having only ten toes." Jesus said to them, "Oh ye of little faith, if you had faith the size of something really little, I mean it, even something very minuscule, you could say to the fish, 'come hither fish and suckle my toes', and whatever you say shall come to pass." Judas interjected and said, “Lord, even if it is smaller than a subatomic particle?” Jesus frustrated (because he didn’t know what a subatomic particle was), snidely remarked, “Yeesss Judy, if a subatomic particle is really small, even smaller than that!” And the disciples were sore amazed. However, the Virgin Mary pondered all these things in her heart knowing Jesus had 12 toes, 6 on each foot. She also pondered the fact that she WASN’T going to get a fish.
So Peter got down out of the boat and walked on the water. But when he saw the wind he was sore afraid and, beginning to sink, squealed out in a little girly voice, "Lord, saveth me! I drowneth!” Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him by the hair on his back. "You dumb-ass,” Jesus said, "are you now tempting God?"
And when Peter climbed back into the boat, the wind died down. Then those who were in the boat worshiped Jesus, saying, "Truly you think you are the Son of God."
As Jesus rolled clumsily into the boat his robe lifted up over his head. Peter noticed and said, "Master, why did thou create us with a split in our bottom." Jesus answered, "So that it would be easier to ride a bicycle”, and Peter was sore amazed. Later, Peter asked the other disciples "what in hell is a bicycle", while the Virgin Mary contemplated all that was said, knowing she would ride the bicycle side-saddle.
When they had crossed over, they landed at Gennesaret, and as they exited the boat, Judas exclaimed, “Hey, who the hell stole my fish!”
Do you think that this is blasphemy, or irreverent? Does it make you angry, dejected, feel loss, or indifferent? Or, do you get angry when religion imposes itself into our Pledge of Allegiance, onto our money, or forces its beliefs to be accepted as our National Motto? This is a good measure of how much indoctrination or influence that religion has imposed upon your life and how much you submit to it.
I once saw a young girl in utter grief, sobbing uncontrollably, and could not be comforted. I learned that someone had told her that Santa did not exist, and it was as if she had lost an actual loved one. Some might say, how awful that someone told her the truth about Santa. I say, how awful that someone told her the lie in the first place.
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5 comments
Feel free to reply to any comment by clicking the "Reply" button.More funny than Sephir Tolduth Yesua....there are a few apologists here who spew the lie the xian religion and xmas are based in historical events....this ignorance is deeply offensive to me as is racism and sexism.....the calendar itself is a back dated fiction contemporary with the real Mohammed.....real King Herod died 4 bce making the bible fake story impossible 5 -6 years later .....there was no alleged vaginal virgin birthing an alleged baby gawd in a dirty donkey stable....I realized this fact when I was 5 years old December 25th when a fat man in a red clown suit did not squeeze down our 6 inch wide chimney the same lie as boy bunnies laying candy eggs on dogshit lawns....
GreenAtheist
Level 8
Oct 1, 2019
1
The indoctrinated mind cannot see contradictions that are right before their eyes. Jesus tells his disciples that a little faith can move mountains, then condemns them for having "little faith". This creates a "damned if you do, damned if you don't mindset" and is one reason believers are so passive, indecisive, and NEED a leader.
Jesus tells his followers not to test god, then tells them to act in faith in situations that test god. This pushes the believer to follow authoritarians. - Matthew 7:29
@nogod4me you give preachers too much credibility towards a comprehensive narrative about a jesua nasoret that never existed....preachers are all over the bible maps and many make up shit not in the various bibles.....believers do not score A on bible comprehension like you and I do....most are D minus because they don't read their fetish bibles they only fondle the pornographic misogynistic genocidal anti-science ahistorical shit book....only Atheists read this insane drivel cover to cover....brainwashing is accomplished most often by abusive parents during toilet training and bedtime stories of hell for disobedience and heaven if you get sick for not eating your vegetables and die
@GreenAtheist So true!
@nogod4me takes a very long time to mentor a believer out of belief....I refuse to waste a minute with believers who bother me target me as an American Atheist leader since 1981.....I instantly demand a rational definition of exactly what and where these alleged gawd gott gods things may be.....none can offer anything but circular reasoning or cited their bible calling me a "fool" for what I "sayeth"
To me it’s just nonsense and not sufficiently compelling dialogue to read all the way through, just scan.
Religion can do what it likes. I don’t think it will impact upon my life enough to embark on a crusade against it.
Rage against something tangible like child abuse and exploitation which is happening in Your town, right Now!
Geoffrey51
Level 8
Sep 30, 2019
0
Religious indoctrination IS child abuse.
@nogod4me not to the same extent as abduction and violence!
@Geoffrey51 It's one thing to be naive, it's another thing to be willfully ignorant.
The Catholic Church has acquitted an HIV-infected priest who has admitted to raping close to 30 young girls between the ages of five and 10 years old.
[churchandstate.org.uk]
‘Superstar’ Megachurch Founder Caught Molesting 4-Year-Old Girl
Snake handling deaths:
• The first report of a death from a serpent bite occurred in 1922 at the Church of God Evangel.[54]
• In 1955, George Went Hensley, the founder of modern snake handling in the Appalachian Mountains, died after being bitten by a rattlesnake during a service in Altha, Florida.[7][55][56]
• In 1961, Columbia Chafin Hagerman died after being bitten by a timber rattlesnake during a service at the Church of the Lord Jesus, Jolo, West Virginia.[51][57]
• In 1967, Jean Saylor, wife of a snake-handling preacher, died after being bitten by a rattlesnake in Bell County, Kentucky.[58]
• In 1982, Rev John Holbrook died after being bitten by a rattlesnake during a service at the Lord Jesus Church in Jesus' Name in Mullensville, West Virginia.[59][60][61][62][63]
• In 1983, Mack Ray Wolford died after being bitten by a timber rattlesnake during a service at the Lord Jesus Temple in Mile Branch, near Iaeger, West Virginia.[61][63][64][65]
• In 1995, Melinda Brown of Parrottsville, Tennessee, died after being bitten by a timber rattlesnake during a service at the Full Gospel Tabernacle in Jesus Name in Middlesboro, Kentucky.[29][37][47][66][67]
• In 1995, Kale Saylor (husband of Jean), a Pentecostal preacher, died after being bitten by a rattlesnake during a service at a church in Crockett, Kentucky.[58]
• In 1997, Daril Colins died after being bitten by a snake during a service in Bell County, Kentucky.[58]
• In 1998, John Wayne "Punkin" Brown (husband of Melinda), a snake-handling evangelist, died after being bitten by a timber rattlesnake during a service at the Rock House Holiness Church in rural northeastern Alabama.[37][68]
• In 2004, Dwayne Long, a Pentecostal pastor, died after being bitten by a rattlesnake during a service in Jonesville, Virginia.[69][70][71]
• In 2006, Linda Long died after being bitten by a timber rattlesnake during a service at East London Holiness Church, London, Kentucky.[45][72][73][74]
• In 2012, Mark Randall "Mack" Wolford (son of Mack), a Pentecostal pastor, died after being bitten by a timber rattlesnake while officiating at an outdoor service at Panther Wildlife Management Area, West Virginia.[65][75]
• In 2014, Jamie Coots died after being bitten by a timber rattlesnake during a service at the Full Gospel Tabernacle in Jesus Name in Middlesboro, Kentucky.[40][67] Coots starred in the TV series Snake Salvation and his death was widely reported.[76]
• In 2015, John Brock died after being bitten by a rattlesnake during a service at Mossie Simpson Pentecostal Church in Jenson, Kentucky.[46][77][78]Victims of Religion:
[ebaumsworld.com]
@nogod4me Are you addressing these issues in a practical sense with your local religious authorities or are you just telling everyone what they all ready know?
Do you challenge your local religious authorities that this is unacceptable or just write to us about it?
There are plenty of other ‘bad guys’ out there that have occupations which have nothing to do with religions; politicians, the judiciary, medical professionals.
@Geoffrey51 Of course I do, haven't you been listening. I'll leave the other "bad guys" to you, I'm sure you are doing every thing you can to stop them!
@nogod4me Well done, then. Not just a load of waffle that frequently comes out of here! 
@Geoffrey51 I can't say the same for you.
I didn’t have that experience as a child. I believed in Father Christmas but not Santa. That was just wrong, but then I always was a strange child.
I read fairy tales and was never afraid of Big Bad Wolves or Trolls under bridges or giants falling out of the sky. More intrigued.
If you sanitise childhood you get grey, unimaginative adults. Try telling Stephen King there is nothing to be afraid of under the bed.
Geoffrey51
Level 8
Sep 30, 2019
0
If you have read any Stephen King books you should know that the religious, especially the religious leaders, are not shining examples to follow.
Religion is induced insanity!
@nogod4me I’ve read plenty of Steven King. I don’t see the religion connection.
Anyone who stands up and says they want to be a leader needs to be treated with suspicion anyway, regardless of institution.
@Geoffrey51 If you have read Stephen King then you are just being willfully ignorant.
@nogod4me Steven King doesn’t focus on religion! Christine, The Dead Zone, Rita Hayworth and The Shawshank Redemption, The Dark Half, The Body (movie Stand By Me) and many more, nothing to do with religion.
@Geoffrey51 I never said he focused on religion. Stop being willfully ignorant!
@nogod4me So what do you mean about Stephen King. Please tell me what I am being willfully ignorant of. I clearly need to be educated.
@Geoffrey51 Carrie's mother would be glad to educate you!
Illuminating the religious and existential themes in Stephen King’s horror stories
Who are we? Why are we here? Where do we go when we die? For answers to these questions, people often look to religion. But religion is not the only place seekers turn. Myths, legends, and other stories have given us alternative ways to address the fundamental quandaries of existence. Horror stories, in particular, with their focus on questions of violence and mortality, speak urgently to the primal fears embedded in such existential mysteries. With more than fifty novels to his name, and hundreds of millions of copies sold, few writers have spent more time contemplating those fears than Stephen King. Yet despite being one of the most widely read authors of all time, King is woefully understudied. America’s Dark Theologian is the first in-depth investigation into how King treats religion in his horror fiction.
Considering works such as Carrie, The Dead Zone, Misery, The Shining, and many more, Douglas Cowan explores the religious imagery, themes, characters, and, most importantly, questions that haunt Stephen King’s horror stories. Religion and its trappings are found throughout King’s fiction, but what Cowan reveals is a writer skeptical of the certainty of religious belief. Describing himself as a “fallen away” Methodist, King is less concerned with providing answers to our questions, than constantly challenging both those who claim to have answers and the answers they proclaim. Whether he is pondering the existence of other worlds, exploring the origins of religious belief and how it is passed on, probing the nature of the religious experience, or contemplating the existence of God, King invites us to question everything we think we know.
Stephen King, whose forthcoming novel Revival features a Methodist minister who condemns his faith after a horrific accident, has described organised religion as “a very dangerous tool that’s been misused by a lot of people”.
In a rare and lengthy question and answer session published in the print edition of Rolling Stone, King laid out how he “grew up in a Methodist church”, but how he “had doubts” about organised religion ever since he was a child, and how “once I got through high school, that was it for me”.
[theguardian.com]
@nogod4me No need to shout! The only overtly religious text you relate to there is Carrie.
You’ve also just cut and pasted someone else’s ideas on the subject. If I had the time or inclination I could write a similar brief with a different angle.
Existentialism does not relate to religion except in the context of Kierkegaard. It relates to the individual’s focus and meaning
The other King novels have different themes. Misery is psychological, not religious. The Dead Zone explores the abuse of political power, not religious The Shining is about descent into psychosis, not religious.
@Geoffrey51 Just more willful ignorance.
@nogod4me So please tell me what I am being willfully this ignorant of.
@Geoffrey51 Your comments speak for themselves.
@nogod4me If you are serious about this conversation please be objective. What am I being willfully ignorant of? Your responses to the question so far have not been objective, more evasive.
@Geoffrey51 You are not having a conversation, you are trying to justify your ignorance. And it is BORING!!!!
I stand by my first comment:
If you have read any Stephen King books you should know that the religious, especially the religious leaders, are not shining examples to follow.
Religion is induced insanity!
The only comment I have made about leaders in our exchanges is
“Anyone who stands up and says they want to be a leader needs to be treated with suspicion anyway, regardless of institution.”
so I don’t have a high regard for self-proclaimed leaders.
You are starting to get a bit ad hominem now so as
you obviously have no objective comment other than you say I haven’t read Stephen King which is incorrect, I will leave you to your boredom.
@Geoffrey51 Blah, Blah, Blah
Good question! I was not indoctrinated into any fairy tales, so I only see what appears to be silliness there. But I like the "pisseth behind a bush," part
BirdMan1
Level 8
Sep 30, 2019
1
Have you had someone profess to you that they are a non-believer but get upset or squeamish if you make fun of, or disparage, religious dogma? Usually, it pertains to the faith they have come out of, when you point out the flaws of other faiths, not so much.
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