I've noticed a distinct increase in the number of Christians who try to peddle their religion at my local Barnes & Noble. It used to be rare and limited to pamphlets left on certain shelves. You could glance through the literature for a few, take it to the bathroom, drop it in the urinal and be done with it. Quick, satisfying, and conveys a message of your own. But not any more ...
Recently, a friend of mine was in the New Age section browsing tarot decks, minding his own business. All of a sudden, he has a New Testament in his face. "I think you should read this instead." And then the Bible pusher disappeared. Now wasn't that sweet? She cared enough to say that she knew best.
My buddy returned to our table and stirred the rest of us into a secular froth. It wasn't the first time this sort of thing had happened, but we were determined to make a stink. We combed that store for twenty minutes before we found her, precious lamb of Christ, cowering next to her six foot five and 250 lbs. boyfriend, careful to keep her eyes in a non religious book the whole time. On some level, they understood what they were doing was wrong, or at least unacceptable according to today's standards. They just ignore that intuitive stuff since it doesn't mesh with their church programming.
We went after it for almost twenty minutes. Naturally, the Christians tried to reserve themselves and turn the other cheek (especially the boyfriend who was majorly pissed). At first, they played it off as innocent. "But, but, I have friends who recommend books to me all the time." Next, a healthy dose of shame. "Why don't you be a man! Be a man about this!!" Then we shifted to how much good Christianity has done for the world. "Just look at the Salvation Army." And then it came ... the freedom clause. "I have the right. It's part of my freedom of religious expression." End of argument.
A red light has been flashing in my brain ever since. WARNING: CONSTITUTIONAL RAPE IN PROGRESS ... PLEASE CONSULT HISTORY FOR DETAILS ...
Now if this were just a couple of crazy kids out peddling Jesus, that's one thing. Some people just don't know how to feel good about themselves unless they latch on to religion. But this same freedom argument has been used more frequently in recent years.
For example, many clergy have argued against adding sexual orientation and gender identity to the hate-crimes registry. They feel such legislation infringes on their freedom of speech and freedom of religious expression. Yeah, when they preach that god is personally interested in your sex life, they want to do so with a clear conscience. Never mind that such preaching isn't even considered a violent crime and thus privy to federal scrutiny.
What truly interests me is what all this says about the religion in question. For the hate-crimes example, they are worried that they won't be able to spread hatred and guilt over their congregations. They want to preserve their right to ignore historical context and accuracy about portions of their faith, and then plant that same ignorance in others unchecked. As for the Jesus peddlers at my local bookstore, they want the right to tell you they know what's best for you and, further, to do so in public. Apparently the sinners in church grew tired of hearing this from them and stopped coming. They need fresh new faces to show their righteousness off to.
So ... you might be wondering what you can do to stem this tide of zealous bigotry. I'm a big fan of free speech, so we can't exactly force them to shut up. Instead, I suggest we start preaching back to them. It can be part of our "religious" freedom.
Our "good work" is to find people who feel it is their duty to preach truth to us, beat us in the head with their Bibles, or force their commandments and laws into our public sector, and then tell them they are dead wrong. We aren't denying god ... we are denying the god that is part of their cross-eyed religious tradition. Remember, that god has been carefully described and detailed in their holy text and thus vulnerable to harsh scrutiny. And while you're at it, tell them how shocked and appauled you are that anyone would insist they have a personal relationship with something they describe as the greatest, most powerful and all knowing thing in the universe. They simply don't look all that special.
And if they get belligerent and insist that you name your religious affiliations ... tell 'em you're a Dennycostal. And then send 'em my way.
Recently, a friend of mine was in the New Age section browsing tarot decks, minding his own business. All of a sudden, he has a New Testament in his face. "I think you should read this instead." And then the Bible pusher disappeared. Now wasn't that sweet? She cared enough to say that she knew best.
My buddy returned to our table and stirred the rest of us into a secular froth. It wasn't the first time this sort of thing had happened, but we were determined to make a stink. We combed that store for twenty minutes before we found her, precious lamb of Christ, cowering next to her six foot five and 250 lbs. boyfriend, careful to keep her eyes in a non religious book the whole time. On some level, they understood what they were doing was wrong, or at least unacceptable according to today's standards. They just ignore that intuitive stuff since it doesn't mesh with their church programming.
We went after it for almost twenty minutes. Naturally, the Christians tried to reserve themselves and turn the other cheek (especially the boyfriend who was majorly pissed). At first, they played it off as innocent. "But, but, I have friends who recommend books to me all the time." Next, a healthy dose of shame. "Why don't you be a man! Be a man about this!!" Then we shifted to how much good Christianity has done for the world. "Just look at the Salvation Army." And then it came ... the freedom clause. "I have the right. It's part of my freedom of religious expression." End of argument.
A red light has been flashing in my brain ever since. WARNING: CONSTITUTIONAL RAPE IN PROGRESS ... PLEASE CONSULT HISTORY FOR DETAILS ...
Now if this were just a couple of crazy kids out peddling Jesus, that's one thing. Some people just don't know how to feel good about themselves unless they latch on to religion. But this same freedom argument has been used more frequently in recent years.
For example, many clergy have argued against adding sexual orientation and gender identity to the hate-crimes registry. They feel such legislation infringes on their freedom of speech and freedom of religious expression. Yeah, when they preach that god is personally interested in your sex life, they want to do so with a clear conscience. Never mind that such preaching isn't even considered a violent crime and thus privy to federal scrutiny.
What truly interests me is what all this says about the religion in question. For the hate-crimes example, they are worried that they won't be able to spread hatred and guilt over their congregations. They want to preserve their right to ignore historical context and accuracy about portions of their faith, and then plant that same ignorance in others unchecked. As for the Jesus peddlers at my local bookstore, they want the right to tell you they know what's best for you and, further, to do so in public. Apparently the sinners in church grew tired of hearing this from them and stopped coming. They need fresh new faces to show their righteousness off to.
So ... you might be wondering what you can do to stem this tide of zealous bigotry. I'm a big fan of free speech, so we can't exactly force them to shut up. Instead, I suggest we start preaching back to them. It can be part of our "religious" freedom.
Our "good work" is to find people who feel it is their duty to preach truth to us, beat us in the head with their Bibles, or force their commandments and laws into our public sector, and then tell them they are dead wrong. We aren't denying god ... we are denying the god that is part of their cross-eyed religious tradition. Remember, that god has been carefully described and detailed in their holy text and thus vulnerable to harsh scrutiny. And while you're at it, tell them how shocked and appauled you are that anyone would insist they have a personal relationship with something they describe as the greatest, most powerful and all knowing thing in the universe. They simply don't look all that special.
And if they get belligerent and insist that you name your religious affiliations ... tell 'em you're a Dennycostal. And then send 'em my way.
2 comments:
I love how her friends recommend books to her - was our dear friend who got some religious drivel shoved in his face a friend? When people are friends, they kinda know what interests their friends are. Maybe she is taking "Love Thy Neighbor" to the extreme and just assuming everyone is her friend.
Her actions were far from friendly. Her actions showed little efficacy in her fellow man by assuming he was making an idiotic choice by reading a new age book. Welcome to the hypocrisy of a loving religion.
Seeing as I'm the friend that got bible-beat, I feel I must post comment.
One of the most valid points brought up (that I REALLY wish I would've thought of to tell miss smarmy ass bible-beater) is that, in this day and age, EVERYONE has been exposed to the hatred that is christianity. Does that dumb heffer really think that I hadn't already explored, examined and REJECTED the idea of christianity??
I must thank the church of Dennycostalism for pointing this out. ;-)
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