Kevin's Watch

Was just reminded of a conversation I had when I was still working (doing the stay-at-home-Dad thing last couple years, loving it). Upon a co-worker discovering I am not a Christian, he started exploring my beliefs. When I explained that, since all faiths lack any definitive objective PROOF, I consider them all equally viable, he took things in a slightly crazy direction, albeit calmly and sincerely. He brought up what his pastor had spoken of...converts from Islam who reveal the "secret" parts of the Qu'ran, where MOhammed admits that the entire thing is Satanically inspired, parts which contain specific exhortations to tear down Christianity. I countered with stories of supposed converts to Islam who "reveal" secret Biblical passages which are Satanically inspired where the Christians are warned of the coming of the Prophet, and the need to suppress the Message. And my co-worker mentioned that his pastor had also told of Hindu converts, and BUddhists, who similarly "revealed" the secrets of their faiths.

Have any others on here encountered this twisted insanity?

*shaking head in amazement*
can't say I have, b"h.

I have, it seems that many converts seem to find secret Satanic meanings to their previous faith, even if such meaning is never understood by the believers or an outside observer.

I find that it's just much easier (as well as far better accepted nearly everywhere) to simply blame the Jews.

Cail wrote:I find that it's just much easier (as well as far better accepted nearly everywhere) to simply blame the Jews.

Cail wrote:I find that it's just much easier (as well as far better accepted nearly everywhere) to simply blame the Jews.

I -ACTUALLY- think that tendency is Satanically-inspired.

Crazy?

Seven Words wrote:
Have any others on here encountered this twisted insanity?

Twice. Once this weird local cult (only 10 or 15 members...who all drove Saabs...I haven't yet figured out the significance of that obvious mystical situation)...I only knew one member [former hs physics teacher/former atheist/former Catholic]...said the Word was corrupt except that of the "True Nation of Isreal" [everyone, including Jews, except one particular group..]
The other a reformed Budhist Jehovah's Witness that knocked on my door on Cape Cod early on a Saturday...don't know the rest of his story...I might have been rude...

Cail wrote:I find that it's just much easier (as well as far better accepted nearly everywhere) to simply blame the Jews.

I thought it was the Masons?

High Lord Tolkien wrote:

Cail wrote:I find that it's just much easier (as well as far better accepted nearly everywhere) to simply blame the Jews.

I thought it was the Masons?

Nope. It was Linden Avery.

the only similar thing I've come across are some various bus-going Christians (of whom denominations I have yet to discover) I ride with who are pretty vehement with their opinion that Mormonism is a cult.

I thought all religions were cults?

--A

Avatar wrote:I thought all religions were cults?

--A

By definition, they are.

I foolishly engaged in a public debate about 3 years ago with a fundamentalist minister of Evolution vs. Creationism. He had brought his congregation along (about 150 people I guess) while a variety of interested folks showed up (perhaps about 400 others). His church-goers shouted various comments about me going to hell, being fooled by Satan, that I was secretly a muslim (I laughed audibly at that one) and was even challenged to a fight by a kid of maybe 17-18 for telling lies.

So no, its the scientists

Eh, not really. One of the accepted indicators of a cult is that its beliefs are outside of mainstream society. Another one is that it isolates its members from outside society. Neither of those could be applied to most mainstream religions.

No, I've never before heard of converts from one faith exposing the dirty scriptural laundry of their prior belief system to their new one, but it doesn't surprise me and is probably even likely.

The trouble with organized religion is that there's more than one of them, so naturally they take exception to one another.

Me? I've cut out the middlemen and go straight to the top.

Cail wrote:Eh, not really. One of the accepted indicators of a cult is that its beliefs are outside of mainstream society. Another one is that it isolates its members from outside society. Neither of those could be applied to most mainstream religions.

Meh. Maybe not the modern usage of the word. However, there was certainly a time when the ideas and practices of modern accepted religion were outside the mainstream.

Cult: 1617, "worship," also "a particular form of worship," from Fr. culte, from L. cultus "care, cultivation, worship," originally "tended, cultivated," pp. of colere "to till" (see colony). Rare after 17c.; revived mid-19c. with reference to ancient or primitive rituals. Meaning "devotion to a person or thing" is from 1829.

--A

Demondim-spawn wrote:No, I've never before heard of converts from one faith exposing the dirty scriptural laundry of their prior belief system to their new one, but it doesn't surprise me and is probably even likely.

The trouble with organized religion is that there's more than one of them, so naturally they take exception to one another.

Me? I've cut out the middlemen and go straight to the top.

I'm not talking about anything ACTUAL..I'm talking about wholesale FABRICATION. Like all these supposed "ex-Wiccans" who talk about how their covens planned all kinds of things specifically to turn people away from Jesus.

Seven Words wrote:

Demondim-spawn wrote:No, I've never before heard of converts from one faith exposing the dirty scriptural laundry of their prior belief system to their new one, but it doesn't surprise me and is probably even likely.

The trouble with organized religion is that there's more than one of them, so naturally they take exception to one another.

Me? I've cut out the middlemen and go straight to the top.

I'm not talking about anything ACTUAL..I'm talking about wholesale FABRICATION. Like all these supposed "ex-Wiccans" who talk about how their covens planned all kinds of things specifically to turn people away from Jesus.

Which is totally ridiculous, of course. Christian fundamentalists have turned more people against their religion than Wicca ever could.

When I was canvassing for the environment in Santa Fe I had a very interesting conversation with this very skinny blond guy who was watering his plants-and he had tons of plants. Maybe he thought he was channeling "God" or something but before I said anything he said to me, "You're a Christian whether you know it or not and have totally fooled yourself by not believing in evil." Which was interesting because I don't, except as a personal state of mind, ala Hell. I told him I considered myself a seeker not a Christian because I really don't go for communal things.

After some very intense, highly cordial, banter about these issues he came up with a multitude of examples of how the devil was such a great deceiver. Then we discussed the criteria for entrance into heaven. Finally I said, "What if after you led such a good life, and got to the Gates, St. Peter ripped his face off and said, "Ha! fooled you all!!!". We both looked at each other like "whoa" and walked away...

Seven Words wrote:[I'm not talking about anything ACTUAL..I'm talking about wholesale FABRICATION. Like all these supposed "ex-Wiccans" who talk about how their covens planned all kinds of things specifically to turn people away from Jesus.

I got that. But the religion/s to which the ex-wiccans have converted, too gladly accept these fabrications as fact. Or pretend to.