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yeah ,I know
I got myself a little wound up. You are right.
posted by
calmcantey75
on July 14, 2005 at 1:22 PM
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cantey_1975 -- there is a lot more this story but here is not the place to
discuss it.
posted by
gomedome
on July 14, 2005 at 1:16 PM
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what was really twisted and pathological is
kooka lives nailed her inventing another Blogit persona to come along and attack him when it was really her all along. I believe this because as soon as he started pointing it out, this " new person to blogit" dissappeared. Maybe a coincidence but it was in keeping with her already demonstrated patterns of behavior. I watched all of this closely because I needed to verify her truly spiteful and unstable motivations because I need to know who is among me ( "Christians" I mean). I sent her a long email outlining my feelings concerning the manner in which she was really giving Christianity a bad name with her behavior.
anyway, the laughs are abundant. But Im still glad shes gone.
posted by
calmcantey75
on July 14, 2005 at 1:12 PM
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cantey_1975 -- she tried to organize a boycott of my blogs which I
thought was extremely funny, especially when it propelled my posting to the number one spot. The thing I remember the most was how she routinely hurled the cruellest of insults at people and in the name of Jesus no less. That was our first clue that the congregation of thousands was an imaginary construct. No group of people would put up with that behaviour, especially from their supposed "spiritual leader" I can envision the prisoners on death row that she supposedly saved pleading to have their sentences carrried out just to releive the agony of having to listen to her. It really was all too funny to be believed. A sick mind gets ahold of a bible, declares herself an ordained minister and sets out to demonstrate just how unholy she was.
posted by
gomedome
on July 14, 2005 at 12:39 PM
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she was very nasty and deeply troubled
ironically I was also on her " enemies list" as she began to fire off nasty shots at me on occasion for no reason other than I did not submit to her "pastorship" of Blogit. She looked at me a rival. It was then that I realised she had some real issues because she was ridiculasly jealous of me because I seemed to be getting ( stealing) the approval ( even form non believers) that she thought belonged to her, approval that I did not even seek in the first place.
She left here mark here on Blogit, Christians are still recovering from it.
posted by
calmcantey75
on July 14, 2005 at 12:12 PM
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Yep cantey_1975 -- I think you have guessed it by referring to the person
as "her" but then again we have to take her word on her gender as well and considering words of truth barely ever crossed her lips ...who knows? If there is one consolation in having a complete and utter idiot identified as being amongst your religious denomination it is in that anybody with an ounce of comprehension would realize that this was a person with serious mental problems. From her public demands for pity to her fabricated stories of what a great spiritual leader she was it became obvious that her entire congregation was here on Blogit in the few people that humoured her. Everything else she claimed to have accomplished in saving prisoners on death row, feeding hundreds of people every month and building a growing congregation of thousands was all just self inflating bullshit. All we can do for someone such as that is hope that she eventually sorts herself out and wish her the best. It has to be tough trying to cope with life using such limited faculties. The only thing that concerned me about her is that upon more than one occasion she found solace for some of her stupidity in other bloggers who would agree or align with her. It's that old re-affirmation thing surfacing again.
posted by
gomedome
on July 14, 2005 at 11:26 AM
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and Gome
I think I can guess who your vulgar email exchange was with.
that person really made it difficult for other Christians to have credibility here with her attitude.
posted by
calmcantey75
on July 14, 2005 at 10:22 AM
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the chances are slim
especially in that situation you just described.
I know I am being naively idealistic, but there are fortunantly some exceptions that I hope to add to.
Bottom Line: organized religion on the whole is greatly flawed and off message and in many instances corrupted. No disagreement from me.
posted by
calmcantey75
on July 14, 2005 at 10:09 AM
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cantey_1975 -- so what do you think are the chances?
I went to a funeral a couple of months ago held in a church that is a very expensive piece of real estate costing hundreds of thousands per annum to maintain (even with tax exempt status). Problem is: the congregation has been shrinking for decades and now numbers only a few hundred people. It hasn't even occurred to the church's hierarchy that a few hundred people gathering in a multi million dollar building is absurd. Their answer, a very predictable "outreach" program to recruit more people.
posted by
gomedome
on July 14, 2005 at 9:59 AM
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To reconcile that rational conclusion
those devoted to the ministry leadership must be willing to endure times of poverty if need be, in order to not cloud and distort the message and purpose of the church with financial motivations.
That is what Jesus meant when the faithful will walk the narrow road, not the easy and wide.
The same principle applies to lay believers. They must be willing to endure questioning and criticism with an inclusive, friendly, open minded attitude instead of maintaining an attitude of defensiveness and self righteousness in attempt at presearving their own self esteem or whatever. that defeats the whole thing.
posted by
calmcantey75
on July 14, 2005 at 9:40 AM
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cantey_1975 -- the unfortunate part is that subscription --at least tithing
or paying subscription must be increased for all churches. People sitting at home developing a personal relationship with their own God doesn't pay the church's heating bills. With this reality ever present and the declining interest in organized religion across society continuing unabated, recruiting is now more important than ever. Just another way that the underlying message gets forgotten.
posted by
gomedome
on July 14, 2005 at 9:29 AM
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Isolationalism exactly
you brought up an excellent point the other day about Christianity must draw people in, not spread like a virus. Isolationalism and its exclusiveness works against this. If people are to be drawn, they must not be first offended by a holier than thou attitude and self righteousness.
posted by
calmcantey75
on July 14, 2005 at 9:20 AM
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cantey_1975 -- you describe a form of isolationism - a problem inherent in
all denominational worship. Little wonder that seperation from the group quite often causes the adherant to fall off of the rails. There is another factor at work as well. Many people just do not comprehend what self or societal improvement via religious ideals means or how it works. They think that proving that they are somehow more holy than the next person is meaningful in some way. Then there is the willful ignorance or self imposed mental block or whatever you want to call it of thinking that one religious belief system is the only ticket to heaven. How can one faith possibly be? If for example you use Christian fundamentalists in the USA as an example, there cannot be more than 50 million of them (to pick an illustrative number). This brand of protestant Christiniaty is relatively new in world history so historically there could not have ever been any more than 200 million ever born and raised in the USA. This number represents approx. .05% of the world's historical populace of 105 billion, yet they will claim that their version of God is the only true version and the only way to heaven. So I guess the other 99.95% of the world's historical populace is out of luck.
There are a number of other factors needed for an individual, who may well be relatively intelligent, to buy into something so preposterous as this ultra extreme exclusivity. An instilled sense of entitlement as a resident of a world super power is a factor, as are societal influences but in the end it all boils down to one thing. Re-affirmation by others with it's accompanying pressures plays right into a human shortcoming that we all share in our acceptance of what the majority believes.....or wants to believe against all reason and odds. It should come as no surprise then that when one of these insolated individuals comes here to Blogit, they hit a brick wall...face first.
posted by
gomedome
on July 14, 2005 at 9:15 AM
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It is a test of faith
when a believer is rejected and questioned. How well a believer holds up under scrutiny is a test many fail ( me included) at first. They come to Blogit fresh from a protective bubble of church or wherever and slam headlong into a wall of opposition and/or questioning. ( Blogit is just one scenario)
They are not used to actually having to think, so they take it as a personal attack. When all along the questioner or challenger is simply asking them to expalin something. It is at this point the believer fails the test.
posted by
calmcantey75
on July 14, 2005 at 7:14 AM
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