Comments on It's time to save the unwilling

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gd,

I graduated in '69, at least minoring in girls and beer. Hockey? I can only skate on very thin ice, and often do...

I went on to the big Y up in the sticks after that...

posted by Nautikos on June 29, 2006 at 4:54 AM | link to this | reply

Melody - at my age it doesn't matter much

posted by gomedome on June 28, 2006 at 7:16 PM | link to this | reply

Gome, this reminds me of ......

posted by CunningLinguist on June 28, 2006 at 6:41 PM | link to this | reply

franciscan -- you have all of the nonsensical catch phrases down pat

They do not have any special or unique vision as you are trying to suggest. What they do have are sparkly clean brains from complete and utter brainwashing, a mentality upheld and maintained by relentless group pressure. There is nothing insightful about being a member of a cult and at the same time being too far gone to realize that you are.   

posted by gomedome on June 28, 2006 at 5:48 PM | link to this | reply

OMG

Tell me you're kidding?
Where is it gonna stop? I'm not sure how I would feel. I guess you should be happy that they care so much about you, to want to save you from complete damnation??? ???

posted by Afzal_Sunny7 on June 28, 2006 at 5:25 PM | link to this | reply

Gomedome,

 They walk by faith and not by sight. They have vision. Right now, you just have sight.

posted by franciscan on June 28, 2006 at 5:23 PM | link to this | reply

Talion - I love it

You can bet on one thing however, they went off somewhere and found a place where they could pray for her anyways.

posted by gomedome on June 28, 2006 at 1:33 PM | link to this | reply

gomedome

My mother's been in and out of the hospital a lot in the past couple on months. Just last week while I visited her, a man, Bible in hand, comes into her room along with several others from his congregation and asks could they pray for her. My mother told him no. You should've seen the look on his face, especially after I laughed. Undaunted, he tried again, asking didn't she want a miracle and to be healed. My mother told them if they wanted to pray for someone, pray for her doctor since he's the one who's going to do the healing. His jaw dropped to the floor and I'm doubled over with laughter. Before he could gather his wits, my mother told them all to get the hell out of her room. It was wonderful.  

posted by Talion on June 28, 2006 at 1:23 PM | link to this | reply

Xeno-x - are you saying that someone prayed for you to go away?

I can identify with that.

posted by gomedome on June 28, 2006 at 1:20 PM | link to this | reply

well one guy prayed for me

and i began the trrek to where i am now.
don't know if that's what he intended

posted by Xeno-x on June 28, 2006 at 12:06 PM | link to this | reply

A right horrifying thought, indeed...

Condemned to eternity with a bunch of infernal, close minded hysterics.
Yep, I would have, in fact, been damned to hell if that were to ever happen...

posted by strat on June 28, 2006 at 11:25 AM | link to this | reply

Nautikos - that's interesting - my graduation year was 1978

I majored in beer, hockey and girls.

posted by gomedome on June 28, 2006 at 11:15 AM | link to this | reply

strat - could you imagine if the fundies have been right all along?

 . . . . and by some stroke of luck or bureaucratic bungling, one of us normal people ended up in their version of heaven? There just could not be an more inhumane form of torture. I tend to agree with Mark Twain.

 

posted by gomedome on June 28, 2006 at 11:07 AM | link to this | reply

gd,

I did....and I am!

posted by Nautikos on June 28, 2006 at 10:33 AM | link to this | reply

I keep having this argument with certain folks in my clan, too.

It's not even that I'm a non-believer; I just don't buy their brand of dogma food.

I just finally have to tell them that, I prefer spending eternity in hell than spending another moment in a stupid conversation, directly implying that their heaven, and their presence there, would truly be my hell. Or as Mark Twain said, "Give me heaven for climate and hell for company."

I must say, I've never heard of a long-distance conversion attempt. That's pretty priceless!

posted by strat on June 28, 2006 at 10:19 AM | link to this | reply

TVBlogger - that's the catch22 with devout religious folks

They believe that only they and members of their religion are on the true path to heaven but then conceed that believing in God (any God) is better than not believing in him.  How does that work if it is only their group who has it right? Can people get it half right? . .or even  less than half right and still get off the hook from damnation?

posted by gomedome on June 28, 2006 at 9:41 AM | link to this | reply

gomedome

Oh, you just reminded me of a time I overheard my mother whispering to a relative, "I'd rather my kids be Catholic than not go to church at all."   So I guess Catholics are still going to heaven, but barely.

posted by TVBlogger on June 28, 2006 at 9:05 AM | link to this | reply

TVBlogger - I get much the same thing from my catholic mother

but if you can believe it, even though my wife is not a catholic, my mother thinks that she will go to heaven but I will not. Her concern is that my wife and I will be seperated for all of eternity unless I smarten up. The in laws on the other hand make no concession of a person from another religion going to heaven. Only they are right in their beliefs and worship. My choice as far as they are concerned is to join them or be damned.

posted by gomedome on June 28, 2006 at 8:25 AM | link to this | reply

Samhain_Moon - some of the older ones would probably die of heart attacks

If I did that.

They can barely handle the idea of halloween parties let alone Satanists.  

posted by gomedome on June 28, 2006 at 8:20 AM | link to this | reply

For me it doesn't feel much like a comedy

My mother fears after death we will be seperated for all eternity.  For her, my lack of religiosity is a painful thing.  I'm sure I and my sister fill many of her prayers every night.  I feel badly that she is in pain, but I recognize it is self-inflicted.  In my view, her fear is actually pointing out her lack of faith.  If she truly believed God is in control and all things work out according to His plan, there would be no fear.

posted by TVBlogger on June 28, 2006 at 7:58 AM | link to this | reply

GD, Maybe you should tell your in-laws that you have enlisted the help of 1,000 Satanists whose fervent wish is that the entire family embrace the Father of Lies and that the group is praying for the family to accept the Prince of Darkness as their true God; not only that but, that the Satanists are holding nightly rituals for their conversion.

posted by syzygy on June 28, 2006 at 7:54 AM | link to this | reply

Samhain_Moon - and you would think that after 25 years of being in this

family that they would get the message.

posted by gomedome on June 28, 2006 at 7:44 AM | link to this | reply

Nautikos - you went to the University of Toronto?

I didn't realize that you were a Canadian.

posted by gomedome on June 28, 2006 at 7:43 AM | link to this | reply

gd,

it's happened to me! Of course these people are a pain in the butt, and on occasion I have had to be rather more forceful in rejecting their 'adcances' than I wanted to be. I do understand, however, that from their point of view, they are just doing what, according to the Bible, God has commanded them to do: to preach and to save souls! And of course, if they like you, that's even more of an incentive... 

Incidentally, checking out your 'About Me' section, I find that we are both products of that august institution, UofT...

posted by Nautikos on June 28, 2006 at 7:24 AM | link to this | reply

GD, it is the height of arrogance to pray for any specific outcome for or change in another person.  Samhain_Moon

posted by syzygy on June 28, 2006 at 7:06 AM | link to this | reply