I had planned a lengthy piece on laicism in Austria, because when watching the parliamental debate on the ratification of the European constitution, I noticed a member of the biggest political party starting his speech with a quote from the Bible. Unfortunately, I don’t seem to be able to sort out my thoughts in such a way that they’d make a good post. Thus, I also won’t be able to comment on the fact that Cardinal Schönborn, probably still high on the whole pope farce, has deemed it necessary to intervene in the discussion on the reform of the Austrian school-system. My inability to find a red thread guiding you and me through this planned post also hinders me from wondering out loud why the hell the representatives of the major political parties then actually invited him to take part in the discussion. It’s a real shame I won’t be able to do this post, because I’m sure some of you would be able to explain what the hell happened to laicism in Austria. Oh well, in the meantime, check out those lunatics.
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Why “lunatics”?
Because they make use of the diction of war in order to spread “the gospel”. Now, I may be a bad Catholic, but from what I gathered in my youth as an altar-boy, Jesus would have been quite unhappy about “soldiers” conducting “Evangelistic Crusades”. So yeah, maybe “lunatics” is the wrong word. “Idiots” would be more suitable.
Hmmmm…. “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.” - Matthew 10:34
Not sure where you got this “Gentle Jesus, meek and mild” idea from.
Right, so let’s assume their “crusades” are according to what Jesus intended. Then of course they’re lunatics all right, just like any other fundamental organisation.
Depends what you mean by “crusade”. And what’s with the “fundamental” label. Anybody who believes something strongly is a “fundamentalist”.
Well, it depends on what they mean by “crusade”. According to Webster’s Dictionary, a crusade is
As we know now, a sorry excuse for raping the countryside and pillaging the cities. Then of course, another definition, obviously derived from the original is
Now, one could give the Jesus Revolution Army the benefit of doubt and say they’re referring to definition number two, but with all these allusions to warfare and the like, it is rather difficult to do so. And well, regarding that “fundamental” tag, I suppose you know just as well as I do, that one can believe strongly into something without crossing the boundaries of common sense.
I think you’ll find they’re called the “Jesus Revolution” not the “Jesus Revolution Army”. Now, having got that out of the way, why do you not think they’re operating with “common sense”?
Right, look at that flyer. You’ll find they do call themselves Jesus Revolution Army. I could give you a few more links, but I trust you’ll find references to “soldiers” and an “army” if you look closely enough. Regarding the common sense, I think our tolerance level in determining what is common sense and what not may differ quite drastically. I for one won’t attribute common sense to people who are of the opinion that Europe needs to be saved by an army of soldiers trained in the arts of “self-denial”, “servant-hood” or “God’s Word”. After all, I’m an agnostic, plain and simple.
So if you’re an agnost then you’re not quite sure that the Jesus Revolution peeps aren’t perhaps right after all?
Perhaps your worry is not so much what the Jesus Revolution / Army / Crusade / Bunch of kids who believe something different to you believe, but that it might in some way impact you and change what you can or can’t do?
Well, since there’s no scientific proof yet that your God does exist, there’s no justification for believing in one as well. And yes, I can’t be sure that what the JRA people believe in isn’t true after all, but that doesn’t free me from my common sense, which tells me that luring people into any organisation with a totalitarian claim is simply wrong. Especially if that organisation is based on a collection of scripts collected into a book with an authoritarian claim.
There’s plenty of scientific proof. Without God you believe in a universe that happened because of nothing - with God I believe in a universe that happened because of something. Who’s believing in a fantasy?
I think calling the Bible a “totalitarian” book is a bit severe - Since when were Christians totalitarian? We’re just a totalitarian as any group that believes that they’re right.
Oh, I’d love to see that scientific proof. You’re not referring to Euler’s algebraic proof, right? And no, believing in nothing instead of a fairy tale is not like believing in fantasy. I’d rather not know than to believe in the first best thing that comes along.
And I was referring to the JRA as being totalitarian, not Christianity itself.
There has been zero scientific proof of the existence of a greater being than ourselves. Faith is conceived to ease the human mind from insanity due to the vastness of the universe, a universe with no outright explanation of why & how.
Christians are more totalitarian than others simply because they teach against it, yet overly strive to conquer the world with their religion. The Bible, along with many Christian leaders of past & present, is full of contradictions in teaching, and a significant number of Christians are so hypocritical that they actually slow the advancement, if any, of their particular beliefs.
@nwistheone, my point exactly. While I believe that for some people belief is the only way to cope with a life otherwise miserable, I don’t condone the efforts of religious groupings trying to lure others to follow them.
I won’t even go into the Bible interpretation discussion, but I think it’s safe to say that if there really was a God, he’d have made sure his followers would at least get all their facts straight. And if he’s not even that powerful, then why bother?
Right on. After so many years, there shouldn’t be doubt among believers. The myth about a higher power is still just that: a myth. I, myself, am also agnostic.
Hey, I’m a part of the Jesus Revolution Army in Europe!
Easy to judge us when you’re so far away, but if you were to meet one of us, you would realise we’re not so stupid or lunatic, but just love Jesus and want people to get to know him and his love. Be blessed!