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"Nice soul you have there...hate to see it burn...you'd better give god 10%"
That's what you were told in your church? Yikes. Hell? For not tithing 10%? I don't know what that is ..... but it certainly isn't anything Jesus taught.
Last edited by DewDropInn; 03-07-2015 at 07:50 PM..
Yeah. Sure. Tell yourself that if it makes you feel any better. But the way I see it, I find it the height of irony that I - perhaps the most anti-christian poster on this forum - have more respect and more reverence for the god of christianity than most of the christians in this thread appear to have.
If this thread is any indicator, your relationship with your god is all about what he can do for you, how he can help you when you need him, and how to ask him for that help with as little inconvenience to yourselves as possible. If you need his help with something, you can't even be bothered to get out of your damned car, for Christ's sake! You pull up to a booth and some guy comes out and says, "Hi, what kind of help do you need to ask for today?" And you roll down the window (not too much, of course, because it's cold outside and you don't want to be too uncomfortable), and you say, "Yeah, I need some help with that project at work so I look good to the boss. And hurry, will ya, cuz I need to hit the Starbucks on the way to the office."
If that is not the absolute epitome of laziness and hypocrisy, then I need a new dictionary. If I were still a christian, I would never in a million years treat my god in such a shabby, selfish, disrespectful manner, but that's christianity in a nutshell. Me, me, me. Whatever the newest way is for me to ask my god to fix my life up and solve my problems for me (so I don't, you know, have to actually do it for myself, because that's just way-a-a-y too much for someone to do on their own), well - hey, sign me up.
Is it really asking that much to park your damned car, go inside, and say, "Hey, god... I know I haven't been around much the last few weeks, and I know that probably doesn't speak very well of me. I'm sorry if it seems as though I'm being disrespectful or taking you for granted; I don't mean to just show up when I need help with something, and I can understand why you would find that offensive and troubling. The truth is, I do love and respect and honor you very much, and there isn't a day goes by that I don't stop and think to myself a dozen times how fortunate I am to have your support and your guidance in my life. I'm honored and grateful that you care enough about me to help me with my problems, and yes, that's why I am here today. I have this issue at work, and I need help..."
But no. That's apparently wa-a-a-ay too much trouble. That's asking way too much. No, you want to just pull into the parking lot, shift it into park, and not even shut the engine off while the carhop rollerskates out to your window and says, "and may I take your prayer request today?" Because hey, why should you be inconvenienced when you're asking for god's help?
For the first time, I think I'm really starting to understand the flood myth. If I were god, and that's the way the people who believed in me treated me, I'd drown every damned one of them too. And I don't think I'd even bother starting over. The hypocrisy, the selfishness, and the moral laziness are nothing short of disgusting to me.
That's what you were told in your church? Yikes. Hell? For not tithing 10%? I don't know what that is ..... but it certainly isn't anything Jesus taught.
It was strongly implied that salvation was contingent on church attendance and giving God some of your money.
If that is not the absolute epitome of laziness and hypocrisy, then I need a new dictionary. If I were still a christian, I would never in a million years treat my god in such a shabby, selfish, manner, but that's christianity in a nutshell. Me, me, me. Whatever the newest way is for me to ask my god to fix my life up and solve my problems for me (so I don't, you know, have to actually do it for myself, because that's just way-a-a-y too much for someone to do on their own), well - hey, sign me up.
Is it really asking that much to park your damned car, go inside,......................
Take a breath.
Not everyone praying in church parking lots is praying for themselves. Trust me on that.
Or do you also have a problem if someone prays...say.... in a hospital waiting room? Because, oh yeah, I've prayed in those too. Come to think of it I once prayed, with a total stranger, in the bathroom of a Target. She was covered in blood because some whack-job went nuts and decided to take a glass display shelf, break it, and use it to cut up people shopping in the men's clothing department. I'd like to think God didn't mind that we were praying five feet from the toilets.
Last edited by DewDropInn; 03-07-2015 at 09:35 PM..
That's what you were told in your church? Yikes. Hell? For not tithing 10%? I don't know what that is ..... but it certainly isn't anything Jesus taught.
Watch the first 2 minutes of this video if you want to understand what I was taught to believe:
Not everyone praying in church parking lots is praying for themselves. Trust me on that.
Or do you also have a problem if someone prays...say.... in a hospital waiting room? Because, oh yeah, I've prayed in those too. Come to think of it I once prayed, with a total stranger, in the bathroom of a Target. She was covered in blood because some whack-job went nuts and decided to take a glass display shelf, break it, and use it to cut up people shopping in the men's clothing department. I'd like to think God didn't mind that we were praying five feet from the toilets.
I agree with you completely that there are good people who pray and it's not all about them, quite the contrary. Lots of people pray in lots of places about lots of things. Cruising through a parking lot to pray with someone about whatever the person wants is up to them. Just because I stopped believing in god doesn't mean I have a problem, per se, with those who pray. While I do have a problem with people who abuse prayer, especially publicly, private or semi private prayers in a parking lot aren't likely to cross my radar.
As far as the differences between the car vs. the tradition church building cultures go, I have a problem with the role the vehicle ends up playing for some. It's a sad reflection on an overly scheduled life when the only solitary time some folks get is in their vehicles. Between work, errands, the family, chauffeuring and community activities (which may or may not include church), the only solitary time left is while driving alone, save perhaps for personal care needs and sleep.
I'll bet the lady in Target was glad you were there.
Yeah. Sure. Tell yourself that if it makes you feel any better. But the way I see it, I find it the height of irony that I - perhaps the most anti-christian poster on this forum - have more respect and more reverence for the god of christianity than most of the christians in this thread appear to have.
If this thread is any indicator, your relationship with your god is all about what he can do for you, how he can help you when you need him, and how to ask him for that help with as little inconvenience to yourselves as possible. If you need his help with something, you can't even be bothered to get out of your damned car, for Christ's sake! You pull up to a booth and some guy comes out and says, "Hi, what kind of help do you need to ask for today?" And you roll down the window (not too much, of course, because it's cold outside and you don't want to be too uncomfortable), and you say, "Yeah, I need some help with that project at work so I look good to the boss. And hurry, will ya, cuz I need to hit the Starbucks on the way to the office."
If that is not the absolute epitome of laziness and hypocrisy, then I need a new dictionary. If I were still a christian, I would never in a million years treat my god in such a shabby, selfish, disrespectful manner, but that's christianity in a nutshell. Me, me, me. Whatever the newest way is for me to ask my god to fix my life up and solve my problems for me (so I don't, you know, have to actually do it for myself, because that's just way-a-a-y too much for someone to do on their own), well - hey, sign me up.
Is it really asking that much to park your damned car, go inside, and say, "Hey, god... I know I haven't been around much the last few weeks, and I know that probably doesn't speak very well of me. I'm sorry if it seems as though I'm being disrespectful or taking you for granted; I don't mean to just show up when I need help with something, and I can understand why you would find that offensive and troubling. The truth is, I do love and respect and honor you very much, and there isn't a day goes by that I don't stop and think to myself a dozen times how fortunate I am to have your support and your guidance in my life. I'm honored and grateful that you care enough about me to help me with my problems, and yes, that's why I am here today. I have this issue at work, and I need help..."
But no. That's apparently wa-a-a-ay too much trouble. That's asking way too much. No, you want to just pull into the parking lot, shift it into park, and not even shut the engine off while the carhop rollerskates out to your window and says, "and may I take your prayer request today?" Because hey, why should you be inconvenienced when you're asking for god's help?
For the first time, I think I'm really starting to understand the flood myth. If I were god, and that's the way the people who believed in me treated me, I'd drown every damned one of them too. And I don't think I'd even bother starting over. The hypocrisy, the selfishness, and the moral laziness are nothing short of disgusting to me.
I think I'll frame that post and hang it n the wall. Bill Burr couldn't have done it better.
Not everyone praying in church parking lots is praying for themselves. Trust me on that.
Or do you also have a problem if someone prays...say.... in a hospital waiting room? Because, oh yeah, I've prayed in those too. Come to think of it I once prayed, with a total stranger, in the bathroom of a Target. She was covered in blood because some whack-job went nuts and decided to take a glass display shelf, break it, and use it to cut up people shopping in the men's clothing department. I'd like to think God didn't mind that we were praying five feet from the toilets.
I don't think anyone supposes that is the issue. The rather reprehensible aspect is the sheer unthinking cynicism of performing the ritual of pretending you are doing something practical by having a prayer said, as quickly and conveniently as humanly possible, so you can get on with doing the things that really matter to you. If it were not that you really need tailor-made prayers for every occasion, you could just have prayer wheels to spin set up by the clock -in machine.
If it were just me, I wouldn't be all that worried. But this kind of Christianity is widespread in the USA.
In a way, that's good. In a way that religion gradually becoming like Your stars in the papers. Just see an end to religious influnce in law, politics and education, and then I don't care if there's a prayer selection on the check -out touch -screen.
'Select language..thank you..'
'Select religion..thank you..'
'Are you praying for yourself or someone else...of course you are...'
'select purpose of prayer..'
Thank you, please insert card...please note that no refunds will be given if prayer is not answered.'
Thank you. Your prayer is on reverse of the printed receipt..'
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