When Santa and his elves decided to go into the religious scam business Santa said I don't understand why the reward for following our religion for lifetime must be invisible. Santa said I would think having invisible rewards would discredit our religion. The head elf spoke up, and there is always a head elf involved in a religious cult, and he said an invisible reward means we don't have to actually deliver a reward. Santa spoke up and said what if I put the statement, "you must believe as a little child believes" in the good book? Boss that will be like taking candy from a baby, you won't fool everybody, but the majority will fall for it. it
Many men lust for power over other men and religion has always provided that path. Men whose power is underwritten by government or corporate power structures have power over the bodies of men but religious power grants not only power over the body but power over the mind. They don't tell you how to think but what to think and what to believe. They literally tell you what is truth and what is not. They convinced an ignorant world that fairy tale witches were real and not only real but dire threat to everyone else. Fear is a cruel master it puts us into fight or flight mode. Suddenly the world is divided between them or us and the unthinkable becomes reasonable. Beware of those who derive their power from fear, like burning in hell for eternity.
@Zardoz,
No, fake Christianity did the things you mentioned. ALL trinity based religions are fake Christianity. The God of Israel was NEVER a trinity=100% fact. The Pope is a fake man of God. 2 Popes ago, they forced him to retire because he was gay, he moved in with his male secretary after he retired. Not all is as appears in this satan ruled world. 99% of all religion belongs to satan and his teachers transform into an angels of light to mislead(2 Corinthians 11:12-15)
@kjw47,
Who is on first? Christianity wants to disavow any of its members that did anything wrong and claim they were not real Christians, but it was the good book that instructed them to do those things. You are telling me that Moses was not a real Christian this is the man that delivered the 10 commandments and also the man who was into human sacrifice. Write him out of your bible and the whole fairy tale collapses.
The cornerstone of ever cult is fear. The Christian cults might say the love of God, but it is the fear of God that is responsible for Christianity. Why fear? Fear is an emotion that overrides the rational mind. Fear is the last-ditch survival mode. Our ancestors avoided encounters with grizzly bears because of fear. Those that pointed at the bears and said what pretty animals did not have any descendants. Fear is the enemy of logic. Christianity clearly shows when fear dominates rationality goes out the window.
Two young men discussing Christianity, one says I don't believe in Christianity but even if there is only a one in 500 chances I might go to hell, I won't take that chance. Fear is the main ingredient in Christianity, the cornerstone it is built on. Fear provides the window for the irrational.
Fear is an uncomfortable emotional state, and people want to escape it. There is safety in numbers or at least comfort. One always seeks refuge in an escape from reality. What better refuge than a religious cult.
Fear triggers the fight or flight response. When you fear death, the natural response is to flee to a refuge that offers the illusion of everlasting life. We spend a good deal of our life amerced in fiction because reality is often harsh.
Fear is part of our emotional brain not our rational brain. Life on earth could would not exist without fear. Humans are not the only species that exhibit fear. Almost all animals and even insects exhibit fear. A fly will not set still on your arm while you squish it. Cockroaches run because of fear. The fly does not fear the invisible hand of God. The deer on my property and I have an understanding I don't chase them and they don't run but they maintain a safe distance.
Fear is probably one of ancient of survival skills. Humans soon discovered that fear could be used to manipulate other and the good part it did not have to be reality. For an instance you could tell a village that a huge army was on the way, and they would flee and you could pilfer the village.
The ultimate scam was to invent a God or gods who were invisible not only now but forever like the invading army. You could say my God wants 10 people sacrificed this week. Who could question that? The invisible world can be molded to fit any psychopath worst nightmares
Manipulation by fear is very common in our society it is not only religious cults that use it. We learn it from our parents. You either pick up those toys or you're going to get a time out. Do your homework or we will take your car keys. So, when the local religious cult tells you that you must act as they tell you or you are going to hell it is a familiar pattern.
As teenagers begin to determine the pecking order fear is one of the primary tools. When I was in high school, I was at a local skating rink one night one night and during an advanced couple's skate (when the whistle blows the boy advances to the next girl.) The guy behind me tells me to not take the hand of the next girl. Of course, I do and he brings his fist down to separate our hands, it didn't work. Now he tells me he is going to beat the hell of me after the rink closes. The rink is in the center of town, and you have the west end gang and the many from the east end. I came alone but I had a few friends from high school. I told them not to get involved as long as it was one on one.
The rink closed but westies did leave they were hiding around a corner but one finally went past. I remarked to my friends there is not going to be a fight here tonight. The westie said You just go outside wait. After a few minutes a couple of guys showed up. The guy that picked the fight sent a proxy he was accompanied by another guy who was in mid-twenties and what he was doing hanging with teenagers I don't know. It was wintertime an as I was taking my coat off the twenty something threw his drink in my face. The proxy got a free lick in, but my little sister could hit harder. It was on but I could not get within 6ft of him. Soon the local rent a cop showed up. The proxy said let me handle and told the cop there had been a fight, but the other guy ran off.
The next week the west end gang told me I was alright with them. As I think back, I don't think the west end gang ever had any intention of fighting we forced the issue. Had they frightened me out of the rink. It would have radically changed my life. I later met my wife of 54 years in that rink my daughter would not have been born. Just as fear would have radically changed my life those involved in religious cults are seeing their lives changed by fear. When you are taught that you need the cane of religion to walk you lose the ability to walk on your own.
In the group I grew up with two became preachers and many of the others are eat up with religion. My face book page is eat up with religious posts. I seldom bother to even read the page let alone post anything. Growing up I don't remember them displaying the religious extremism. The Baptist church in neighborhood was popular and most of my friends were members. The church has long since closed and what was left of the congregation combined with another failed church and meets in an old ice-skating rink. The church still stands but is owned by the hospital.
Why the religious extremism now when Christianity is breaking down? They have now reached the average age of death and are trying to secure their heavenly reward. Their doubts are eating them alive. They used religion to hide from their fear of death most of their lives but now death stalks them. Mind and bodies are failing and death is inevitable. How do they cope? They start posting all kinds of religious posts more to convince themselves than others. They hope it might gain them a few points when they die.
After all these years of religion they still have a paralyzing fear of death. They never learned to put death in proper perspective their expectation exceed reality. They can neither hide from their fear or their doubt, but they can always post.
I never tried to impose my belief structure on my wife or my daughter they were free to explore religious philosophy and make their own decision. When we were just starting out my wife decides to go to a local church that wasn't going bankrupt. She attended one service. A few weeks later we were working in the attic putting another layer of insulation in when a knock comes on the door. It is a pain to get out of attic because there are no stairs. It was the assistant preacher of the church she had went to. During the conservation he explained to us that one church member had given them their credit card to go on vacation while another was paying for his son's college education. He then said that God will provide. Somehow, I did not think God was going to pay that credit card bill. Did he not realize he was scamming those people? They thought that they were buying their way into heaven.
When he left my wife understood who those people were. Thirty-eight years later we moved next door to preacher and just across the highway from church. She took my daughter to the church just once. Whenever I put a conman in jail for ripping of an old lady for thousands I think about that preacher. I had one case where the contractor put on a roof. One of his employees collected the bill. The owner of the business showed up and said he never got the money, so she paid him again. Meanwhile one of the employees stole her credit card. He was caught using the card to buy school clothes for her children. The police asked her if he had permission to use her card? They let him talk to her and after that told the police he did have permission.
The woman had been a schoolteacher and was an end stage alcoholic. She would not make a good witness in court. I could not get him then but found him ripping the college librarian and when we ran the license on his truck it came back to a truck, he reported stolen. It seems he had the forethought to remove the tag of the truck that was stolen and put it on his truck. I really enjoyed watching him go to jail.
The preacher may try and convince himself he is not a conman, but he is, he is just a little more slimy than most. Many conmen will brag about the people they ripped off wasn't that what the preacher was doing?
Conmen don't view what they are doing as a crime they think of as a craft much like a carpenter or a plumber. When they pull off a scam they will brag about. One conman was telling about a scam he was proud of. He was a plumber by trade but repaired appliances on side. He received a call from an old lady about her refrigerator. He checked it out and took care of problem, but he unplugged the defroster motor knowing that she would have to call him back. He plugged the defroster back in and charged her for a new defroster. She didn't have much money and was crying when she wrote the check. He told her just don't get any tears on my check. He told that story on himself.
I could not help but think of the preacher that came to my house. There was no reason for him to bring up using someone else's credit card. He was bragging. I often wondered how many years it took some old lady to pay off her credit card. Many people believe giving money to preachers or the church will make a favorable impression on God when they die. It creates a vacuum where conmen rush in.
The same plumber was installing air conditioning in a ten-story building downtown. He told a local supplier that all his money was tied up in the big job, but he wanted to do some side jobs. He asked them would they give him credit until he got paid for the big job? They extended him $50,000 in credit. When the supplier found out he had been paid for the big job they called him. He told them he did not have enough to buy a hamburger. That was the end of $50,000 he had nothing. I would say he is still bragging about that one except he died of cancer. I really enjoyed busting that low life, but they were misdemeanor charges.
There is a true story being streamed about the murders in the Mormon religion. They killed their fearless leader and blamed it on people in a wagon train. They claimed that there were a few men in wagon who were responsible for killing Joseph Smith. They massacred everyone in the wagon train of course; they confiscated all the goods. A high official in the Moron church disputed the facts and said they had their own historians probably Trump. There were profits running around with lists of people that God wanted murdered. Just an everyday religious cult.
Why is it that God only talks to one person? In order to make sure that God's message is not misinterpreted. Why not send the message to hundred people so it could be verified? What if there were a large group of people that God told them to take over America and replace our form of government with a theocracy? There is and it is made of many different religious organizations from mega churches to small churches. They all share one thing in common they want to destroy the United States and make it a theocrasy. They have already have people in place in the highest level of our government. If God orders, you to kill someone can you be prosecuted? After all, according to Christians God is the highest authority.
In the new American Theocracy, everyone would be killing everyone. A husband would say God told me to kill her she was a bad person she burnt the steak. How could you verify it? There would be another group killing everybody because God told them it was the end of days. The United States would become the theater of the absurd. You can mold the invisible into anything you want. These people are mainlining imagination and like other drugs the results will be bad.
The example of the husband defense for killing his wife was that God told him to kill her for burning his steak. That might not have been quite fair as God may had more information. For instance, she may have taken the name of the God in vain or the tried and true she was seen in a clearing in the woods dancing with the devil. That one sent millions to their deaths.
They call themselves "The Family" they have another public name. The group started in 1935 and founded the National Prayer Breakfast. Their goal is to overthrow the government and replace it with a theocracy. It was started by Norwegian preacher Abraham Vereide. Isn't funny how as soon as foreigners get here, they think they should overthrow our government. They believe that Jesus Christ should be more like Adolf Hiter. They believe religion is not about love and helping the poor it is about power. Mike Pence is a member of the family as well as were 9 members of Trump's first cabinet. Vereide wanted to create a ruling class of Christ-committed men. Ruling class, really.
The information comes from the book "The Cult of Trump" by Steven Hassan PhD.
The Christian right wants the power to indoctrinate your children in public schools. The Christian right wants the power to buy Trump bibles for public schools Religion is all about gaining power over other people. The biggest threat to America is not the nuclear bomb it is the ignorance bomb.
Ignorance is one thing but learned ignorance is quite another. Every Sunday in America ignorance bombs are thrown at millions of Americans. They want to keep people immersed in the same 2,000-year-old ignorance while every other sector of life has advanced 2,000 years the Christian philosophy stays frozen in the past. Other types of philosophy are criticized and improved but Christian philosophy is considered divine and no matter how obvious that it is wrong it must be considered right.
What would happen if the Christian right was able to gain the power of government? This is their stated purpose. The question would best be answered by history. At one time Christianity was a second government in many countries if you refused to go to church you could be executed. So, Christianity had the power it is now seeking. It is coalition of religious group seeking the power of government. In any coalition you have problem but in religious coalitions each part of the coalition believes their interpretations of religious text is correct. Soon each part of the coalition starts killing each other in a religious free for all. It was not just witches that were burned at the stake it was religious leaders. It would happen again today.
The biggest threat to America is not an invasion from Russia the biggest threat is an attack by the radically ignorant who are bound and determined ignorance will be the new standard for America. Just as a house can be destroyed by small insects a country can be destroyed by small minds. Power is intoxicating for some people once they get a taste they want more. The Christian army that wants to take control of America wants dominion over the American people think of that they want dominion over your family. It is not the family next door that goes to church that is the problem it the religious leaders that have banded together. They call themselves the "family" in private no doubt a mafia reference. They are drunk with power and want more.
Power can be used for good or bad. I took over as president of the local union in my mid-twenties. The sanitation workers were being cheated out of their holiday pay each time a holiday occurred. They were not hourly workers they were task workers. In other words, you pick up your route on Monday you went home whether it was 4 hours or 10 hours but when holiday they were expected to pick up Monday's garbage and part of Tuesday garbage until you caught up. They got holiday off but still did 5 day's work. I told them to pick up Monday's garbage but not Tuesday you're not being paid for it. They did not and soon I heard from the internation union wanting to know what the hell I was doing. I explained the situation and they agreed I was right but wanted it handled through the grievance procedure it drug on for a couple years but eventually the holiday garbage was pick up on Saturday and the men were paid time and a half and got the holiday.
After I moved up to top class in racing, I needed a better job and with that job I had the power to write arrest citations and swear out warrants for people. I always tried to treat people as I would like to be treated. You could issue a warning or an arrest citation but these group of preachers wants power for powers sake. My secretary went to a grand opening of restaurant. She had a cookie and asked for another. The waitress said I know you want another, but do you need another cookie? The preachers don't need more power they just want it. Why do they want the power over you? It is obvious the public is made up of poor ignorant creatures that must have their direction.
@Zardoz,
Moses was an Israelite. Jesus started 1 Christian religion centuries after Moses lived.
@kjw47,
Moses is one of the key players in the bible fairy tale. Take him out and the ten commandments go with him. You don't get to edit the fairy tale after it is published.
The Whitehouse has its own preacher to hold bible studies and learn such facts that no woman should ever be able to teach a grown man. This seven-foot preacher is seven feet of extreme bigotry. He believes women should not hold public office or work outside the home. Trump does not attend but reviews the lesson and gives the preacher pointers.
Do you really want these bigots to have dominion over you. It is late to join the battle as the enemy is entrenched but we need to out anybody that is a member of the "family" and make it an issue at every election. Point out to public that these people want to use our government to gain dominion over us.
Why is it that the idiots always believe that God has appointed them to not only lead but gain dominion over others? I don't care if they have a PhD. Educated idiot is not a myth. There is more than one kind intelligence and someone that lacks emotional intelligence has a hard time functioning.
The founder of "The Family' was a preacher Abraham Vereide. He believed only the "Big Man" could save us. I have run across this man before he tried to repeal social security. After all the Big Man needs more money to "save us." Vereide believed that we should enter into a benevolent dictatorship. His idea survived him.
