MetaFilter posts tagged with Christians

Pastor Urges His Flock to Bring Guns to Church

VikingSword — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 23:13:31 -0800

As soon as you start saying that it’s not something that Christians do, well, guns are just the foil. The issue now is the Gospel. So in a sense, it does become a crusade. Now the Gospel is at stake. Of the 40 states with right-to-carry laws, 20 allow guns in churches. The National Rifle Association says its membership is up 30 percent since November. And several states have recently passed laws allowing gun owners to carry firearms in more places — bars, restaurants, cars and parks. “We have a very active agenda in all 50 states,” said Chris W. Cox, legislative director of the N.R.A., widely considered the country’s most powerful lobby. “We have right-to-carry laws in over 40 states; 20 years ago, it was in just six.” Public attitudes also seem to be turning more sympathetic to gun owners.

Jesus who?

Brandon Blatcher — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 19:02:29 -0800

The End of Christian America. The percentage of self-identified Christians has fallen 10 points in the past two decades. How that statistic explains who we are now—and what, as a nation, we are about to become.

"If people do not accept our position on creationism, they do not have to watch."

goodnewsfortheinsane — Tue, 28 Aug 2007 08:42:04 -0800

Guess who's censoring references to evolution out of David Attenborough documentaries? That's right, the Dutch. See the differences; here's a detailed write-up by a Dutch biologist and documentary enthusiast comparing the two versions side-by-side (in Dutch).

Unser Vater in Himmel!

Mayor Curley — Tue, 29 Aug 2006 14:02:53 -0800

What Would Jerry Do? German neighborhood evicts family for praying too loud. The U.S. State Department is critical of the level of religious freedom in Germany. But would a land nearly free of Scientologists and intolerant of overt displays really be so bad?

Attack on Nazareth church by mentally ill man sparks riot

hwestiii — Fri, 03 Mar 2006 12:01:48 -0800

Truth slightly more plausible than fiction

Suck it, Kansas

orthogonality — Sun, 12 Feb 2006 17:09:23 -0800

"Who's the only one who's always been there?" Ham asked. "God!" the boys and girls shouted.
"Who's the only one who knows everything?" "God!"
"So who should you always trust, God or the scientists?" The children answered with a thundering: "God!"

Today, on the 197th anniversary of the birth of Charles Darwin whose discovery of natural selection is the fundamental tenet of modern biology, fundamentalist American Christians work to indoctrinate in children a superstitious disdain for science. Meanwhile, liberal American Christians churches celebrate Darwin and evolution's compatibility with their faith.

But is "Darwin's Dangerous Idea" too corrosive to mysticism to coexist with Christianity?

Christmas is a Big Lie

tcobretti — Fri, 23 Dec 2005 12:18:29 -0800

The War on Christmas. A very brief overview of the war Christians have waged against other religious holidays since roughly 400AD. Just a reminder of the reason for the season.

The Lord's Wal-Mart

thisisdrew — Wed, 30 Nov 2005 22:03:19 -0800

"This is the day that the Lord has made! We shall rejoice and be glad in the new Wal-Mart that the Lord has made."

canary in a coalmine? better late than never?

amberglow — Thu, 17 Nov 2005 17:57:30 -0800

Anti-Defamation League speaks up against the Christianizing of America-- They're calling for a communal strategy for confronting the political and cultural initiatives of religious conservative groups, and naming the Arlington Group, Focus on the Family, The American Family Association and the Family Research Council as some of those responsible for the infrastructures throughout the country designed not just to promote traditional “Christian values,” but to actively pursue that restoration of a Christian nation. Opinions differ, of course. Foxman anticipates them in his speech, Religion in America’s Public Square: Are We Crossing the Line?: ... On one hand, there is an extreme element in the community that believes it is unsafe to confront Christianity. ... There are also those who say that because evangelicals are friends of Israel, “don’t fight them;” “don’t make them angry;” “don’t upset them.” . ...

Revenge of the "wackos" ?

troutfishing — Thu, 03 Nov 2005 21:49:38 -0800

"The wackos get their information through the Christian right" "The wackos get their information through the Christian right, Christian radio, mail, the internet and telephone trees," Scanlon wrote in the memo, which was read into the public record at a hearing of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee. "Simply put, we want to bring out the wackos to vote against something and make sure the rest of the public lets the whole thing slip past them." - Mssrs. Scanlon and Abramoff betray GOP attitudes concerning the Republican base ?

The growing backlash against religious conservatism

kgasmart — Thu, 05 May 2005 10:06:26 -0800

George Will's column today (WaPo; reg. req'd) sounds a theme that's becoming common among "traditional" conservatives: A growing wariness of the Christian conservative movement. Andrew Sullivan has been discussing this at length (as has MeFi here), but more and more conservative commentators are beginning to allude to it, if only indirectly. And wasn't Laura Bush's comedy routine at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner specifically designed to distance the president from the movement?

The Apocalypse Will Be Televised

iamck — Fri, 11 Mar 2005 08:39:14 -0800

Indeed, all over the world, millions of born-again Christians have vanished into the mystical ether--leaving behind their clothing, their eyeglasses, even their dentures--along with every child under the age of twelve. Airplanes are crashing, automobiles are veering driverless and out of control, and fetuses are disappearing from their mothers' wombs, as the born-again and the unborn alike are abruptly "raptured" to heaven. Harper's Magazine reviewer Gene Lyons discusses apocalyptic entertainment.

America's Christian Values Will Be Destroyed By A Girl in a Tux

expriest — Tue, 01 Mar 2005 21:46:41 -0800

America's Christian Values Will Be Destroyed By A Girl in a Tux Kelli Davis, a straight-A student at Fleming Island High School, will not have her picture published in her Senior Yearbook because she wore a tux. Under the principal's policy, only male students may wear tuxes in the photographs. Davis, who is openly gay, is not allowed to be pictured in traditionally male garb. In addition to banning the photograph, the school principal also fired the yearbook editor for refusing to remove Davis' picture. A photo of the betuxed Kelli Davis is available here.

Armanious family murders

jenleigh — Wed, 02 Feb 2005 09:19:32 -0800

Coptic Christans comprise 15-18% of Egypt's population, and are the MidEast's largest Christian minority. Violence between Muslims and Coptics in Egypt has flared up before, but relations inside American borders have been civil, most say. This month, an emigrated Coptic family of four were murdered in New Jersey just months after the father received death threats for his remarks about Islam in a chatroom on which Christians are allegedly "monitored". Did Armanious Hossan's comments about Islam put his life in jeopardy, ala Salman Rushdie, or Theo Van Gogh, or Geert Wilders (login req), or Rachid Ben Ali?

Why don't Christians live what they preach?

livingsanctuary — Sun, 23 Jan 2005 21:23:33 -0800

The Scandal of the Evangelical Conscience This is the question this article from Christianity Today asks. It shows some scary stats for anyone involved in the Protestant church, that the lifestyles of Evangelical Christians is not really all that different from the rest of society.

Naïve in Thailand

NortonDC — Sun, 16 Jan 2005 20:24:06 -0800

Naïve in Thailand: The misadventures of an unprepared 43-year-old Brit who drops everything to try and help with tsunami rebuilding. Pet peeve? "The only real irritation has been the American Christian volunteers."

God save me from ur ppl!

Hands of Manos — Thu, 09 Dec 2004 11:59:46 -0800

Don't put a restraining order on God the toughest challenge of living in a democracy is to respect the freedom of other people to live according to values that are not your own. Real freedom, however, does not thrive in a moral vacuum (the ardent secularist) or a moral straightjacket (the ardent theocratic). What does my ideal of democracy look like? I can sum it up in a single sentence: A person arrives at faith freely, practices it openly, and uses dialogue with others about their own life path to deepen their understanding. another interesting read from the same webpage: God is not a Republican or a Democrat: the Religious Right does not speak for you. Remind America that Jesus taught us to be peacemakers, advocates for the poor, and defenders of justice.. this article is a little dated, but it is relevant for people who choose to accept Jesus as the Christ but do not want someone's political agenda attached to their belief system.

Jesus loves you, but not the networks

bashos_frog — Wed, 01 Dec 2004 01:43:02 -0800

The United Church of Christ seeks to welcome all people, regardless of ability, age, race, economic circumstance or sexual orientation. But that message, when shown in a TV advertisement is apparently too controversial for CBS and NBC.

Do little people go to heaven?

y2karl — Wed, 10 Nov 2004 10:55:13 -0800

Do little people go to heaven? ...The scientists who have come up with these new Floresians do not count them among the ancestors of man, but among the collateral branches which died out, like the Neanderthals, only later. The suggestion is that the Floresians are, like us, rational animals. Now Christians believe that man (I mean homo, of course, not vir) is a special creation of God. Would these Floresians be in the image and likeness of God too, with immortal souls to be saved or lost, capable of praying to God and going to heaven? asks Christopher Howse.

Their early stuff was better.

drezdn — Tue, 05 Oct 2004 16:56:29 -0800

Heavy prophetic activity... The rapture index- cliffs notes for doomsday.

researched by a #mefi - (waiting for his account) mefite

kamylyon — Mon, 04 Oct 2004 15:36:42 -0800

I was born in NY in the late 60's, and moved to PA in 1985. I'm a Christian, a Klingon, a vegetarian, and a real nice guy with a firm and conservative moral standing.

posted by me for dnab from #mefi

5 Reasons Why Christians Should Not Obtain a State Marriage License

reklaw — Fri, 03 Sep 2004 12:41:46 -0800

5 Reasons Why Christians Should Not Obtain a State Marriage License

Allah forgive them--they're imbeciles

amberglow — Thu, 06 May 2004 13:32:00 -0800

Have You Prayed Today?*
Today is the National Day of Prayer in the US (I had never heard of it). Oliver North!?! is the honorary chairman this year. Here are the President's remarks today. Meanwhile, Larry Flynt is calling for a different sort of prayer today.
*Muslims and Mormons need not apply.
"We're in an election year, and we believe God cares who's in those positions of authority," said Mark Fried, spokesman for the National Day of Prayer Task Force. "But we're not endorsing a candidate, just praying that God's hand will be on the election." The private task force, which operates from the Colorado headquarters of the Christian organization Focus on the Family ....
... since the mid-1980s the ceremony has been organized by the nonprofit task force headed by two prominent evangelical women: Vonette Bright, widow of Campus Crusade for Christ founder Bill Bright, and Shirley Dobson, wife of Focus on the Family founder James Dobson. She also made no apologies about the task force's exclusion of Muslims and others outside of the "Judeo-Christian tradition" from ceremonies planned by the task force on Capitol Hill and in state capitals across the country. "They are free to have their own national day of prayer if they want to," she said. "We are a Christian task force."

Fundy Invasion

alms — Thu, 11 Mar 2004 13:31:22 -0800

"There is no separation of church and state," she said. The Boston Statehouse and surrounding area is crawling with fundamentalist Christians who have come from all over the country to push for a constitutional amendment in our state. You can read minute-by-minute updates on the debate in the Statehouse at Boston.com.

Meet Howard F. Ahmanson, Jr.

MikeB — Fri, 17 Oct 2003 07:51:56 -0800

Ever wonder who is bankrolling the furor over gay bishops in the Anglican Church? Meet Howard F. Ahmanson, Jr., Newport Beach recluse. Among his greatest hits: funding articles that argue gays should be stoned, and a video by Charlton Heston praising the "God-fearing Caucasian middle-class."