Posts tagged ‘prayer’

May 5th, 2010

Child Preachers

As I grew up I became  a very good performer when it came to preaching a message, sharing my testimony, or revealing an insight from the “holy spirit.”

Do you want to see just how early indoctrination, training, and exposure to the mannerisms, cultures, and languages of religion starts? Check this out:

Wow, what do you think? Also check out an ABC News piece on the child preacher phenomenon.

Children are amazing imitators–frighteningly so. Notice how culturally-specific these emotional, “spirit-filled” sermons are? It’s a performance. That’s what preaching and prophesying and praying aloud in public are all about. Who could honestly say that while they are in front of a group they didn’t care at all about if the audience liked it or if they did a good job? I tried not to think about those things as a Christian, but I couldn’t help it–especially as a young person who most wants love, attention, and affirmation.

What most recognizable in the videos are the styles of preaching, but what’s even more important is the content of what they say. Do you think children teach Bible lessons that don’t conform to the beliefs of their own church or group? I doubt it. Do you think these kids can understand the serious doctrines and theologies they’re shouting about? I doubt many adults actually understand what they preach, much less a child who hasn’t developed critical thinking nor been educated.

Sigh.

Categorychristianity, religion, videos | Comment18 Comments »

Tags:
April 28th, 2010

Girl Convulses in the Holy Spirit During Graduation Prayer

A young woman prays the benediction at Midwestern State University in Wichita Falls, Texas. She subsequently has a breakdown of tears and shaking. She prays for the forgiveness of her own sins plus the sins of her peers who have accepted humanism and worshipped the intellectual mind. She starts to lose it when she begs for mercy and not judgment from her loving god. She begs for the mercy of this god onto the lives of the unsaved in the audience.And then… she gets pulled back from the podium and collapses in tears.

This, readers, is what it’s like for a charismatic Christian to be “overcome by the spirit.” I’ve had moments like that in my past, and I know how it feels.

I’m almost too embarrassed to watch it for a second time. What can I say except:

  • This should not be taking place at a public university.
  • I can spot a fake a mile away.
  • They called for an ambulance at the end, but trust me, she’s fine… just hysterical.
  • I feel bad for the students and the event as they were surely overshadowed by the theatrics of this one religious girl who lost it while praying.

What do you think? Vote on prayer at graduation ceremonies in the sidebar —->

Categorychristianity, religion, videos | Comment21 Comments »

Tags:
March 16th, 2010

Why Doesn’t God Heal Amputees? We May Have the Answer.

amputee

Photo by The Cambodia Trust (flickr.com)

There is no god. Even if there were, it clearly doesn’t give a damn about you missing some bodily tissue. If it did, it could fix it! How do we know this? Science!

The fabulous website whywontgodhealamputees.com is based on the challenge that if a god is all-powerful, all-loving, and promises to answer prayer, then why won’t this god heal someone who has a missing limb? It’s never happened, and we know it never will. At least, not through prayer.

An exciting landmark has been reached in regards to a gene that may regulate tissue regeneration in mammals (that means humans too, Creationists!). This ability to replace damaged flesh with healthy, scar-free flesh seems to be triggered by the loss of the p21 gene. When the p21 gene is lacking, cells behave more like embryonic stem cells rather than adult cells.

“Much like a newt that has lost a limb, these mice will replace missing or damaged tissue with healthy tissue that lacks any sign of scarring,” said the project’s lead scientist Ellen Heber-Katz, Ph.D., a professor in Wistar’s Molecular and Cellular Oncogenesis program. “While we are just beginning to understand the repercussions of these findings, perhaps, one day we’ll be able to accelerate healing in humans by temporarily inactivating the p21 gene.”

[Andrew Snyder, Ph.D. stated,] “In normal cells, p21 acts like a brake to block cell cycle progression in the event of DNA damage, preventing the cells from dividing and potentially becoming cancerous,” Heber-Katz said. “In these mice without p21, we do see the expected increase in DNA damage, but surprisingly no increase in cancer has been reported.”

(Read the rest over at PhysOrg)

If it may work on a mouse, could tissue regeneration be available to humans in the future? Do you think this would encourage or stifle the superstitions about divine healing?

Categorychristianity, god, news, science | Comment11 Comments »

Tags:
November 22nd, 2009

Lies, Damn Lies, and Lunatics: part 2

Ohhh yes, my heathen horde, I’m serving up another hot plate of my favorite dish and yours: Christian faith healers.
Check out the other parts in this series: Kerney Thomas and his magic handkerchiefs and coming next, a douche of epic proportions!

A Holy Cage Match

Now that we’ve warmed up, let me introduce Todd Bentley, a man who likes to beat people up and brag about it. This pierced, tattooed, ex-con/druggie is one of my favorite examples of see-through bullshittery.

I dig the tatts and piercings and the “everyman” appeal of his aesthetic, but I cannot stomach some of the tall tales of his godly beatings for Jesus. This man enjoys violence and places God’s stamp of approval on it:

Bentley: “Why Isn’t the power of God moving?”
God: “It’s because you haven’t kicked that woman in the face!”
Bentley: “… And just as my boot made contact with her nose, she fell under the power of God.”

May I be the first to say… No shit, Sherlock!

Caught in a Lie

As I was gleaning video clips for this blog post, I came across a blatant discrepancy in Bentley’s testimonies. I think it illustrates the importance of reliable evidence and how the personal experience of an individual may not be trustworthy, especially when it’s used to elicit an emotional reaction.

Click here to watch both clips side-by-side.

In clip 1 Bentley speaks of a woman whose legs get beaten like a baseball bat on the stage. In clip 2 he’s telling the same story (you can hear the similar lead-in about “crippled people” and “not one”) but this time it’s a small boy whose legs God says to beat on the stage. So which is it, a male or female? I believe these tall tales are fabricated for theatrics and to give the audience a sense of awe and to gain trust before they step up to be healed. Hardly a  trustworthy man of God!

Check out the rest of video 2 to hear horrifying and ridiculous tales of slapping grandmothers through doors, clotheslining men who need healing, and more. This man’s glorification of senseless violence in the name of God is truly frightening!

On top of his lies, fabrications, and glorification of violence, this man was also involved in an extramarital affair, left his wife, and married the young woman he cheated with. Sure, normal assholes do this of every creed, but when you claim to have a special relationship with the Almighty and converse regularly and intimately with him… you’d think your moral character might look a little bit less like that of a complete troll.

Tell us what you think of Todd Bentley in the comments!

Categorychristianity, god, religion, videos | Comment6 Comments »

Tags:
« Older Entries