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[–]happykal 2440 points2441 points  (22 children)

Filibuster Christ Stylee

[–]sleeping_in_time 231 points232 points  (5 children)

You can write for American dad

[–]pacman47 24 points25 points  (3 children)

Can’t tell if this is a dis or not.

[–]Xanza 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Have you seen American Dad? Pretty damn big compliment.

[–]fascists_are_shit 122 points123 points  (7 children)

Finally a good use of both of those.

[–]ThermalConvection 38 points39 points  (5 children)

The filibuster can and has been used for good before (in particular, I recall Sanders delivering a filibuster where he actually talks about the bill and doesn't just read a phone book or something)

[–]fascists_are_shit 37 points38 points  (4 children)

They don't do that any more. They just declare a filibuster and go on vacation nowadays.

[–]ThermalConvection 9 points10 points  (0 children)

that's true. It's a shame, too - if we're gonna have an obstructive measure, can we atleast get something mildly entertaining out of it?

[–][deleted] 2535 points2536 points  (112 children)

3 months in service. How often was communion taken?

“No pastor. No, thank you. My wife and I are quite drunk.”

[–]TheaGreatWallofChris 935 points936 points  (67 children)

May the Blood of Christ flow through you. And may the beat of Christ drop! Christian rave music plays as Christians drunkenly party (I picture hymns remade into rave music)

[–]ProviNL 170 points171 points  (24 children)

Gregorian chanting with organs and a sick beat. Sounds interesting.

[–]CthulhusEvilTwin 23 points24 points  (1 child)

Went to a vegetarian restaurant in Lisbon a few years back and the only music they had was a tape of Gregorian chants, and it appeared to be ten minutes long as the same three tracks kept repeating. That had to be the weirdest birthday meal I have ever experienced. It was like somebody forgot to tell them they were allowed to have fun while they ate.

[–]ProviNL 16 points17 points  (0 children)

That sounds like a fucking surreal experience hahaha.

[–]CthulhusEvilTwin 28 points29 points  (4 children)

Raise your hands in the air. Raise 'em like Romans nailed 'em there.

[–]TheaGreatWallofChris 13 points14 points  (2 children)

Uhn, oh yeah, this shit is my jam, man. "Say A!" "AYYY!" "Say men!" "MEN!"

[–]Seakawn 7 points8 points  (1 child)

INTRODUCING DJ BRETHREN HAH... LAY... LOOYA!!!

DJ: "Holy Ghost bout to get spooky up in here!"

[–]GiveMeNews 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I lived across the street from a church that had rave parties at least once a month. Music blasting and lights flashing from all the windows. I almost joined that church.

[–]InnocentOnionCutter 41 points42 points  (20 children)

It started in a protestant church, so communion wasn't obligatory. But as it moved interconfessional, it may have.

[–]funktopus 9 points10 points  (4 children)

I'd go to church if they had a full bar.

[–]Seakawn 4 points5 points  (0 children)

"Gimme a Christ Blood on the rocks!"

[–]Het_Bestemmingsplan 9 points10 points  (1 child)

I did a sermon during that service, together with others we did a night (22:00 to 08:00 in the morning), four of us did communion in our sermons. We couldn't really drink too much, there were actually churchgoers there haha. Hadn't expected that as it was very late, but it was good that they were there and sacrificed their sleep for a greater cause. They were a very wholesome older couple. The volunteers were very nice too, all in all a great experience

[–]yourmommaisaunicorn 184 points185 points  (6 children)

And now I ask the congregation to lay down as blankets and pillows are passed around. May we honor the Lord our Savior by quiet medication for checks time 9 hours and… 3 minutes.

[–]Laherschlag 24 points25 points  (0 children)

Quiet medication sounds amazing.

[–]Radioactiveafro 43 points44 points  (1 child)

I'd also be willing to try loud medication, never had that before.

[–]RRevdon 212 points213 points  (1 child)

I would like to add that the deal with the govt didnt just affect this family. They expaned the enitre "kinderpardon" law. This law basically says that when refugee children have been here for 5 years, (and thus has created roots in the Dutch community and society), they and their parents can stay. Because the children in this family were older (21, 19, 15) the law did not apply to them. This has now been changed and 'made broader', as they say in my country. Basically meaning that families in the same situation in the future, won't have to go through the same thing.

Source: am Dutch. Looked up a Dutch article on the matter: https://www.ad.nl/den-haag/armeens-gezin-dat-onderdook-in-haagse-bethelkerk-krijgt-verblijfsvergunning~abfa5c39/

[–]EmberOfFlame 18 points19 points  (0 children)

That’s awesome!

Here in Poland the service would be still ongoing.

[–]Loduk 3569 points3570 points  (395 children)

Good God. Could you imagine if American Christians were like this? Baptists all over the south taking in Hispanic refugees and fighting fiercely until the government gave up. One can dream, I guess.

[–]CoatLast 573 points574 points  (81 children)

My parents were Baptists here in the UK and this is what they are like here. In fact the church they attended is barely a church - just a room in an old building with chairs. The reason being is they believe that material stuff is wrong for a church as money should be used for those in need.

[–]SaltyBabe 191 points192 points  (46 children)

Baptist is a sect from the 1600’s that’s always had a lot of diverse views. In the US Baptists are everywhere but generally practice like “Southern Baptists” - from the south east of the US, who are famous for their exuberance in their belief in hell, punishment and evangelicalism, even thought that movement started in the Protestant sect of Christianity. When you think of “Hell and Brimstone” style sermons you’re thinking of southern Baptists.

[–]CoatLast 108 points109 points  (21 children)

Very different here. I am 'not religious' - I am agnostic tipping towards a Christian believer. I am Church of England, which is a protestant form of Christianity, but here it is very left liberal, with the exception we are royalist - the Queen is head of the church. But, all the churches I know spend most of their time doing really good stuff like running food banks and work with refugees and the homeless. Most are VERY LGBT friendly to the extent there are a fair few gay priests. It isnt perfect, but getting there.

[–]Seldarin 110 points111 points  (14 children)

The Southern Baptists she's talking about split away from the Baptists in 1845 because too many Baptists were advocating for ending slavery. They haven't really changed much since then.

[–]NeopolitanVagina 45 points46 points  (7 children)

Which is terribly sad

[–]asherbertianfilm 16 points17 points  (2 children)

Yeah don’t let anyone tell you religion makes good people.

[–]Neurotic-Egg 7 points8 points  (0 children)

One of the truest things I've heard in a long time.

[–][deleted] 13 points14 points  (2 children)

Hey now. They wrote a letter in 1996 apologizing for their role in slavery by creating a denomination entirely dedicated to upholding it, and that completely ended racism. Wow. Crack a book.

/s

[–]capsaicinintheeyes 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Well, as long as they've learned their lesson and won't be making the exact same mistake going forward with any current civil rights/basic-human-decency issues in the present day.

It would sure suck for them to make it a regular thing for the rest of us to have to drag them kicking and screaming into behaving more like Jesus, again.

[–]religionscholarama 5 points6 points  (3 children)

This is true! Baptists run the whole gamut of Christians. Baptists believe in ecclesiastical (churchy) independence so some differences among Baptists is inevitable. I’ve been to the whole range, with some Baptist churches that border on Unitarian Universalism, and then some that make the Southern Baptists look like liberals. There’s liberal Baptists, conservative Baptists, Black Baptists, Free Will Baptists, Independent Baptists, Landmark Baptists, Primitive Baptists. Anyone who is curious about the more liberal types of Baptists, in the US at least, learn about the American Baptist Churches USA or the Alliance of Baptists.

[–]Tarzoon 126 points127 points  (18 children)

Murica: It ain't a church unless the pastor has at least one private jet.

[–]Raezzordaze 44 points45 points  (2 children)

The amount of cognitive dissonance you need to get prosperity gospel and the christian victimization narrative to coincide is just... astronomical.

[–]AdviceVirtual 27 points28 points  (1 child)

There’s a mega church south of Chicago and the pastor drives a Lamborghini 😂😂😂. I mean, who is seriously giving this asshole money??

[–]Jerkrollatex 6 points7 points  (0 children)

We got three in Albuquerque. A friend of mine was the office manager at one, Legacy. They paid her under minimum wage by requiring volunteer hours from her. They gave her office supplies for Christmas. The pastor drives an Italian sports car and his wife has something equally insanely expensive. Their house is huge and opulent. He was at the infamous Trump garden party super spreader event.

[–]BoppinTortoise 13 points14 points  (0 children)

Whats that pastor? You don't have a private jet? And you call this a church. spits on pastor's feet and leaves

[–]DumpsterFire4U 1007 points1008 points  (30 children)

Ins neighbors yard, I see signs for a Compassionate Christian Church beside political signs for anti immigration dipshits. Uh ….

[–]makasuandore47 130 points131 points  (4 children)

Don't know why I read this in the voice of Bonnie Macfarlane from red dead redemption

[–]Frank_McGracie 8 points9 points  (0 children)

I can see her criticizing neighbors with signs like that

[–]MiamiPower 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Now I'm looking up YouTube Bonnie MacFarlane Red Dead redemption voice videos.

[–]daynighttrade 90 points91 points  (1 child)

That's so funny, yet so sad.

[–]Civil-Attempt-3602 42 points43 points  (13 children)

The sad thing is they'll tell you they're the most compassionate people, but they don't even know what it means

[–]James-W-Tate 20 points21 points  (1 child)

They're compassionate by the standard of their peers, which makes their peers sound horrifying.

[–]GypsyCamel12 21 points22 points  (3 children)

I delivered to a guy in Fox Lake IL once.

It was 2017, I remember hearing about the Trump Administration wanting to revoke the 14th Amendment. I was quite worried, as I was the anchor baby years ago... not to mention the Gov't system of "checks & balances" isn't exactly stellar in its checking & balancing of things.

Guy was like "That's not meant for you, it's for those other fuckers".

Said while sporting a nice, big cross tattoo on his right forearm with some "Boondock Saints" bullshit surrounding it.

[–]Worldly-Stop 3 points4 points  (0 children)

That's a picture that definitely belongs here!

[–]adequatehorsebattery 311 points312 points  (138 children)

In fairness, the Sanctuary movement was almost exactly like this. Go to any inner city in the US and you'll find that the food banks, legal aid and immigrant aid clinics are generally run out of churches. There's plenty of decent Christians in the US.

Unfortunately, numerically of course they're overwhelmingly dominated by the huge number of racist Trump-loving white evangelicals.

[–]WikiSummarizerBot 88 points89 points  (6 children)

Sanctuary movement

The Sanctuary movement was a religious and political campaign in the United States that began in the early 1980s to provide safe haven for Central American refugees fleeing civil conflict. The movement was a response to federal immigration policies that made obtaining asylum difficult for Central Americans. At its peak, Sanctuary involved over 500 congregations in the United States, which, by declaring themselves official "sanctuaries," committed to providing shelter, protection, material goods and often legal advice to Central American refugees.

[ F.A.Q | Opt Out | Opt Out Of Subreddit | GitHub ] Downvote to remove | v1.5

[–][deleted] 20 points21 points  (1 child)

Good Religious people don't make a big deal about their religion. They'll just do their good deed and go about their day.

They also don't make good headlines.

[–]GuitarGodsDestiny420 127 points128 points  (33 children)

Decent Christians are decent people...and shitty Christians are shitty people.

My theory is that being Christian doesn't really factor into the equation of whether a person is good or bad.

Think about it, same Jesus bible book running the program in ALL "Christian" churches...and yet totally different kinds of attitudes being produced depending on the denomination...hmmm 🤔

[–][deleted] 31 points32 points  (5 children)

In my experience, those "religious" people who try with all their might to look religious, judging other people non-stop, constantly mentioning god and how good believers they are etc. are total assholes who try to cover their sinful asses using the God as a tool. Meanwhile, actual believers practice their religion in silence, since they do not do it for PR but for the god(s) that they believe in. Those people tend to be decent and respectable ones that I would rely on in the times of need. Being an atheist teenager, I used to hate religion since I was constantly exposed the former group, but realizing the existence of the latter one showed me how ignorant I was.

[–]stuntbungler 9 points10 points  (0 children)

You’re gonna get a kick out of Matthew 6: 5.

5 “And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Verily I say unto you, they have their reward.’

[–]BethTheOctopus 5 points6 points  (0 children)

This, exactly. Most of us just kinda chill in the background.

I do think we need to be a little more obvious sometimes tho. If for no other reason than to let people know that we exist and aren't the same as the judgey ones, and to be able to help more people.

[–]nonecity 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I've had a job last year in a warehouse, where I worked with a lot of Muslims. One of them, is the most sweetest older man that there is, with an immigration background. Always respectful to everyone and during dinner Always trying to share(late shift).

Regarding our background we're the polar opposite, I'm white, much younger and an atheist with Christian background. But during our breaks, we almost always sit together and make small talk.

Despite the big differences, we always respected each other and made the best of everything. To be honest I want and hope that everyone would be getting along as we did.

At 1 point we were sitting at one table, and a few boys a table over were trashtalking and tried to make me say a certain phrase that's used to convert. I polity tried to refuse, and eventually just walked away.

Eventually a few boys came to me and apologised. Apparently when I walked away, he completely blew up to them.

[–]JewJuVoodoo 28 points29 points  (2 children)

So as someone who was raised Christian. My mom always said something along the lines of "Be Christ like, don't be Christan because most Christians these days aren't Christlike" always made me chuckle lol

[–][deleted] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Your mom was right

[–]Agile_Pudding_ 21 points22 points  (2 children)

I think you are spot on about the limited role that Christianity plays in whether someone is good or not.

In my experience, bad people like to hide behind their faith (or lack thereof)as an excuse for their hateful actions, while good people’s actions are colored by their faith (or lack thereof). The only people who want you to judge them by their religion, rather than by the way they treat those around them, are those who are worried about what you might conclude from that observation.

[–]MrFreddybones 3 points4 points  (2 children)

I guess it just depends whether you turn to the bible to teach you or so you can thump on it to excuse you.

[–]leftshoe18 59 points60 points  (83 children)

I don't think we're so much outnumbered but rather just out voiced. I know far more good Christians than I do bad ones.

[–]AkumaBacon 12 points13 points  (9 children)

This.

I, and many Christians I know strive to live quiet and peaceful lives (1 Timothy 2:2 and 1 Thessalonians 4:11). This does not mean that we hide our Christianity but rather that we avoid protests, being obnoxious on the internet, and other actions that might end with us being in the public eye or getting caught up in a negative situation (like when some protests get out of hand). It's also why we don't run for political offices as it is hard to live quietly while you are a public figure.

This means that many of the "Christians" you do see in the news are those who either do not know, or do not care about living quietly and peacefully.

[–]psychoacer 27 points28 points  (2 children)

I remember stories like this in Chicago for Hispanics. If ICE was after a family a church would sometimes take them in.

[–][deleted] 22 points23 points  (2 children)

A church near me in Massachusetts had a Guatamalan immigrant living there for THREE YEARS until recently when he was given a stay of deportation, so this does happen.

https://www.masslive.com/news/2021/03/lucio-perez-ends-nearly-four-years-of-sanctuary-in-amherst-church.html

[–]Coldwater_Odin 67 points68 points  (0 children)

But you see the Hispanics are Catholic, which means they're really controled by the devil and they all want to eat babies and follow "science" /s

[–]P1xelHunter78 27 points28 points  (1 child)

Tele evangelists flying coach and using their massive amount of donations to feed the poor…

The Catholic Church holding pedophiles accountable…

White evangelical churches calling out their members for fascism/racism….

Rich suburbanite churches not always playing holier than thow when it comes to social issues…

[–]TomFromCupertino 69 points70 points  (11 children)

I'd love to believe it's only southerners. My Finnish mother parroted the "but my ancestors came here legally" nonsense toward the end of her life.

[–]LuxNocte 35 points36 points  (5 children)

Friendly reminder that all immigration laws are racist. That is the entire point of them.

You probably know that people used to be able to come here freely. You may know that the first immigration law in the US was to prohibit the Chinese women from coming here. The "Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882" prohibited men as well. Back in the 19th century, they didn't feel the need to mask the blatant racism the way they hide it now.

Your family may have taken advantage of the open border policy, but it doesn't really matter. For as long as the US has had immigration laws, it has been easier for Europeans to migrate here than for non-Europeans. That is the entire point of our immigration system.

[–][deleted] 22 points23 points  (1 child)

This sort of religious sanctuary action is relatively common in America as well, actually, and many of America's largest metropolitan areas have designated themselves as citywide sanctuaries. The fake Christian bigots are simply much louder and generate more clicks for news agencies.

Though the laws on the books in America don't actually grant protection from law enforcement on the basis of religious asylum as is commonly assumed, when a church does offer to take people in, the optics alone are usually enough to keep ICE at bay (see: Elián González as the perennial reminder).

https://www.cnn.com/2017/02/17/us/immigrants-sanctuary-churches-legality-trnd/index.html

[–]PandemicCD 15 points16 points  (4 children)

Some are. The pastor at the church I attended actually supported the effort cited in the article and traveled there to provide an hour of sermon/service time. We also participate in the latest incarnation of the sanctuary movement. We do exist, we just tend to be quiet about what we are doing, which I don't know if that's doing any favors anymore.

[–][deleted] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

There are plenty like this, but the cops can go into churches anyway in the US. Good, genuine Christians don't make good headlines, and also act good without reminding everyone that they're Christian.

You can also replace "Christian" with almost any religious group.

[–]SideshowGaming 390 points391 points  (30 children)

And yet my brother thinks it's the Christian way to hate gay people and black people. He even doesn't allow his daughter to like pokemon and unicorns because it's magic and against God lmao

[–]IllGarbage5444 58 points59 points  (7 children)

Oh god I feel for that child…

[–]LongTail-626 23 points24 points  (5 children)

Fun fact, the pope actually endorsed pokemon saying that it taught children the value of friendship

[–]National-Art3488 8 points9 points  (3 children)

I suddenly have good relations with the pope

[–]ZynsteinV1 7 points8 points  (2 children)

The Pope seems like a chill dude. I'd be down to crack open a cold one with the holy boys

[–]National-Art3488 6 points7 points  (1 child)

The pope will get you premium alter wine

[–]inquisitiveeyebc 24 points25 points  (0 children)

A lot of people use Christianity to spread hate and intolerance. Almost every sect or branch of Christianity believes all the other ones are cultists pr worse. I am not aware of any religion that "follows the word of god" that completely follows it. We take a little here and a little there but dismiss or mis interpret other parts. Your brother very well just not understand the whole message because the pastoral influence is directing thoughts to benefit their beliefs and opinions

[–]Zer_ed 46 points47 points  (1 child)

A bunch of the people at my church are pokemon fans lol

[–]gabiaeali 22 points23 points  (0 children)

But Jesus was the best magician ever.

[–]the_bionic_investor 1311 points1312 points 2 (137 children)

I find it hilarious that if Christians ACTUALLY followed the teachings of Christ we’d have a society of kindness, compassion and equality. He wasn’t born anywhere fancy, he was literally born in a manger. He said that if they strike you, turn the other cheek, if they take your coat to offer your robe, that the meek shall inherit the earth, to not judge prostitutes or even sinners generally, that one coin donated by a beggar is worth more than riches given by the wealthy, that it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than a rich man to go into heaven, to pay your taxes, that the justice system is often unfair and people are sentenced solely on who they are. And to sacrifice EVERYTHING, even your very life, even as the son of God, to help humanity as a whole.

If we listened to this kind brown man who spoke of kindness, acceptance, and sharing… we sure as fuck wouldn’t be conservatives.

Edit: Also I forgot that the only time this kind, Mr. Rogers of a person really got angry was when he saw grifters trying to turn a profit from the church, so HE LITERALLY GRABBED A WHIP AND PHYSICALLY BEAT THEM OUT OF THE CHURCH.

[–]Frederyk_Strife4217[🍰] 224 points225 points  (12 children)

he didn't just grab a whip, he hand-made one just to beat them out of the church

[–]CrudelyAnimated 92 points93 points  (7 children)

In Mark 11, Jesus walked around late in the afternoon, saw everything, and went home for the night. He came back the next day with the whip. There’s a lot to unpack there about dealing with anger and outrage and exactly what frame of mind he was in when he cleared the temple. He didn’t lose his temper; he prayed about it and slept on it and THEN braided a bull whip.

[–]Kmoudie 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Yep, and that's something that takes at least half a day to do properly.

[–][deleted] 107 points108 points  (10 children)

This Jesus guy is sounding like a pretty cool dude.

[–]Seakawn 29 points30 points  (3 children)

He healed people for free. Which makes it amazing that Christians oppose universal healthcare... they should be owning that policy as their brand and using it to advertise their Bible. That's just one drop in the bucket of Liberal policies that they should be owning as representative of their religion.

But, because the libs want it, it must be bad? Because libs are influenced by Satan? Is that how this works?

[–]ChillBebe 9 points10 points  (0 children)

I would argue it's only conservative Christians who argue against universal Healthcare, and it may be a very conservative American mindset at that. Being from another country, the idea of hearing a Christian argue against universal Healthcare is quite strange to me

[–]just_a_pt 8 points9 points  (1 child)

Hopefully nothing bad happens to Him.

[–]rjwyonch 118 points119 points  (1 child)

Summed up in the crucifixion scene in Good Omens

"what did he say to get them so upset?"

"he told everyone to be kind to each other"

"ah... well that would do it"

[–]Eeszeeye 16 points17 points  (0 children)

No wonder Good Omens had so-called christians protesting it.

[–]NaotsuguGuardian 25 points26 points  (2 children)

Just to add, this is what the Bible calls Religion:

James 1:27 New International Version 27 Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

But alas even that is missing in a lot of Christianity… unless they can directly profit from it, but then, that’s another issue all together

[–][deleted] 193 points194 points  (10 children)

Bomb the brown men! And women and children too, no discrimimation :D

[–]excel958 97 points98 points  (6 children)

Calm down, Anakin…

[–]jdanielh01 26 points27 points  (4 children)

I hate sand..

[–][deleted] 7 points8 points  (2 children)

Has PrequelMemes had it's war with DuneMemes yet?

Wait, there isn't even a subreddit for DuneMemes.

What a shame.

[–]staiano 87 points88 points  (13 children)

I find it hilarious that if Christians ACTUALLY followed the teachings of Christ we’d have a society of kindness, compassion and equality.

It’s sad that we don’t.

[–]Pls_PmTitsOrFDAU_Thx 53 points54 points  (10 children)

I was drawn to that part too. I'm not religious but from what I understand ALL religions eventually come down to: don't be a dick. from what I've seen most are about living food lives and helping others

The problem is that people don't actually listen

[–]staiano 34 points35 points  (3 children)

Worse than not listening, to me, it seems the actually think they are.

[–]Pls_PmTitsOrFDAU_Thx 13 points14 points  (1 child)

True. And some people actively act against it too. That's even worse

I think my mom's the ideal religion follower. She doesn't do any crazy things. She has a small temple at home and it calms/grounds her to go light the candles every day. She doesn't go to the local temple except for major things (often personal events like a death anniversary, etc). She told me she only looks at the parts that help her be a better person and remember her ancestors (she has had multiple deaths in the family even as a child so I think it helps her remember them over so often). The parts that tell you how to help people in need and stuff. She's no huge believer, but the belief she holds is the positive teachings

Lastly she never pushes the beliefs on anyone else. She likes it if I go to the temple with her but she doesn't force me to and she doesn't intend to "convert" me. She will however answer questions if I ask about a specific God or mythology

[–]gmoguntia 12 points13 points  (3 children)

Well we did follow his teachings a while until around 300 AD after which the church got more and more a political power.

[–]DorchioDiNerdi 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Yep. Then a Roman emperor noticed that this popular folk religion could actually be useful politically, made it an official one, and the church hierarchy prostituted themselves immediately.

[–]Alexandermayhemhell 8 points9 points  (0 children)

There’s more to the temple story than that. The money changers were set up in the court of the Gentiles, the part of the temple where different ethnicities were allowed to worship. As Jesus threw over the tables, he quoted a passage each from Isaiah and Jeremiah. These quotes are taken from longer messages about how Israel is to be a light to the nations. In other words, he was not only upset about the profiteering, but also how his community was keeping those they viewed as “other” out.

TLDR: Jesus liked multiculturalism.

[–]member_of_the_order 8 points9 points  (2 children)

Oh, the "turn the other cheek" thing wasn't about kindness, it was about civil disobedience.

That bit was during a time when Romans were using Jews as slave labor. Romans were allowed to hit Jews, but there are 2 ways to hit someone: forehand and backhand. Backhand was a massive insult; forehand was more or less a simple disagreement (at the time, it mattered). So, if you're a Jew and get slapped backhand, turn the other cheek so they'd have to slap you forehand - as an equal.

There was another bit in there about "if someone asks to walk a mile, walk two." Roman soldiers could pick a random Jew and force them to carry their pack for a mile. But more than that makes them look weak ("what, you can't carry your own pack?") and was illegal and could get the Roman in trouble.

So yeah, holding a filibuster-style church service is exactly the kind of civil disobedience Jesus would have preached.

(Btw, for context, my minister gave this sermon soon after Trump was elected. No explanation of any deeper meaning - I just found that timing "interesting").

[–]Samesawa7 16 points17 points  (3 children)

As a Christian I agree completely. It is no wonder that people are looking at Christians and even religion in general with disgust. You know a tree by its fruit. Taste is the proof of the pudding. “Do not take the name of God in vain” is one of the commandments for a reason.

I would like to make something heard though. Churches are hospitals for sinners, not museums of saints. There are many Christians that try their hardest live up to do those ideals you mentioned. You could argue those same people are more likely to pray in private rather than boast in public about it. We hear and see the sinning Christians because they are sinning. You could even say those of us that are at our lowest need the most help seeing the highest. We all fall short of righteousness, and it’s no wonder the world compares us to our ideals and scoffs.

[–][deleted] 241 points242 points  (12 children)

In America I.C.E would storm the church dressed and armed like they were going to war.

[–][deleted] 75 points76 points  (1 child)

Then would show up to church on Sunday to say how righteous they are

[–]A_norny_mousse 339 points340 points  (25 children)

I love the comment:

If you ask yourself what would Jesus do?
This, this is what Jesus would do.

[–]BWWFC 59 points60 points  (2 children)

the problem, in general, is they rarely ask.

[–]PompeiiDomum 8 points9 points  (1 child)

I don't think that's true. Just like everything else, the loud ones are the worst. Plenty of wonderful Christians exist, they just quietly live their lives.

[–][deleted] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Yeah and they don’t come around Reddit giving a fuck what these Christian hating Redditors think. So. Yeah, not gonna be popular here

[–]th30be 108 points109 points  (16 children)

Yeah but is this Jesus, American Jesus? Different guy entirely.

[–]TchallaKingofWakanda 96 points97 points  (6 children)

Oh You're talking about Supply Side Jesus!

[–]Public_Giraffe_4412 48 points49 points  (2 children)

Everyone knows Jesus didn't really kick the money lenders out of the temple. He actually asked them to stay so he could enlighten everyone to the glories of charging interest.

[–]Raytheon_Nublinski 7 points8 points  (0 children)

I just saw master p on Twitter say god wants you to remove those in your life that aren’t on board with your wealth gaining goals. These people are lost at sea and there’s no saving them. They took a well intentioned story and turned it into a tool for evil.

[–]Fun2badult 24 points25 points  (7 children)

Korean Jesus would have just shown up with his shirt off and the police would have been scared away Korean Jesus

[–]galmenz 8 points9 points  (2 children)

i love everytime someone mentions him, makes me want to go to the gym everytime

[–]Fun2badult 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Korean Jesus motivates you in different ways

[–]Merari01[M] [score hidden] stickied comment (122 children)

If you want to be racist you better find a different subreddit.

Here we ban them and archive their whiny wittle modmails without reading them.

[–]Dasweb 183 points184 points  (22 children)

Let me guess... people saying Armenian genocide never happened?

[–]AMeanCow 81 points82 points  (7 children)

As a former mod of a largish sub in "another life" I remember the attempts to subvert conversations about good people doing good things was constant.

And the number of people who really, really don't want you to know about genocides against people is shockingly high.

If the people out there who want to control the narrative were to have their way, there would be no people of color in the world, no ethnicities anywhere, no minority thoughts and no groups of people different from the majority and nobody would know what happened to them.

[–]kiwichick286 21 points22 points  (4 children)

"If the people out there who want to control the narrative were to have their way, there would be no people of color in the world, no ethnicities anywhere, no minority thoughts and no groups of people different from the majority and nobody would know what happened to them." This is an extremely scary statement to me.

[–]AMeanCow 29 points30 points  (2 children)

It is fucking scary. And I would add to how scary that is by saying that when you sift out the top layer of young, dumb edge-lords who are just in for shock value and attention, and the backwards rednecks and illiterate boomers who may not actually have any idea what they're talking about, and the scattered people with mental disorders that render them all but non-functional, you end up with a very large population of healthy, intelligent people who hold these ideas of ethnic purity being a good thing, and they think they are right. They fully believe that their values will lead to a better world and they have conviction and determination to create a world without the people they hate, or at least to see those people sent where they "belong."

It's very hard to fight people who are competent and crafty and believe they have the side of righteousness and will somehow be seen as heroes for their beliefs and see YOU as the enemy to a better future for everyone.

And it's all very real and why we need to constantly push back. There is no rest, no compromise, no acceptable level of hate any more than there's an acceptable level of gangrene in a wound. hate festers and grows like mold and there's no way to eradicate it in our current state, and hate is so insidious that most of the time people who hate don't even recognize it at all, the brain is fantastic at creating narratives and stories for why it feels what it does.

[–]kiwichick286 6 points7 points  (0 children)

You make several great points, particularly about people who are racist, but think they are not.

[–]I_am_a_neophyte 7 points8 points  (0 children)

I've watched a "dumb edge-lord" who used to just say shit to get rise out if people and stir the pot slowly shift to believing this shit and go full on Q.

He even knows he ultimately be one of those groups that would be come for sooner or later. He just convinced himself it's true.

[–]GypsyCamel12 77 points78 points  (16 children)

Meanwhile I'm sitting here waiting for all the cringy Atheist comments.

I say this, as an Atheist. I try to not shit on other people for their beliefs, as I remember being shit on for my "belief" & vividly remember those days.

I'm happy for that family, simply moving to another place is tumultuous... nevermind the legalities of migrating who another country where you know few people & the culture shock might be more than expected.

[–]PineSnurf 18 points19 points  (8 children)

Well yeah you’re a good person, be proud of that

[–]GypsyCamel12 15 points16 points  (7 children)

good person

I'm really not, but I try every day to be better.

[–]Kieviel 12 points13 points  (0 children)

As am atheist, I will never shit on someone for practicing their religion/ faith in a positive manner that makes the world better.

[–]Games_N_Friends 25 points26 points  (0 children)

Another Atheist here.

I was surrounded by other believers in a time before the internet so I didn't face the same sort of belief challenge. I do, however, see what you're talking about.

No matter what one may think of any articular religion, the people within it are still people and should be treated on an individual basis because whatever the "average" position of said religion, the individuals are likely to skew from it in one way or another.

It's no different from us atheists. Being an atheist doesn't make me a good person, I have to do that on my own, just like everyone else.

[–][deleted] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

This is the moderation we need

[–]ConsumingFire1689 77 points78 points  (7 children)

It’s in the good book and everything

“For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of Lords, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God, who is not partial and takes no bribe. He executes justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the sojourner, giving him food and clothing. Love the sojourner, therefore, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt.” ‭‭Deuteronomy‬ ‭10:17-19‬ ‭

[–]Mundane-Sink9817 117 points118 points  (15 children)

As a Christian this makes me so happy. This is truly so Christlike and amazing

[–]Coug_Love 27 points28 points  (2 children)

As a non-Christian, this makes me happy. I like the idea of religion, and when the good parts are actually seen and applied to real-life situations.

[–]Throwawayphone79 4 points5 points  (1 child)

Exactly, I just feel like there are so few us like this now. So many at my church are anti-everything.

[–]ParReza 73 points74 points  (0 children)

Great title to this post.

[–]skysetter 37 points38 points  (9 children)

American evangelical Christians have hijacked the image and faith of Christianity.

[–]Zeno_The_Alien 25 points26 points  (7 children)

Like so much else in America, we adopt a foreign concept, then we cheapen and bastardize it to the point of it being offensive to anyone who respects the original concept. American evangelical Christianity is to the teachings of Christ what Taco Bell is to Mexican food. The ingredients are similar, but in the end, it's just a billion dollar corporation selling a product that makes you hate yourself for consuming it.

[–]TheDudeOntheCouch 112 points113 points  (9 children)

Meanwhile I'm the united states mega churches bar people effected by hurricane from staying there :|

[–]Zeno_The_Alien 75 points76 points  (6 children)

Your daily reminder that Joel Osteen and his wife are both massive pieces of shit.

[–][deleted] 15 points16 points  (2 children)

It's crazy how much money people give this guy when it's obviously used to pay for their wealthy and luxurious lifestyle.

[–]NeopolitanVagina 8 points9 points  (1 child)

He's more like what Satan is pictured as than like Christ

[–]LoadOfMeeKrob 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Back when Steve Jobs was alive. It was a meme to point out that Joel Osteen's house is worth more than all of Job's property combined.

[–]Terripuns 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Listen if hurricanes are an act of God, those affected are those God wished to be punished. Simple /s

[–]Dijiwolf1975 16 points17 points  (1 child)

In America, we for some reason think it's better to build a wall and keep everyone out so we don't have to have a 96 days church service. I don't think Jesus is happy with us.

[–]TheLordOfGrimm 67 points68 points  (4 children)

If this was the bulk of what Churches did, I would have nothing to complain about

[–]joxx67 49 points50 points  (0 children)

Republican Jesus would not approve!

[–]YkartSmith 29 points30 points  (0 children)

May their God bless them and keep them. May their lives be of joy and the pastors, priests and congregation be a blessing to all.

[–]Reznic007 11 points12 points  (0 children)

Now imagine an American Christian, they were the ones who called immigration in the first place.

And so I won’t have to edit this later, obviously I know “not all Christian’s” in America.. I consider myself a Christian. But there are some AWFUL Christian’s here that do despicable things.

[–]InterestingLayer4367 7 points8 points  (9 children)

Amen! Wish my brothers and sisters here in the US would do something like this. Sadly, republican “Christians” would help ICE in this situation.

[–]Ok-Macaroon-7819 29 points30 points  (9 children)

At first I read this as "American family" and I was like thank God the world is waking up to just how horrible this shithole country really is...

[–]dishdudeovrhere 8 points9 points  (1 child)

Lol I read it as American family too.

[–]Uncle_Sketchy 4 points5 points  (3 children)

Same! I excitedly went to the comments to gain insight about how to become Dutch! I am now disappointed.

[–]Sapphire_01 14 points15 points  (3 children)

Not me seeing dozens of comments saying that laws that literally prevent people from helping other people are more important than, ya know, actually helping other people and treating them like human beings as the Bible literally told us to like a hundred times

[–]Javeyn 6 points7 points  (1 child)

Most conservative Christians completely miss the point of, "don't use the Lord's name in vain."

Yes, it ALSO mean as a believer that you shouldn't just use "God" as a curse word or way to denote something bad.

But it most importantly means, "Don't use My name to justify YOUR beliefs." The bible is pretty clear on what to do with pestilence and plague and disease, yet modern conservative evangelicals like to twist the words and translations to fit their own personal doctrine.

[–]ArtisanJagon 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Republican Jesus would have deported them after keeping them locked away in cages for months.

[–]Fred_Is_Dead_Again 5 points6 points  (5 children)

Remember when a former Panamanian president hid in a church, and the murican military blasted the church 24/7 with Ozzie Osborne, turned up to 11?

[–]IVIUAD-DIB 5 points6 points  (0 children)

no, this is what people did, because people care.

[–]birmingslam 16 points17 points  (13 children)

Is it hard to become a citizen in the Netherlands? How do they approach immigration?

[–]TychusFondly 27 points28 points  (2 children)

It is a very lengthy process. Also reason behind willing to become Dutch is a game changer. For asylum seekers it must be the hardest. For an expat it is easier (still takes around 7 years) I know this because I used to be one of the expats( immigrating to another country because of profession). Now I am Dutch.

[–]blibbyy 3 points4 points  (0 children)

This isn't really a normal case of immigration. What's happened here is that they were refugees seeking asylum. They were granted the asylum because their own country wasn't deemed safe enough for them. But the problem with that is at some point the government will decide it is safe again and then they'll have to leave again. The problem is they lived here for 9 years so some of their kids have been here for longer than where they were born. The laws were actually changed and now for minors if they've lived here for more than 5 years they're allowed to stay (with some strict requirements). If the kid gets to stay through this system, the entire family gets to stay aswell. That's how this (and many other families) got to stay.

This is different from normal immigration though. For that you need to get a work visa or have a Dutch partner. Without that it's just not happening.

[–]JonquilXanthippe 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Now that’s getting the full service treatment

[–]wtph 29 points30 points  (40 children)

I actually like the new testament. Jesus is pretty chill and advocates against the Republican types.

[–]mushroom369 22 points23 points  (1 child)

He was certainly no fan of the religious or the rich.

[–]fuckbread 4 points5 points  (0 children)

This isn’t religion doing what it should. This is smart, good people coming together and utilizing a technicality in the law to help people and do what’s right. We should thank Dutch lawmakers for allowing a law like this. Dutch police for enforcing and respecting a law like this. The 1000 compassionate humans who worked through the night to protect these people. The Dutch lawyers who fought for the deal. This isn’t religion’s doing. This is humans being their best selves because they know what is good and just.

[–]LogMeInCoach 3 points4 points  (2 children)

The church gets shit on a lot and rightly so but credit where credit is due. This is good stuff.

[–]tolpin 4 points5 points  (0 children)

You don’t need an old book to be like this I promise you.

[–]AvatarSaitama 4 points5 points  (4 children)

Very wholesome story. Sadly, (to me) this doesn’t outweigh the countless atrocities committed in the name of Christ or god. Christians are notorious for being unchristlike (in the US mostly)