Article: The Thaw, Evangelical Teens, and Persecution Complexes

Please read the article here and proceed to enjoy the comments - they are wonderful (as always).

Love this person's comment:

"Why can’t I pray in school?"

You can. Go ahead. Bow your head in the classroom or cafeteria and start praying. As long as you're not being loud and disruptive while you're doing it, nobody will do anything to stop you.

"Why do I have to check my religion at the door?"

This is hilarious to me, given that nobody questions a child wearing crosses or T-shirts with Bible verses on them, but the second a kid comes into school wearing a pentacle, Om, or hijab, there's a huge stink about it. Christians aren't the ones who have to "check their religion at the door;" it's everybody else.

"Why can’t I write about God in my school papers?"

I have never heard of anyone receiving even the slightest reprimand for writing about God. Writing about how your religion's rules should apply to people who aren't members of your religion is not "writing about God."

"Why do I have to tolerate people cursing my God, but I am not allowed to talk about God and my faith?"

Article: Servanthood & Suffering v Equality & Justice

When a Gospel of Servanthood and Suffering Stands in the Way of Equality and Justice

When you teach people to live their lives focused on what they will get in the next life, you can lead them into doing all kinds of things. Happiness awaits in the next life, but only if they are willing to suffer greatly in this one. Why try to get ahead in life? Why try to find happiness and enjoy yourself? Nothing here on earth matters, so why bother? This is a very sad state of affairs. There is much here on earth, in the every day things we experience, that is beautiful and heavenly. The only purpose to having people stay focused on the next world is so they will more readily forget what their lives are here on earth. Makes it very easy to get good, honest people to work themselves to death for a cause, stay dirt poor and give to an institution (which may or may not use those funds for the true good of their fellow humans [I'm not speaking against charity, rather the abuse of it that has gone on for centuries in the Catholic church and others]), and submit themselves to leadership that will tell them they are filthy and worthless without Christ and should therefore gladly give all they have so they might receive rewards in the next life.

I Used to Believe This Stuff... Ugh

These are things I was raised to believe as an Independent Fundamental Baptist (IFB). My parents may or may not have taught me these things, but they were most certainly taught or inferred by church, school, college, and fellow IFB.

• Better use the right version of the Bible, KJV to be specific. Avoid all music that makes you want to move, so just go for old hymns and you’ll be safe.

• Spank your children, don’t trust them, because they are born with a horrible sin nature and are really little monsters bound for Hell.