Cliches Christians Need to Stop Saying

[Cleopatra7]

I'm not Jewish, but it irks me to no end when some of them reply that "Oh, I'm Jewish too because Jesus was!!" Come to think of it, didn't Candace Cameron say something like that?

Yes, CC did say that. This cut and pasted from last year's thread about her love for the Pearls':

clarinetpower wrote:

The first couple of comments are really good, and she ignores them completely. The only ones she replies to are other people's problems that she thinks she can fix.

I hadn't looked at the comments. This exchange was charming:

I agree with it all except I don't think it has to be tied into a specific religion - where does that leave those of us who are not "believers", Candace? I'm a mom of 3. Ages 19, 13 and 4. Let me tell u what it takes:

Involvement

Involvement

Involvement

Ever heard of helicopter parenting? Yup, that is me.

My kids rarely go to other homes, instead playdates tend to be at my house. I check in with my kids (even my 19 yr old who no longer lives at home) constantly.

I talk to my kids CONSTANTLY.

I get feedback from their friends parents sometimes on how they behave when I am not around.

I am Jewish. Needless to say - Christ did not show us the way. I did.

Not to at ALL diminish anyone's belief system! But don't think religion will put your kids back on track - your hovering motherhood and constant monitoring of them will.

It is not easy - it is not fun - we are not our kids friends. My kids have never been in trouble and my son was very successful in high school and is about to start college while holding a full time job all summer living on his own.

Best of luck. I feel for you, and hope you can get back on track.

•

Candace Cameron Bure

Daynatitus, Thank you for your reply! While I do agree that you can raise good kids within different religions, my soul purpose as a mother is for my kids to know Christ. I actually do have well behaved kids by the world's standard and get compliments about them almost each time we go out. I probably fall into a helicopter kind of mom as I'm very involved and protective, doing many of the same things you listed above. But my journey as a mom goes beyond that. I want to train them up to be disciples of Christ. My prayer is that they would live their lives in a deep relationship with God, securing their eternal salvation and sharing the gospel with others. I feel a great kinship to all my Jewish friends, and by adoption I am Jewish because Jesus was. I pray all people will come to know Messiah. Blessings to you

[takers401]

I'm happily Catholic but hate it when people say "It was God's plan" or "There's a reason for everything". Really? It was his plan that my Mom get cancer? That I miscarry a very wanted baby? That we're currently struggling with infertility? Yeah, no. Sometimes shit happens. I still believe in, and pray to, God, but sometimes shit just happens.

[halfheartedheroine]

Amen to the "don't ask visitors to stand up" part. I tried out a friend's church once and was very grateful that they didn't do that to me (and they apparently bake cookies and give a plate of them to newbies after service? very delicious) Even though it turned out that the specific denomination didn't work out for me, I really appreciated that they were low-key about "Hey, we're excited that you're here, but this can be a big step out of your comfort zone and we respect that."

[Trynn]

Oh my god yes! There was this one church I would visit from time to time, and each friggin time they'd (try to) make me stand up and introduce myself and say where I am from and what am I studying. I was homeless and a dropout at the time, so this REALLY bothered me.

[FloraKitty35]

Love the sinner, hate the sin

I don't like you (or insert subject here), because God doesn't like you (or insert subject here)

God is looking out for me.

God told me.

[Milly-Molly-Mandy]

I hate "my mama's heart' referring to your own heart when you are a mum. Firstly, your heart isn't any different if you have children or not. Secondly it's condescending towards those women who don't have children, as if our hearts can't feel the full emotion those with children's hearts can

/end rant

[Full enough quiver]

So, if Candace is Jewish because Jesus was, is she also a man because Jesus was? Does that mean she has to submit to herself? Or maybe she's a Galilean carpenter? Inquiring minds want to know.

[Gerialc]

A line that really bugged me in Sunday school was the idea that, no matter your trial or what's going on in your life, Jesus can understand, because Jesus experienced the fullness of human experience during his time as a human. Really? I mean, yeah, there's some things that are universal to the human experience, but the experiences and struggles of a religious Jewish radical wandering around the countryside of Israel seem pretty removed from the issues facing most modern people. (Also, that God needed to become human in order to understand our struggles never made sense. What, is omniscience not good enough that God needs to go on a short-term mission trip to see how much humans suffer?)

[Miggy]

Not in your friend's article, but another one I can't stand:

"When you get further in your Christian journey..."

It's always used when you disagree with what that person thinks you should do and it's CLEARLY because you're not Christian enough yet to think like them. Case in point: my mother and sister were discussing my uncle not wanting to use traditional medicine to treat his liver cancer. My sister said if she were to ever be diagnosed, she's having chemo, surgery- whatever it would take. My mother was against it, said something about the Lord instructing some man who has been experimenting on people with intravenous vitamin C, and then said, "Well, when you get farther along in your Christian journey, you'll understand that God has given us these alternatives to heal ourselves..." Ughhhhhhhh.

^ This. The first time I got this was from my husbands teenage cousin. Apparently having a father who is a minister and you have lived in Africa where he is a missionary means you are much farther along your "Christian journey" than anyone else. I was so offended. I said something to my MiL who said that was nothing - when he was five he had rung her up to tell her he was praying she become a better Christian!

How can anyone else judge what my relationship with God is like? It is such a patronising statement too - "I am more Christian than you."

[Trynn]

A line that really bugged me in Sunday school was the idea that, no matter your trial or what's going on in your life, Jesus can understand, because Jesus experienced the fullness of human experience during his time as a human. Really? I mean, yeah, there's some things that are universal to the human experience, but the experiences and struggles of a religious Jewish radical wandering around the countryside of Israel seem pretty removed from the issues facing most modern people. (Also, that God needed to become human in order to understand our struggles never made sense. What, is omniscience not good enough that God needs to go on a short-term mission trip to see how much humans suffer?)

Omg yes! Even as a child I knew that one was bullshit. Jesus had no idea what it was like to have Tourette's syndrome, therefore there were things about me be couldn't understand.

Idiotic sabbath school teachers told me it didn't matter because the important stuff was covered.

Later, I'd wonder if Jesus knew what it felt like to be raped. (I hadn't been, but I was learning how horrible it is as others told me their stories.)

[Marianne]

back a few years ago when I was in high school, we had American students who came to our school for... I do't know, two months maybe ? in France. All students were wonderful, tolerant, curious, and fun (and I'm not saying this because I fell in love with a girl and because we were together during two years...). But one of the students was VERY Christian. Problem ? France is the fourth most atheist country in the world, my city is a communist / socialist, my entire class was an atheist and believed that religion was just a historical curiosity. We could have respect his belief. But he was so disrespectful and mocking (he thought we were redneck because we don't use car or bus for 3 km...). Some examples :

Because as a child I had been saved by a person from other people who abused me, he thought it was Jesus. When I told him "someone who did not exist historically may not have saved me, shut up" he said, "One day you'll see the light."

He went to see everyone and say "let's talk about God!" when people refused, he said "ah, you're communists! France is a dictatorship!"

When me and my girlfriend have said "Well, we're in love !", he bought some Bible for us, he has highlighted all passages condemning homosexuality and spoke of God's wrath or hell, and he said to us : "You will go to Hell. You have no fear of hell ?"

He tried to talk about his faith during class. When teacher told him "Shut up." he said "URSS, we are in URSS !" (well, we're in a public school...)

And ALL that this article quoted, he did it. we told him "we are in an atheist country, we accept to listen to you, but respect our beliefs, history, and traditions" but he didn't listen... It was exhausting and he disgusted me of Christianity... Christians need to stop to speak about their faith to the people who don't care. If someone tell me "well, i disagree with your political view and don't want to speak about it", i don't speak about politic with this people. It's the same with religion.

[formergothardite]

This wasn't listed, but something else that annoys me is when Christians say, "Your faith was shallow/You weren't a real Christian" when they find out I was Christian for eight years then reverted back to the faithlessness of my fathers, so to speak. What they really mean is that I shouldn't have been asking questions.

I hate this too. I think it is a way to convince themselves that this could never happen to them because they are a "true believer" where we weren't. I also hate the "If you could only just understand God's love the way I do you couldn't help but believe in God." line that is often used. I was a Christian for 20+ years my unbelief isn't based on me not understanding God. Understanding God's love and the Bible is what help make me an unbeliever.

[Terrie]

The one I hate is how many Christians claim you can't have morals or ethics without Christianity. I once had a girl I went to high school with run into me randomly and fall over herself apologizing for her bullying because she "didn't have Christ" back then, so she didn't know any better. I was and still am agnostic and have done pretty darn well in treating people like, well, people and not objects for my amusement, so her kind of thinking has always struck me as rather sociopathic.

[Cleopatra7]

So, if Candace is Jewish because Jesus was, is she also a man because Jesus was? Does that mean she has to submit to herself? Or maybe she's a Galilean carpenter? Inquiring minds want to know.

The idea that Christians are the new Jews actually goes back to antiquity. The idea is that because of Christ's sacrifice, the benefits of being part of God's covenant are available to everyone, as long as you accept Christ. However, until the post-war period, most Christians thought that the God's covenant with the Jews had not only ended, but they were cursed by God for being "Christ-killers." Since the Holocaust that line of thinking has fallen out of favor for the most part, but the general idea among Christians is that they have been grafted onto God's covenant with the Jews.

[ILoveJellybeans]

The one I hate is how many Christians claim you can't have morals or ethics without Christianity. I once had a girl I went to high school with run into me randomly and fall over herself apologizing for her bullying because she "didn't have Christ" back then, so she didn't know any better. I was and still am agnostic and have done pretty darn well in treating people like, well, people and not objects for my amusement, so her kind of thinking has always struck me as rather sociopathic.

Yeah, that bugs me. If the only reason you aren't out beating people up, raping, murdering, shitting in the streets, sleeping with anything that moves and taking every drug available while smearing poo on the walls, is that the Bible says it is wrong, you have some serious problems and religion doesn't have anything to do with it.

[louisa05]

I hate "my mama's heart' referring to your own heart when you are a mum. Firstly, your heart isn't any different if you have children or not. Secondly it's condescending towards those women who don't have children, as if our hearts can't feel the full emotion those with children's hearts can

/end rant

Oh, that one isn't just Christians. Maybe the phrase "mama's heart" is, but the whole condescending attitude is not. There was an incident with a young high school girl attacking a classmate then disappearing for 36 hours a few months ago. My Facebook feed was full of people saying "because I am a parent, my heart aches for this child and her family". I finally answered a few of them and said that I am not a parent but I certainly felt the same. One person even came back to tell me that if you don't have kids, you just don't feel the same way about tragedies, because having kids makes you empathetic and compassionate. And these people were not evangelicals in the least bit. I wanted to say that perhaps I am simply a better person than they are, because I don't need to have children to be a compassionate, empathetic human.

I also want to ask all the sanctimommies, who claim they are better people incapable of doing wrong by virtue of having children, that if parenthood automatically makes you have compassion for all children and be a better person, why do we need child protective services to rescue so many kids from abuse and neglect by their own parents?

[Full enough quiver]

I've always hated that one. My brother in law posted a Facebook meme a while back that said something to the effect of "if we allow kids to read the bible in school, we wouldn't need to hand them out in prison later". I commented that if the only reason his kids stay out of prison is because of a book, he should probably reevaluate his parenting. Talk about a shitstorm of epic proportions. He still won't speak to me, and his girls aren't allowed to hang out with mine. Which is ok with me, because their behavior is atrocious. Ironically enough, the whole family always talks about what good influences my girls are on their cousins.

Christians have got to be some raging sociopaths if the fear of a spanking from their mystical sky pilot is the only thing stoping them from murder and mayhem. Funny how I'm no longer a believer, but I manage not to rape and pillage. I hope none of them stop believing in god, or we'll all be in danger.

[Mecca]

Oh, that one isn't just Christians. Maybe the phrase "mama's heart" is, but the whole condescending attitude is not. There was an incident with a young high school girl attacking a classmate then disappearing for 36 hours a few months ago. My Facebook feed was full of people saying "because I am a parent, my heart aches for this child and her family". I finally answered a few of them and said that I am not a parent but I certainly felt the same. One person even came back to tell me that if you don't have kids, you just don't feel the same way about tragedies, because having kids makes you empathetic and compassionate. And these people were not evangelicals in the least bit. I wanted to say that perhaps I am simply a better person than they are, because I don't need to have children to be a compassionate, empathetic human.

I also want to ask all the sanctimommies, who claim they are better people incapable of doing wrong by virtue of having children, that if parenthood automatically makes you have compassion for all children and be a better person, why do we need child protective services to rescue so many kids from abuse and neglect by their own parents?

Oh yes. The amazing sanctimommies. They drive me nuts. I have several on my Facebook that has tried to pull the same crap on me. I give it right back. One eventually deleted me because I told her one does not need to push out a human out of their vagina to feel compassion for others and her believing so is rather offensive. Yeah, she was a Duggar fan too, so what does she know. :lol: I had one person question why I worked child advocacy if I did not have children. Really? Yes, because, again, one needs to birth a baby to help abused children. :wtf:

The one phase that makes me stabby? "The family that prays together, stays together."

[MajorMajor]

Not to say that becoming a mom made me more empathetic or caring, but since my son was born I do personally feel more emotional when I hear about tragedies involving children or even see something bad involving young children in a movie or tv show. This is more because my brain pictures these horrible things happening to my son. So while those things have always been horrible and heartbreaking to me, I'm now more likely to actually start crying and take a longer time to process it. But I don't think a person without kids couldn't experience that same reaction.

[Talitha Cumi]

Yeah, that bugs me. If the only reason you aren't out beating people up, raping, murdering, shitting in the streets, sleeping with anything that moves and taking every drug available while smearing poo on the walls, is that the Bible says it is wrong, you have some serious problems and religion doesn't have anything to do with it.

Exactly. They fail to understand that humans evolved (ELEVENTY!!!!!!!!!!111) as tribal creatures, and there are some values that are hardwired. We help our fellow tribe members so they will watch our backs and help us in return when we need it. What Christianity did was to expand the concept of tribe to include every person on earth. And yet, Christians break up into their own little tribes and war against each other. For fundies, it's not about living Christian values, it's about using the concepts to distinguish us vs. them.

[Talitha Cumi]

The one phase that makes me stabby? "The family that prays together, stays together."

UGH. I hate any phrase where the subtext is It Rhymes So It Must Be True. "God made Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve." "If the glove fits, you must acquit."

[halfheartedheroine]

UGH. I hate any phrase where the subtext is It Rhymes So It Must Be True. "God made Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve." "If the glove fits, you must acquit."

I'm a fan of the joke going around, "It's Adam and Eve, people! Sorry, Alan and Eve, you were close, but no cigar. Only people named Adam and Eve are allowed to get married!"

[Mecca]

UGH. I hate any phrase where the subtext is It Rhymes So It Must Be True. "God made Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve." "If the glove fits, you must acquit."

That whole "Adam and Steve" phrase seriously annoys me. :lol: Poor Steve, always getting crapped on by the fundies. I never thought that phrase made much sense. If the fundies believe God created humans, man was created in God's image, and Steve is a man, then God actually did make Steve.

[Terrie]

I always like George Takai's take on it. "I believe the French spell it 'Yves.'" (For those who never took French, it's a male name with the same pronunciation as Eve).

[MrsYoungie]

"God never gives you more than you can handle."

ARGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am a cancer survivor and volunteer at a cancer support centre. I see people all the time who have been given way more than they can handle. I mean, what's the alternative? You explode? You just die on the spot? What? And what about suicides? Some people genuinely cannot handle their life. What does that mean? Should I wish for a more delicate core so that God would hand me less shit to deal with?

Fuck it.