Christians rejoice in ISIS

[Rachel333]

http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendlyat ... g-in-isis/

Now as far as the people who actually lost family members to ISIS go, they can pretty much say whatever they want and I'm not going to criticize how they cope, but some of the comments from American Christians were a bit unsettling. They really believe that ISIS is serving to hasten the apocalypse.

A few of the many comments quoted in the above post:

ISIS just doesn’t know they they are laying out the red carpet for my Jesus.

Amen and these are truly exciting times, to know that soon we shall behold his glory.

Have been to Israel, have seen the valley in which this final battle will take place , true not vacant , beautiful fertile fields as far as the eyes can see… Awesome just awesome….

You are so right. We are staring the end times in the face. Very exciting!

Revelation is coming to pass!! Praise God!!

His plan is perfect!!

God is using this to awaken christian to be a witness of his truth.

The church grows in times of conflict.

There have been Christians martyred many times over the centuries. GENERALLY, THIS SIMPLY MADE THE KINGDOM OF GOD ON EARTH GROW STRONGER AND LARGER.

The sooner the Lord returns the better!! … Please lead & bless us & our Military Lord… I’m so thankful you are in control!!

It will be a sad day for all unbelievers , but rejoyous for the redeemed !!

And there will be no more gay marriage and people saying Jesus approved of it.

All the Christian families disappearing in the twinkling of an eye leaving all the anti-Christ socialists with no one to tax.

Finally we have a real pastor talking about a real issue. We the Christians have been sleeping for so many years letting the world attacking the Christians by terrorist, progressives and atheists.

My soul aches to step outside and see Him ripping the sky wide open… Please, come quickly, Lord Jesus!

Amen! We are in the last of the last days!

This will be a battle that Christians win! Praise the LORD!!

:?

[whoviana]

This makes me want to hang myself so bad.

[nelliebelle1197]

http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendlyatheist/2015/03/01/a-most-unsettling-trend-christians-rejoicing-in-isis/

Now as far as the people who actually lost family members to ISIS go, they can pretty much say whatever they want and I'm not going to criticize how they cope, but some of the comments from American Christians were a bit unsettling. They really believe that ISIS is serving to hasten the apocalypse.

A few of the many comments quoted in the above post:

:?

I am glad progressives and terrorists are in the same category. For some reason, that sticks out more than the other stuff :evil-eye:

[apple1]

This makes me want to hang myself so bad.

Get some help.

Seriously.

[sparkles]

Yeah, these are the people I'd want to spend eternity with. Disgust doesn't even begin to describe how I feel right now.

[whoviana]

Get some help.

Seriously.

Have you ever heard the expression "I don't want to live on this planet anymore"? This kind of crap brings it out in me.

[Arete]

This may come as a shock to the article writer, but the vast majority of the world's Christians do not even know who Franklin Graham is, much less follow what he has to say about the apocalypse. So no, "Christians" do not "rejoice in ISIS", and his smarmy implication that this is representative is offensive and insulting.

[Mama Mia]

This makes me want to hang myself so bad.

I see these kind of articles, and especially the comments, and it makes me despair for humanity. And think that between evil and stupidity and cluelessness there really is NO hope.

But then I always TRY to remember that it's probably mostly the same ten thousand ( and that's being extremely generous ) people out of seven BILLION who are really sharing their hateful end times thoughts . Sure, there are millions more who likely vaguely believe the same sort of thing. But that leaves the vast, vast majority of people on the planet who don't think this way. Even if you throw in all the many, many different kinds of extreme hatred for different groups among all the people in the world -- most of the billions of people aren't caught up in envisioning the end of the world. Or even the end of some groups. They are mostly just busy trying to live their lives.

And the same technological phenomenon that leads to knowing about bizarre end of the world cheering squads, also brought about legal same sex marriage in a variety of countries around the world in an amazingly short time frame. Obviously still a work in progress, but if you think about it -- it's a civil rights issue that would never have gained such wide spread acceptance in less than a generation before the Internet.

[whoviana]

I see these kind of articles, and especially the comments, and it makes me despair for humanity. And think that between evil and stupidity and cluelessness there really is NO hope.

This, this, this, this, this, this, this a thousand times. I wish I could upvote you to infinity. This is all I can think of right now. I can't get past behind it yet and try and look for comforting thoughts.

[EmiGirl]

This may come as a shock to the article writer, but the vast majority of the world's Christians do not even know who Franklin Graham is, much less follow what he has to say about the apocalypse. So no, "Christians" do not "rejoice in ISIS", and his smarmy implication that this is representative is offensive and insulting.

Thank you. I personally don't know any Christian who applauds ISIS. My church has always had the stance that we are against anyone who is against Israel since the Jews are God's Chosen People and should be respected as such

[KittenMitten]

This makes me want to hang myself so bad.

We need you for the forces of good. Your intelligence and humor are necessary.

[Rachel333]

This may come as a shock to the article writer, but the vast majority of the world's Christians do not even know who Franklin Graham is, much less follow what he has to say about the apocalypse. So no, "Christians" do not "rejoice in ISIS", and his smarmy implication that this is representative is offensive and insulting.

She never suggested all Christians are like that at all and I see absolutely no implication that this is representative unless you're one of those who think that every time anyone talks about Christians they should include the "But not all Christians are like that!" disclaimer. No, this hardly represents the world's Christians but it absolutely is a trend within American Christianity which is all she's saying. I've heard similar statements many, many times from my family and friends.

[whoviana]

You are sweet beyond words, KittenMitten. Let's hope and pray and work for the best, against all odds.

[OkToBeTakei]

No hate to anybody really.

My bugbear about ISIS is the political AND religious misinformation.

They kill.

They Kill.

They kill, christians, they kill muslims, they kill jews, they kill people, humans.

They are about killing. They are about doing it in the way that will drive us all apart, your country, your religion, your culture, your belief...and the biggie...your fear.

EVERY time I see one religion claiming to be the biggest target, it makes me sad. They win every time we divide.

It totally pisses me off when folks don't at least try to look beyond their own fucking back garden.

I swore. :lol:

[OkToBeTakei]

Thank you. I personally don't know any Christian who applauds ISIS. My church has always had the stance that we are against anyone who is against Israel since the Jews are God's Chosen People and should be respected as such

EH?

What on earth does that even mean?

[Mama Mia]

She never suggested all Christians are like that at all and I see absolutely no implication that this is representative unless you're one of those who think that every time anyone talks about Christians they should include the "But not all Christians are like that!" disclaimer. No, this hardly represents the world's Christians but it absolutely is a trend within American Christianity which is all she's saying. I've heard similar statements many, many times from my family and friends.

I absolutely think some extremist faction of ANY group is profiled there should be a disclaimer that they don't represent the majority of members of that group. Would it be okay if the screeching headline was " Muslims rejoice in ISIS"? Would it be alright to head an article as "Whites want to bring back segregation" because the KKK thought it was a great idea? Of course not.

Lumping gigantic, diverse groups of any sort under the umbrella of a fringe off- shoot with hatefilled agendas is just wrong. For one it can lead to people hating or fearing or being suspicious of the whole group. Conversely, it can legitimize those views and have more people find them acceptable.

And no, it does NOT represent most Christians, or most Christians in the U.S. And how hard is it to include a few words like " Some extremist Christians" or " a small minority of Christians" or even " there is a tiny but growing group of Christians who think that"

[Rachel333]

I absolutely think some extremist faction of ANY group is profiled there should be a disclaimer that they don't represent the majority of members of that group. Would it be okay if the screeching headline was " Muslims rejoice in ISIS"? Would it be alright to head an article as "Whites want to bring back segregation" because the KKK thought it was a great idea? Of course not.

Lumping gigantic, diverse groups of any sort under the umbrella of a fringe off- shoot with hatefilled agendas is just wrong. For one it can lead to people hating or fearing or being suspicious of the whole group. Conversely, it can legitimize those views and have more people find them acceptable.

And no, it does NOT represent most Christians, or most Christians in the U.S. And how hard is it to include a few words like " Some extremist Christians" or " a small minority of Christians" or even " there is a tiny but growing group of Christians who think that"

Okay, that's definitely fair when considering this kind of topic. I think I reacted too quickly because to me it seemed obvious that it was not all Christians. Even just cutting off the first part from "A Most Unsettling Trend: Christians Rejoicing in ISIS" conveys a different meaning that I hadn't thought about.

I don't think people like this represent most American Christians but it is more than a tiny minority. More than 40% of Americans, not just American Christians, believe the rapture will happen in the next 50 years, and while most people have the tact not to say it, these kinds of comments are very typical. Franklin Graham is very popular among Evangelical Christians, and his father Billy Graham was even more so.

[KittenMitten]

You are sweet beyond words, KittenMitten. Let's hope and pray and work for the best, against all odds.

Well, thank you for your kind words. I do think your humor and intelligence are great strengths and needed. I've always been fascinated with the Duggar's, who are my gateway fundie family. Starting last summer I began paying attention to the darker side of Conserative Christianity and I started to panic. Some was just stirring up childhood church stuff. But more frightening was these people were trying to take my rights, the rights of family and friends. No abortion? My kid perhaps having to pray in school and learn creationism, gay friends can't get married and so on. I was really panicking. I stumbled onto Libby Anne, Duggar's Without Pity and Homeschoolers Anonymous and here. The other sites were great and helped me feel hope. Then I came here. It is wonderful. So many threads, lots of support and caring, respect for the most part even with differing opinions. Information, what is going around the U.S. and the world. All of these sites give me hope especially when I read that ISIS thing.

Your strengths are as above mentioned and that you actually know how to put links. I think I have strengths too, I think, intelligence sometimes humor, and ability to look at a situation from several sides. So with the above ISIS thing. It could be because they are evil, or because End Times is so real to them (I remember that shit) or perhaps because that is the only way they can process the death of a loved one. You have a strength that I admire, the ability to call someone out. I'd like to do that, but I spend so much time figuring out how to say what I want to say, that the issue has passed.

I think we need many different people here. Helping and supporting and informing and creating laughter. But over the past week or so, I've noticed two fundies, at least, reading FJ. Jill R and her RV, perhaps addressing comments here and maybe thinking a tiny bit. Not overly optimistic. CloakNDagger seemed a bit more open.

So I love this place and the people.

[patsymae]

I live about 2 miles from an Eyptian Coptic Church where many people are fairly recent immigrants with close relatives still living in the Middle East. Let them come visit and see how much effing rejoicing is going on.

[Mama Mia]

Okay, that's definitely fair when considering this kind of topic. I think I reacted too quickly because to me it seemed obvious that it was not all Christians. Even just cutting off the first part from "A Most Unsettling Trend: Christians Rejoicing in ISIS" conveys a different meaning that I hadn't thought about.

I don't think people like this represent most American Christians but it is more than a tiny minority. More than 40% of Americans, not just American Christians, believe the rapture will happen in the next 50 years, and while most people have the tact not to say it, these kinds of comments are very typical. Franklin Graham is very popular among Evangelical Christians, and his father Billy Graham was even more so.

If that number is coming from the survey I think it is -- well, let's just say the responses in general are more than a little sensational.

.people-press.org/2010/06/22/public-sees-a-future-full-of-promise-and-peril/

Yes, lots of people thought the rapture was possible ( that 41% included both probable and possible answers) .....but even higher percentages believed that Cancer would be cured, a World War would happen, terrorists would hit the U.S. With nuclear warheads and a whole bunch of other dramatic changes to life by 2050. Included were that most people thought that the economy/ life would be better. Which kind of contradicts the doomsday scenarios.

The answers were kind of a Jetsons meet Mad Max. And they surveyed only 1,500 ish people. Which I'm sure they think is a statistically valid sample. But for such a wide range of possible futures? I don't think so.

Also 40% of people polled thinking the rapture is a possibility by 2050 isn't at all the same thing as 40% of people thinking it's an awesome possibility and thinking anything that will hasten it is great. I'm sure it's a bigger group than I'd like to believe, but I still think it's a fairly small group who are that fervent overall.

[Arete]

Rachel333, I am "one of those" who expects writers to be as precise as possible to avoid gross generalizations of large, complex social movements.

[OkToBeTakei]

Rachel333, I am "one of those" who expects writers to be as precise as possible to avoid gross generalizations of large, complex social movements.

And those who believe it. Because it was written.

Which unfortunately...happens.

[Rachel333]

I was a bit taken aback by a phrase like "his smarmy implication that this is representative is offensive and insulting," (the author is a woman, by the way) but yes, I would be wrong to suggest that it isn't important to accurately describe the population you're talking about.

What frustrates me, which in fairness is not really what was going on here, is when you can't talk about negative aspects of Christianity without people making it all about how there are good Christians too. (Kind of like when conversations about sexism/racism turn into "but not all men/white people are like that!" It's true and it would be wrong to suggest otherwise, but rarely do people actually think that and it usually isn't helpful to the conversation.)

So accurate descriptions, yes, but I still don't think every article about Christians should have to include the whole "but not all Christians" spiel. A few words like "a minority of Christians" should suffice.

The impression I got from the post was just "here are a few things some Christians are saying about ISIS" and not "this is what Christians believe." I didn't think about how it might indeed sound like it represents Christians as a whole, and that is a very valid concern for someone to have and you were right to bring it up.

[OkToBeTakei]

I was a bit taken aback by a phrase like "his smarmy implication that this is representative is offensive and insulting," (the author is a woman, by the way) but yes, I would be wrong to suggest that it isn't important to accurately describe the population you're talking about.

What frustrates me, which in fairness is not really what was going on here, is when you can't talk about negative aspects of Christianity without people making it all about how there are good Christians too. (Kind of like when conversations about sexism/racism turn into "but not all men/white people are like that!" It's true and it would be wrong to suggest otherwise, but rarely do people actually think that and it usually isn't helpful to the conversation.)

So accurate descriptions, yes, but I still don't think every article about Christians should have to include the whole "but not all Christians" spiel. A few words like "a minority of Christians" should suffice.

The impression I got from the post was just "here are a few things some Christians are saying about ISIS" and not "this is what Christians believe." I didn't think about how it might indeed sound like it represents Christians as a whole, and that is a very valid concern for someone to have and you were right to bring it up.

Or you could just use less lengthy discourse and admit it was crap?

[Swamptribe]

What gets me is that do these folks really feel that their god is that easily manipulated by his believers? That they, or anyone else, can move up gods time table to suite their own wishes?