Erika Shupe *fake smile* Large Families on Purpose *cringe*

[AmazonGrace]

I don't understand. Which part of this is about Christmas trees?

biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Jeremiah+9

[JemimaPuddle-Duck]

YMMV, but it seems pretty clear to me that Jeremiah 10 is speaking of idols made of wood, not Christmas trees.

I disagree with Erika about skirts and (somewhat) hair. And even Christians often wish that Bible passages were more clear ;-)

[mango_fandango]

YMMV, but it seems pretty clear to me that Jeremiah 10 is speaking of idols made of wood, not Christmas trees.

I disagree with Erika about skirts and (somewhat) hair. And even Christians often wish that Bible passages were more clear ;-)

http://www.bibleinfo.com/en/questions/a ... nced-bible

In desperately trying to find out which Jeremiah verse it was, I found this. No, I'm not a Bible expert, I had just seen the verse referenced somewhere...

One that's frequently brought up: what about the reference to wearing mixed fibres in the Bible (ie that it's verboten?)

[defraudingjezebel]

http://www.bibleinfo.com/en/questions/a ... nced-bible

In desperately trying to find out which Jeremiah verse it was, I found this. No, I'm not a Bible expert, I had just seen the verse referenced somewhere...

One that's frequently brought up: what about the reference to wearing mixed fibres in the Bible (ie that it's verboten?)

Yep, there's a lot of stuff in the old testament that simply isn't followed. Even the most fundie of fundies will admit that much of the stuff in Leviticus, etc. is not applicable to the current world.

I guarantee that if you ask many fundies whether they follow (or at least try to follow) every declaration in the Bible, they'd say they do. But that ignores a lot of the stuff about marrying your brother's widow, and having a rapist marry his victim....

[Antimony]

Still no answer on what is the second biggest Satanic holiday. It could be today and we'd have no idea!

[ViolaSebastian]

Still no answer on what is the second biggest Satanic holiday. It could be today and we'd have no idea!

So, according to this handy dandy list of Satanic holidays (http://www.theopenscroll.com/hosting/Sa ... lendar.htm), the only other holiday that is celebrated routinely by Satanists as well as the public at large is May Day. So...I guess it's May Day? It is socialist/communist/worker's rights day, after all...so...

ETA: We did celebrate May Day when I was a kid, by leaving cones full of candy and trinkets on our friends doorsteps. We would ring the doorbell and then run away. It was great fun...and did not involved orgies, blood letting or sacrifices. :penguin-no:

[defraudingjezebel]

So, according to this handy dandy list of Satanic holidays (http://www.theopenscroll.com/hosting/Sa ... lendar.htm), the only other holiday that is celebrated routinely by Satanists as well as the public at large is May Day. So...I guess it's May Day? It is socialist/communist/worker's rights day, after all...so...

ETA: We did celebrate May Day when I was a kid, by leaving cones full of candy and trinkets on our friends doorsteps. We would ring the doorbell and then run away. It was great fun...and did not involved orgies, blood letting or sacrifices. :penguin-no:

Haha I wish Erika was the Church Lady!!!

They probably think that May Day is a vast conspiracy started by the pagans and continued by the commie pinkos in the form of (international) Labor Day. I never celebrated May Day in the seasonal sense, but I know that in parts of the US and Europe there's a whole plethora of spring-y events going on... though they seem hardly pagan/Satanic. Must be all that dancing around the May pole that is satanic!

Look at those little hussies dancing for Satan!

[Anonymousguest]

I would have guessed Christmas or Easter, but looking at her blog it looks like they celebrate both, complete with Christmas trees, Easter baskets and Easter bunny. It's harmless to play Easter bunny, but not dress in costumes and eat candy.

On Halloween she said something like one of two satanic holidays celebrated by the government, so I doubt it's May Day. Though the government doesn't celebrate Halloween either? Maybe I need to reread that :P

[FJismyheadship]

She had actually originally said one of three. Then someone asked her in the comments what the other two were. I can't remembe her answer, but the third she couldn't remember. So she edited the post

[Guest]

She had actually originally said one of three. Then someone asked her in the comments what the other two were. I can't remembe her answer, but the third she couldn't remember. So she edited the post

LOL, of course she did. That's pure Erika. I guess she can't remember the second one anymore either. As far as I can tell, she hasn't responded to the person who asked about it. I only skimmed though.

[ViolaSebastian]

I would have guessed Christmas or Easter, but looking at her blog it looks like they celebrate both, complete with Christmas trees, Easter baskets and Easter bunny. It's harmless to play Easter bunny, but not dress in costumes and eat candy.

On Halloween she said something like one of two satanic holidays celebrated by the government, so I doubt it's May Day. Though the government doesn't celebrate Halloween either? Maybe I need to reread that :P

I wonder if she means the state/local government or federal? It could be Devil's Night, which is a holiday that's locally observed in Michigan.

I looked at one of the links provided in her screed about Halloween, and thus jumped out at me. Maybe it's Memorial Day, because that can be (insanely) construed as a celebration of death?

When asked "Does anyone today celebrate Samhain (Halloween) as a religious Holiday?" a major witches' organization responded, "Yes, many followers of various pagan religions, such as Druids and Wiccans (witches), observe this day as a religious festival. They view it as a memorial day for their dead friends similar to the national holiday of Memorial Day in May.

Yet another one of her "sources" (and I use that term loosely...) has this to say:

Witch - Margot Adler: "All the Great Festivals of Paganism, wherever they may be found, correspond in common with the Solstices, Equinoxes, and other natural annual cycles of life. Most of these remain with us today in more or less disguised form as the so-called Christian holidays of Christmas (Yule), Easter (Ostara), May Day (Beltane), Thanksgiving (Harvest Home), Halloween (Samhain) and even Groundhogs day (Oimelc)."

So who knows which one she's thinking of... :shrug:

[Anonymousguest]

I wonder if she means the state/local government or federal? It could be Devil's Night, which is a holiday that's locally observed in Michigan.

I looked at one of the links provided in her screed about Halloween, and thus jumped out at me. Maybe it's Memorial Day, because that can be (insanely) construed as a celebration of death?

Yet another one of her "sources" (and I use that term loosely...) has this to say:

So who knows which one she's thinking of... :shrug:

Sorry, I was wrong, she said armed forces and "a state prison". Which is of course a legitimate way of determining whether a holiday is widely celebrated.

[defraudingjezebel]

Sorry, I was wrong, she said armed forces and "a state prison". Which is of course a legitimate way of determining whether a holiday is widely celebrated.

I think I might've figured it out, y'all. :twisted:

Apparently in LaVeyan Satanism, there are two celebrated holidays: Samhain (Halloween) and Walpurgisnacht (WTFFFF). I got that from this wiki page:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satanic_holidays

And here's the page for Walpurgisnacht:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walpurgis_Night

So it almost is May Day. Why some obscure German-witches-day-of-meeting is considered so important to Satanists, I'll never know.

I'm not sure if Erika realizes that LaVeyan Satanists don't actually worship the devil, but I doubt she'd be willing to even bother reading a few sentences about Anton LaVey. :evil:

[zadie]

I think I might've figured it out, y'all. :twisted:

Apparently in LaVeyan Satanism, there are two celebrated holidays: Samhain (Halloween) and Walpurgisnacht (WTFFFF). I got that from this wiki page:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satanic_holidays

And here's the page for Walpurgisnacht:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walpurgis_Night

So it almost is May Day. Why some obscure German-witches-day-of-meeting is considered so important to Satanists, I'll never know.

I'm not sure if Erika realizes that LaVeyan Satanists don't actually worship the devil, but I doubt she'd be willing to even bother reading a few sentences about Anton LaVey. :evil:

Imagine if it was groundhog's day!

"That evil groundhog is trying to undermine god's word how dare he!!!!!"

The devil controls the groundhog and every year brings us one step closer to damnation.

[ViolaSebastian]

THIS IS THE FACE OF SATAN, YA'LL. HE'S COMING TO PREDICT SIX MORE WEEKS OF...HELL. :evil:

[mango_fandango]

THIS IS THE FACE OF SATAN, YA'LL. HE'S COMING TO PREDICT SIX MORE WEEKS OF...HELL. :evil:

Who knew Satan was so chubby and fluffy??

(He does look slightly evil though)

[Crocoduck]

Yep, there's a lot of stuff in the old testament that simply isn't followed. Even the most fundie of fundies will admit that much of the stuff in Leviticus, etc. is not applicable to the current world.

I guarantee that if you ask many fundies whether they follow (or at least try to follow) every declaration in the Bible, they'd say they do. But that ignores a lot of the stuff about marrying your brother's widow, and having a rapist marry his victim....

The Year of Living Biblically by A.J. Jacobs details the author's attempt to follow the commands of the Bible as literally as possible - including not wearing mixed fibers. It's a fascinating read. books.google.com/books/about/The_Year_of_Living_Biblically.html?id=0ZXb6n2XuKAC

TL:DR it's impossible to follow every declaration of the Bible.

[formergothardite]

YMMV, but it seems pretty clear to me that Jeremiah 10 is speaking of idols made of wood, not Christmas trees.

I disagree with Erika about skirts and (somewhat) hair. And even Christians often wish that Bible passages were more clear ;-)

You got to admit that this does sound like a Christmas tree. :lol:

for one cutteth a tree out of the forest,

the work of the hands of the workman, with the axe.

4 They deck it with silver and with gold;

they fasten it with nails and with hammers, that it move not

Of course, taken in context of the place and time when it was written it clearly isn't about Christmas trees, but fundies typically don't do that, except when it is convenient. The verses in the NT about homosexuality if taken in the context of when and where they were written are clearly not about a committed, loving gay couple who provides a stable home for children, but most fundies are going to apply those verses to them anyway.

[Koala]

From Facebook:

Reader:

Hi! We celebrate All Saints' Day on Nov. 1. All my kiddos dress up as a Saint and if there is a party etc. they go as the saints.

Halloween literally means "Eve of All Saints' Day". Halloween is a day to abstain from meat and some even fast...so no candy that day which makes the next day even more special.

We do go out sometimes to trick or treat as saints, but it depends if there is a lot of snow and how cold it is. Though, the costumes and decorations in yards can be too scary and it is not worth venturing out.

They get asked who they are and it is fun for them to tell others about who they are and practice our faith.

Thank you for posting your thoughts!

Erika:

Thanks - but it's not just my thoughts; it's God's. And to others the children still appear to be celebrating. Outside appearances do matter.

Translation:

Thanks, but I don't speak for myself. I speak for God. Enjoy hell! *friendly grin*

Reader:

Interesting. We knew a lot of this before, but my husband still likes to be able to pass out candy. Our children are small so they usually don't stay up long enough to see any costumes. Our church has a fall festival where the kids can dress up and we celebrate that with caramel apples, bouncy houses, games, and hay rides, but we don't purpose to celebrate halloween. If our kids dress up for church then we don't allow scary things. They are always usually super heroes (all boys here :) smile emoticon

Erika:

I encourage you to pray about your family's choices to

participate especially as the children are getting older.

Translation:

Pray until you realize that I'm right and you're wrong. Be sure to comment when you come to the right conclusion!

She is so rude and condescending to them :evil-eye:

[formergothardite]

If you disagree with Erika you disagree with God.

[defraudingjezebel]

If you disagree with Erika you disagree with God.

Yes! That's what really rubs me the wrong way about Erika. She's very cut and dry, and is adamant that her interpretation is THE interpretation and she's so smug and condescending to others about it. A lot of her blog/FB comments are something like, "well I interpret xyz verse differently so we allow our families to do abc." And Erika swoops in with a big "nuh-uh! I'm right and you're wrong and there's nothing you can do about it! *smile*"

[ViolaSebastian]

If you disagree with Erika you disagree with God.

I honestly wonder how much all of this is really about saving money. Bob and Erika have admitted that they have to run a tight ship to get by financially with all of their little blessings. Costumes for eleventy kids (even homemade ones), candy, decorations--they all cost money. I don't doubt that she thinks that Halloween is satanic, but then why not celebrate All Saint's Day or a Fall Festival with her Church? Nope, I think this boils down to cost.

[formergothardite]

Does Erika do Christmas? It honestly seems like something she would ban(or at least turn into something unfun) just because of the tree, the gifts, and the wrapping paper. I can't see her enjoying Christmas decorations, buying gifts or watching the kids tear open gifts on Christmas morning.

[ViolaSebastian]

Does Erika do Christmas? It honestly seems like something she would ban(or at least turn into something unfun) just because of the tree, the gifts, and the wrapping paper. I can't see her enjoying Christmas decorations, buying gifts or watching the kids tear open gifts on Christmas morning.

Christmas with Erika entails:

1. No Santa.

2. Making a birthday coffee cake for Jesus.

3. A family stocking.

4. A book and CD about Jesus' birth.

5. Saying "Merry Christmas" to people who tell her "Happy Holidays"

6. One main gift per child, with one, larger, family gift.

7. Sponsor child through Childcare Worldwide

8. A Maxwellian-looking chart for purchasing gifts.

9. She does approve of a tree, but it's such a sad, little tree for a big family with lots of young children...

I'm going to go ahead and guess that she's one of those that makes each person open their gifts on at a time and in descending birth order. :shrug:

[iweartanktops]

Erika sounds more like Satan as far as I'm concerned! Who does she think she is to actually put in writing, "it's not my thoughts; it's God's." Are you kidding me??

ETA- Maybe I'm being a little extreme but I just can't get over her narcissism and condescension towards others! It's truly astounding.