Evangelist Street Preacher Yells at Kids in Santa Line (Merged)

[fundiefan]

If I'd had a kid there that asshat would have gotten me arrested.

No one, but no fucking one, has the right to tell someone else's kid a  damn thing! If my kids (well, if I had any) believe in Santa and I take them to see Santa, that's my right and my kid's right...and no fucktard religious nut is going to ruin my kid's dreams. Ever.

This makes me beyond angry. I am so over evangelicals who shout their imaginary god shit to the public because of their egos.

[Rachel333]

Hopefully he'd be just fine with someone yelling at his kids that Jesus isn't real...

[Grimalkin]

@Rachel333 I agree with the tweet part, I read about it after reading that this guy pulled his stunt and connected the two in my brain.

     I think his tweet is meant to stir people up. How many of his Twitter fans actually believe in Santa? It seems like he saw this story get a lot of attention and he jumped on the bandwagon.  It would be quite a timely coincidence that he tweeted this as the story was picking up attention and knew nothing about it.I just think he is a fame whore.

[fundiefan]

Of course he is a fame whore. He married into the Duggar cult, quit the job he had for all of six months, and supports his wife and kid by being on television. The missionary crap is just that, crap; lies; he ain't doing it right. He's playing a part and getting paid to keep in character.

 

[47of74]

Where was mall security during all of this? 

If someone did this at the local mall where I live security would be all over them and escorting t hem from the premises.

I guess since the Target-ca-pades is kind of passe now the reich wingers have to find something else to do to get attention in shopping places.

[Screamapillar]

When my daughter figures out that Santa isn't real I'm not going to go to any great lengths to perpetuate the myth. Santa is fun and all but I know I wasn't heartbroken when I realized he wasn't real. And back when I did believe in him, if someone had told me otherwise I just would have said "Nuh-uh!" Little kids are kind of like fundamentalists in that way.

I do have an issue with this guy screaming at a bunch of kids that their parents are lying to them. That's just terrifying. These families are just minding their own business and have to put up with his bullshit. I don't think people routinely burst into Sunday Schools and scream that Jesus isn't real and their parents are lying to them about that. The fact that these kind of nuts feel fully justified in their actions because: Jesus! makes my blood boil.

[Koala]

1 hour ago, Rachel333 said:

See, I just do not think it's Derick's fault if people let their kids read Twitter. It's like the people (like this woman featured on STFU parents) who get mad at other people for swearing on their own social media pages because kids might see it--what you let your kids read isn't anyone else's problem!

I agree.  If your kids are young enough to believe in Santa, then you should be heavily filtering anything they read on the net.  It's not another adult's job to filter their thoughts (on their Twitter page) to accommodate your child's belief in Santa, rather, it your job to see that your child isn't reading over your shoulder.

2 hours ago, Loveday said:

Well, for a lot of Christians, me included, the real reason IS Jesus's birth, although most of us with any knowledge of history totally agree about the hijacking part. December 25 is just the date we celebrate it, thanks to that hijacking--when He was actually born isn't really that important.

 

The only issue I take with this is the "real" part.  It may be the reason you celebrate the season, but to say that it's "the real" reason for the season implies that others who celebrate for different reasons are somehow wrong.  

And honestly, it's ridiculous because as you've admitted, historically it's NOT the "real"
reason for the celebration.  I guess I just think it's much more appropriate to allow everyone to celebrate (or not) for whatever reason it's important to them.  No need to declare that your reason is "the real" reason.

(you in general, not you specifically @Loveday)

[Koala]

4 hours ago, Buzzard said:

We actually had that argument last night.  I'm Jewish, my baby will be raised Jewish, paternal grandparents are Christian.  There will be no Santa in my future and any attempts to talk to him about Santa will be met with reality.

 

Bless you.  Nothing worse than in-laws who expect the next generation to do things their way.

I will tell you what served my husband and I well as parents- Grandparents don't get a vote.  No vote=no discussion, no discussion= no arugement.  If they think Baby Buzzard should be taught to believe in Santa, oh well.  If they insist on trying to override you, you calmly say, "That's not what we believe", and then you pick up your things and leave.  Super simple, and it leaves no room for the impression that the subject is up for debate.  If mentioning Santa = end of visit, then they will quickly tire of it and drop the subject.  Boundaries are a beautiful thing.

Our kids didn't believe in Santa when they were little.  We are HUGE Christmas people (Santa stories & decorations included), but we didn't want to lie to our kids (even in the name of Christmas magic).  

That said, we are A-Okay with the idea that other families do let their kids believe in Santa, and we always asked our kids not to spoil it for them (they had one cousin who believed into her early teens and they were always very cautious not to tell her any different).

-Signed, we are Atheists and our extended family is fundie lite

-Also signed,  Boundaries saved us
 

[Black Aliss]

How is this ("there is no Santa, kids!") not persecution of people's beliefs? I mean, Christianists are constantly feeling persecution  over atheists saying there is no god.

[Loveday]

58 minutes ago, Koala said:

The only issue I take with this is the "real" part.  It may be the reason you celebrate the season, but to say that it's "the real" reason for the season implies that others who celebrate for different reasons are somehow wrong.  

And honestly, it's ridiculous because as you've admitted, historically it's NOT the "real"
reason for the celebration.  I guess I just think it's much more appropriate to allow everyone to celebrate (or not) for whatever reason it's important to them.  No need to declare that your reason is "the real" reason.

(you in general, not you specifically @Loveday)

To be clear, I don't go around on Facebook and in 'real life' saying 'the REAL reason for the season is Jesus and all other celebrations are bogus.' I also don't insist on saying Merry Christmas only to everyone, I intersperse that with Happy Holidays or other greetings appropriate to the occasion and the person I'm speaking with. And I keep getting into not-always-friendly discussions about why we should stop pushing Christmas on absolutely everyone this time of year, because not absolutely everyone celebrates it!

I guess I don't understand why saying that for ME, and for many other Christians, Jesus is the real reason WE celebrate. I'm not saying 'Hey, Jesus is the only reason for all the celebrations between Thanksgiving and New Year's, all other reasons don't count.' I'm not saying there are NO other reasons to celebrate this whole season. 

Hmm...wait a minute, the more I work on my tangled up thoughts about this, and the more I stare at that word 'real,' the more I'm beginning to think that maybe I should have said he's the MAIN reason most of us Christians celebrate instead of the 'real' reason ( because if we're as honest as we should be, we'd admit we also celebrate a lot of other stuff besides Jesus this time of year! )

I think I might possibly have just sorted myself out.   

 

[Terrie]

There's nothing wrong with saying Jesus is YOUR reason. It's just that generic statements about "the reason" indirectly suggest that it's the only reason or the reason for everyone.

[Palimpsest]

19 hours ago, ViolaSebastian said:

TBH, I would have paid good money to see Santa Claus deck his halls.

I was thinking kick his balls ...

[Granwych]

19 hours ago, ViolaSebastian said:

TBH, I would have paid good money to see Santa Claus deck his halls.

That, and hang the guy's balls on the highest bough...

[Granwych]

5 hours ago, Grimalkin said:

@Buzzard I never bought my kids to see Santa at a mall or anything. They admire him from a distance. However in my town Santa rides around the entire town on top of a fire truck. He goes through every neighborhood sirens and all, the firemen will honk if you wave.

Our local FD does the same, even tosses candy to anyone standing by the road.

[smittykins]

1 hour ago, Palimpsest said:

I was thinking kick his balls ...

Fa lalalala, lalalala!

[doggie]

what I don't get is how does this idiot think this will bring people to god? these street preachers seem to love to shout how much god hate you and what you think and somehow that will bring people to god. Street preaching always reminds me of public masturbation it is done for self gratification then anything else. 

[DaisyD]

This cracked me up in the article 

Quote

Usually, Grisham and his wife carry large signs that quote scripture and let people know that God isn’t fond of whatever they happen to be doing.

To all these types I say, Matthew 6:5.

My sil never did Santa with her daughter. We just told her that her kid better not fuck it up for ours. I have no idea if the girl (10 yo) still believes or not. The boy (14) never said anything. He seemed to enjoy letting us enjoy it too. My kids get it. It's just as much fun for the parents.

[mango_fandango]

Thing is, God always seems to be angry with what we're doing. Or at least disappointed. It seems like those who follow God's Word to a T and live as He's told them to- skirts-only, be a SAHM, have eleventy kids and no birth control etc, are often people who say that they're sinners. I will never forget reading a post on the Maxwell blog about Thanksgiving where Anna said that she knew she deserved Hell. I don't want to live a life where I constantly feel I'm not good enough. 

I know fundies are only a small proportion of all Christians of course. But it just sounds like a miserable existence.

[BiblebeltCath]

This lovely fellow likes to spread Christianity by going visiting the kids in line to see Santa and screaming that Santa is not real. I'm sure his success rate is great.

He has a YouTube channel that I can't check out right now because I have kids who believe running around nearby.

http://morehits1037.cbslocal.com/2016/12/14/pastor-who-tells-kids-santa-is-not-real-plans-visit-to-dfw-malls-this-week/

[VooDooChild]

On 12/14/2016 at 4:27 PM, Granwych said:

Our local FD does the same, even tosses candy to anyone standing by the road.

Firemen and candy?!!  

[Audrey2]

While I do completely agree with freedom of speech and freedom of religion, I'm surprised Mall Security didn't take care of this pastor. Stores earn much of their income during the holiday season (not specifying Christmas because Hanukkah falls this time of year as well), so if people stop shopping for gifts (whether they tag them from Santa or themselves), it would devastate retail sales. 

 

I saw this clip from the pastor and thought of this, a clip from one of my favorite Christmas specials, Santa Clause is Coming to Town.

 

 

[Granwych]

20 hours ago, VooDooChild said:

Firemen and candy?!!  

I wish they'd do something like that in the summer, and wear tight jeans and go shirtless.  Then I wouldn't need any candy!!

[December]

On 12/14/2016 at 5:38 AM, mango_fandango said:

*rolls eyes*

What a miserable dick. The real reason for Christmas ISN'T Jesus's birth- Christians hijacked the Saturnalia. There is NO indication in the Bible as to what month Jesus was born in.

Yeah, it's incorrect from a historical perspective that "Jesus is the reason for the season." I don't get why some people find it sooooooo offensive that there are lots of reasons for the season, both within and outside of Christianity's many diverse denominations. More like, "the celebration of Jesus' birth (regardless of when it may have occurred) is one of numerous reasons that people will be celebrating in the month of December." But that's a mouthful to yell out when you're running around lecturing people just to be a fun-killing jerk like the guy in the article.

I don't plan on doing the whole Santa thing with future kids, at all. That said, I still plan to tell them to be respectful to other kids who do believe.

On 12/14/2016 at 8:07 AM, Terrie said:

Every time people start in one Jesus being "the reason for the season" I want to lecture them on the axial tilt of the Earth. The difference is that I recognize I'm being a sarcastic troll. 

Also, I'm guessing you're contemplating saying it to adults, not purposefully trolling little children. There's a big difference between challenging the worldview of a grown up, and just flat-out trying to make innocent kids cry.

[Audrey2]

I've had some time to think more on this topic, and I'm just getting more and more evil thoughts. Although I'd never do it, it makes me want to go to that new Noah's Ark museum with a megaphone and harass children, telling them that their parent's are lying to them. Science does exist. Geology exists, and the world is 4.5 billion years old, not 6,000. People and dinosaurs never coexisted. I'd even start quoting the scripture (2 Peter 3:8- I looked it up), "But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day." Therefore, it is a creation and Noah's ark story, but each day is not a literal twenty four hour period. It's time someone told them the truth.

 

Please know, I'd never do this. I just have fun entertaining dark or obnoxious thoughts some time. 

 

And, per my avatar, "The guy (preacher) sure looks like plant food to me. The guy sure looks like plant food to me. The guy sure looks like plant food to me."

[DaisyD]

I would totally troll Noah's Ark with you, or the Creation Museum! That's genius. (Okay, not really, but it IS fun to think about)

I'd settle for this shirt.