This didn’t come up in any searches of SEB – apologies if it’s been linked already…
Most Christians will, understandably, find this video “moving” and “inspiring.”
However, putting it mildly, “disturbing” doesn’t even come close to describing my gut reaction to this video. I feel like I’ve just been witness to child abuse.
I can’t help but believe that the kid(s) providing the audio are going to be seriously fucked up later in life.
Link from a comment on Ex-Christian.net
(x-post: MySpace blog)
Holy shit!
I was slowly falling asleep throughout the first part of the video. My eardrums were ruptured when the kid on the audio started screeching its lungs out, though. They should provide a warning for that kind of viewer abuse.
Oh, and I especially loved the image of the “Jesus or Hell: Your Choice” sign. Believe or burn! That’s Christian love, compassion, AND logic for you!
Nauseating.
Odd juxtaposition of praying kids and flag burners, without making any seeming reference- the soundtrack didn’t seem to differentiate. Am I to understand that burning the Stars and Stripes is as godly as cute kids praying?
Kids also believe in Santa Claus and imaginary friends. 😀
I call this video disturbing and disgusting. The True Believers obviously beg to differ.
LH, I think the message is that you first convert to Islam, then burn a few American flags, then convert back to Christianity and repent – makes “getting saved” so much more spectacular.
That was…horrifying. I threw up a little.
Agreed, the “Jesus or Hell: Your Choice” sign was pretty special. And I didn’t really understand the message the pictures were trying to send. “Picture of flags burning—>Picture of child praying! Picture of Jesus on cross—>Picture of candy!” What kind of emotional reaction are the pictures supposed to stir? I don’t know. I’m confused…and still horrified.
Well, the music was moving, at least.
I agree that many of the images made no sense in the context of being religious and becoming saved. Unless of course the point being made is that only heathens burn American flags.
No, they were probably included just to inspire righteous anger. It is a pro-religion piece, after all. Or at least that’s the way I perceived it.
It slays me how the True Believers say with a straight face that you can freely chose to go to heaven or hell. Worse, one of them said quite sincerely that the threat of hell helps us to freely make the right choice. It seems to me that this is a choice made under duress, indistinguishable from a protection racket. It’s pathetic that a religion proclaiming to hold The Truth resorts to scaring children.
That’s what it looked like. Them against Us.
It’s probably intended as one, but it works just as well as an anti-religious propaganda flick.
I think that was the point. Notice that this particular image came up right as the child started screaming on the audio. I think the point the video makers were trying to make was that our non-theocractic country has become so lost that citizens have no alternative but to burn the national symbol.
Ah, Sadie, I don’t think that was an American citizen burning the flag – as opposed to a Middle Eastern heathen. Two strikes against them – not saved and enemies of the nation.
Oh. I just assumed they were Americans. I could go back and view it more carefully, but that would quite obviously necessitate actually watching the video again. No thanks. I’ll take your word for it.
Yes, and that’s what is most weird about it. Almost like the creator was torn.
You’re not going to make a very good Freedom Citizen Sister if you can’t tell the difference. Maybe you can still save yourself: Can you sew prison uniforms?
No, but I can do wonders with hemp.
Plus the video quality was bad (on my laptop, anyway). The audio quality, unfortunately, was perfect.
The kid was shrieking for Jesus to… do whatever the hell it is he’s supposed to do… cleanse the sin and evil and all that baloney. The pictures were of the evil sinners; “evidence” that we need Jesus more than ever!
So, so creepy.
What’s even more creepy is the reviews.
I have to agree. Christianists certainly seem obsessed with negativity.
That gave me the complete heebie jeebies. There were an awful lot of pictures of crying children, taken completely out of context.
Ugh.
Ever since GM’s comment about dicks hanging out I got to thinking. There’s more to it than meets the eye.
For a meme to survive, it must replace or piggyback onto something. The language used on religious forums where outsiders do not post literally icks me out – it’s like observing a kinky sex act that you don’t want any part of. So perhaps Christians are bottoms and their deity is the ultimate top.
This video seems consistent with such a view.
Wow, that was pretty revulting. Next time I watch a linked video I am going to have to check for warnings. Geez even Tiger is upset—>
Revolting? I almost had to make a collect call to Ralph on the Big White Telephone…
I find it funny that the Christians can come up with many more reasons why Hell is bad than reasons why Heaven is good. If Heaven is populated by people who like this video, the difference between Heaven and Hell are superfluous from my perspective.
Seriously, no one has come up with a good reason why I might enjoy Heaven, and I’ve got plenty of reasons that tell me I will be at least uncomfortable there.
Christians believe they’re condemned to eternal existence and the only difference is whether one gets off a good or a rotten start. They like you to think that hell sucks, but how much perpetual bliss can you take? Eternallly shot up, sort of like? I maintain that no matter what, as long as you remain vaguely human, at some point simply existing will become an unbearable burden. And if you somehow get transformed into something that can take eternity, it not *you* in heaven or hell, is it?
I forgot who said it, but not existing will be as much of a bother the second time around as it was the first time.
I think the sad part is that they train these kids to see injustices, to which of course their going to have a strong emotional reaction; but instead of giving them any real method of making a difference, or even learning a thing or two about the world we live in, they’re made to pray to someone whom may or may not be there and doesn’t exactly have a history of helping out his followers.
Same here, my thought process went something like this: “Oookay… AHH! What the eff?”
Hey all. I’ve been coming here for a while now but haven’t posted anything till now.
I just wanted to point out that just when the kid in the video starts carrying on, there is a photo of a crying girl in a hat. This picture is from the movie “Titanic” during the sinking.
That screaming kid freaked me right out, at any moment I expected to hear that voice yelling out “LICK ME, LICK ME!”
I must be missing something or the sound changed. There was no screaming, only saccharine music.
Thanks for saying something, DOF. I thought I was the only one who didn’t hear the child screaming.
John, this entry was from OB, not me. I’ve not gotten up the motivation to check the link out yet.
I see that now.
Sorry OB.
Poor pagans…so stuck in their own conceit…so pissed that other people are happy knowing Jesus and that they have a burden for the lost…
Why does it make you so angry that these children are praying for your souls?
Paul talked about your being condemned by your own nature, but he wrote in Romans, chapter 8, “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.” I was the same as you, but now have freedom in Christ.
Why would you deny these children the same thing? Do you want them to join you in Hell? Jesus said, “save yourself from this untoward generation.” You would do well to heed His words.
Steve! You’ve caught on to us. We DO want these kids to join us in Hell. Bwa-Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha!
Or, we’re just annoyed that the church is working so hard to raise another generation of people who think irrationality is a virtue. World’s getting too dangerous for that.
It doesn’t make us angry per se. It just makes us want to puke!
Oh I know cause heaven for bid we all go to a make believe magical place if we don’t believe in your make believe magical fairy tail.
Steve writes…
I’m not angry, but I do feel pity for those poor kids being indoctrinated with mythology and thinking that they’re actually helping others with it.
How do you it is all a “fairy tail”(sic)? What proof do you have of that? You have alot to say about others believing fairy tales, but what is to say that your version of the afterlife (or none if you choose to believe that) is the one?
I am assuming here, but your religious views tell you that those that do not believe what you do are wrong correct? And are going to hell.
If this is the case, then theoretically, a man or woman that lives their life in the mountains disconnected from the civilized world, and has never heard of the bible and your religion would go to hell. Even if he/she is a great person, has raised his/her children well, and has never cheated on the significant other and lead a wonderful life. This person could even be a teacher at a school and have done wonderful things with kids and their learning. Yet because of his lack of knowledge of your religion he is sent to the fiery pits of hell. This has never made much sense to me. This does not seem like a deity to which I would want to worship and pray to.
How do I know it is a fairy tail? I don’t. I also can’t answer the question of how the world was created. Do I believe in a god or a creator? Well I am still working on that one. But due to many reason including the above one, I choose not to be a part of your belief structure. And I would never force anything of the such upon my children or anyone else’s children. It is their job as a human to form their own beliefs. Not my job or yours to force feed it to them.
Poor Christians…so stuck in their own conceit…so pissed that other people are happy without such delusions of “salvation.”
I assume you’re asking how do we know it is all a fairy tale? Well, how do you know it all isn’t? I do not know beyond a shadow of all reasonable doubt that it’s all just a fairy tale, but I do have a pretty good idea about when I’m being spun a fanciful yarn and when I’m not.
Who says that anyone is force feeding anyone? That’s a pretty grand presumption based not on evidence, but on your prejudice.
The bible is actually more nuanced than you give credit. However, what you are required by God to seek Him for yourself. Using this mythical man in the mountains is an excuse to avoid the truth of God.
Read all the comments from you and your fellow pagans…sound like a bunch of happy people…sure.
Because the Bible testifies of itself that it is truth and tells the truth of God….that you dismiss those facts don’t make them any less true…and God will hold you responsible for them at the White Throne Judgment. See Revelation 20:11-12 “11 And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. 12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.”
You mean statements not facts. Just because thousands of people accept it as fact, doesn’t make it a fact.
Right your supposed to seek him out and convert him, because his thoughts are wrong and yours are right. Yea that makes a lot of sense…
I don’t use my example as an excuse to avoid the truth of God, because there is no truth of God. The best case any scholar can make about the bible is that it is a historical account. But due to REAL SCIENCE, the fallacy of the bible can easily be shown.
Here’s one for the PAGANS!!
Awww, c’mon. Even you can’t find that a reasonable argument: It is true because it says it’s true.
I only just watched the video now—and I think it is just sad. At the beginning, it was all kinda cutesy in the way that I find kids who believe in Santa cute—innocent an adorable.
But when that kid started screaming, it just crossed every moral and psychological boundry that I know of—there’s a world of therapy ahead of that kid.
I can’t speak for the others, but I have few complaints about my life.
Ah, yes, the fundie’s favorite circular argument. You’ve got to try harder than that. I’ve read the Bible more than once, and there’s little in it that speaks of factual truth.
Bullshit. Children (mostly) have no choice but to follow what their parents believe.
If the parents ‘strongly believe’ they WILL force their children to also, you guessed it, strongly believe.
You’re another stoopid, Stevo, cos you actually believe
and you don’t see anything wrong with that silly argument.
It’s not too dissimilar to your believing the USA is the best country in the world cos most people living there say it is.
Or, Toyota saying they make the best vehicles in the world cos they say they do.
The Omnimax god you believe in has the power to say to me: John, I exist.
I’m still waiting.
Steve you’re the one making claims about an invisible god, and invisible heaven, and an afterlife for which there is no proof, based on a book that is true because it says it is true.
In short, you’re the one making extraordinary claims, which requires extraordinary evidence.
We’re claiming that when you die, you rot. By all the hard evidence available to us, that appears to be the case. People saying it is otherwise with no solid proof is only hard evidence that people believe lots of stuff for which there is no solid proof.
No, I don’t. I remember from geometry that a proof was only a proof if each of the statements in the proof were true. In fact, that is how I measure the truth of the Bible: that every word backs up every other word.
You know what I find interesting? I find it interesting that everyone here is accusing me of being unenlightened, uncritical thinking, etc, when the truth of the matter is that if there were any place more packed with unexamined dross than this thread, you’d be hard pressed to find it. I mean look at this drivel:
Good grief…major in overwrought prose at the university, did we?
Or, conversely, because I don’t believe like you?
But it is your job to tell other what they ought not to tell their kids? BTW, haven’t you ever told your kids anything concerning what they ought to believe? Sure, you have. You’ve poisoned them against any independent examination of God and (pun intended) God help them if they were to come home with a Bible, right?
Les, can we get another God-shouter in here? This one is recycling all the usual (and boring) arguments.
The quality of the God-shouters at this site has been consistently low. Or maybe it isn’t just at this site.
Steve, still waiting for that extraordinary evidence. Otherwise, it’s just recycled crap.