theoscholar

Chances are, this Baptist thinks that Baptists don't do those sorts of things. But "Baptist" is just a label. Anyone can sign up and be a Baptist.

If someone makes a genuine decision to follow the tenets of Jesus Christ, however, obviously they will turn away from things they might consider sin.

Then again, I don't equate the consumption of liquor with pornography at all, so sometimes it depends on the individual. The saints drank wine in the Bible and sometimes had too much.

What's wrong with gambling?

It sounds to me like a typical fundie who doesn't think for herself. (Sorry if you are offended that I assume it's a woman. In my experience, they are deceived more often.)

Godless Wonder

Either you're missing a comma, or perhaps you meant that the only reason churchgoers consider gambling and sex to be problems is because they insist on going to church drunk? (sorry, couldn't resist.)

Fr8monkey

I doubt quite a few Catholic alter boys would feel that way.

HaysooChreesto!

:notworthy

That could have come straight from PJ O'Rourke.

Mageth

How do you keep a Baptist from drinking all the beer at a party?

Invite another Baptist.

Deacon Doubtmonger

Gotta wonder then about the hypocrisy of god-snot being invoked in any speech by a governor of a state that allows lotteries ... :banghead: Is anything known as to whether lottery income ever goes to faith-based organizations?

capsaicin67

I run into people daily that fervently believe that there is a direct correlation between religion and values. Despite common, shared, experiences with evidence to the contrary.

The sex issue is especially strange. I not only run into people that believe that porn is abhorrent, but that also actually believe that "masturbation is disgusting" or somehow evidence of a flaw or reason for shame...? Huh?! That is so far from common sense and clear-thinking that I have little hope for any sort of reason-able discussion about pornography. Scary AND scary.

As for religion, well, some folks attribute it to their improved behavior and/or reform. One of the devout Catholic wome that I know basically says that if she gave up religion she would see absolutely no other reason for ethical behavior! She cannot imagine what motivates me to try and mostly do "right" in the absence of superstition and imaginary incentives. She told me that if she had to give up god she would abandon her bratty children and allow all her impulses to run unchecked! >backed up very, very slowly keeping her in sight at all times......< Her basic case was that she had absloutely no impulse control or ethical ambition outside of supernatural ones. I don't know how common this is, but it was pretty shocking to hear someone basically say that.

I have seen a lot of folks that basically have a benign live and let live version of religion. Don't feel comfortable thinking too deeply about philosophical stuff, are happy to cherry pick at the church or in the religion of their choice. Won't do much boatrocking.

I have also seen quite a few that use religion as camoflage for fleecing the flock. Churches are prime attractants of vulnerable people just waiting to be suckered by by faux morality. Prime hunting grounds for predators.

I'd say that there are a lot of closet hypocrites caused by religion, there are a few that find that it gives them sopme structure for giving things up that cause them harm, and alarge number of folks tormented by ridiculous notions of black and white unrealistic, unnatural sets of rules that cause profound and somewhat avoidable unhappiness and internal and external conflict. There are many that foist their judgementality, under the guise of righteousness, on the vulnerable to leverage them and manipulate them in the social as well as private sphere, also.

On the blance, I find more wrong than right. I belive that any good that religion prompts could be arrived at better by other means. But it is the opiate at worst, and the methadone at next best, for many of the masses. Not sure you can get away from superstition any more than you can alcohol and drugs-----some just crave some aspect of it "irrationally", some are dealers, some know when to say "when" and can and do.

Reminds me of the Homer Simpson proverb regarding beer, "......the cause of, and solution to, all of life's problems!"

Ice

Reminds me of Hamburg and its seeming preponderance of churches near the 'places of sin'.

Lanakila

As a fundy I believed I had power not to sin, and that included, getting drunk, watching porn, gambling, cursing, ect. I didn't do those things for along time 18 years. But now I know that I owe the ability to refrain from these things to my own willpower, and desire to please the God I was serving, and fit into the club I was in. Priests and Nuns remain celebate for years and years (not all I admit), and I believe this is do to a strong willpower and desire to please that same God, and be considered special by the Catholic club. As a ministers wife I was not only expected to not do the outward obvious things mentioned, I was also supposed to always be sweet, and my kids were supposed to be the best behaved in the church. There is alot of pressure to maintain a "good testimony" by never getting angry publically, keeping our finances in good order because God was providing and we needed to be good stewards, plus always being ready to witness for Christianity. The lifestyle of the average fundy that is trying to "live right" isn't very fun in reality, if you get to know them. They are made to feel guilty about just about everything. We constantly compared ourselves to others, and were pretty good, but compared to a perfect God that gives you power to be perfect too, I was always woefully short.

I really feel sorry for fundys, cause I was one so long.

brighid

So, if this is a Christian country, founded on Christian values and the vast majority of people are Christian, why do we have so many liquor stores, porn shops, etc?

Not to long ago that guy from Virgina who won that huge lotto donated a bunch of money to his Church and talked about God and yadda, yadda, yadda and was later robbed of $500,000 in a strip club he frequents. Looks like he was making large donations to some local strippers!

I also find that rural areas, most deeply steeped in religion, most often have the most porn shops and bars.

Brighid