Noticed an increase in the number of sandwich board style street preachers outside the college and library.
They like telling us how the Bible should be the only book a person will ever need. I am tempted to ask one if there is a patron saint of calculus. Everything which is not part of their ideology but still exists causes these people to become uncomfortable enough they feel a need to rant and rave in public spaces about how everybody is a sinner and how there are all these debauched depravities they project onto us from their imaginations (uh, a good chunk of people go to colleges to learn and teach things... these guys maybe need to watch a bit less TV).
It is perhaps ironic that the only people who seem to really give a damn about things also come across as stark raving nuts.
The Bible itself has something to say about public preaching.
Matthew 6:1-7 (21st Century King James version):
1 "Take heed that ye do not your almsgiving before men, to be seen by them; otherwise ye have no reward from your Father who is in Heaven.
2 Therefore when thou givest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, they have their reward.
3 But when thou givest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth,
4 that thine almsgiving may be in secret; and thy Father who seeth in secret, Himself shall reward thee openly.
5 And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Verily I say unto you, they have their reward.
6 But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father who is in secret; and thy Father who seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.
7 But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions as the heathen do, for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking."
I'm going to interpret this passage as saying that if you are praying to try to materialistically show off how religious you are to other mortal people then this is probably doing it for the wrong reasons. I believe it to be saying one should strive to be humble and try to keep it between you and God. It also might be suggesting that it is the quality of spirituality and not the quantity of religiousity that should make up a person's faith?
Then in Matthew 6:8 it goes a bit further by saying:
"Be not ye therefore like unto them, for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of before ye ask Him."
See? The Bible itself is saying you don't need to show off to other people what it is you are praying about because God already knows and He isn't particularly impressed by that. Or at least that's how I'm choosing to interpret it.
13 comments:
I'd go so far as to say that people walking around preaching on the streets are the biggest social failures in town. And I don't mean people who are a bit awkward, or lonely, I mean literal failures. (Not people who failed to jump into the game, people who lost it) And this is not because they are walking around preaching, this is because who walks around and preaches? You or I know better than to do this. The CEO of Adobe systems? He or she knows better and has things to do. College professors? They get accused of being cranks enough as it is that they probably try hard to avoid associating with cranks.
Given that these people don't know any better, and obviously don't have anything better to do, wouldn't you conclude that they are social failures?
Yes except for they've a habit to do it in groups. There's more respectful clergy who try to help the poor...
Social failure isn't made less so because it's in a group though. People helping the poor I have no problems with. People shouting at strangers about god belong in the booney lin.
In the Bible we have Matthew saying God doesn't like it Himself either. Hmm...
Rule 1 of being a nutcase: You know that document you are going around proclaiming is so important? Be it the Bible, the constitution, the communist manifesto, the dictionary, a calculus textbook, or an article about physics... Pick and choose which parts benefit you, and ignore the rest...
I've yet to be yelled at about a calculus textbook, no wait, my father. I rest my case. Nevermind... I take that back. Okay, I've never been yelled at about how I've just won a million dollars. There we go.
Cherry-picking that all-too-modern malady of poor reasoning...
Yeah, basically God doesn't want His people showing off their faith like the Pharisees did.
I'm going to have to ask you which ones the Pharisees were; I'm a bit rusty at this. Also, yeah I know about that guy. I don't know her but every once in awhile he yells at everybody that we're all going to Hell and how Judgment Day is coming soon and how everybody is some sort of a gay, adulturing, murderous and debauched hedonist that also abuses recreational drugs. He goes around downtown and tends to preach fire and brimstone kind of sermons.
Here ya go: http://www.keyway.ca/htm2002/pharisee.htm
Thanks muchly.
Only once in my life have I ever seen something like that. Some crazy dude was yelling about how we're all going to hell or something in the effing subway car and when it stopped at a station he moved to the next car. Weirdest thing I've ever seen, make me laugh my head-off really but you say that this is a common occurence in the US of A? wow....
Not super common but common enough. These kind of nutters get more facetime than they probably should in the media and stuff because sensationalism (such as in the form of extremists)sells papers or makes people want to tune in I suppose? Just a pet theory. That's but one side of it though and probably deftly dodges the whole dissection of socioeconomic and cultural reasons these sort of crazies might or might not be in a bumper crop.
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