Consider the history of martyrdom. How the Bible is read to tell people to rejoice in being persecuted, reviled and hated. It can give the idea that being outspoken and completely transparent about yourself and your faith is the way to go. As it is, it's not really clear when discretion would be applied.
Martyrdom is for when you are truly under the boot, like the Christians of the 1st and 2nd century. Amusingly the problem of people "pursuing martyrdom" became a problem the moment Christianity was decriminalized in the Roman Empire. It took effort by various Patriarchs to tell people "Cut that shit out, if they're not trying to feed you to lions, don't volunteer." Seems we're doing the same thing in reverse now.
That was actually 8chan, a site that "became to be known for racism and child pornography." Still that image is the best response to modern Christianity I've ever read.
Even spouting that horseshit is ridiculous. 8chan is as much "known for child pornography" as any other website with low moderation that the left has chosen to target. It was literally spawned from the censorship conducted against the users of 4chan during the gamergate scandal.
It was where the more serious userbase went to until it was destroyed, and huge swathes of us are still around.
Don't spew the enemy's propaganda about a site that should be remembered with pride.
I always called those "Hippy Churches." Churches that will say anything -- and condemn nothing -- to attract as many sinners as possible. They acknowledge the existence of sin, but they wont' tell anyone "hey you: you're sinning!" So they get these people in the door, and they make them feel good about themselves, but they don't help them get any closer to God.
It's the same problem with the Republican party, where they would rather "lose with dignity" than win by any means necessary. Sure, you can look like the bigger man while losing, but a loss is a loss no matter what. Eventually, those losses are going to pile up, and you can't fight a war in which you always lose your battles.
Imagine if your country refused to adapt to modern warfare, insisted on riding in to battle on horseback, and then cried "no fair" when they got cut to pieces by a belt fed machine gun.
This is the problem with modern Christians and the Republican party. They're too soft. They fear the reaction to their self defense more than the violence they already receive. The burglar isn't sitting outside your house, he's already inside, about to stab your wife and steal her jewelry. The time for meek pacifism is long gone, and being a cowardly nice guy is only going to make the suffering last longer.
Consider the history of martyrdom. How the Bible is read to tell people to rejoice in being persecuted, reviled and hated. It can give the idea that being outspoken and completely transparent about yourself and your faith is the way to go. As it is, it's not really clear when discretion would be applied.
Martyrdom is for when you are truly under the boot, like the Christians of the 1st and 2nd century. Amusingly the problem of people "pursuing martyrdom" became a problem the moment Christianity was decriminalized in the Roman Empire. It took effort by various Patriarchs to tell people "Cut that shit out, if they're not trying to feed you to lions, don't volunteer." Seems we're doing the same thing in reverse now.
Obligatory Nice Jesus
That's a great series of posts. Makes me miss the old 4chan. The new one is too... nice.
That was actually 8chan, a site that "became to be known for racism and child pornography." Still that image is the best response to modern Christianity I've ever read.
Even spouting that horseshit is ridiculous. 8chan is as much "known for child pornography" as any other website with low moderation that the left has chosen to target. It was literally spawned from the censorship conducted against the users of 4chan during the gamergate scandal.
It was where the more serious userbase went to until it was destroyed, and huge swathes of us are still around.
Don't spew the enemy's propaganda about a site that should be remembered with pride.
And yeah that post was quite good.
I always called those "Hippy Churches." Churches that will say anything -- and condemn nothing -- to attract as many sinners as possible. They acknowledge the existence of sin, but they wont' tell anyone "hey you: you're sinning!" So they get these people in the door, and they make them feel good about themselves, but they don't help them get any closer to God.
It's the same problem with the Republican party, where they would rather "lose with dignity" than win by any means necessary. Sure, you can look like the bigger man while losing, but a loss is a loss no matter what. Eventually, those losses are going to pile up, and you can't fight a war in which you always lose your battles.
Imagine if your country refused to adapt to modern warfare, insisted on riding in to battle on horseback, and then cried "no fair" when they got cut to pieces by a belt fed machine gun.
This is the problem with modern Christians and the Republican party. They're too soft. They fear the reaction to their self defense more than the violence they already receive. The burglar isn't sitting outside your house, he's already inside, about to stab your wife and steal her jewelry. The time for meek pacifism is long gone, and being a cowardly nice guy is only going to make the suffering last longer.
It depends on the individual and the individual circumstances. There can't be a single edict for all: each person makes each case brand new.
As a somewhat general rule: if you have family that depends on you, they come before world-changing martyrdom. If you're alone, go for it.
Innocent as doves, shrewd as vipers.