You have probably never seen an army missile used in a church service or a pastor dressed in fatigues, but that is exactly what you'll find Sundays at New Born Fellowship Christian Center in Rochester, where church leaders have decided to conduct a new program called Spiritual Warfare.
Our military is already a little too 'Onward Christian Soldiers' for my tastes as it is. The Airforce Academy had some trouble with spouting off Bible teachings and every time BushCo thanks GOD(tm) for the strength to carry on this insane war I winge almost as much as I do when we ask for his almighty help in glorious victory against Wassamatta U in the big game this Friday.
I know that these people are just trying to shake things up a bit. It's theme Sunday and that always helps boost attendance. But they seem to be missing the point. The job of the military is to (in theory)defend our country. And to do that, they kill people. They don't do it through prayer or through calm negotiations. Warfare is not not a noble venture. It is a bloody, chaotic and ugly thing. In war, unspeakable attrocities are commited by both sides. The innocent suffer.
To the good people of this church; I recommend that you think of some other theme. Something with less horrific connotations. Maybe 'Battle Royal' or 'Holy Crusade'. Hmmm No, those don;t quite work do they. How about just wearing funny hats. God has a sense of humor. I'm sure he'd dig funny hats.
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2 comments:
As a sceptical athiest myself, I find the shenanigans of the willfully ignorant to often be disturbingly amusing. Occasionally, news like this will rivit my attention in much the same way that some folks can't help but gawk at a train wreck. This ranks right up there with finding out that my zealous neighbors brought a scourge and crown of thorns home from their church for their kids to "play" with. I want to ask "What are you people thinking?!" but feel that "When will you start?..." is closer to the mark.
As for athiests in foxholes, check out http://www.atheistfoxholes.org/ for info about an athiest Veteran's day parade in Washington.
-grim
As a sceptical athiest myself, I find the shenanigans of the willfully ignorant to often be disturbingly amusing. Occasionally, news like this will rivit my attention in much the same way that some folks can't help but gawk at a train wreck. This ranks right up there with finding out that my zealous neighbors brought a scourge and crown of thorns home from their church for their kids to "play" with. I want to ask "What are you people thinking?!" but feel that "When will you start?..." is closer to the mark.
As for athiests in foxholes, check out http://www.atheistfoxholes.org/ for info about an athiest Veteran's day parade in Washington.
-grim
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