From: David.Rice@ofa123.fidonet.org
Newsgroups: sci.skeptic
Subject: One True Christian
X-Sender: newtout 0.02 Nov 17 1992
Date: 19 Nov 92  16:23:58

Pri: carl@SOL1.GPS.CALTECH.EDU (Carl J Lydick)
ID: 1e0q8iINNl8q@gap.caltech.edu
And: roelle@uars_mag.jhuapl.edu (Curtis Roelle)
 
CR> "The guarantee of religious freedom in this country provides
CR> an umbrella for a profusion of beliefs and motivations.
CR> 'Policing' would undermine this freedom."
 
Curtis didn't read the article he is replying to.
 
CJL> "Please note, I said 'self-policing.'  Perhaps you don't
CJL> know what that term means.  It means that an organization
CJL> with whom a person is affiliated makes that affiliation
CJL> conditional upon behavior of the individual.  E.g., if a
CJL> televangelist is affiliated with a particular church, and
CJL> behaves in a way inconsistent with the policies of that
CJL> church, it's incumbent upon that church (not the government,
CJL> which is what the guarantee of religious freedom is all
CJL> about) to sever the association with the individual.  This
CJL> in no way infringes religious freedom.
CJL> 
CJL> Now, when a televangelist gets in a particularly nasty
CJL> scandal (i.e., when he becomes a big enough inconvenience
CJL> to the church with which he's affiliated), various churches
CJL> HAVE been known to remove such an individual from the ministry.
CJL> Since they haven't done that with most televangelists, we
CJL> must conclude that they do not find the behavior of such
CJL> televangelists against their policies.
CJL> 
CJL> Of course, a televangelist, if removed by his church from the
CJL> ministry, is free to create his own church.
 
Carl, I heard a rumor that an evangalist's following INCREASES
after a major scandal shows him sleeping with whores, buying
pornography, and other, er, ah, Godly behavior. This shows the
sheeple (sheep people) that their Man Of God is also failable
and human, so the sheeple can identify with him better. All he
need do is "Repent and prostrate himself before the lord" on
TV in front of half-a-million people, throw in some crocidile
tears, and he's back in business.
 
CR> Ordination is not like accreditaton practiced by colleges and
CR> Universities (i.e. a standard).  The Baptists ordain their
CR> ministers, the Methodists do theirs, the Catholics their
CR> Priests, etc.  Personally I have never given T.V. evangelists
CR> much thought because IMO they are obviously wacky. Guess I
CR> overlooked the fact that there were people like you who take
CR> them so seriously :-).
 
CJL> They purport to represent the churches with which they're
CJL> affiliated.  If the churches don't publicly disagree with
CJL> those claims, we must assume that they DO indeed represent
CJL> those churches.  As I said, self-policing is a must.
 
[cut, which included the excellent HYPOCRITE banner]
 
Some cults self-police very well, such as Judism and Wicca. Others
are afraid to speak against a fellow ministry because their own
ministry could be next! (See "Don't call me Brother.")
 
The Assemblies of God Reverand Jim Jones was a FINE upstanding,
God-fearing, family man of God. Right up to the point where a
few of his sheeple poisioned themselves on his orders (the others
he and his co-Men-Of-God shot in the head). If he had been able
to hide the murders, Christians would STILL be sending him their
money and saying how pious and Godly he was. (IMNSHO)
 
CJL> I call them as I see them.  When one Christian says "But
CJL> those aren't real Christians," yet does nothing to prevent
CJL> them from claiming the authority of the church, that's
CJL> pretty undeniably hypocrisy, don't you think?
 
One of the LA Class Uprising rioters, who tried to kill Reginold
Denny, went to Church in riot-stolen clothes--- he was caught
bragging in church about stealing, and he "confessed" to his
mother about slamming a toilet (or sink) on Denny's head (which
he was also proud of). . . . there are millions of such people,
and their religion (Christianity) hasn't prevented them from
rape, murder, plunder, butchery, sodomy, molestation, theft,
terrorism, extortion.
 
CJL> Carl J Lydick | INTERnet: CARL@SOL1.GPS.CALTECH.EDU |
CJL> NSI/HEPnet: SOL1::CARL

--- Maximus 2.00