Pint-Sized Preachers

GeneV · 08-17-2011, 02:16 PM

Originally posted by seacapt

A couple things came to mind, first how can a preacher relate to his congregation with no real life experience? These kids will never gain real life experience on the road their parents have put them.
Secondly I'm no Bible banger but I do seem to remember the story of Jesus teaching in the temple at a very young age and being told it wasn't his time yet.

The story told in Luke was just that he was in the temple listening to the teachers there, and asking very good questions. He was not preaching.

magkelly · 08-17-2011, 02:44 PM

Personally when it comes to fire and brimstone preachers and their churches I think it's all just one big stage show and should be treated accordingly. I've actually enjoyed watching it. It's major theater and can be amusing if it's done right, but none of these people could ever convince me to buy a car let alone anything else. The tidy hair, the white teeth, the music, the rhetoric, it reminds me of watching Liberace with my grandma when I was little, only Lee Liberace at least knew how to laugh at himself and enjoyed all the fluff and sequins for what it actually was, a parody of himself, a calculated, cynical display of an old style razzle dazzle routine.

People like Benny Hinn totally crack me up watching them actually, but then I do have a rather irreverent sense of humor and I find a lot of things funny that most people probably wouldn't. I just can't take all that too seriously though. Anybody who makes a truly cushy living telling people they're born in sin, need a savior, et all isn't actually following that Jewish rabbi they're supposedly so fond of in my book. Me, I just can't see "Jesus" approving of the mega-preachers their jewels, their mansions, and their luxury cars. It kind of defeats the point he was making back in his day all that stacking up of all those "earthly treasures" that they do. I don't know about you, but I know hypocrisy when I see it and I'm not inclined towards denying it.

MRRiley · 08-17-2011, 03:04 PM

Mag,

The problem with these kinds of things is that the gullible don't treat it as or think of it as a stage show. Nor do they, to reference your earlier post in this thread, consider it a performance. Some people are truly convinced that people like this kid have a direct line to their god. Just look at the faces of the people in the videos, especially the children. They really really believe this stuff.

As for me, I am intellectually honest enough with myself to realize that I don't know one way or the other whether there is or is not a god or gods. Technically that makes me an agnostic.

I do agree that the Jesus described in the New Testament, is unlikely to sanction the lifestyles of mega-preachers in their $1000 suits, their mercedes' and mansions with pools and tennis courts. Their hypocrisy "stinks to high heaven" to borrow a bit of religious dogerral.

You Tube

sorta funny this was done by a band called "Genesis." LOL

magkelly · 08-17-2011, 08:57 PM

Oh I do realize that. I'm living in the Bible Belt, shrug. I'm a bit eccentric I grant you. I tend to see things as comical that most people don't. I've had my share of encounters with the true believers over the years. I live maybe a mile from one of my area's biggest mega-churches. They're on TV all the time. I can't quite stomach sometimes what my neighbors are believing, but whatever.

The parking lot is full, but so long as they don't try to convert me I don't really mind what they do. I definitely have to hide the giggles sometimes when I see them evangelizing in front of the grocery stores though. It is an awful lot like watching Liberace, only they totally lack any awareness of the fact that they are putting on a show. They take it all so seriously, but it's all just so weird, like an All-American version of Monty Python.

It's not just the Christian folks though these days to be fair. The antics and rhetoric of the people that run my local Wiccan coven that's just as funny to me sometimes. Truly religious people are interesting souls to watch, but the more I watch them, the more I realize I am just not meant to join them...

I'm not agnostic, but that's about as far as I will go on that count. What most religious groups tend to believe is just too restricting to me. I don't need a guru or a church to do my thing....

Last edited by magkelly; 08-17-2011 at 09:08 PM.

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08-17-2011, 02:16 PM	#16
GeneV Veteran Member Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Albuquerque NM Photos: Albums Posts: 9,830	Originally posted by seacapt A couple things came to mind, first how can a preacher relate to his congregation with no real life experience? These kids will never gain real life experience on the road their parents have put them. Secondly I'm no Bible banger but I do seem to remember the story of Jesus teaching in the temple at a very young age and being told it wasn't his time yet. The story told in Luke was just that he was in the temple listening to the teachers there, and asking very good questions. He was not preaching.

08-17-2011, 02:44 PM	#17
magkelly Veteran Member Join Date: May 2010 Photos: Gallery Posts: 5,901	Personally when it comes to fire and brimstone preachers and their churches I think it's all just one big stage show and should be treated accordingly. I've actually enjoyed watching it. It's major theater and can be amusing if it's done right, but none of these people could ever convince me to buy a car let alone anything else. The tidy hair, the white teeth, the music, the rhetoric, it reminds me of watching Liberace with my grandma when I was little, only Lee Liberace at least knew how to laugh at himself and enjoyed all the fluff and sequins for what it actually was, a parody of himself, a calculated, cynical display of an old style razzle dazzle routine. People like Benny Hinn totally crack me up watching them actually, but then I do have a rather irreverent sense of humor and I find a lot of things funny that most people probably wouldn't. I just can't take all that too seriously though. Anybody who makes a truly cushy living telling people they're born in sin, need a savior, et all isn't actually following that Jewish rabbi they're supposedly so fond of in my book. Me, I just can't see "Jesus" approving of the mega-preachers their jewels, their mansions, and their luxury cars. It kind of defeats the point he was making back in his day all that stacking up of all those "earthly treasures" that they do. I don't know about you, but I know hypocrisy when I see it and I'm not inclined towards denying it.

08-17-2011, 08:57 PM	#19
magkelly Veteran Member Join Date: May 2010 Photos: Gallery Posts: 5,901	Oh I do realize that. I'm living in the Bible Belt, shrug. I'm a bit eccentric I grant you. I tend to see things as comical that most people don't. I've had my share of encounters with the true believers over the years. I live maybe a mile from one of my area's biggest mega-churches. They're on TV all the time. I can't quite stomach sometimes what my neighbors are believing, but whatever. The parking lot is full, but so long as they don't try to convert me I don't really mind what they do. I definitely have to hide the giggles sometimes when I see them evangelizing in front of the grocery stores though. It is an awful lot like watching Liberace, only they totally lack any awareness of the fact that they are putting on a show. They take it all so seriously, but it's all just so weird, like an All-American version of Monty Python. It's not just the Christian folks though these days to be fair. The antics and rhetoric of the people that run my local Wiccan coven that's just as funny to me sometimes. Truly religious people are interesting souls to watch, but the more I watch them, the more I realize I am just not meant to join them... I'm not agnostic, but that's about as far as I will go on that count. What most religious groups tend to believe is just too restricting to me. I don't need a guru or a church to do my thing.... Last edited by magkelly; 08-17-2011 at 09:08 PM.