Christians give online threats to High School girl

heymikey80 said:

I'd disagree, but only partly.

To me the corruption of cultural preferentialism, of "everybody's special", has affected modern theology. I think it's not unusual to find Christians who act this way because it's not unusual to find Christians assimilating with cultural outrage and preferentialism.

Trained this way, Christians behave much like the culture behaves.

Click to expand...

That doesn't sound right. Christians make up the majority of our culture. To blame the culture for the way Christians act could also be backwards. In the very least, Christians are just as much responsible for the culture as anyone else.

Sociologically speaking, Christians are the majority, in a culture that embraces exceptionalism. A few sociologists and social psychologists have been tossing around the concept of a cultural superiority complex. One of the symptoms of a superiority complex is an unspoken belief that the rules that apply to others do not apply to me, or that all will be forgiven because I'm too important to be punished harshly. Another is that other people have a responsibility to me, but I have no responsibility to them.

America is the most powerful nation on Earth. Americans perceive themselves as exceptioinal. Christians perceive adherents of other religions as beneath them, or inferior to them. This puts our cultural Christians not simply at the top of the pecking order, but at the top of the pecking order worldwide. Throw all this into a blender and puree, and it is not inconceivable that these continued acts of aggression and violence toward other religions is the result of this superiority complex.

By the way, I note that you still have not answered my question: Are atheists about as trustworthy as rapists?

JGG said:

You're suggesting Jesus would not have threatened violence toward a teenage girl?! Shocking, the things I learn on here.

Click to expand...

Well Jesus wouldn't; Jeezus would though.

http://www.thepaincomics.com/Jesus vs. Jeezus.jpg

It's too bad that so many Christians worship Jeezus instead of Jesus.

JGG said:

That doesn't sound right. Christians make up the majority of our culture. To blame the culture for the way Christians act could also be backwards. In the very least, Christians are just as much responsible for the culture as anyone else.

Click to expand...

"Christian" in American cultural context does not appear to reflect any particular belief, and is simply the heritage of generations of traditional history passed on.

As you probably realize, Christian principles are not followed by the indoctrinating aspects of American culture. At all. This thread is evidence to that fact. So also is the information passing over television as entertainment. Those two elements -- education and television-watching -- constitute a majority of nonsleep time for people being raised in this culture. Add in communication among peers, not with authority figures, and the result is a virtual exclusion of any other legacy contribution from this culture.

I think that presumption that this culture is more than shallowly, nominally Christian can be safely discarded as untrue, and having been untrue for a large segment of this generation.

JGG said:

Sociologically speaking, Christians are the majority, in a culture that embraces exceptionalism.

Click to expand...

See above.

Autumnleaf said:

Kids are talking trash on the internet? Call Guiness. This is a first. I think you identified a world record.

Click to expand...

Read again and notice that a good number of them are adults. Reading fail.

Incariol said:

Read again and notice that a good number of them are adults. Reading fail.

Click to expand...

Oh, adults were talking trash online? What are you all worked up over then? That happens all the time.

Autumnleaf said:

Oh, adults were talking trash online? What are you all worked up over then? That happens all the time.

Click to expand...

Are you trying to be funny or something? People get upset over stuff like this because it is illegal.

I realize many Christians couldn't care less about things like how Jesus lived and the law, but not all of us are like that. Some of us see adults calling for the beating and killing of a young girl and grow upset.

heymikey80 said:

"Christian" in American cultural context does not appear to reflect any particular belief, and is simply the heritage of generations of traditional history passed on.

As you probably realize, Christian principles are not followed by the indoctrinating aspects of American culture. At all. This thread is evidence to that fact. So also is the information passing over television as entertainment. Those two elements -- education and television-watching -- constitute a majority of nonsleep time for people being raised in this culture. Add in communication among peers, not with authority figures, and the result is a virtual exclusion of any other legacy contribution from this culture.

I think that presumption that this culture is more than shallowly, nominally Christian can be safely discarded as untrue, and having been untrue for a large segment of this generation.

Click to expand...

So aren't you then saying that those Christians who are effected by/contributed in a major way to this culture were only really nominally Christian to begin with? I don't know what percentages you would put "churchianity" (as others have put it), compared to Christianity, but it's reasonable to assume that that makes up a significant factor in terms of where the American culture comes from. Certainly as much as anyone else.

It's not as though we can really blame the culture for why these people fail. Culture isn't something that attacks us from the outside, we make it for ourselves. "Those Christians" contributed to it as much as anyone else. Presumably "Your Kind of Christian" contributed something to it as well. Perhaps they were simply too small in number to factor in enough.

Self Improvement said:

Adults trash talking a 16 year old with death threats and violence and posting her address online? Sounds like something to worry about.

Click to expand...

It's something to worry about when it's kids doing it, too!! Those kids will grow up to be adults, and most of them will continue behaving the same way. This kind of behavior should not be allowed---period!!

mmksparbud said:

It's something to worry about when it's kids doing it, too!! Those kids will grow up to be adults, and most of them will continue behaving the same way. This kind of behavior should not be allowed---period!!

Click to expand...

^^This.

Supreme said:

Christianity may have come a long way from the pacifists that were fed to lions without resistance at the beginning, but we still have the example of Jesus to venerate and aspire to. Jesus simply would not have threatened this girl. He would have forgiven her and brushed it over a silly thing to get angry over in the first place.

Click to expand...

Actually, given what Jesus Himself taught concerning public prayer, He likely would have commended her. He taught that prayer should be conducted privately, in secret.

As for outlawing prayer, people seem to forget that this is impossible to do. Prayer can be done without anyone knowing it's being done but God and the one praying. What can be outlawed is the act of showing off in public that one is praying.


.

chaela said:

Actually, given what Jesus Himself taught concerning public prayer, He likely would have commended her. He taught that prayer should be conducted privately, in secret.

As for outlawing prayer, people seem to forget that this is impossible to do. Prayer can be done without anyone knowing it's being done but God and the one praying. What can be outlawed is the act of showing off in public that one is praying.


.

Click to expand...

This is good answer Chaela. Just like you can't take away my right to pray to the flying spaghetti monster. But still, it shouldn't be displayed. Or is it not even Islam. your pick looks likes hindu or something.


And by the way, i don't get your sig. I'm not as familiar with the quran as with the bible. But when a hammer strikes a diamond it will shatter the diamond.

Self Improvement said:

Girl at the Center of the Cranston “Prayer Banner” Case targeted by Cyber-Bullies
“shes not human shes garbage”

“I think everyone should just fight this girl”

“I’ll drop anchor on her face”

“Let’s all jump that girl who did the banner”

“When I take over the world I’m going to do a holacaust to all the atheists”

“i cant wait to hear about you getting curb stomped”

“everyone is going to beat you up prob”

“what a little [bless and do not curse][bless and do not curse][bless and do not curse][bless and do not curse][bless and do not curse] lol I wanna snuff her"

Feel the love, yet?

Click to expand...

How has it been determined that the people who made those hurtful comments are Christians?

Just wondering.

oldbetang said:

How has it been determined that the people who made those hurtful comments are Christians?

Just wondering.

Click to expand...

Do you have an alternative hypothesis of who it might be? Also, the Facebook and Twitter accounts of these people are available to peruse to find out their religious affiliation (moreso on Twitter).

Skaloop said:

Do you have an alternative hypothesis of who it might be? Also, the Facebook and Twitter accounts of these people are available to peruse to find out their religious affiliation (moreso on Twitter).

Click to expand...

An alternative hypothesis? Try defending the original hypothesis, will you? Where does that come from?

oldbetang said:

An alternative hypothesis?

Click to expand...

Just curious. One part of rejecting one hypothesis is presenting an alternative, usually a better one.

Try defending the original hypothesis, will you? Where does that come from?

Click to expand...

That was the second sentence of my response. If you explore the Twitter information of those people screencapped saying the threats, you can see that many of them are Christian.

Skaloop said:

Just curious. One part of rejecting one hypothesis is presenting an alternative, usually a better one.

Click to expand...

I don't accept that. Show me where it is written that an hypothesis based on bigotry has to been countered by another hypothesis.

That was the second sentence of my response. If you explore the Twitter information of those people screencapped saying the threats, you can see that many of them are Christian.

Click to expand...

This is something that you've already done? Then why not post it here?

oldbetang said:

I don't accept that. Show me where it is written that an hypothesis based on bigotry has to been countered by another hypothesis.

Click to expand...

I'm not saying it has to be, I am saying that it's a part of it. What I am saying is that if a hypothesis cannot be outright disproved (which, in this case, is something you can't do) than an alternative needs to be presented that better explains the evidence.

This is something that you've already done? Then why not post it here?

Click to expand...

It's been posted. The Twitter and Facebook accounts of many of the offenders are part of the screencaps if you follow the OP link. So you can do your own research and show that most of them are not Christians, thereby disproving the hypothesis without needing to present an alternative.

Besides, if you read the comments mentioned in the OP, you can see that many of them use Christian things such as hell, God, Jesus, sin, etc. in deriding the removal of a Christian prayer. That alone suggests that it is Christians. I mean, if I "insulted" the Yankees, and a bunch of people started threatening to throw me off the Statue of Liberty, or curb me in the Bronx, or throw me into the Hudson River, would you think that it was Boston Red Sox fans making those threats? And if you looked into it further and saw that most of the threats came from people who listed their home town as New York or were also Giants fans, would you seriously question whether it was New Yorkers making the threats?

My hypothesis stands. Based on the content of the threats and the information that can be gleaned through the profiles and postings of those saying the threats, a disproportionately high number of the threats are coming from Christians.

The ball is now in your court to disprove that hypothesis.

Skaloop said:

I'm not saying it has to be, I am saying that it's a part of it. What I am saying is that if a hypothesis cannot be outright disproved (which, in this case, is something you can't do) than an alternative needs to be presented that better explains the evidence.

Click to expand...

Ok, they're New Democrats. There!, Done! That was easy. Self-explanatory, right?

It's been posted. The Twitter and Facebook accounts of many of the offenders are part of the screencaps if you follow the OP link. So you can do your own research and show that most of them are not Christians, thereby disproving the hypothesis without needing to present an alternative.

Click to expand...

With all due respect, the onus of proof is not on me.

Besides, if you read the comments mentioned in the OP, you can see that many of them use Christian things such as hell, God, Jesus, sin, etc. in deriding the removal of a Christian prayer. That alone suggests that it is Christians. I mean, if I "insulted" the Yankees, and a bunch of people started threatening to throw me off the Statue of Liberty, or curb me in the Bronx, or throw me into the Hudson River, would you think that it was Boston Red Sox fans making those threats? And if you looked into it further and saw that most of the threats came from people who listed their home town as New York or were also Giants fans, would you seriously question whether it was New Yorkers making the threats?

My hypothesis stands. Based on the content of the threats and the information that can be gleaned through the profiles and postings of those saying the threats, a disproportionately high number of the threats are coming from Christians.

The ball is now in your court to disprove that hypothesis.

Click to expand...

First of all, the banner itself was not a Christian prayer. It was rather generic. Secondly, hell, sin, prayer, God, and even Jesus are not exclusive to the Christian faith. Muslims believe in all of them. So, your hypothesis is crap.