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Saturday, August 16, 2008

More on this Stolkholme Syndrome Thing

I think it was Milo that put forth a comparrison between Stolkhome Syndrome victims and people that get trapped into religious beliefs. I found this comment at the comzone today and I think it supports Milo's suspicions.
I hope you guys have some thoughts on this, but if you don't the, fuck me. hehehehe.

Here it is:


(ShiVeR)Curtis said...
Slavery and True LibertyThe following is excerpted from the new material in John’s revised edition of The Gospel According to Jesus (Zondervan, 2008). Understood correctly, the gospel is an invitation to slavery. When we call people to faith in Christ, we need to stress that fact in the same way Jesus did. On the one hand, the gospel is a proclamation of freedom to sin’s captives and liberty to people who are broken by the bondage of sin’s power over them. On the other hand, it is a summons to a whole different kind of slavery: “Having been freed from sin, you became slaves of righteousness” (Romans 6:18). As the apostle Peter wrote, “Act as free men, and do not use your freedom as a covering for evil, but use it as bondslaves of God” (1 Peter 2:16). Both sides of the equation are vital. There is a glorious freedom in being the slaves of Christ, because “if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed” (John 8:36). On the other hand, being a true follower of Christ means the end of human autonomy. And that is as it should be, because self-determination turns out to be nothing more than an illusion anyway. The only kind of liberty it offers is “free[dom] in regard to righteousness” (Romans 6:20)—and that is the very essence of bondage to sin. Its inevitable end is death and destruction. If we want true liberty from sin and all its fruits, it’s not autonomy that we need, but a different kind of bondage: complete surrender to the lordship of Christ. In other words, everyone serves some master. No one is truly independent and self-governing. We are all enslaved in one way or the other. In the words of the apostle Paul: Do you not know that when you present yourselves to someone as slaves for obedience, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin resulting in death, or of obedience resulting in righteousness? But thanks be to God that though you were slaves of sin, you became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were committed, and having been freed from sin, you became slaves of righteousness. I am speaking in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness, resulting in further lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness, resulting in sanctification. For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. (Romans 6:16-21) No message can rightly be called the gospel if it glosses over or denies those truths. The gospel according to Jesus calls sinners to give up their independence, deny themselves, submit to an alien will, and abandon all rights in order to be owned by and controlled by the Lord. By confessing Jesus as Lord (Kurios), we automatically confess that we are His slaves (douloi). What does this mean in practical terms? To borrow the words of Edwin Yamauchi, It means that we have been captured, beaten, and enslaved. We discover, however, that our captor is a Despot of love and mercy. Neither is there anything slavish or servile about our slavehood, for we have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear but the spirit of adoption (Romans 8:15). Nor has our reduction to slavery been a debasement or an abasement. . . . We have been elevated to serve in a heavenly court and have been invested with a higher nature. . . . [It also] reminds us of our ransom from another master at an incredible price. It was not with the fabulous sums of all the royal estates we were bought, nor was it for handsome features or some prized skill we were purchased. But rather unlovely, without any merit, rebellious at heart, we were redeemed with the precious blood of the Master Himself. Having thus been bought by Christ we are entirely His. There’s no other possible way to view it.
August 16, 2008 7:13 PM

I could get righteously indignant about this, but I don't want to edify Lance...Lance, mke more beer..ship 2nd day air.........

14 comments:

  1. Milo is wise, indeed.

    These people run around enslaving themselves to a 2,000 year old dead guy and wonder why we call them sheep?

    Give up my autonomy? Not on your fucking life.

    What an absolute joke.

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  2. Also, what is it with xians that don't know what a damn paragraph is???

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  3. Fundy h leaders hate it when we charaterize their minions as undereducated and superstitious types, but, of couse it is true.

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  4. Yep, and this a prime example. Good find, Dale.

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  5. I had a pretty lengthy conversation with Curtis recently.
    He actually seems to be a really good guy.
    I think his life took a positive turn after becoming a Christian, so maybe at this point he fears a life without it. I guess if it is ones 'crutch', it makes sense why the would go so far to make sense of it all.

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  6. edit to add: Not that I'm saying it's a good thing, just saying I understand the reason why their so feircly committed to the fiction

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  7. Nafa,

    In some cases I understand too, but it just really angers me when people actively want to be a slave to something that doesn't even exist.

    *sigh*

    It just really gets to me.

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  8. Dale,

    I don't know what slavery & liberty have to do with the topic "Tempted to be a Satan Worshiper" but Shiver rarely passes up an opportunity to copy & paste.

    It's the use of hell to convert and keep people in the fold that relates Christianity to the Stockholm Syndrome. Fear is a prime ingredient in evangelism. Fear keeps people in Christianity. Obviously it's not the only factor, but a religion based on the fear of hell does not seem legitimate to me. Does it make you a slave with no free will? That does not seem consistent with the assertion that God does not want robots to worship him but none of it really makes sense.

    nonmagic
    you're setting the bar high- I don't if I can live up to that-but thanks for the compliment :)

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  9. People who believe could be better, happier, and nicer than non-believers but if that were a fact it still wouldn't prove that god exists. The structure that religion gives to people may be something most humans need. Mormans are a prime example. They have the reputation of being friendly, industrious, good citizens, etc but their beliefs are so off the wall it's a miracle anyone takes it as the truth. I'm sure Curtis functions much better as a Christian. I just wish he didn't have to give up all his reason to follow his faith. There are sects of christianity that don't demand their followers to take the bible literally.

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  10. Not to defend people who cut & paste whole chapters into posts, but the original comment did have paragraph spacing. The spacing is lost when it is pasted into the comment box. However, he still needs to be criticized for the unnecessary length of his comment.

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  11. Just bottled a batch yesterday, but I'm tempted to drink all five gallons of it myself after reading that post. I won't even wait for it to carbonate - must...numb...brain...

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  12. Lance,
    I am particularly fond od India Pale Ale.

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  13. Oddly enough, that's exactly what I bottled yesterday!

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  14. Lance! Can I give you some money to send me at least two bottles? I would love you forever.

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