I found this glossy flier while going through my pile of mail this week. It came from the Timberlake church in Redmond…
“No weird stuff”?
That a church would place such a comment at the top of their advertisement is telling about the public perception of religion in America.
A couple of decades ago, Christians were just…Christians. But this changed with the rise of televangelism. A relatively small segment of the fundamentalist Christian right proclaimed themselves the “moral majority” and openly pushed a political agenda. To the majority of Americans this unholy commingling of religion and politics was uncomfortable at best, bordering on weird.
Over the last couple of decades the weirdness has accelerated to the point that it seems everything we hear about “religion” in the mainstream media now comes off as weird. If there isn’t something criminal being discussed then there’s probably politics involved. The “revolutionary suicides” of Jonestown and the Branch Davidians showdown were specular specimens in their day.
Today the weirdness has become a lot more normalized, so that “weirdness” seems to underly most of the media’s coverage of religion. We learn about the Westboro Baptist Church’s “God hates fags” protests, Sarah Palin receiving a blessing of protection against witchcraft, Rev. Hagee’s holocaust comments, Rev. Wright’s damnation of America, Rev. Rick Warren’s anti-gay crusade, Pastor Ted Haggard’s male prostitute problem, almost everything coming out of William Donohue’s mouth (like the evils of a Chocolate Jesus last year). The list goes on and on. Locally, we’ve even had our own special strain of weird in a homophobic Rev. Ken Hutcherson and his “Prayer Warrior” communiqués.
So we get “no weird stuff” from a church apparently trying to distance itself from the contemporary stereotype of American religion. And some Christians are becoming sensitive about how they are labeled.
I don’t think the labels are the real problem. Rather it’s the commingling of religion and politics that has nudged the image of religion out of the mainstream.
No weird stuff could be taken many different ways – do they mean no weird religious practices, no weird religious political postions or no weird things that do in the actual church service….can’t really tell what they mean.
But putting no weird stuff in their brochure is kind of…well, weird.
Interesting that they need to call this out in the flier.
Two things:
I am not sure this weirdness trend is as modern as you present. Maybe political ascendency, but not the “weirdness” factor. The inquisition was a bit more than “weird”. So I think the church has been fighting off the stigma for a long time, especially since the Enlightenment. And especially in Europe. It was only with the rise of America and the open frontier and individualism that the modern protestant and more idiosyncratic practices were really allowed to flourish. Think mormonism, millerism, and many of the charismatic movements of the 19th century, that mark this country’s religiosity move away from mainline religious practice. I would argue that religion in America has never really been establishmentarian or particularly unified like say the Catholic church or the Anglican church. We have always been this hodgepodge of eccentric, individualist, weirdos. At least that is how I read the history.
Second, I find it utterly fascinating that your blog presents a banner ad for the Scientology youtube channel on this post. Obviously they have purchased keywords that target “weird religion” and try to offer their counter view via paid ads. Talk about niche marketing. Also, an intriguing meta commentary.
the mountain behind them has been clearcut.
meta, mofo.
It’s not just the commingling of religion and politics. But also the commingling of religion and profit.
Look closely at every single instance of “weird stuff” in modern American religion and you’ll almost always find a very large, complex, and lucrative financial empire surrounding it.
Wow, you all just don’t get it.
Weird stuff is referring to the weird stuff called that’s called “news” today and those things attended in public by HA libtards.
Fer instance:
You won’t see Girls Gone Wild videos
You won’t see HA leftist pinheads in the pews
You won’t see GLA floats in the parking lot
You won’t see the latest in bentoversmellinghisfarts contemporary pornography collection
You won’t see HA clueless idiot atheist collection
You won’t see Pelletizer’ diarrhea pellets on the rug
You won’t view crucifixes in urine
You won’t see naked last supper pictures
You won’t see a naked woman in the last supper pictures
You won’t see Lee lighting up a doobie in a pew
You won’t see any GLAAD Awards displayed
You won’t see ELF fire videos killing PETA animals
You won’t see ELF fire videos burning down new homes polluting the atmosphere
You won’t see partial birth abortion procedures
You won’t see full term abortion procedures
You won’t see any abortion procedures
You won’t see Nancy Pelosi in attendance
You won’t see Harry Reid in attendance
You won’t see Tim Geithner making a donation from his tax savings
You won’t see Tom Daschle appear with his chauffeur
You won’t see Hilda Solis’ La Raza friends
You won’t see men or women dressed in the latest sadist or masochist leather apparel
You won’t see Rujax! in the pew looking as dense as spent uranium
You won’t see leadless douchy and his 25 sock puppets in a pew
You won’t see men and women with strange piercings in very strange places in the pews
Those are a few of the weird things that won’t be seen.
You will see married mothers and fathers with their children
You will see married mothers and fathers holding their children
You will see married mothers and fathers smiling at their children
You will see men and women reading from the Bible
You will see men, women and children singing hymns
You will see men, women and children praying to the Creator of Heaven and Earth
You will see men, women and children listening to the Word
Those are some of the things you will see.
AGAIN if the race traitor Puffybutt – you know, the asshole who regularly goes on rants filled with expletives and hope for pain in other people’s lives – is your religion’s spokesperson – you are FUCKED!
The phrase “No weird stuff” and the word “church” simply don’t go together because everything at church is weird. Where else do you find gay pastors like Haggard who decry gay activity while spending church money supporting the GOP and crack-snorting gay johns? Gotta love it!
When I was young and they packed me off to school
And they taught me how not to play the game
Oh, I didn’t mind if they groomed me for success
Or if they said that I was just a fool
So I left there in the morning
With their God under my arm
Their half-assed smiles and the book of rules
Then I asked this God a question
And by way of firm reply
He said, “I”m not the kind you have to wind-up on Sundays”
–Ian Anderson
LOL – I have to pick myself off the floor looking at the bullshit spewed by Puffybutt as IF he were some sort of moral leader. The fucking cowardly cunt has some real problems here folks.
If the church is full of asswipes like Puffybutt you’ll see…
You will see married mothers and fathers fucking with their children
You will see married mothers and fathers selling their children
You will see married mothers and fathers trying to fuck YOUR children
You will see men and women reading from Hitler’s instruction manual
You will see men, women and children singing songs to their God Ronnie Raygun
You will see men, women and children praying to Hitler for advice on how to exterminate anyone they don’t agree with
You will see men, women and children listening to the word of well-known, impotent drug-addict Lush Flimbaugh and following his advice to the letter even though he’s a draft-dodging chickenhawk who’s never been elected to anything in his life…
AND THAT’S JUST THE NORMAL STUFF!
There is a certain part of the population that is susceptible to authoritarian messages and in our generation, in this country, they have become associated with conservative religious groups. These people are attracted to the groups because they offer some sense of moral security; when it seems that the world is going to hell in a hand basket, what parents want is a sense that they can to do something to protect their children. Note that there aren’t a lot of single people in these religions.
What they don’t realize is that leaning on authoritarian principles without developing a moral code leaves kids vulnerable to all the things against which the parents are trying to protect.
Hey Darryl-ict, you forgot Obama’s America hating, racist pastor Jeremiah Wright. Your hatred of Religion has its limits, like if they have a ‘D’ by their name. Derelict.
You might see:
Holy Laughter Anointing:
http://thepoliticalcarnival.bl.....ghter.html
Nothing “weird” there at Sarah Palin’s church.
I wonder how many God-fearing believers watch Faux News? They shouldn’t except to know for certain that they never should again:
http://foxnewsporn.com/
@ 10
You know, any God who needs people like you to do His work for Him is not any kind of God I want to worship.
According to their doctrinal statements, heaven and hell are “real places”; the blood of Jesus offers a way out. God is a three-in-one head trip, the Bible is IT when it comes to knowing truth. . . . Not wierd at all–if you happen to have spent your life being desensitized to it.
Happy mammals building chirpy communities around shared adoration of a magical super-mammal who is propitiated by bloodshed. What’s to be wierded out by?
Rick D @ 10.
“Hey Darryl-ict, you forgot Obama’s America hating, racist pastor Jeremiah Wright.”
Hey Squirt…you know, you really ought to read a post before commenting on it.
“Your hatred of Religion has its limits, like if they have a ‘D’ by their name.”
LOL! As if you had any idea what what the post was getting at.
The weird stuff (as in some of what’s in @14) is what makes religion interesting. You go to church to leave the everyday world and embrace weirdness. Otherwise, what’s the point?
That’s the problem with the mega-churches (as in the flier) and the corrupt evangelicals (as Darryl points out), they are slowly snuffing the right kind of weirdness out of life. I think this is also the point of Jethro Tull @7.
i especially like the ritual *cannibalism* and
pretend drowning.
“it seems everything we hear about “religion” in the mainstream media now comes off as weird. If there isn’t something criminal being discussed then there’s probably politics involved.”
IMO this makes the greater point, or idictment of the for profit mainstream media. The “If it bleeds it leads” mentality is foisted on the masses as NEWS…
It’s no different with “the church” as it is with other groups… In the media, eco terrorists are associated with environmentalists etc etc etc, over and over again.
This is particularly true of cable news. It’s non stop, wall to wall 24/7 “Breaking News”.
Flashy banners, alert music etc and the “story” is nothing more than President Obama played hoops for 2 hours today. All the while the hosts treating the story as if 9/11 were going down…..
Maybe they mean ‘weird’ like this…(NSFW)
http://www.sexinchrist.com/
At the risk of indulging in stereotypes, the “no weird stuff” statement accompanying the picture of a “classic American family” that could have been taken in Alabama in the 50’s might be construed as saying something, perhaps unintentional. I say that because if you go check out the church’s Web site, the pastoral staff all affect a sort of suburban-counterculture look (beards, blue jeans, untucked shirttails) not unlike Mark Driscoll and the Mars Hill bunch. But after all, this is a congregation in Redmond, where a recent high-school basketball game against Garfield devolved into an ugly, racially-charged brawl. So….indeed, is “weird stuff” supposed to mean a lily-white, picket fence nuclear family, where Dad’s a buzz-cut former Marine and Mom dresses up to cook dinner in her All-Electric Kitchen…and where paranoia over the things Pudwax gnashes his teeth about up yonder is the order of the day?
Might go a long way to explain why Reichert keeps getting re-elected.
Puddynhead, dude, the 17th century is calling. Don’t refuse…
I think the most interesting trend of all is how many megachurches are going broke. Crystal Cathedral, for example.
@3 No, it hasn’t been clearcut, that’s a cliff; and I think I know where it is. This looks like what you see from I-90 heading into Cle Elum.
The weird stuff comes from an apostate Anglican priest from the 1820’s with the surname of Darby.
I checked out the church site, found the pastor’s personal blog that goes back well before he moved to Redmond. I found the site of Eastlake Church in Chula Vista. Going through this stuff I found, other than one encouragement to simply vote, no mention of politics whatsoever. Unless one is offended at the very notion of God, and of course, some are, there’s nothing offensive to be found. Well, there is that funny photo of urinals. And on his blog he takes humorous issue with a appears to be a far-right billboard listing the things that leads one to an eternity in hell’s fire. It seems he doen’t think that his being an avid Husky football fan will lead him to eternal damnation.
That said, I found a couple of the posts above to be somewhat offensive. Puddy @5 offends. @14 also offends me somewhat.
Puddy, I don’t know where to start so I’ll throw a dart and see where it lands. Harry Reid? The man is a devout Mormon. Are you ragging on him for his LDS faith or for his politics? Why would you go off on the former and why on earth would you mix in the latter? Putting aside the political angle, what makes you so damned special as to allow you as a Christian to sit in judgement of another man’s faith? I suggest that you entertain the thought of judging not, Puddy. You just might find Jesus to be pleased with that approach.
@14 Valerie. Magical super mammal? Is that my God??? A fucking super beaver? I had no idea. Hmmm. Tell me, Val, in this age of super-string theory, membrane theory, eleven dimensions and infinite
universes, do you really think you know what the fuck is what about anything? Sure thing, Val. If you don’t mind my saying so, your view strikes me as being, well, four dimensional. Try contemplating on the ramifications of an over-arching eleventh dimension or gravity not being of this universe but leaking into ours from a parallel universe. Who knows? Perhaps the certainty you have of the reality you perceive will take a hit. Hey, maybe you’ll find a super beaver lurking there. Or not.
re23: it’s mt si. cle elum is way east of here. i live near the base of si. it was clearcut, that stuff you see is second growth, i think. the are lotsa clearcut areas on & around si, tenerriffe, green, etc. check out some arial photos of area.
Steve,
I’m sorry Steve that truth offends.
Steve, I don’t sit in “judgement” of Harry Reid. God does. Two of my bestus buds from my car pool are DEVOUT MORMONs. Neither like Scary Harry Reid. Many in the LDS church feel Harry Reid is a turncoat. Maybe you should take a drive to the nearest LDS Center and ask them how they feel. Harry Reid was against the Mormon support of CA Prop 8.
Jesus said in Matthew 23 people like Harry Reid are empty sepulchres, full of dead mens’ bones.
Puddy was the first in 2005 to say on HA
NUFF Said!
25 Steve, if that’s really Valerie Tarico, you really ought to read her book The Dark Side before you criticize her observations–the woman definitely knows of what she speaks.
27 Pudwax, that’s got to deserve the “quote-out-of-context” award of the month. I certainly haven’t been aware of Reid exactly wearing his faith on his sleeve or proclaiming his self-anointed righteousness while on the job.
Now, on the other hand, we could talk about the likes of Bill Frist and Tom DeLay…
Either you’re trying to assert that Jesus was saying that anyone in a position of political leadership is a detestable hypocrite, or you’re applying, shall we say, your own selective judgement and claiming the Lord gives you some kind of franchise to do so.
People like Puddy pose a huge threat to the public’s perception of Christianity. Puddy does not distinguish between his rightwing political values and his religious values. To him, they are one and the same. To those outside the Christian faith, this blending of politics and religion creates an image of Christians that is no different than the image of rightwing Republicans–intolerant, self-righteous, greedy, judgmental nitwits. Puddy would do well to actually read the Gospels rather than listen to some politicized preacher who believes that Fox News presents the Word of God.
@27 “truth offends”
What truth? Your truth? God’s truth? You said, “You won’t see Harry Reid in attendance”
You are saying that a man of faith would not be found in a non-denominational church. What kind of truth is that? Here you judge a man’s faith. He’s a man you don’t know by anything but his politics.
“Many in the LDS church feel”
Holy Golden Salamander! The man is senator from Utah. The LDS will excommunicate a person at the drop of a hat. I do believe you can add two plus two. You talk to two “bestus buds” and you think that you can come here with that meager evidence and think that you can judge a devout Christian’s faith? You judge a man’s faith based on rumor? Does innuendo sway you as well? Is that the basis of your truth?
“God sits in judgement”
And apparently, so do you. You go beyond politics and judge Harry Reid’s faith in God. Just who are you to do that?
“Matthew 23”
Matthew 7.
“Judge not lest you be judged”
@28 I haven’t read the book but I did read the post. I’m insulted that she’d think that I’d worship a rodent. I’m Mormon. As such, I’m more into Golden Salamanders.
@27 “car pool”
Isn’t that something liberal would do? Hmmm, that wouldn’t be a foreign-made car that you’re car pooling around in, would it? Perhaps one made in France even??
Here are the words of a man who took the right-wing hate speech to heart. He listened to their radio shows. He read their books. Books with the words “treason”, “terrorists” and “Godless” not obscured, not buried deep in the pages, but out front, right there in the titles. He took it to heart and then saw fit to murder Americans in their house of worship.
“Know this if nothing else: This was a hate crime. I hate the damn left-wing liberals. There is a vast left-wing conspiracy in this country & these liberals are working together to attack every decent & honorable institution in the nation, trying to turn this country into a communist state. Shame on them….
“This was a symbolic killing. Who I wanted to kill was every Democrat in the Senate & House, the 100 people in Bernard Goldberg’s book. I’d like to kill everyone in the mainstream media. But I know those people were inaccessible to me. I couldn’t get to the generals & high ranking officers of the Marxist movement so I went after the foot soldiers, the chickenshit liberals that vote in these traitorous people. Someone had to get the ball rolling. I volunteered. I hope others do the same. It’s the only way we can rid America of this cancerous pestilence.”
“I thought I’d do something good for this Country Kill Democrats til the cops kill me….Liberals are a pest like termites. Millions of them Each little bite contributes to the downfall of this great nation. The only way we can rid ourselves of this evil is to kill them in the streets. Kill them where they gather. I’d like to encourage other like minded people to do what I’ve done. If life aint worth living anymore don’t just kill yourself. do something for your Country before you go. Go Kill Liberals.”
Steve,
Why can’t they just stick to goat fucking?
@35 It’d be a better world, wouldn’t it?
Has Puddy no response to 31?
37 – None of course. It comes too close to what many right wingers fantasize about. Here’s the fantasy of another right wing Ann Coulter type:
http://www.independent.co.uk/n.....57074.html
A ship of fools indeed. Stupes would be right at home.
Steve @ 37
Nor to 30. Puddy gets all flustered when he doesn’t have a script to read from. So, he bails out when challenged.
@38 Whoa! That was ugly. I remember that one.
Steve @36 Not for the goats.
@41 Actually, I hear that most are inflatable vinyl so it’s really not as bad as it might first seem.
@38:
No you never hear Mike Malloy say anything like that on his radio show. Never ever. Riiiiiight.
I’m not saying what you have posted is wrong either. Just pointing out there is pretty equal viciousness coming from both sides.
malloy and maybe rhodes are about it as far as i’ve listened who do this on the left. wanna get into a hate talk list war, kemosabe?
beck
o’reilley
hannity
coulter
savage (wiener)
oops, commercial is over back later
http://www.sullivan-county.com...../darby.htm
The Dispensational Origins of Modern Premillennialism and John Nelson Darby
By Jack Van Deventer
John Neslon Darby
The twentieth century has seen a dramatic paradigm shift in prophetic perspectives, first away from and now back toward its historic roots. This shift away from historic Christianity stemmed from a novel approach to Bible interpretation called dispensationalism which was developed in the 1830s and popularized with the 1909 publication of the Scofield Reference Bible. Dispensationalism, with its unique brand of premillennialism, has been thoroughly pervasive, being prominent in many churches, in bookstores, and among radio Bible teachers.
The distinguishing features of dispensationalism are a rigidly applied literalism in the interpretation of Scripture, a compartmentalization of Scripture into “dispensations,” and a dichotomy between Israel and the Church. Dispensationalists believe “this present world system . . . is now controlled by Satan” (not by God) and will end in failure and apostasy.
Dispensational premillennialists claim that their unique doctrines have been held since the early church, but these claims have been soundly refuted. Far from being the historic position of the church, premillennialism was described in 1813 by David Bogue as an oddity of Church history. Postmillennialism was the dominant eschatology from the Reformation until at least 1859.
…….
Actually, give a little credit where it’s due to the Xtian fundies who actually embrace the concept of caring about the planet we all live on. I remember seeing something about this on PBS a while back, how certain churches (one of the curches profiled was in Idaho, no less) were embarcing the message of (IIRC) stewardship of the planet, that God would want them to actually take care of their world.
The reason for the whole ‘no weird stuff’ tag is because the Xtian fundie mainstream conflates ‘environmentalist’ with ‘godless pagan hippie librul’, so in effect by saying ‘no weird stuff’, this magazine is attempting to de-politicize the concept of environmental stewardship to their readers, while making it a moral imperative.