GodTube
A new Christian-oriented religious site has come along to appeal to those who aren’t interested in the “lesser” forms of entertainment (”LEAVE BRITNEY ALONE”, Miss Teen South Carolina, Scantily-clad women dancing in some R&B music video) that are featured on YouTube. When I first saw this site, I thought it was a pretty good site for Christian people to view sermons, little kids saying psalms on camera, and other things that are carefully moderated so that the entire site is free of any inappropriate material.
On YouTube, there’s always the funny videos that we all enjoy, but there’s the sort of “dark side” to the site itself. There is hate-speech and racism that is tolerated on YouTube along with the scathing comments that are sometimes left on people’s videos. But what about sites like GodTube? Is there a dark side to them?
My answer is: sort of. There is a bit of a dark side. Granted, it’s nothing compared to Neo-Nazis rambling about Jews controlling everyone’s brains. It’s more of a recruitment campaign instead. Here you have a video that predicts the Rapture that shall come to claim the holy and destroy the evil. The film is very graphic, with clips of 9/11 melded into it to conjure up memories of that dark time. This film is basically telling you that you will experience that hell-on-earth situation if you do not give your heart to Jesus Christ. This is a very scary message to put out there. It’s the type of message that’s intended to intensify religious feelings in those already religious as well as to incite these feelings of fear into people who would otherwise not even think about it.
The campaign of religious recruitment isn’t something that is unique to only one religion: all religions do it. But it really makes you ask yourself “Do you want to persuade people to adopt your beliefs because of an advertising mechanism or do you want people to adopt them because it’s in their natural will to do so?” Religion is such a touchy subject (the reason I talk about it so often on here is that I find it mostly impolite to discuss it fully with my friends.), but how far do you think is too far when it comes to promoting a religion?
I was about to end this entry here, but I also wanted point out that there are campaigns for recruitment by anti-religious people as well. I think we all know about the “Blasphemy Challenge” (No offence, Atheists, but most of the video responses to that clip were made by 13 year olds or people who look like they still played Dungeons and Dragons in their mother’s basement). I want to know what BOTH sides of the issue think. Do you think it’s okay for sophisticated recruiting to take place? If so, why?
Tags: Miscellaneous |
October 18th, 2007 at 10:18 pm
“Think about this:
I believe in Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit.
You don’t.
If I’m wrong, it’s no big deal, and nothing happens.
If you’re wrong, you will burn in hell.
You are the only one who has anything to lose. So believe, it’s only logical to do so, because you have nothing to lose.”
Regardless of what I believe, I would never join them. If I was religious, I would believe what I wanted to believe and leave everyone else alone.
But also…
“If you’re wrong, you will burn in hell.”
Sure, I don’t care if you believe in God or anything, but tell me you don’t believe that…
October 19th, 2007 at 1:23 am
If god and heaven is real I’d rather burn in hell for all eternity than be in heaven with all the jesus freaks and bible lovers. I think that would be worse than eternal damnation.
October 19th, 2007 at 3:18 am
I don’t see anything wrong with “sophisticated recruitment”. Most of the time, religion makes a person happier - even if it may be a ‘little’ far fetched.
I’m not saying everyone should go out and become mormons, heh. But a little tolerance of each other is required on both sides.
After all, I’m sure we’d all rather these people stick to GodTube, than come to our front doors preaching that alcohol is the blood of satan.
October 19th, 2007 at 8:16 pm
I wasn’t asking which system of belief was better. I was asking whether or not extreme recruiting measures should be taken. Anubis was really the only one who answered my question..
Anubis, there are problems with sophisticated recruiting when you send people out into the world to project their beliefs onto others as truth. Since this is a common side effect of many religions, I don’t see it as being a positive thing. I guess what I mean is that I rather someone come to me than me drawing them in with an ad campaign.
October 21st, 2007 at 9:51 pm
It’s like recruiting for an army, and they’re trying to win the war over which religion is better…
Though apart from Christianity and the like, what other religion actually does this?
I don’t like ads. I don’t tend to like it when religious discussion is brought up. I really hate it when the two are mixed together.
October 24th, 2007 at 2:22 am
Perhaps, my own view on Christianity affords me a slightly different view than the rest of you. Granted it is a very cynical view against modern day Christianity, but a different view nonetheless.
So first off, I don’t like the lack of thought that goes into most Christian’s own personal beliefs, personally, it appals me. But that isn’t Christianity. Christianity, is a personal belief between the believer and their perceived Creator/Savior/Helper. This is one of the reasons I am so opposed to mega churches. Because people just walk in every Sunday to get entertained. Not that Christianity should be dark and dismal, but it shouldn’t be just a social gathering like a club or a BBQ.
Further, the perceptions of hell, suicide, and even Jesus a lot of the time are quite archaic. Strictly speaking, the fire and brimstone hell we all see and love, is not really mentioned anywhere in the bible. We to get some apocalyptic language in Revelation, but that is more a physical description of the Earth in the end times rather than of hell. Of course, the fire and brimstone, is more of a physical representation of something that is impossible to conceive. Being separated from ones try universal purpose. In essence, hell is eternal separation from God while heaven is eternal communion with God. Thus hell is equivalent to the worst punishment possible, where as heaven is equivalent to the best reward possible, being as it is concluded beforehand that the greatest purpose of all created beings is to be one with their creator.
Suicide is an even more archaic belief as it stems form the teachings of the Rigourists in 2nd and 3rd century A.D. The Rigourists believed that you only were forgiven once for your sins, at baptism. Thus they were all baptised on their death bed so that they could sin afterwards. This is where the belief that suicide automatically sends you to hell stems from. If you kill yourself, then the last thing you did was sin and thus you are going to hell. The vast majority of Christians don’t believe this any longer and thus the disbelief has continued due to tradition. Most people if you ask them don’t know where such a belief comes from, but they firmly believe in it…this is bad Christianity.
Personally, I am not for “mass conversion” because Christianity is a personally choice. Thus it should be practices on a personal basis. The point of church is to nourish ones belief. Basically, by discussing issues Christians are suppose to get stronger in their beliefs by hashing out misleading beliefs and by refocusing on what is important. The key core to Christianity is freedom, that is why it thrives in a democracy. Think about this when Adam and Eve were in the garden God had all the power to stop them? Why didn’t he? Well it is important to note that God’s decisions are his own and we are limited beings that are incapable of fully comprehending God or his thoughts. But it is commonly held that it is more important to God that you are able to make your own decisions. This even trumps your well being. It makes sense if we consider the “soul” as eternal, and thus to God you being able to choose him and pursue him as a free choosing individual is his ultimate gift and desire.
Anyway, I hope I cleared up some misconceptions about what Christianity and hell are and are not. Remember that Christians are a mix just like normal people are mix. Some are idiots some are sophisticated, some are there just for the social atmosphere. Christianity is in deed the personally pursuit and free belief in a loving, long-suffering deity that prizes our freedom above his own praise, and that is an idea that still throttles me to this very day.
-Christopher
October 26th, 2007 at 2:23 pm
Wonderfully written, Christopher!