# The stupidest thing you ever heard a Christian say **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [March 20, 2003, 6:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-stupidest-thing-you-ever-heard-a-christian-say/162757 "2003-03-20T06:56:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![inertia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/d07c76/32.png) [@inertia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/inertia)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2003, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-stupidest-thing-you-ever-heard-a-christian-say/162757/61 "2003-03-20T21:57:18Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by dil \* > \*\*About 95% of the world, in fact! \*\* That’s a pretty, um how should I put this nicely, unenlighted thing to say. Christianity is just a subset of the world population, just so you know. So lump in all the other Believers and you’re still not going to come anywhere close to 95%. [http://www.religioustolerance.org/worldrel.htm](http://www.religioustolerance.org/worldrel.htm) (a pro-religion site) puts it at about 65%. ---
**Author:** ![beagledave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6de8d8/32.png) [@beagledave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beagledave)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2003, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-stupidest-thing-you-ever-heard-a-christian-say/162757/62 "2003-03-20T22:17:33Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by gobear \* > \*\*They are certainly more susceptible to believing in miracles or supernatural manifestations than are Joe or Jane Atheist, and it is their good natures driven by their religious beliefs that, IMO, makes them vulnerable to being hurt by the greedy and the wicked. A con man with a competent sob story could wheedle money and property from a good, caring Christian more easily than he could from a suspicious atheist SOB like me. \*\* So tomndebb (or Poly or Bricker or Zev or yadda yadda) (by virtue of his theism) is at a significantly higher risk from con men than an atheist off the street whom you know nothing else about? Wow. The mind boggles. That explains it all I guess. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2003, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-stupidest-thing-you-ever-heard-a-christian-say/162757/63 "2003-03-20T22:28:59Z")
I was drivin’ thru Bakersfield, listenin’ to the Gospel radio station when the preacher came on and said, “You always got the Lord by your side!”. I was so pleased to be informed of this, that I ran twenty red-lights in his honor. Thank you, Jesus. Guess I better not post the rest… Actually, one of the stupidest things I can recall is the _insistance_ that I MUST be unhappy because I didn’t “find” Jesus or something like that. * * * I scream, you scream, we all denounce Jesus for ICE CREAM! ---
**Author:** ![t-keela](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a3d4f5/32.png) [@t-keela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/t-keela)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2003, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-stupidest-thing-you-ever-heard-a-christian-say/162757/64 "2003-03-20T22:28:59Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by beagledave \* > \*\*So tomndebb (or Poly or Bricker or Zev or yadda yadda) (by virtue of his theism) is at a significantly higher risk from con men than an atheist off the street whom you know nothing else about? > > Wow. > > The mind boggles. > > That explains it all I guess. \*\* Sounds like a new thread doesn’t it? What’s the stupidist thing you ever heard an atheist say? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![t-keela](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a3d4f5/32.png) [@t-keela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/t-keela)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2003, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-stupidest-thing-you-ever-heard-a-christian-say/162757/65 "2003-03-20T22:38:49Z")
I spoke too soon, huh? Here it is… [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=171300](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=171300) ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2003, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-stupidest-thing-you-ever-heard-a-christian-say/162757/66 "2003-03-20T22:40:40Z")
My daughter’s old minister was giving a sermon, and he mentioned “When God created the Earth 5000 years ago…” :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![t-keela](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a3d4f5/32.png) [@t-keela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/t-keela)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2003, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-stupidest-thing-you-ever-heard-a-christian-say/162757/67 "2003-03-20T22:55:35Z")
I was raised Southern Bapstist, and was member of the Primitive Baptists (hardshell) by choice. I still have an unconventional belief in God. More of an eclectic version of many beliefs, but with a strong emphasis on Hinduism. The most ignorant concept: Everyone who does not accept Jesus as their savior is destined for hell. Even those who existed BEFORE his birth! BUT to bash anyone for trying to be Christlike…love your neighbor, do unto others, turn the other cheek etc. is even more ignorant than berating someone for believing in magic. Imagine, gays are an abomination…whether they are good people or not. BTW that’s NOT a Christian belief…not in the NT YIKES, what about a black, homosexual, christian…let’s use some stereotypes in our fight against ignorance \ poor ignorant atheists, that should sit well, huh? ---
**Author:** ![criminalcatalog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e68b1a/32.png) [@criminalcatalog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/criminalcatalog)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2003, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-stupidest-thing-you-ever-heard-a-christian-say/162757/68 "2003-03-20T23:03:43Z")
When I was in a high school english class one day, a boy whom everyone knew to be a Believer said something odd: “There are two ways to see this. Either you believe the world was created by one God, or everything around you is coincidence.” People who fail to grasp that such a vital “coincidence” could spread into the complex reality we now live in deserve, if they wish for it, enlightenment. Those who choose to disregard this ripple effect as believable happenstance deserve a cold shoulder. I don’t cater to a higher power nor would I were there to be absolute proof of it’s existence. Too many of the principles in most religions (ex. Christianity) are designed to keep a lid on the activities and dreams of men. ---
**Author:** ![gobear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8dc957/32.png) [@gobear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gobear)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2003, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-stupidest-thing-you-ever-heard-a-christian-say/162757/69 "2003-03-20T23:28:44Z")
> [@](#): > > BUT to bash anyone for trying to be Christlike…love your neighbor, do unto others, turn the other cheek etc. is even more ignorant than berating someone for believing in magic. I’m all for people being more Christlike; I wish more Christians were ---
**Author:** ![t-keela](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a3d4f5/32.png) [@t-keela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/t-keela)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2003, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-stupidest-thing-you-ever-heard-a-christian-say/162757/70 "2003-03-20T23:29:54Z")
Amen ---
**Author:** ![beagledave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6de8d8/32.png) [@beagledave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beagledave)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2003, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-stupidest-thing-you-ever-heard-a-christian-say/162757/71 "2003-03-20T23:46:37Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by gobear \* > \*\*I’m all for people being more Christlike; I wish more Christians were \*\* Lots of invisible people running into each other? ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2003, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-stupidest-thing-you-ever-heard-a-christian-say/162757/72 "2003-03-21T00:01:28Z")
> [@](#): > > In his State of the Union address, President Bush said he would ask Congress for $600 million to provide treatment for 300,000 drug addicts and alcoholics over the next three years. As an example of what he has in mind, he singled out a program run by Healing Place Church in Baton Rouge, La., which says it relies “solely on . . . the Word of God to break the bands of addiction.” [http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn?pagename=article&node=&contentId=A63050-2003Jan29¬Found=true](http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn?pagename=article&node=&contentId=A63050-2003Jan29¬Found=true) ---
**Author:** ![beagledave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6de8d8/32.png) [@beagledave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beagledave)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2003, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-stupidest-thing-you-ever-heard-a-christian-say/162757/73 "2003-03-21T00:36:32Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Revtim \* > \*\*[http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn?pagename=article&node=&contentId=A63050-2003Jan29¬Found=true](http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn?pagename=article&node=&contentId=A63050-2003Jan29¬Found=true) \*\* Huh…I don’t know squat about that church…however I did check out their [web site](http://www.healingplacechurch.org/ministries/content-ministries.php?ID=57) section on this program. I’m not sure that the Post story tells the whole story. > [@](#): > > Set Free Indeed provides both group as well as one-on-one mentoring. We work in conjunction with organizations and medical professionals who are available to assist the person who is struggling with addiction. We partner with counselors who are licensed to practice in the State of Louisiana as well as other agencies that provide assistance to those struggling with addictions. We also offer mentoring and encouragement to family members who are confronting the addiction along with their loved ones. Now they also say > [@](#): > > We believe that only through practicing the Word and practical living skills can the person struggling with addiction reestablish his or her lives. Once a person admits that they have a problem and recognizes that only God can set them free, the rebuilding process can begin. I’m not in AA…but from what I’ve heard of the principals of AA, this doesn’t sound sound like a huge leap from the [12 steps.](http://www.alcoholics-anonymous.org/default/en_about_aa_sub.cfm?subpageid=76&pageid=12) > [@](#): > > The Twelve Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous > > 1. We admitted we were powerless over alcohol — that our lives had become unmanageable. > > 2. Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity. > > 3. Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him. > > 4. Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves. > > 5. Admitted to God, to ourselves and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs. > > 6. Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character. > > 7. Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings. > > 8. Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all. > > 9. Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others. > > 10. Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it. > > 11. Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God, as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out. > > 12. Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to alcoholics, and to practice these principles in all our affairs. I look at steps 1,2,3,4,5,6 7,11 and 12…and they seems pretty close to the “stupid thing” claimed of Healing Place Church… Is AA stupid? (or just one legitimate approach that apparently **does** work for some addicted individuals) ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2003, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-stupidest-thing-you-ever-heard-a-christian-say/162757/74 "2003-03-21T00:53:34Z")
**beagledave** , what I feel was stupid about it was putting federal dollars towards a program that was stated to work _only_ through supernatural means. I could have made that more clear, sorry. Sounds like Bush’s statement also stupid because it’s wrong; as you pointed out, they also use medical resources. I don’t think AA is stupid, but I think it’s an incorrect and possible dangerous thing to say that alcoholism can only be beaten through deism. So if you don’t believe in God and are unable to make yourself believe, you can never be free of alcoholism? I seriously doubt that no atheist on Earth has even beaten alcoholism. ---
**Author:** ![Kalashnikov](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/2bfe46/32.png) [@Kalashnikov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalashnikov)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2003, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-stupidest-thing-you-ever-heard-a-christian-say/162757/75 "2003-03-21T00:56:11Z")
Gullible may not be exactly the right word in some cases. Some people choose to believe implausible things without evidence because it makes them feel better (the ‘opiate of the masses’ bit). This is usually subconscious, but there are a few people, mostly Pagans, who admit to doing this consciously. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2003, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-stupidest-thing-you-ever-heard-a-christian-say/162757/76 "2003-03-21T00:58:34Z")
I think I’ll just exorcise this to the BBQ Pit. ---
**Author:** ![Kalashnikov](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/2bfe46/32.png) [@Kalashnikov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalashnikov)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2003, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-stupidest-thing-you-ever-heard-a-christian-say/162757/77 "2003-03-21T01:02:33Z")
Oh - its not always just that it makes them feel better, sometimes it helps them behave better to. In those cases I suppose its a good thing. I’ve met christians who said, in as many words, that if god hadn’t told them not to they’d be out there stealing, raping, murdering etc. They actually seemed sad that god had told them they weren’t allowed to murder anyone they wanted to. :eek: That’s why they believed that athiests by definition must be immoral… :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![not\_reaching](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c6cbf5/32.png) [@not\_reaching](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/not_reaching)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2003, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-stupidest-thing-you-ever-heard-a-christian-say/162757/78 "2003-03-21T01:06:36Z")
One guy said “My mother’s religion states that all other religions are simply made up of superstition, old wive’s tales, and wishful thinking and false gods - while my dad’s says the same. Since they are of different religions, I choose to believe both statements and that leaves no religions that have any validity whatsoever.” ---
**Author:** ![beagledave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6de8d8/32.png) [@beagledave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beagledave)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2003, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-stupidest-thing-you-ever-heard-a-christian-say/162757/79 "2003-03-21T01:07:05Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Revtim \* > \*\ ***beagledave** , what I feel was stupid about it was putting federal dollars towards a program that was stated to work _only_ through supernatural means. I could have made that more clear, sorry. \*\* SOCAS is fair game for debate…thanks for the clarification. > [@](#): > > \*\* > Sounds like Bush’s statement also stupid because it’s wrong; as you pointed out, they also use medical resources. \*\* it was the Wash Post’s description of them that left out the medical resources…I’m not sure how Dubya referred to them in his speech (maybe somebody could wrestle up a link?) > [@](#): > > \*\* > I don’t think AA is stupid, but I think it’s an incorrect and possible dangerous thing to say that alcoholism can only be beaten through deism. So if you don’t believe in God and are unable to make yourself believe, you can never be free of alcoholism? I seriously doubt that no atheist on Earth has even beaten alcoholism. \*\* I take no real position on their program…(never been in it, don’t have direct knowledge). It seems to work for some people…I suspect other programs without a theistic angle might work as well for other people. From the small number of comments I’ve seen on the boards from friends of Bill…they seem to focus on "you can’t do it by yourself…you need some sort of help…be it God or some other ‘higher power’ ". I’m not in a position to debate whether that is true or not… ---
**Author:** ![JThunder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e95f7d/32.png) [@JThunder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JThunder)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2003, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-stupidest-thing-you-ever-heard-a-christian-say/162757/80 "2003-03-21T01:15:24Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by gobear \* > \*\*Given that by definition, Christians believe in an invisible man in the sky who likes them to sing to Him on Sundays, … \*\* Oh, good grief. Now THAT’S a strawman claim, and one of the dumbest things I’ve ever read. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-stupidest-thing-you-ever-heard-a-christian-say/162757.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-stupidest-thing-you-ever-heard-a-christian-say/162757.md?page=5)