This occured to me as I was coming back from lucnh. There was some oldish guy, with a really freaky haircut, walking around mubling quotes from the bible. I’ve seen countless freakish christian preachers. And yet I don’t see it in any other religion. The closest I can think of is the Hare-Krishnas, and they are pretty harmless. What is it about the worship of Christ that motivates people to go and act like freaks. To go and make big signs that talk about whoremongers, to errect billboards talking about Jesus. Why don’t you find this in other faiths.
I suspect because there’s a heck of a lot of Christians around; if you have so many, you’re bound to get a few looney-tunes and they’re more noticeable so you remember them. In another place, you might have people mumbling lines from the Koran, or Satanic Bible, or Dianetics. Personally, I think proportionately there’s a lot more weird people in some of the minor religions.
Where was there a sign about whoremongers?
Click on the link in my sig. This guy has a very elaborate sign. It’s really quite impressive. If anyone comes to SF. I suggest going to Powell and Market and looking at it.
Also, I’ve been in countries where Christianity wasn’t the main religion. India. Nepal. Egypt. Iran. I didn’t notice wackies like we have here. Yes there are people who wander around. Yes, some of them eem a lttle off. But, I didn’t notice the qauntity or the special quality that christian freaks have here.
Btw, sorry if my title is offensive. Of course not all christians are freaks.
The quick answer is: you do. It’s just that our culture is dominated by Christianity, so the vast majority of freaky religious people around us happen to be Christian. Spend some time in another culture or nation that is dominated by a different religion, and you’ll see a bunch of freaky religious people who aren’t Christian.
I think this is an San Fran thing, more that anything.
Say in the Haight, who’s winning the style wars – the hippies or the getterpunks? I imagine their styles will merge into tie-dye leather jackets and mohawk dredlocks some day.
Well, as your definition of “freaky” seems to involve “oldish guy[s], with a really freaky haircut, walking around mubling quotes” from scripture: I lived in the Hindu holy city of Varanasi for several months, and I assure you I saw quite a number of “freaky” Hindus!
OK. Let me rephrase my definition of freaky. that’s what I get trying to post after having 3 beers at lunch. there seem to be a large number of christians who go out of their way to be loud, obnoxious, get in peoples faces, and tell them that they must convert to (insert weird sect of christianity here) or go to hell. Yes there were old guy with freakish haricuts mumbling around Udaipur.But, they didn’t get in my face. I’ve never had a budhist get in my face. Nation of Islam guys sell stuff, and can be a little obnoxious. But, no other branch of Islam has gotten in my face. No jains have called me a whoremonger or a murderer. No Zoarastrians have called me a devil worshiper. No Hindus have physically assaulted me. And people accept the weird mumbling people in India. They tend to like them. Here no one like the weird mumbling christians, yet they still go around mumbling.
Ah, but the real question is – does he call everyone a Satanist or did he specifically call you a satanist? I presume you weren’t wearing a sign around your neck that said “oldscratch” at the time? Coincidence, or magical powers? You be the judge 
Why are socialists so clueless?
And that from a man who believes that looting and pillaging are merely redistribution of wealth, and that stealing is okey-dokey.
Unbelieveable.
I don’t have much trouble with obnoxious Christians. I get handed a tract once or twice a month (the rest I avoid, although they’re sometimes amusing), there’s the Gideons hadning out bibles fairly often, there’s the streetcorner preacher out most temperate days telling everyone they’re going to Hell unless they come to the arms of Sweet Jesus, etc., but it’s not too bad. I admit no one from any other religion has ever made even the slighest conversion attempt, aside from one Hindu who talked me into buying a copy of the Bhagavad-Gita in college. But Christians are called to witness, and boy do they ever, more or less subtly–usually less. I still doubt it would be noticeable if there weren’t so many, though.
Bear in mind, no other religion is as much “We’re right, you’re wrong” as Christianity. Jews, Muslims, Hindu, Buddhists, etc. pretty much say “we’re right, and I BELIEVE you are wrong.”
It’s easy to be freakish when you care so much about the final destination of everybody’s soul that you have to take every step possible to save them.
Thank the gods for Fundamentalists
:rolleyes:
No kidding Lib. What is his hang up with freedom of speech? I don’t understand why it is illegal to panhandle (i.e. ask for money) in many cities, for example. Geez, PBS does it – you don’t see them getting in trouble.
I guess that’s the answer I’m looking for. At the same time, I always thought that Islam put a good deal of emphesis on conversion. And why is it that Christians are so concerned with others soul’s. Is it purely an American Western idea. Do christians in South Africa act like this? Again, what is it about the worship of Christ that drives them to do this?
I think blessedwolf hit it on the head. It’s the “call to god” that makes christians appear freaky. Im surrounded by churches at home (1 on each end of the block) and sometimes I feel almost persecuted by the zealots. I don’t really think of them as freaky though. Maybe just overly concerned, with my soul :rolleyes:
It isn’t just American Christians. In Korea, a country with the second highest percentage of Christians in Asia after the Phillipines, the local Jeezers are really obnoxious. on the Seoul subway, especially on the Green Line for some reason, you can count on some wacko coming into your section of the train and preaching. In Itaewon on weekends in the summer, youth groups will sing hymns on the street corner, making hand motions with the music much like kids at Bible camp do. I just tell them, “Yesu-nim an midoyo.”
Oddly enough, I never had that problem in Central america, and there’s a ton of Jeezers down there because the Pentecostals are doing a land office business down there converting ex-Catholics.
Thanks for the info Goboy. Do any other world travelers have information on obnoxious religous folks in other countries?
Well, the trick that works for me is pointing out that they don’t have faith in God either. I was at a party a few weeks ago and this acquaintence of mine comes up to me and asks me if I’m an atheist. Well, yeah, basically, I tell him. So he sicks me on this false Christian who has been talking his ear off for half an hour. I’m looking at this guy and my “convertee” pal: both wearing baseball caps, tshirts, shorts, sneakers. Both standing there drinking a beers. Smoking cigarettes. And his guy is trying to tell me “Christians” are a people set apart! Yes-siree-bob, but guess what that makes you? Well, he had it with me after five minutes.
Christians are not more ‘freaky". Nor are they more “judgemental”. But, here in America, we have 10 times as many Christians as anything else, thus the “bell curve” effect comes in, and thus you get a bunch of wierdos at the ends of the curve. In Isreal there are reactionaries that throw rocks at, and curse those who pray at the western wall in less than "their way’. In Afganistan, a woman wearing normal california clothing would be arrested, and possibly stoned. You REALLY don’t wanna be an non-muslim in Iran or Iraq. There are also “dervishes”, and some of those guys DEFINE “freaky”. In some cults in India, women will nurse rats at their breasts. Don’t get me started on “Voodoo” ie Santeria, where it is practised as the “majority” religion. One of the Tribal religions in Africa caused a genocidal war. Another “sniffed out” some hundreds of “witches” who were killed by the mobs. Buddist monks pouring gasoline over themself, and burning themselves to death.
So, it is not Christianity so much as ANY Religion, that has many followers in an area, generates a 'fringe", and that fringe is freaky.
Hey that stuff doesn’t bother me. In fact I’m all for the christians who handle snakes and speak in tounges and all that. I was a non-Muslim in Iran, and got along very very well. And thanks for pointing out the stone throwers in Israel. That’s about as close as I can think of to the intrusive behavior exhibited by christians here. Although it’s still not quite as nutty as some of the stuff I’ve seen.
<pointless aside>
I spent the day observing at our local state mental institution several years ago. There were about three people in the place who thought they were Jesus. There was one, however, who thought he was Moses. We speculated that he was probably Jewish.
We then wondered if Jewish people ever have delusions that they’re Jesus. “I’m just this guy, you know. I’m not really the Messiah.”
Can’t wait for my rotation over there in March!
</pointless aside>
Dr. J