Those Weirdo Christians and their Wacky Sects

[Blumf]

Some slight derailment in the Think Tank thread about various branches of Christianity; Quakers, Christian Scientists, etc. etc. Thought it deserved it's own thread.

So, tell us your tales of interaction with the various offshoots of the Christian faith. Maybe you've had a kicking party with some Calvinists, had an orgy with the local ecclesias or even spotted a rare Catholic.

And, can anyone explain why they have such a wide range of movements. Surely it's all the same thing?

[defmem]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesus_Army

I grew up in Bugbrooke where these guys started out. The main commune is a massive, isolated old mansion called "New Creation Hall" on a patch of land directly behind the church / graveyard. Largely hidden behind rusted old fences and a wild, untamed copse which leads to an orchard.

As kids it was customary to sneak around there at night, scaring each other witless and daring one another to creep through the orchards towards the house, although we'd inevitably bottle it and run away. But it was the location more than the people, it's basically a naturally grown horror movie set.

Although the people themselves are nice enough, growing up with quite a few of their kids. For the most part, it seems to be a collection of burnt out hippies who gave away all their possessions and money (the story goes that the founder absconded to Tenerife with all the cash, lost it all, and came back a few years later; of course their God only knows how much truth there is to that) but the younger members are just really optimistic, pro-Jesus types.

It's interesting how, when you're in close proximity to that kind of thing, it really ceases to be so apparently odd

[Buelligan]

My sister converted to a branch of clap-handsian holyrollerness once, for a bit.  It was rather terrible.  She (and the group she joined) seemed to spend a lot of time grinning and "being nice" whilst appearing to like nothing more than a good disapprove of anything I (or anyone else not sensible enough to join them) said or did. 

It all culminated in a rather woo event when she appeared at my door to rant, brandishing a bible.  I became rather agitated and whopped the bible she was waving at me.  We both watched it rise about 10m into the air and dematerialise[nb]I really am not even kidding.[/nb].  She left without another word.

Some days later I was invited to tea by her at her "minister's" home.  When I arrived, I was whisked inside, grappled to the floor, annointed with some sort of oil and (apparently) exorcised by a fully frocked up priest. 

She gave it all up a few years later but continued to be a bit of a cunt.

[Blumf]

It all culminated in a rather woo event when she appeared at my door to rant, brandishing a bible.  I became rather agitated and whopped the bible she was waving at me.  We both watched it rise about 10m into the air and dematerialise

Just think, she'll be visiting you in a few years time, standing at your door, and the Bible will re-materialise and land on her head.

[BlodwynPig]

She gave it all up a few years later but continued to be a bit of a cunt.

Sad story. Has the minister been arrested. I say forgive and forget, for verily the fruit of a tree lays more readily in the basket of the virtuous. Yay, he or she who speaks ill of the sibling, is but a sibling too. Praise be, the mighty lord has entered me roughly and taken hold of my typing fingers.

[Buelligan]

irreligiously sniggering now

[Sony Walkman Prophecies]

She (and the group she joined) seemed to spend a lot of time grinning and "being nice".

Not to (slightly) derail the topic, but ive found you get this amongst many Buddhist groups too. For some reason alot of young monks think you should always be smiling and laughing because it's impossible as a Buddhist to have a bad day. In fact, during the early Theravada tradition of Buddhism it was quite the opposite: monks were discouraged to smile because because, as individuals living off their immediate community, it was deemed "disrepectful" to be seen laughing it up around the village. It was only with the emergence of Hotei that the jolly-buddhist archtype took root. I dont necessarily want to come across like I necessarily have a problem with laugher/smiling here, but for me the only qualification is that it should be 'genuine' and 'natural'. Ajahn Brahm is a good example: before he'd even heard of Buddhism he was generally one of those blokes youd see laughing all the time anyway.

As for Christian wacky sects, I went to a Quaker school for a short period of my life. Was it fundamentally different from any other christian church? Not really. Most of the members were lying hypocrites and the few genuinely observant and serious members of the church were mocked and looked down upon. Basically like any other church congregation.

[eluc55]

My (Evangelical Christian) boss put a petition up in the office today, protesting against gay marriage. He wants signatures so they can send it to the government.

Half of us buggers are gay anyway, so he can stick it up his arse.

[Buelligan]

Sounds like he's cruising for a claim (or several) of constructive dismissal.

[Zetetic]

Radio 4's Beyond Belief is often worth a listen if you're interested in this sort of thing - I remember an increasingly unpleasant 'debate' between two nuns about the role of women in the Catholic Church. I don't really understand people like Myra Poole who disagree with tenets of Catholicism, handed down (sometimes with the stamp of infallibility) from the top of the strict hierarchy that typifies Catholicism against other Western churches, yet still wish to be Catholics. She's now part of a group called 'Stand Up 4 Vatican 2' and has compared the Pope to Nick Griffin.


I read something that started with this quotation today:

Christianity is at its best when it is peculiar, marginalized, suffering, and it is at its worst when it is popular, credible, triumphal, and powerful.

Which struck me as quite a nice sentiment. And then a meaningless truism about almost any kind of group. And then I remembered Waco and the Branch Davidians. So that was a bit disappointing.