I was cleaning out my Inbox when I noticed that I'd gotten a piece of Christian Evangelical spam. I hadn't noticed any spam of this kind in a while, so I looked it over. It was full of quotations from the Christian Testament, which is pretty much par for the course, but it had nothing else.
This is a perfect example of the circular reasoning of some brands of Christian proselytizing. If I don't accept the Bible as being anything more than a human-written book, what good is quoting it at me going to do? I should just as well believe I should kiss Hank's Ass.
Now, I've been proselyzed by many over the years. The good ones strive to engage your mind and your emotions in positive ways. They talk about fulfillment; they talk about love; they talk about community. The best ones don't even actively engage in the practice; they lead by the example of their lives, and wait for you to ask. I wish there was more of that around these days.
But this kind of "The Bible Says ..." crap is kinda offensive. What makes these people think I haven't heard this nonsense before? Part of me wonders if the people who engage in this kind of proselytizing even understand what it is they're doing. Do they understand that, when presented to a critical audience, this kind of spiel is doomed to failure? Or worse, it's an open invitation to dueling holy books: "Oh yeah? Well, The Gospel of the Flying Spaghetti Monster says ..." which is never a pretty thing to behold (unless one party is trolling; then it's fun as hell).
But I guess when all is said and done, they're only commanded to spread the word, not to be particularly effective at it.
Posted by cerebus at December 10, 2006 10:36 PM