I saw a funny window sticker on the back of a couple of cars on my way home from today. The cars were parked in the driveway of one of my neighbors. The stickers said "Future Quest - 2010". For those not familiar with Future Quest, it is a 3-day youth conference at a nearby church. The goal of the conference is "... to train up young people to be bold disciples of Jesus."
It wasn't the stickers that made me laugh, it was the owners of the cars. This neighbor that has had the police called many times for domestic violence disturbances... Husband beating wife, wife beating husband, husband beating children, etc... The last time that I'm aware of it happening, I had his son knocking on my front door, hiding in the shadows of my driveway from the police. His father was beating his mother, and the boy had had enough of it. He sucker punched his old man and knocked him out cold. When he came to, he chased the boy out of the house and called the cops on him. (And sadly, the mom was completely supportive of the dad!).
I kept the boy safe that night, and made sure he had a place to go the next day. Hopefully the talk I gave him helped him out (he returned home about a week later and is living at home again).
I've talked to the parents many times, both before and after that particular incident, and can't believe their utterly disgusting elitest attitude towards everyone else. To use an expression I heard a lot growing up "They feel their shit doesn't stink!". They used to invite my family to their church a couple of times a month, telling us that it would be good to be saved and to put our trust in Jesus. After months of this, I finally told them that I was an atheist. They couldn't have looked more shocked if I had pulled Jesus out of my ass! They gave up on me (thank god - pun intended!) and doubled-up on my wife. They told her that for the children's sake, she needed to get them baptized and into church. Their immortal souls were in danger living with the enemy!
Now, I've read the bible several times, cover to cover, and I guess I've missed the parts that talk about it being moral to beat your wife and children. It does say you can kill your children if they are disrespectful, but nothing about beating the shit out of them. So where do these people get off thinking that they are living a 'moral' life? Could it be the very same church that is sponsoring this Future Quest?
Do these people really feel they are a bold disciple of Jesus?
If that's the case, then I will have to live, and eventually die, with my eternal thankfulness that I'm free from that type of moral teaching!
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