| Title: | Discussions from a Christian Perspective |
| Notice: | Prostitutes and tax collectors welcome! |
| Moderator: | CSC32::J_CHRISTIE |
| Created: | Mon Sep 17 1990 |
| Last Modified: | Fri Jun 06 1997 |
| Last Successful Update: | Fri Jun 06 1997 |
| Number of topics: | 1362 |
| Total number of notes: | 61362 |
I watched part of a documentary last night on the tube. It was about
Survivalists, their philosophy, their movement, behaviour, etc... .
Many of the more formally organized groups are devout Christians. With
rifles in hand, on bended knee, they stop for a prayer session before
running maneuvers designed to practice methods of using deadly force
in defending their compounds. Hmmmmmm....
The rationalization (one of them anyway) for their militant position
was that Jesus said that something similar to what happened with Noah
will happen (soon?). And they (the survivalists) were like the chosen
ones who would survive aafterwards to repopulate the earth with
richeous people. When asked how charitable they would be to their
neighbors if/when their prophecy came true, they claimed to be prepared
to use their weapons to defend their forts, killing any/everyone who
tries to enter. One said that he'd feed his neighbors but only because
it's be cheaper than killing them (how'd you feel about asking that guy
for a cup of sugar?). It was also said that the the cities were filled
with filth and evil (citing crime, homosexuality, etc...) and that God
would purge all that away, as he flooded the earth in Noah's time.
Seems odd to me that they should completely ignore the vast majority of
what Jesus said in regard to helping others in time of need, what he
said about not clinging to material goods, not being worried about
the future (sufficient for the day are it's own problems), and quite
simply trusting in God.
Are there any survivalists out there who care to respond? Any other
comments on this?
-dave
| T.R | Title | User | Personal Name | Date | Lines |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1206.1 | MKOTS3::JMARTIN | I press on toward the goal | Mon Jan 08 1996 13:54 | 1 | |
"And in those times, the love of many will wax cold!" | |||||
| 1206.2 | USAT05::BENSON | Eternal Weltanschauung | Mon Jan 08 1996 14:50 | 12 | |
Hi Dave,
I agree that the mentality and attitude of the Christian survivalists
you described seems somehow at odds with Christ's compassion and even
His prophecy concerning the future.
You may also recall in the interview the man saying, "we're just common
people" or something like that which probably means at least that they
are uneducated and not terribly Bible literate.
jeff
| |||||
| 1206.3 | CNTROL::DGAUTHIER | Tue Jan 09 1996 09:24 | 24 | ||
Well, I believe they're very Bible literate. Many of them are very
intelligent and well educated, sort of like David Koresh (sp). They seem
to "choose and select" the portions of the Bible that support their views
and then avoid talking about the rest.
It's an odd sort of behaviour. There's no real threat for these people
to use to bind together, so they fabricate threats, searching and using
anything to support the belief. Aside from the religious
"justifications", they were talking about other things like Russian
tanks with UN markings in Louisiana (I think), waiting to assist in the
overthrow of the US government.
How do you spell P-A-R-A-N-O-I-A
They don't seem very dangerous, at least the ones that were in the
documentary. I mean they seem more bent on defending their little
compounds and forts and not interested in attacking anyone. But then
there are the fringe elements which make bombd out of fertilizer and
destroy buildings.
I wonder, are there any formalized religions which support
"survivalism"?
-dave
| |||||
| 1206.4 | CSC32::J_CHRISTIE | Ps. 85.10 | Tue Jan 09 1996 12:21 | 6 | |
.3
Was something called the Trilateral Commission mentioned, Dave?
Richard
| |||||
| 1206.5 | CNTROL::DGAUTHIER | Wed Jan 10 1996 10:54 | 12 | ||
> Was something called the Trilateral Commission mentioned, Dave?
I don't recall that there was. But it might have been. The thrust of
the documentary was about the philosophy and methods of their movement.
A lot of THAT was based in their religious beliefs but those were not
expounded upon. They mentioned the Noah thing, they filmed their
prayer sessions and they seemed 101% confident that they were doing the
right thing in the eyes of God.
-dave
| |||||