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Talking Religion...

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JimsSweaterVest;1401947; said:
The reason I'm putting up these videos of televangelists and scammers is that I want to steer the conversation and get some advice here...

Anyone have advice or personal stories to share here? It's so easy for skeptics (I mean people of faith and without faith being skeptical about the "healing" and "prosperity" promised by these scammers) to scoff at the people who send them money, but what can I tell my friend?
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Tell him to pray for his parents.

Seriously, this has to be tough for your friend, but at some point he has to realize that his parents are responsible for their own decisions. If he cannot persuade his folks after trying intensively, maybe he needs to let them come to their senses on their own.
 
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JimsSweaterVest;1401947; said:
Anyone have advice or personal stories to share here? It's so easy for skeptics (I mean people of faith and without faith being skeptical about the "healing" and "prosperity" promised by these scammers) to scoff at the people who send them money, but what can I tell my friend?

Thanks folks :)
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They need auditing...which would help enormously if they could get closer to "clear".
 
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JimsSweaterVest said:
I personally saw his mother tell him that if he talks badly about a "man of God" ("Pastor" Ken Copeland in one of the videos above), he should not expect God to let him wake up in the morning.

Nothing seems to get through to them. My friend tried in vain to convince them to give to charities (secular or religious), to volunteer their time and money and see how the resources are spent instead of mailing checks to some "ministry" but it's all in vain. Not only can this money be better spent if they gave it to real charities, but they can also save some of it towards their old age or to get out of debt.

I am pretty much discredited in their eyes, as a former Roman Catholic turned skeptic (the double-whammy of Satan, as they see it).
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I would tell them to begin following the teachings of Jesus instead of following the teachings of church leaders. Believe it or not, those are not often the same. Jesus was very critical of churches and their money usage.

To reach his parents, he will have to speak in terms of Jesus. They will not accept his words any other way.

Simply ask them if Jesus would rather have the money go directly to charity or risk having it contaminated by other's possession?
 
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I need to catch up on this discussion as it's still going strong, but from what little I've read the discussion seems to be moving towards Science/Religous theory.

I want to provide this excellent link for anyone who believes Evolution = Atheism.

The Catholic Register - To a believer, there's no doubt God created the world

There are so many theories out there; partly because of evolution's current shortcomings and partly because of misinformation from numerous parties.

Whatever your beliefs may be, realize that evolution is not necessarily the enemy. False science certainly is.
 
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Don'thate's suggestion reminds me of a story from my brother-in-law's church. We were there for his son's baptism...

Long and short of it is the following "lesson"
Everything is G-d's
G-d wants his money back.

Seriously, it was that transparent. The church had just spent a shitload on some addition and wanted to beef up the ol cash on hand... so that was the sermon... "Give, because G-d need to have this addition to our church paid for"

Needless to say, I declined.
 
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Bleed S & G;1402137; said:
I would like to say, IMO, logic rarely overcomes belief.
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Indeed. People tend to believe what makes them feel good. Whether or not it actually makes sense is secondary.
 
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JimsSweaterVest;1404485; said:
Some good advice on here. Thanks guys.
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A Christian source that might be helpful is the resource network of Hank Hanegraaff (Christian Research Institute). He comes from a conservative Protestant tradition and has been one of the leading critics of the Word of Faith and Prosperity Teachings movement for several decades now. I would imagine that he has some resources for how to address this problem on an individual basis.

He also has a book that just came out this month addressing this issue:
51P8s7%2BHLzL._SL500_AA240_.jpg
 
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I'm reading a book and there was a line in there that caught my eye last night.

Solid objects, on a quantumm physics scale, are 99.9999% light & energy.

Meaning, everything vibrates and everything is "spirtual".. thoughts?

I'm in the middle of the first chapter, so I don't know the point he is driving home quite yet, but I can kind of see where it's going.
 
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Bleed S & G;1404640; said:
I'm reading a book and there was a line in there that caught my eye last night.

Solid objects, on a quantumm physics scale, are 99.9999% light & energy.

Meaning, everything vibrates and everything is "spirtual".. thoughts?

I'm in the middle of the first chapter, so I don't know the point he is driving home quite yet, but I can kind of see where it's going.
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Not sure one can make the leap (without more) that string theory implies spirituality, though anyone who's read my babbling on matters science/religion should know I'd be inclined to agree with the assertion... ie - my discussion some time ago with Brewtus on the "Official Bible Thread" about what a person's spirit might be, if it exists.
 
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