Evangelical, Born Again Christians
"Below Lawyers And Just Above Prostitutes..."
The following article was published on the web by:
C. Barillas, Editor, The Data Lounge
Below the article is an excellent response which was posted on the Anti Atheist Websites Email Discussion Group by Joshua Aaron Wieda. (Published here with permission from Mr. Wieda)
Fundamentalists Losing Favor with Public
Friday, 6 December 2002WASHINGTON -- The American Family Association, a far right lobbying group in Washington, released results from a recent survey that shows mainstream Americans see evangelical Christians as one of the least likeable groups in the country.
Researchers from the Barna survey asked respondents how they felt about evangelicals, born-again Christians, ministers, and other groups of people in society. According to the survey, evangelicals came in tenth out of eleven, narrowly beating out prostitutes.
Fellow evangelical George Barna, president of the Barna Research Group, said religious conservatives "have a lot of work to do" in combating the general public's negative views.
Speaking to distressed members of the AFA, he said, "We may not be 'evil' people, we may not be 'bad' people -- we may be completely loving and wonderful. But somehow we are being perceived by non-Christians in America as a group of people who are not particularly loving [and] not particularly generous, kind, or understanding."
Particularly galling to the AFA constituency was the country's more open embrace of gay men and lesbians. Gay people, a group conservatives frequently slander and oppose politically, ranked significantly higher in the survey than evangelicals.
"Whether that's because the media portray evangelicals in a negative light or because [religious conservatives have] earned that 'badge of dishonor,' if you will, we've got to figure that out," said Barna, "we have to address that."
Affirming results from other studies, the Barna survey also found the more highly educated non-evangelicals are, the less likely they are to have a positive view of fundamentalist Christians.
C. Barillas, Editor, The Data Lounge
http://www.datalounge.com/datalounge/news/record.html?record=20398
Joshua Aaron Wieda's Response
Subject: Re: "Below lawyers and just above prostitutes..."
This article is classic, though I'm sure that many have long suspected what this survey seems to prove. I'm glad you submitted it here, it put a smile on my face to see that Americans, supposedly the citizens of a "christian" country, aren't buying into the theocratic bullshit that permits our Attorney General to announce that our Republic has no king but Jesus and our President to declare that our rights come from god (and not, as we've been taught be history, from common people overthrowing kings with their own sweat and blood, unaided by Providence). One hopes this is a sign that we, as a country, are not going to roll over in the face of the machinations of far right conservatives who for some reason sincerely believe that our national democratic tradition has a damned thing to do with a King of Kings or Lord of Lords. When the object of Christian religion is to teach men that they are inherently worthless, cannot be trusted to rule their own lives or seek their own destinies, and must be saved by the grace and mercy, that is, the very whim of a Cosmic Dictator in order to evade the universal threat of eternal damnation, I can only be convinced that a country predicated on the worth of men and their right to self-determination cannot, by design, have a seat for god, or his people.
"Researchers from the Barna survey asked respondents how they felt about evangelicals, born-again Christians, ministers, and other groups of people in society. According to the survey, evangelicals came in tenth out of eleven, narrowly beating out prostitutes."
Why not? The prostitutes charge far less and give far more. This should be a no brainer. And in any event, no prostitute ever screamed at my wife from a street corner, calling her a lesbian because her hair looked short when put up. Nor have they ever accused me of being in the "first stages of the homoization process" for having long hair, as I did when I was in high school. It defies logic that evangelicals do not understand clearly and distinctly what everyone else's problem with them is. I suppose there really is no force in the universe more powerful than denial.
"Fellow evangelical George Barna, president of the Barna Research Group, said religious conservatives "have a lot of work to do" in combating the general public's negative views."
An understatement if I've ever heard one, he's facing a more than Herculean task. Let's see if he can find a river of holy water to flush out his chosen stable. There's a lot of hypocritical, self- serving, self-righteous, masturbatory bullshit standing between him and his goal.
"Speaking to distressed members of the AFA, he said, "We may not be 'evil' people, we may not be 'bad' people -- we may be completely loving and wonderful. But somehow we are being perceived by non- Christians in America as a group of people who are not particularly loving [and] not particularly generous, kind, or understanding."
I find this ironic when, according to their own bible, "there is no good man, no not one (Romans 3:10)." All the love and generosity they have to muster is lost to the world when they deliver it on the end of a pike that demands human beings to love and serve god with a threat of hell and a promise of paradise. The gospel message is the manifesto of an ultimate tyrant, who demands affection, submission, and guilt in exchange for a parole from the very Hell he has, by the design of his world, set all of us on the path of.
"Particularly galling to the AFA constituency was the country's more open embrace of gay men and lesbians. Gay people, a group conservatives frequently slander and oppose politically, ranked significantly higher in the survey than evangelicals."
I haven't seen any homosexuals yell at me from street corners either. For that matter, I've also never heard of them hanging people out of trees for being the wrong colour, burning women alive for being weird, or putting airplanes in the sides of buildings because god told them too. And if they have an issue with me lumping muslim fundamentalists together with them, they can suck it up - as far as I'm concerned, they're just sucking different sides of the same almighty cock.
"Whether that's because the media portray evangelicals in a negative light or because [religious conservatives have] earned that 'badge of dishonor,' if you will, we've got to figure that out," said Barna, "we have to address that."
My only recommendation to Mr. Barna is that he take his religious conservatives and send them away to a cloister where they can share their poison in peace and leave the rest of the vital, sinful world to its own devices. If it makes me swine, so be it - I'm sick of getting hit in the head with their pearls.
"Affirming results from other studies, the Barna survey also found the more highly educated non-evangelicals are, the less likely they are to have a positive view of fundamentalist Christians."
This should be a telling fact. But as we all know, man's knowledge, intellect, and wisdom are foolishness before god...
J.A. Vida
12-16-01
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