209 thoughts on “Nationalism”

    1. Hooray for you, Stan! I LOVE the “first” thingy! It is fun, but only or the lighthearted and funloving. Good for you!! Refreshing, even!!! 😉 😀

  3. Okay, the grammar or lack thereof is horrid. Why is not the pulpit important enough to speak well?
    Any time someone peppers his speech with “Bless God,” I run the other way.
    HEY HEY HEY!!!! Another senseless interjection.
    The poor Japanese: overrun with legalists when they were supposed to be liberated. And don’t demand that I scream “Amen!” to reassure you.
    Ugh. Darrell, you sure know how to brighten a Saturday! 😉 aw, JK. You know we love you like a son. 😉

    2. Is there something wrong with saying “Bless God”?

      People should say “Bless God” more than “God bless America”.

      1. Only Brother Doctor Cletis knows his motivation is peppering his speech with that term. I do know that to this listener, it sounds like something that is meaningless to him, and to me, it sounds as if he is taking the Lord’s Name in vain. Is he TRULY “blessing God”? It sounds angry, punitive, and audacious.

      2. I assume taht the phrase “Bless God” really means “Let us (or you, the people I’m commanduing/enouraging) bless God.” But from a Hebrew perspective (which is the Biblical perspective, in both Testaments) we CANNOT bless God. Blessings are given from superiors to inferiors. God blessed the patriarchs, who in turn blessed their sons and heirs. We can PRAISE God, not bless Him.

  4. “We’re the only nation who has ever used her power consistently for good.”

    This man does not know his history.

    (But I think he said “hey” at least ten times in that rant.)

      1. I think you’re right. At that rate, he will have heyed about 300 times in an hour long sermon.

        I see Tony Hutson gives him an endorsement on the church’s website. Isn’t Tony a big “heyer”?

  5. Iraq & Vietnam might be willing to dispute the contention that “America has solely used their power for good”.

    3. There seems to be an inverse relationship between a person’s knowledge of history, geography, and world affairs and his/her willingness make bomastic, jingoistic proclamations.

    4. It’s certainly going to be news to the Japanese that Baptist missionaries (apparently without assistance) rebuilt Japan after the Second World War.

    5. Where do these dingbats get the impression that American leaders are always going around the globe apologizing for our country?
      I’m sure there are many cases where our leaders should do this, but there are very few cases where they actually do.

      At the moment, I can think of only two such examples:
      1. The U.S. government often (but not invariably) issues apologies after our militaries mistakenly bomb something other than the correct target, or kill a bunch of innocent bystanders through some kind of error.
      2. President Clinton apologized (years later) for doing very little to stop the Rwandan genocide.

      1. When the Chinese shot down a US Military aircraft in 2001, Bush apologized to the Chinese for invading their airspace.

      3. I have yet to see any official American apology for inventing the AIDS virus in a lab and disseminating it around the world in ordr to lower the population.

    3. In my area, Baptist churches that aren’t like the one illustrated here are far and few between. Thankfully, I live near one that has pretty solid pastors. Sadly, they are by far the exception to the rule in this denomination. 🙁

    6. HEY, obviously it’s the Advent/Christmas season, based on the tree – what does this “sermon” have to do with the coming of the Christchild?

    8. Early nominee for comment of the year. I don’t care if you agree with my politics or not, don’t even mention it from the pulpit. Few things turn me off quicker than a “preacher” mentioning a political figure or party.

  7. I agree with him that someone (and I think we know who that is) who is in a high office (especially the presidency) ought not to go around apologizing for America. But since living in Canada I see that God is able to bless another nation besides the United States. I love living here and we have been blessed here. The US is not the only nation capable of receiving God’s blessing. :mrgreen:

    1. I have no problem with the president apologizing for the mistakes our country has done. Pride is one of the seven deadly sins – and this preacher needs to take a look at that.

      I also he needs to read his history, Chririanity has been on Japan since the 1500’s. Oh I forgot Roman Catholics don’t count.

    3. The majority of people who are most emphatic about the United States of America being the best country in the world have never so much as visited any other country.

      I do know a few people who have lived in several countries and think that the U.S.A. is the best. I will listen to their opinions, but not those of people who know next to nothing about other countries.

    4. How come they never say Isreal is the best country? Since they will bite your head off if you say anything about giving land to the Palistinians.

    5. There’s a great quote by Carl Schurz: “My country, right or wrong; if right, to be kept right; and if wrong, to be set right.”

      People repeat the first part of that quote ad nauseum, but they tend to forget the part that comes after the semicolon.

    1. I’ve heard speakers like this. Even when we were Fundy, my spouse & I could not make eye contact with each other, lest we burst out laughing. 🙄

  9. MANIFEST DESTINY!! It’s in the Book. Oh, wait. He never used the Book.

    I was at a fairly large regional (rather Fundy) pastor’s conference a few years back where I was told that if I didn’t vote for their resolution supporting the war in Iraq, I pretty much wasn’t right with God. We were told that one couldn’t say ‘I support our soldiers’ if one didn’t support the war. I have yet to get an answer as to what right we had to invade a sovereign nation just because we don’t like their dictator. [I don’t wish to start a debate. I’m not pro or anti that war. It is possible good came from it. The jury is still out on that one.] And yes, I support our military. Whole-heartedly. And am thankful for them. It’s the executive and legislative branches of government I have my beef with.

    Anyway, as I have said before, none of these “Ameriker First and Best” preachers have ever shown the U.S. in scripture, so I’d like to know where they get their ideas.

    Dang, Darrell–you had to hit one of my pet peeves on a Saturday morning? Now I won’t be able to concentrate on my taxes.

        3. Oh my gosh, never mind. Just googled him. He was bonkers thirty years ago, and he is even worse now. Holy crap. 😯

    4. If anybody wants that bet, I’ll even give you five to one odds.
      And I’m not a betting man.

    5. I wouldn’t touch that bet with a 10′ pole, but if there is any people on earth who can travel abroad completely untouched by reality & maintain or strengthen this lunacy it’s IFBs. I think it was the Documentary “Waiting for Armageddon” where a group of “Christians” (been a while, but I think they are Baptists), have to be told to keep it down when yelling about the end times at the wailing wall.

    6. Well to most of us Southerners, going any where north of Kentucky or Virginia is considered going to another country. California is going to another planet. :mrgreen:

  11. The terms “Pastor” and “Church” are used inappropriately to describe his position and the platform from which he is articulating it.

  14. HEY!

    I see what you did Darrell, you just uploaded the video negative of a Jeremiah Wright sermon – opposite opinion of America, opposite skin color, same ridiculous grandiosity.

    This is not church, this is not preaching, this is not what is going to bring change to America, nor is it helping anyone spiritually. The politicization of Religion was one of the primary causes of the Reformation, and while I may agree with some of the moral conclusions of the Religious Right, I totally have issues with the methods and philosophies of anyone who conflates religion and politics and thinks that sphere is where we need to focus our energy. Fine, go vote, but this assault on the culture as if it were the crusades again is ineffective and inappropriate. We need the government to stay the f out of many of these debates, it would save us a ton of money too, and we need these pious gasbags to work on changing the hearts of individual people with the Word of God and stop trying enforce their convictions on the whole planet. The Christian Taliban needs to have a smack down just as much as the crusading secularists who think they deserve freedom from others freedom. Being free means allowing others freedom and clearly understanding that your rights end where they cross over into someone elses rights.

  15. So 200 Baptist missionaries with KJBs are what brought Japan back to greatness after WWII?

    Snarking on:

    I wonder if they could preempt war too? Can we send them to Syria, Egypt and Iran right away? Maybe they could save the Euro too?

    How many are there, and how much good could they do if they were not planting Baptist churches next to other churches in Alabama and Mississippi?

    1. 400 did the rebuilding of Japan, per Cletus, sorry bout that.

      I just imagine these Baptists landing on the beach in a military amphibious craft and rushing toward town. Where or what would they occupy first to gain a foothold on the area?

      1. The fabled 400 don’t seem to have been wildly successful, since only 1% or so of the Japanese are Christians. On the other hand,lots of people in Japan celebrate a holiday on December 25 and love baseball, so maybe they did something there.

        1. Well, Japan was hugely popular in Japan from at least the early 20th century. (Interesting trivia: Initially, they imported English baseball terms into Japanese but during the war years the government mandated, in a fit of nationalism, that all such words be replaced with Japanese approximations; they reverted to English for most of them after the war.)

          And Christmas is celebrated in Japan by purchasing a bucket of Kentucky Fried Chicken if you have a family (one of the most brazen and successful marketing campaigns of all time: KFC managed to convince the entire nation that it is central to the celebration of Christmas in the US). If you are single, the chief objective at Christmas was to find a date for Christmas eve on whom you could blow a thousand dollars or more for dinner and a romantic evening at a hotel afterwards (or at least it was in the nineties, before the economy went into freefall).

          My favorite Christmas experience was stumbling, in the stationery section of a department store, upon a sheet of Christmas stickers that included one which depicted a smiling Santa Claus nailed to a cross. Yep, those Baptists taught them Japanese well…

        2. “… a sheet of Christmas stickers that included one which depicted a smiling Santa Claus nailed to a cross.”

          Priceless!

          I’ve always been a little bewildered by the popularity of Christmas in Japan, where only a tiny percentage of the population is Christian.

  17. Also, I’m wondering where the ‘Friendship’ part of Friendship Baptist comes into play. “You can be my friend as long as you look, think, and act like my sanitized version of an American.”

    1. I went to a fundy church recently. (I feel the need to punish myself I guess) The pastor went off on an “I love America” rant not unlike the one in today’s video. During his rant he started talking about how awful and unAmerican huge parts of the country are. Such as California, New York, Massachusetts and New England in general. What I don’t get is how you can claim to love your country while at the same time hating huge, important chunks of it.
      It would be like a man saying “I love my wife except for her family, personality and face”. One would get the impression that you either didn’t love her at all or had a really distorted view of what love is.

  18. This is gold. I don’t know where you find this stuff, but thanks from Minnesota for always sharing it with the rest of us.

  19. was this open mic night at the dadaist comedy club?

    “America has only used its power for good” is one of the most ridiculous and hilariously awful things i’ve ever heard.

      1. I hate to break it to ya but the gibberish some foreigners speak is so unlike our King James English Heavenspeak that they need the Bible diluted into their native whatsit. It is a shame really.

        Missionaries who do not preach from the KJB are doing the native pagans a disservice since we will all be speaking English in Heaven and they will be forced to take remedial classes.

        /sarcasm (lest anyone think I am serious)

  22. This poor man really needs a reality check. If he spent some time talking to people of other countries, he just might begin to see that not everyone agrees with him. However, my bet is that reasoning with this individual will be like reasoning to a door knob.

    Yes, the United States has done wonderful things, but the United States also kept in power a number of corrupt governments just so they would be against the Soviets. In fact, students of mine from the third world have told me that the CIA could be as deadly as the KGB. We got the Taliban going so that it could fight against the Russians. Now, we are reaping what we have sown. Talk to Russian Americans, and they can tell you about the Keyhoe (spelling?) project where Eisenhower and other generals forceably repatriated Russians who fled the Soviet Union during World War II. They arrived back in Russia, and most died in Siberia.

    The idea that America can do no wrong, and if you don’t like it, leave it, is a rather spooky doctrine. An analysis of Hitler’s prewar speeches reveals the same philosophy. Hitler was emboldened in his Final Solution because he knew that no countries really wanted to take in Hitler’s “undesirables.” Concerning this pastor’s beliefs on New York, California, and so on, these people most likely represent the majority of American citizens. How would he like it if those of us from these states turned the tables on him and told him to get with the system or get the heck out of here?

    1. If you honestly think that the socialistic leaning places like California, New York, New Jersey and the like are the majority you must be smoking something. There is a whole lot more real Americans than the scruffy Occupy Wall Street crowd and their slick talking Demeoncrat friends in Congress and Hollywood. When they try to riot in the streets, they will learn what the Second Admentment is for and it isn’t duck hunting.

      1. Reagan was a Hollywood type from California.
        Carter was (and still is) a Baptist Sunday School teacher from Georgia.
        The Bush clan started out in Maine/Connecticut while Clinton, Gore and Lyndon Johnson were from the rural South.
        It is ridiculous to believe that you can ascertain someone’s political stance based on geography.

        It might do you good to Google what socialists believe as well. Check Wikipedia even. Believe it or not being a Socialist requires more than merely disagreeing with conservatives.

        On a personal note, you don’t post here often but I have noticed that you have referenced shooting people before in your posts. That is disturbing and perhaps you should seek help.

        1. All I am saying is these rabel rousers need to rethink the path they are taking by causing chaos in the street. And are saying that you do not believe that the American people should not protect themselves if the need may arise.

        2. Why can’t trolls ever spell? “rabel”? BTW, playing favorites, but Sims, “interwebz” is classic. 😎 Lay aside your arsenal for the moment and report on status of sickness, please. You get these strange monitor-shooting notions every time you get a stuffy nose. Where will it all end, I ask myself…. 😕 😉

        3. He also messed up “Demoncrat” (not that it’s particularly good wordplay, anyway), and totally dropped the ball by not using “HollyWEIRD.”

        4. Still sick. But even through my bleary eyes and gunshot monitor am having a great laugh. Miranda is great! I nominate her for *** SUPERSTAR *** in training! (aw who am I kidding… she doesn’t need training, she is already one!) HI MIRANDA Can you show me how to get to Times Square? Oh and how do I get onea them yellow cars there to stop for me. I tried smiling at the driver but he almost ran me over. He musta not seen me. Oh, and while I was standing in front of one of the tall buildings looking up, someone stole my wallet, can you believe that? How RUDE! BTW, I have only been to New York once, but I ABSOLUTELY LOVED IT! And nobody was especially rude to me. Of course I found out after I got home that I paid three times too much for everything, but hey, all part of the experience. 😀

      3. I’ve always refrained on this forum from expressing desires to shoot people, and I want to take this opportunity to thank all the other participants who likewise manage to express their views without advocating physical violence.

        1. You’re welcome. It isn’t easy maintaining such a calm demeanor here. But it is part of my maturity and also my early training in self-control. I do, however know where to get my hands on a whole aresnol and a closet full of ammo. Jes’sayin. I just know that in the past when I have tried to use it on people in the interwebz it just makes me have to buy a new computer. *and clean up the mess* 🙄

      4. Chad, like it or not, New York City and its surrounding suburbs include over 23,000,000 people. If you include the beltway, which runs from Boston to Washington DC, the number probably quadrupals. This beltway has a relatively low percentage of “fundys,” and the area as a whole is rather progressive. The same holds for the west coast and its equally impressive numbers. Considering these numbers, our fascist-leaning Baptist pastor might want to consider his “love-it-or-leave-it” stance. He could very well be on the receiving end if people could vote on his basic rights as an American. Concerning your comment about guns, keep in mind that he who lives by the sword shall die by the sword. Ever since 9-11, the various government agencies have been monitoring extremists. God forbid, should we ever get to a state of emergency and the government declares martial law, the “we-have-a-gun-and-will-use-it” types will probably disappear in the middle of the night. The eyes and ears of the government have been wide open, and the latest episode of the man who would wired himself up to bomb the capitol is evidence.

        1. Bob, you seem to forget that there is a whole lot of America between NYC and the Left coast. And those people don’t take to well to big city liberals trying to take away their way of life.

      5. Socialist leaning Californians, New Yorkers and the like are real Americans, just as much as you are.

        1. It is hard to be American if your political ideaology wants to strip away all freedoms that America is founded on.

        3. Really,Chad, we can’t be after them all. Freedom of speech is a major part of those freedoms, and you’re still on here.

        4. The wing fighting to repeal civil right after civil right is called “reactionary”, not the people you are implying that are doing so.

        5. “It is hard to be American if your political ideaology wants to strip away all freedoms that America is founded on.”

          On the contrary: if I espouse those ideas and I get a majority of votes, it is the epitome of Americanism that we can and do change. America was founded on the backs of slaves. We changed.

        7. Chad- I’m a fairly conservative “Bubba” from from a small Southern town. You need to realize that firearms ownership and use may be a 2nd amendment right, but it is also a privilege that carries a responsibility which includes not being an idiot and giving people with other viewpoints ammunition in their fight for their cause vs. yours.

          I have also traveled to New York City, Boston, Washington D.C., Atlanta, Chicago, and San Francisco (among other places). I have found the people in each city to be polite and helpful when I have stopped them to ask for directions. I have found in my travels that when I don’t assume the worst in people, I don’t see the worst.

          I have allowed you to get past my troll defenses in the hope that maybe you aren’t beyond help. My word of advice–THINK.

        8. @Uncle Wilver,

          As a gun enthusiast I agree with what you are saying. I am a supporter of the right of Americans to keep and own firearms. However, the people who annoy me to no end are the Yosemite Sam type who ruin gun ownership for the rest of us. For instance, people who seem to think that the 2nd Ammendment gives them the right to shoot the Occupy crowd. 🙄

          Shooting people is not cool nor should it be joked about.

      6. Dear Chad,

        Bite us.

        XOXOXO,
        The unrepentantly liberal and proudly progressive City of New York

        P.S. Please forward all complaints to our Republican mayor.

        1. … Another coffee-through-the-nose-I-am-choking-in-the-house-all-alone-too-early event… Wiping eyes, gasping… Dear Heavens, Miranda, you have the best comebacks… Gales of laughter again… 😆 😆 😆

        4. Another fine example of that legendary civiliity and fine manners from New York City.

          Buy seriously, is there a reason thta in New York, if you just try to be polite and ask for directions or the simplest things, the people just blow you off? Down South, people will go out of their way to help a person out. Heck, my grandmother would take them home fed them a full spread of a meal and help any way she could.

        5. Yeah, well, your grandma isn’t trying to explain the subway map to tourists wearing visors and fanny packs, either. It also has a lot to do with the fact that most tourists don’t so much ask for directions as demand them, as though we’re neglecting our responsibility to shepherd them around the city.

          And I don’t buy that “Southern Hospitality” crap. I’ve got enough Southern friends to know that “bless your heart” is just a sugar-coated “bite me.”

      7. As a Californian, I find these general assumptions very amusing.

        4. The really ool thing about Sims is, she managed all that pot-smoking at HAC. It is how we became friends. 😉

        6. Ok, so two things here. (maybe three) I know I have told this here before, but at HAC as soon as I told anyone I was from California their immediate reaction was, “Ohhhh…” like that somehow explained everything. They thought I should be offering them drugs or something as soon as they found out. Secondly (and this is pretty funny, actually) Our church currently got new offices and it is in a building where medical marijuana is dispensed. (just for clarification, we have never seen anyone who looks like they could possibly have glaucoma come out of those offices…) but it is funny when the pastors come over to the church from the offices smelling faintly of pot. At least *I* think it is funny… others not so much. 🙄

        9. Not the first time… won’t be the last.

          Yeah, whats up with that? I remember going to my cousins’ house in Iowa when I was about 10 or so and having their freinds stare at me and whisper and say, “She doesn’t LOOK like a hippie…”

          SHEESH!

        10. Sims, they were like that at PCC too. “You’re from…California??” There weren’t many of us there to begin with but most of them were from Nor-Cal….which as everyone knows is a whole other state from So-Cal. Anyway, being an all-out valley girl and NOT knowing all the rules, I came in with my trucker hats and Vans, my Hurley backpack over my shoulder. And yes I spoke 20x faster than anyone and said “oh my gosh” every other sentence. You can imagine the looks on my roommates’ faces!

        11. But anyway, to answer AOW, it’s true! *shock* Not all of us are Democrat or part of Occupy, and in case this isn’t widespread knowledge, Hollywood does NOT take up the entire geographical state of California! Oh, and neither does Sacramento, because there’s been some confusion on that point too.

          I’m wondering if Chad gets all his info on CA and NY from tv.

        13. @IHSMVMTMAWHNUTKJV (Even abbreviated your handle is longer than most 😆 )

          Anyway, I am a transplant from TN to the California Central Coast, so I know the stereotypes aren’t true!
          I love it here, apropos of nothing.

        14. I love it here too although the cost of living–out of this world!! Oh well. Maybe I WILL join Occupy LA. 🙄 😀

        15. I am a third generation native and can’t think of anywhere else I would want to live. And you are right, taxes alone are killing us!

        16. 5th generation native myself, but what’s funny Sims, is I thought you were from the East, all that talk about HAC. 🙂

        19. And it’s not a regional thing, anyway. HAC has spread itself across the country (and the world, for that matter) like spiritual herpes.

        20. @Miranda, nothing spiritual about it 😉 and for the geographically-challenged, HAC is not in The East. It is in the Midwest. The Philadelphia Phillies are in The East. Just saying. 😉

    2. I will not join the crowd and speak against this speaker. America is one of the greatest countries in the history of the world. But even being among the greatest is far from perfect.

      One thing that is odd is how America is fighting a drug war, yet at the same time we send soldiers over to Afghanistan so they can protect the poppies and make sure that there is an abundant drug harvest. That seems like an odd and inefficient way of doing things. Talk about government waste! Let’s decide to be against drugs or for them. But let’s not put people in prison for drug offenses and spend billions on the war on drugs at the same time that we are helping to produce drugs. That is just plain wacky.

  24. Gotta wonder how God, who chose *Israel* as the people through which he would bless all the nations of the earth, feels about “we are the greatest country” and “we are the only country to consistently use our power for good” (not to mention that it’s false). 🙁 *Sigh*

    1. Politically-inclined Fundies will sometimes argue that Israel forfeited her right to be God’s people, and that America is tasked with carrying the banner of the church through the modern age. Somehow a few of them even manage to reconcile this with their stance on dispensationalism.

      Seriously.

      I sat at WAY too many prophecy conferences during my childhood.

      1. I had a college roommate whose parents were missionaries to the Jews and who grew up in Jerusalem who actually believed that. 😯

      2. A lot of countries get into this idea of mythmaking. I have heard from several sources that America is supposed to carry the banner of Christianity. This goes way back to the sermons of William Bradford, Cotten and Increase Mather, and the Puritans in general. They were setting up the colonies to be the lighthouse for the world.

        Go across the ocean, and you will also find the myth of the Holy City of Moscow. Russia held the lantern for Christianity after Rome went into heresy and the Great Church of Constantinople fell to the Turks. Today in Russia, the idea of the Holy City of Moscow has come back. Saudi Arabia, the country that won’t allow Christianity in, has a beautiful Russian Orthodox cathedral, complete with bells, on the property of the Russian embassy. The sound of church bells fill the city on holy days. The same goes for the capital of North Korea and of China. The number of Russian Orthodox churches in the United States has almost tripled within the past decade. I was in Moscow at the time that the Great Cathedral of the Savior was consecrated. It is an exact replica of the one that Stalin destroyed in 1931, and it holds 15,000 worshippers. Processions came from all over Moscow to the event. I have never seen anything like it here, and it makes one wonder who will bear the torch of Christianity.

        1. “…after Rome went into heresy.” Oh brother. I thought I was safe from Internet Convert Orthodox Syndrome at this site, but apparently not. 😮 😮 😮

        2. No Longer Lurking Catholic– I’m a Lutheran, not Orthodox. I was raised both Russian Orthodox and Independent Fundamentalist Baptist. We just never said anything about it. My dad worked for a defense plant, so he was rather afraid to talk about the one side since I we’re talking about the 1950s here. I have both my union cards in Orthodoxy and with the Baptists. As a teenager, our family drifted more toward the Baptists, and I have to admit that I was bored by the services, so much so that I used to sneak over to the Lutheran church across the street for church. I did this for about three years without ever getting caught. After all, it wasn’t cool to sit with one’s parents.

          The dual membership has benefits. First, I was pretty fluent in Russian at one time. I struggle with it now. Second, I was able to cut through the crapola. I never understood why the Baptist minister railed against the hippies. Russian Orthodox priests (mine was a monastic)all had long hair and beards because they were in the image of Christ. I loved the smells and the bells. I was raised outside of New York City on Long Island, so I remember the Russian balls where all the exiles would get dressed up in their old military uniforms and sing “God Save the Tzar” to the various pretenders to the Russian throne. I know enough English, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Russian to get around where I want to.

          For Chad’s sake, I spent my first 21 years outside New York City but the next four in rural eastern Pennsylvania in Lansdale, the next five in southern Minnesota, the next five in southern Wisconsin, the next four in central Oklahoma, and the next three in central Kansas before moving back to western Pennsylvania. I know enough about each region.

          In each of the places I’ve been, there have been closed-minded people who willingly propagate all of the stereotypes, but we have had enough shifts in the population for everyone to pretty much realize that urban centers tend to be more liberal than the rural ones. However, to label people by mathematical formulas is absolutely counterproductive. And every group has its folks who would rather divide than unite. The last Tzar, Nicholas II, and his family have been canonized by the Russian Church–The Church Abroad in 1981, and the Moscow Patriarchate in 2000. Criticize the Tzar, and you get drummed out of the corps. Get into a typical fundy Baptist church and proclaim that you’re a Democrat, and see what happens.

          People in middle America my think that they are the only true Americans out there, but their problem is that they think of themselves in terms of geographical largess. The facts remain that the population of New York City is probably much larger than the six or seven states in the entire stretch of the central USA. To those who like to label the west coast and the east coast as Anti-American, keep in mind that the vote doesn’t come from how much land you occupy. It comes from the number of people per square mile. If the majority were to rule, we’d either by praying the Rosary or Luther’s Catechism in vast stretches of this country.

        3. Bob, I am so sorry!! I apologize for jumping to conclusions. I’ve been exposed to a lot of konvertsy triumphalism via the Internet, and I guess I just assume I can recognize it a mile away. So sorry for assuming incorrectly in your case. You know what they say about “assume.” 😮

          For my own part, I want to be very careful not to offend anyone here (including you!), and I certainly do not see myself as some sort of ambassador for my Church. I totally respect that this is a forum for ex-fundies, and I’m here just as a guest.

          Please forgive me for over-reacting!!

          Thanks so much!

        4. Bob – really? Did you have to spoil the fun with your weird, leftist, anti-Christian lies? I still say America is one of the greatest countries in history, yet I still admit that no country is perfect and America hasn’t always done things correctly. The Vietnam War was one of them. The Vietnam War was a waste of lives and had nothing to do with fighting Communism. (Let me guess – you think Communism is really cool?) It was odd how America was fighting the Communists while at the same time funding North Vietnam. It makes no sense to me. Even though I will readily admit that America has its faults, I don’t buy the Kool-Aid like you that all other countries are better and that Saudi-Arabia is just a totally awesome place for women and Christians. The problem with this site is that it is overrun with extreme leftists who in their dislike of all things fundamental have turned into America-hating leftist nutjobs.

    1. and I heard that undergraduate college is free…also awesome

      and you guys have an ice bar…might be more awesome than free tuition

    2. Haven’t been to Northern Europe yet, but it’s definitely at the top of my list. Can’t wait to go through McDonald’s drive through on a snow machine 🙂

      1. In most European countries you can’t buy vitamins that are as powerful as they should be. The government regulates the health food industry in an attempt to stifle natural remedies and promote the all powerful pharmaceutical industry. So much for the “Scandinavian countries are oh so much cooler and care for their citizens so much more” argument.

        But I will give many European countries credit for outlawing fluoridated water.

  26. For a denomination that so emphatically proclaims the innerancy of the King James Bible they sure don’t seem to care much about what it says. Sometimes, I feel like these people might as well leave their Bible at home. What do they need it for if the guy in the pulpit seems to not use it? I once told a friend from a FUNDY church I prefer the non denominational “baptist” church down the street because they give me a reason to bring my NASB to church. He looked at me like I was kidding. I wasn’t.

    1. There is so much low hanging fruit about, you know… being up in… HEY! thousands have been there before him… HEY! She’ll open up and let anyone in…

      HRY! I refuse to go there… I won’t do it… Hey! I won’t go there 😮

  30. Someone needs to do a “HEY! QUALIFIED! mashup of this guy. Then we could put them together and have a HEY! BAM! QUALIFIED! 😯

  31. When someone -again- brings up the “supporting Israel” line, I usually ask them which political coalition of Israeli parties they support.

    Because the plans for Israeli future from Kadima or Likud look VERY different, not to mention some of the more “colorful” parties there.

    And then when you mention the political scandals, and remind them that they do not have a single Baptist leader in their government…

    And how the governmnet have given huge chunks of power to the Orthodox… like the cemeteries…

    Israel is “this” close to having the equivalent of Iran’s religious police.

  32. “Find me a better nation”…I vote Switzerland. Beautiful country, stays out of other people’s business, and the friendliest people I have come across in my travels. And by the way we (the US) have loads to apologize for Johnny boy!

    1. More Democratic politically than other countries as well. But I think they have more issues with racism than some. Here in the UK we just know we’re a c..p country..

  34. France, the best, because:

    1. food tastes better
    2. month- mandated holiday in the summer
    3. better health in terms of longevity
    4. better and paid-for health care
    5. advanced rail system
    6. industrial productivity greater than US while working less
    7. no visual highway clutter in terms of huge bill boards

    1. I don’t know much about the current political situation, but I might like to live somewhere between France and Italy just for the food.

    2. One negative about France:
      A disturbing number of people are planning to vote for the National Front and Marine Le Pen in the upcoming presidential elections.
      In that, we in this country are lucky that we don’t have an (official 😉 ) anti-immigrant party.

      1. The Republican party is trying hard to be the anti-immigrant party right now (and some Democrats are trying to get into the xenophobia act, too), although I’m gratified to say that not all Republicans have gone along with the anti-immigrant strategy. Notably, George W. Bush didn’t do immigrant-bashing for the most part. There’s not much else I agree with Bush about, but he was fairly honest on that issue.

        1. Up here in Maine (Ron Paul country,) I usually say: “Do the Math… do you want to keep your two congressional districts, by the next census? SUPPORT IMMIGRATION. It is not a Red or Blue issue.”

        3. John, it’s also true that current immigration laws are draconian and discriminatory. It’s a complex issue. We need thoughtful immigration reform, not just a “deport-’em-all-back-toMexico” policy, which is completely unrealistic anyway. My 2 cents’ worth, fwiw.

  35. Do fundamentalist baptists preachers ever actually smile? This guy looks like he needs to get laid (by a woman that he’s not forcing to have sex, that is).

    1. “Fundamentalist baptists preachers?”

      George, can’t you at least take a day of rest on Sundays? 🙄

    2. Or a man, if he’d prefer! Tolerance is (or at least, should be) one of the best testaments to our country’s greatness…

  36. It is unfortunate that some of you would prefer to stoop to a disrespectful level, speak things that are unbiblical as though they are okay, and then have the nerve to think you are not as bad as the fundamentalists.

    Darrel actually does a great job bringing these folks to light, but then you morons seem to think it makes us better then them.

    Gut check time people, either use discernment and proper speesch, or don’t bother commenting. You are only perpetuating the same vitriol that you accuse your “enemies” of. Try being a Christian first and a hurt former fundamentalist last. This isn’t therapeutic, it’s just throwing insults from the safety of your keyboard. You need to repent, receive the forgiveness of sins, and get back to properly discerning the issues instead of the mob mentality. It’s embarrassing.

    1. Some of us are actually atheists who used to be Christians, and we are no longer under any of your contrived rules of conduct. Sorry.

      1. I agree with you Trapped Pentecostal. At first I thought this site was a Christian site full of people who were Christians who just happened to disagree with the IFB sect of Christianity. Granted, there are a few of those, but I think most of the commentators here are overtly anti-Christian in general and hate or dislike Christianity in general, not just the IFB brand of it. I think that poor poster was just misguided and had the wrong impression of this site.

    3. PrchrBill,

      The difference is when we complain about others, we are not claiming to be speaking for God, like the preacher in the video.

  37. Wow. Well, I’m glad that I’ve never visited that church while here at Radford University. I couldn’t sit and listen to this guy every week. I’m perfectly content at Blacksburg Baptist, thanks.

  38. This is my first time posting here. I actually emailed Pastor Jon Thomas and sent him a link to his video on this website and asked if he would consider responding to the comments. He has responded to me, but I’ll just leave it at that. FYI, I strongly disagree with the “american exceptionalism” he is espousing. Does anyone have an idea if the subject of other postings ever know if they are featured on this website and have they ever responded?

  39. I have a friend Larry, who was sent to Vietnam. There were two ways to go over: a unit trained and was deployed together, or an individual was sent over to an existing unit to compensate for attrition. Larry went over as a replacement troop. He was given orders to take any available transportation back country to join his unit. He found himself on a helicopter with some VIPs who going back country to explore some financial possibilities. And who were these VIPs? The presidents or CEOs of Alcoa Aluminum, Reynolds Aluminum and General Motors. Where are the largest untapped bauxite (aluminum ore) reserves in the world? Vietnam. Larry says he realized that day, that the war was not about stopping Communism, or spreading freedom and democracy, or anything else we’d been told. 👿

    2. Alexis, good post. The Vietnam War had absolutely nothing to do with “fighting Communism.”

      I still give the speaker in the video the benefit of the doubt. I think he means well and is just unaware of a lot of not so good things that America has done. On the other hand, I won’t agree with all the Communists on this board who hate America and capitalism and think America has never done anything right.

Comments are closed.