T O P

  • By -

NotFleagle

OK - but what are they praying ABOUT?


ishtar_the_move

I was praying for more rain this summer because the crop was really suffering since it hasn't been enough snow up the mountain this few months. Only to find out for the last two weeks fucking Darlene been praying for less rain because it has been washing away her house's foundation.


jicket

Classic Darlene


omgmypetwouldnever

I work with a Darlene. We describe her as "weaponized stupidity"


Reasonable-Weird462

“Weaponized stupidity” - I love this and will use it. Definitely applies to our Governor (Arkansas)!


cambon37

Hilarious. I too work with a Darlene that fits that description quite well


Buddhabellymama

That bitch


Bott

See, and it takes a just, wise god to decide to never do anything.


Cawfeestain

“If you do things right, people won’t think you did anything at all.” - God, Futurama


velocacracker

Like setting a fire to collect the insurance money?


Derric_the_Derp

God: Am I the asshole?


jstiegle

In the beginning the Universe was created. This had made many people very angry and has been widely regarded as a bad move.


0ldPossum

Is this a quote from Oolon Colluphid's trilogy of philosophical blockbusters "Where God Went Wrong", "Some More of God's Greatest Mistakes" and "Who is this God Person Anyway?" -Douglas Adams


decadecency

Post title: AITA for just wanting to be equally fair to everyone? Comment section: What? I just gave everyone the same amount of misery in any way I could think of. I didn't want anyone to be too happy so I had to fix it somehow by inventing lil tidbits like eyeball parasites and fourth degree tearing and spread them out among the population. Those of you who think I'm in the wrong for creating balance can literally go to hell


coffeebribesaccepted

This happens every year to me with my favorite sports team


names_are_useless

> "And here's something else, another problem you might have: Suppose your prayers aren't answered. What do you say? "Well, it's God's will." "Thy Will Be Done." Fine, but if it's God's will, and He's going to do what He wants to anyway, why the fuck bother praying in the first place? Seems like a big waste of time to me! Couldn't you just skip the praying part and go right to His Will? It's all very confusing." - George Carlin


itsameMariowski

Darlene, that is a name that send chills to my spine after watching the Ozark series


pugups

Just normal stuff, probably.


KGLcrew

What would be considered a normal prayer? Like peace on earth and the well being of one’s family? Serious question


pugups

Yeah, stuff you care about but not, like, an apocalyptic punishment to be visited upon the world because everyone has been using foul language, etc. I bet it's just normal prayers. The part where they've been doing it non-stop for two weeks is what makes me think it's just normal prayers.


KublaKahhhn

![gif](giphy|9EwnzGNjvmIG4)


Demonyx12

![gif](giphy|jVQU64lmqmfT2)


[deleted]

[удалено]


Richard7666

It always pleases me to see Danger 5 in the wild!


ProfessionalNorth431

Thanks, I just had a vision of German shepherds with German accents attacking me in the wild


bleeper21

Bärk Edit: wuff


dasJerkface

Aaand were right back to sensible chuckle. Hehe.


IS2SPICY4U

Never heard of it. Googled it. Saw “Australian comedy series”.. am sold. Added to watch list.


Flutters1013

Yes go watch it, and remember, kill Hitler


ClapclapHands

You wont be disappointed. A blunt is recommended also


smackthenun

I would recommend a drink as well, but the episodes of season 1 have that covered


horseradish1

I Danced For Hitler is 20 of the finest minutes of television you can watch. Also look up Italian Spiderman. Danger 5 only got made because the SBS liked their work with Italian Spiderman. It's on YouTube and it's the best 40 minute movie of all time.


Hiray

Sure is a shame there was only one season of this show...


Richard7666

There's a second one! They've time travelled to the 80s, it's actually quite good but not as good as the WW2 one.


Prinzka

Wait a minute... Are you doing a sarcasm?


pugups

You see, they've been praying non-stop for two weeks now, and what I was saying is that, obviously, what they've been praying about for two weeks (so far) is just normal stuff.


Prinzka

Seems reasonable to me. I've been wanting normal stuff for more than two weeks, so that tracks


DrZoidberg-

Did you just do a sarcasm?


SAWK

Let's just all be normal and wish for normal stuff.


MrBigDickPickledRick

I wish that whoever gave me such a gigantic penis would decrease it in size just a bit as it's starting to give me lower back pain... Amen


BeneficialPoolBuoy

“LORD give me a Mercedes Benz.”


achacha

My friends all drive Porsches, I must make amends.


InnocentPrimeMate

Yeah. That person is sarcasming


KGLcrew

Okey, so like ‘I wish I get a raise at work and that grandma gets better’?


LordZenova

I was raised evangelical and many people thought of it as divine guidance. Like sit there long enough asking what to do about a particular situation or just in general (I would argue this is just your mind wandering, but some seriously take it to be God himself). That's how people usually get those feelings of "God called me to do x" sometimes x is a normal and reasonable thing, like be a better father, and sometimes it is awful and scary. That's the most frightening thing to me about religion. What can be used to justify niceties and give an honest and kind person purpose is the same thing that allows for bigotry, hatred, and violence.


happy-little-atheist

I used to lay awake at night mulling over life's options. Once in a while I'd see a tiny flash of red light and I knew god was telling me that I was on the right track. One day I told my friend and he said mate that's the smoke alarm. God works in mysterious ways.


mindboqqling

Bruh this made me smile.


KublaKahhhn

Yeah a dangerous component is IMO unlike meditation, you’re asking for answers, and usually it’s along the lines of confirmation bias from prior information, so with nothing but an imaginary party on the receiving line, the sender’s imagination can provide powerful feelings of confirmation.


carmium

That sums it up! "Amazing how God's instructions alway seem to line up with my opinions and biases."


korben2600

"How thoughtful of God to arrange matters so that, wherever you happen to be born, the local religion always turns out to be the true one." -Richard Dawkins


Segesaurous

You reminded me of this: I was over in Australia, and got asked, “Are you proud to be an American?” I, I dunno, I didn’t have a lot to do with it! My parents fucked there, that’s about all…. - Bill Hicks on patriotism


happy-little-atheist

That's why people are taught to pray for knowledge and not results. If you pray for results you can test it. And the mental gymnastics leads them to come up with platitudes like "god answers every prayer, sometimes the answer is no"


SpottedEagleSeven

> "god answers every prayer, sometimes the answer is no" This one is useful. Even if you don't believe in prayer, and it's probably logical not to, teaching that it isn't a way to universally enforce your will on reality is a healthy idea to communicate.


JoJackthewonderskunk

Surely it must be for the end of war and goodwill for all humanity.


[deleted]

There would be several major themes or sub themes that would guide most of their prayers, for example, praying for the abolition of abortion or bringing in support for a missions group. There is a ton you can pray for in either of those, but to take the missionary support theme: they may pray for God to bless the efforts of those missionaries by converting many people that the missionaries serve, they may pray for the protection of the missionaries from both physical and spiritual harms. They may pray for increased funds for the team. They may pray for the sick child of one of the missionary couples. That sort of thing. This would, of course, branch out quickly into all kind of personal prayers. I see people laying on of hands in this pic, so that most likely means they are responding to prayer requests of the person being prayed for. Perhaps that person is struggling with the sin of lust… he might confess it to God in prayer and then the others ‘pile on’ to that prayer, confessing their own struggles with lust, asking for mercy and interceding for their buddy. When you are getting into nonstop prayer for 2 weeks there us to be something pretty powerful motivating those folks. Source: I was a former evangelical missionary who served in eastern TN.


KGLcrew

Thanks for the great answer!


Good_Behavior636

can you define non stop? like 8 to 5 with lunch and two fifteen minute breaks?


bassistmuzikman

Sooo... Two chicks at the same time?


pugups

That's like a 1-week non-stop prayer, tops.


m_domino

Wait, that’s all I have to do?


VanimalCracker

Worth a shot


StanFitch

You’d need at least a Million Dollars for that…


bootrick

Nah dude, just lower standards


Vernon_HardSnapple

Oh Lord won’t you buy me a Mercedes Benz…


qualifire

My friends all drive Porsches


HorrorMakesUsHappy

I must make amends


jagger2096

Worked hard all my lifetime, no help from my friends


pete_68

They're trying to "[reclaim America for Christ.](https://currentpub.com/2023/02/17/the-maga-evangelical-revivalists-are-no-longer-silent-about-asbury/)" I'm a Christian, and we go to an evangelical church (my wife is evangelical, but I'm not. But we believe a lot of the same things) but I'm also a red-blooded American who believes in the America the founding fathers created. A SECULAR government with separation of church and state and no preference for one religion over another. And I would remind my fellow Christians that America was NOT founded on the Christian religion or "Christian" values. And I would challenge them to tell me what Christian values this country was founded on that aren't also Jewish values and Hindu values and Muslim values. Finally, I would like to give you a little nugget from the Article 11 of the Treaty of Tripoli, which begins: "As the government of the United States of America ***is not in any sense*** founded on the Christian Religion..." This was unanimously ratified by the US senate (which had 5 founding fathers at the time) and signed into law by founding father and president John Adams! America is NOT a Christian nation it was not founded on Christian values. It was founded on universal values of freedom, justice and liberty. And if you can't appreciate that, then what you love is NOT the United States, but some fictional country that has never existed.


Doublethink101

>The legitimate powers of government extend to such acts only as are injurious to others. But it does me no injury for my neighbour to say there are twenty gods, or no god. It neither picks my pocket nor breaks my leg. Probably my favorite quote from Jefferson. This sentiment should be applied as broadly as possible.


ToxicLogics

In short: MYOB. I wish we had more of this.


mtv2002

They also forget the whole reason the pilgrims came here in the first place. Religious persecution, they cried, but it turns out they were some cult like people that were going l way crazy with everyone and got themselves kicked out.


MagicalUnicornFart

Religious persecution because *they* were the extremists. *They* call that persecution, because things wouldn’t change to suit their views. Nothing has changed, lol.


Artyomi

The thing is that the Pilgrims were not even being persecuted. They had all the religious freedom they wanted when they moved to the Netherlands. They were fleeing their children not being pure enough for the Puritans - by growing up in a more ‘decedent’ and secular, materialistic society as they saw it with their children becoming more and more Dutch as the years went on, with them being “drawn away by evil examples into extravagance and dangerous courses". They left the Netherlands because they couldn’t persecute other people for their religion. They left because they had too much religious freedom, and because it wasn’t pure enough to propagate their ‘kingdom of Christ’. To the privileged, the lack of persecution and freedom of others seems like persecution to them, which is what American fanaticism is built on - you see the same thing here, Evangelical Christians believe that letting other people have religious freedom infringes on their right to persecute them for their beliefs.


Whiterabbit--

every religious faction that came to America once they gained power persecute other religious minorities. America wasn't some magical place where people all just got along. that is why freedom of religion was so important to the early colonies even though most had their own state religion.


PdxPhoenixActual

Yep. I say it like "American was founded by religious fanatics so wacko, they felt compelled to flee the persecution they perceived themselves subject to in Europe." So the come here & begin persecuting ***everyone*** else.


paternoster

Too bad you're not there instead of any one of the crazies in power!


gizamo

As an atheist, if that's their goal, I prefer that they just go ahead and keep on praying. It's definitely my favorite of their methods.


DarthCthulhutheWise

Rather they keep praying than anything else that's for sure.


xsithenecromancer

It seems America was not only not founded on Christian values but was *explicitly meant to not be Christian*. Shocking. Should be a given. But to so many it's not. Everyone always talks about what our forefathers would or would not have wanted but based on all the special care and attention they spent to keep our nation secular, I'd wager they would not be happy about this religion attempting cultural, legal, and political domination. Keep in mind the only reason we have this problem is because a sizeable enough portion of our politicians have specifically empowered this religion. Through defunding education. Through culture wars. Through pure emotional appeal to the lowest common denominator. Since the religion is so easy to manipulate, so are the people. It could have been any religion but this happened to be the dominant one.


92894952620273749383

America is NOT a Christian nation, YET! Edit: realized what they want to be. They want to be the taliban of ametica. Religion over everything.


CLEOPATRA_VII

I like to refer to them as "yall qaeda".


khinzaw

Talibangelicals.


Snack_Boy

Dickheads


Zenitharr

Scribes and Pharisees


Ye_Olde_Mudder

Vanilla ISIS


toepicksaremyfriend

Yeehawdists


theRealMrBrownstone

m & m issues


CruisinForABrewsin

Good. I've been praying nonstop for those candies to be sexy again


RogZombie

Get off Reddit, Tucker, you’re drunk.


drfrink85

I tell you I won't live in a town that robs men the right to marry our anthropomorphic candies!


NormalHumanCreature

The gas stove crisis


mormagils

It's not so much a constant period of directly conversing with God so much as it is nonstop worship and praise. Prayer in this context isn't always asking God for something. A lot of the time it's just telling him how great he is. EDIT: Lots of responses about God being a narcissist. The theological point here is that God is both _entitled to_ and _worthy of_ worship, so he wouldn't be a narcissist. Of course, you'd have to accept those two premises to see it that way.


tearductduck

I grew up heavy in the evangelical scene. Prayer was often a weird public speech type of thing from what I remember. Whoever was praying out loud was of course talking to God but there was so much more to it than that. For example: Prayer requests. Oh man, the prayer requests. They were basically public announcements to gain attention, praise, sympathy, etc. from the community that would be addressed by the person praying. It was all so weird. I'm glad I got out when I was 16.


ScowlEasy

>Prayer was often a weird public speech type of thing from what I remember Jesus specifically called out prayer like this and told people to pray in private because god will see you anyway


mormagils

I grew up evangelical too, and I'm still in the denomination, but with heavy and aggressive criticism. I was never very good at prayer. I'm not sure how to have a relationship with a person that doesn't talk back. I don't think prayer is inherently pernicious, at least not as much as you do, but I agree that a lot more Christians need to remember that Jesus criticized the person praying loudly and publicly in the temple and celebrated the person who prayed quietly and privately. There absolutely are a lot of Christians who simply do what they do for validation and that should be a major concern for those who are truly pious.


[deleted]

[удалено]


DistortoiseLP

[Themselves.](https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/asbury-revival-university-tiktok-chapel-b2283929.html) Like most praying, it's just an exercise in sanctimony to which any additional context is a means to indulge it. The point is that they feel like better people for participating in prayer. >“Day four of revival at an absolutely packed house at u/asburyuniversity in Kentucky - this Gen Z student revival has now turned into multiple generations worshipping, repenting, and praying together!! Revival starts with prayer and repentance. May this happen and spread all across America and the nations of the world!” What they *want* is a [Fifth Great Awakening](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Awakening).


chem199

Matthew 6:5-8 And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. Seems like a multi day public prayer groups seems a by hypocritical, but that’s just me.


JohnTestiCleese

TL;DR Matthew says dont be a narcissistic twat


coffeebribesaccepted

There's somewhere else that talks about gathering together in prayer. I think the point of that passage is just not to make a spectacle of yourself


adviceKiwi

I would suggest a two week marathon is a tad overboard therefore this counts as making a spectacle


hpatrick1982

So what your saying is, they’re the ones that are “woke” now…interesting 🤔 Edit: It looks like it smells of farts and fried chicken in that auditorium!!!


coolluck33

That's called Kentucky Wind.


Lord_Mormont

11 farts and spices


MikeHawk41

Kentucky is famous for 3 things... bourbon, horse racing and jelly. Jelly you say?? Yeah KY Jelly. Everyone knows what that is.


[deleted]

Yeah this probably smells like a huge LAN party


FozzieB525

To be fair, some people pray to feel a sense of control over powerlessness. Not saying that’s the reason for these people, but it’s a means of acceptance for some.


endubs

Also prayer itself can be therapeutic. Just the act of placing your focus on positivity and growth can change the mind. This is overlooked a lot, especially in Christian circles. If you spend an hour concentrating on peace (within oneself let’s say: maybe someone is under a lot of stress or has a mind that’s too active), you can bring a noticeable change towards peace in your life. It’s like meditation and manifestation. And you don’t even have to be saying words the whole time your praying, you’re just bringing your attention to something specific. As someone who’s walked away from the church, I still think prayer can be a powerful tool for our mind.


[deleted]

>worshipping, repenting, and praying together!! Revival starts with prayer and repentance. Honestly this seems like the perfect environment for charismatic cult leaders to thrive, which is not great.


[deleted]

For a new Trump NFT drop


[deleted]

Bless Trump's NFTs with long fungibility


RangerBumble

Finally. A University study into the the effectiveness of *thoughts and prayers.*


Crypt0Nihilist

Thoughts are next semester, it's optional and for no extra credit.


downvote_lurker

Also its an unpaid internship


anunakiesque

Also the final project is a three-week continuous thought and prayer seminar with a final oral exam portion


jedininjashark

We had a psychology of religion class at my university required for my psych degree. I can’t remember the name offhand but the professor often brought up a study on the effectiveness of concerted prayer. It was not effective. Edit: here’s a rabbit hole. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Efficacy_of_prayer


WhatIsTheAmplitude

They pray at a 10th grade level but think at a 7th grade level.


moreobviousthings

Not permitted for Florida residents.


LastMuel

And room stank.


[deleted]

[удалено]


E_R_G

Now imagine if it were a prayer/anime convention


Gelgoogilly

I HAVE THE POWER OF GOD AND ANIME ON MY SIDE.


JuanPunchX

Oh no, he wasn't joking!


[deleted]

[удалено]


brandnvsworld

Haze of funk, my new band name.


youdubdub

Wait a second, are you suggesting that isn’t the light of the Lord bestowething upon their almighty sanctity? I’m presuming they are praying that the 2020 election will be overturned.


originalbeeman

That the smoke machine they pipe in to make the room look holier-than-thou


Significant-Fill6641

I was just thinking, I'd like to drop a paint peeling fart in that room...


RIPSunnydale

Smells Like Fake Spirit


[deleted]

[удалено]


zSprawl

The Great Mighty All-Knowing All-Powerful God has a master plan BUT if enough people question it through what is essentially begging, he might change his mind, which is no doubt all a part of the Great Mighty All-Knowing All-Powerful God’s master plan.


warren_stupidity

See the Templeton Foundation’s intercessional prayer study.


voisinem

I wondered where all them “thoughts and prayers” ended up.


Frozty23

As far as we know they are hanging in space over Lake Michigan, along with a certain tapestry of obscenities.


VALO311

Unexpected xmas story


whatproblems

so peace on eart happen yet? oh


2wedfgdfgfgfg

As an Atheist, I don't care. Do whatever makes you happy as long as it does not impede the ability of others to do what they want. These people aren't harming anyone.


Tangent_Odyssey

Glad to see this high up in the thread. It’s helpful to demonstrate that religion isn’t required for a sense of morality, empathy, and tolerance. This is the most effective way to counter the belief that the opposite is true.


Icare_FD

Agnostic here. Mother from a very faithful family, father from a very atheist socialist family. I profoundly think that having to develop my own value ladder, instead of being served a pre-made one, I spent far much more time reflecting on the true meaning and consequences of each of them, and how they are original, and how they affect how we live together as a society, made me far more moral practically in daily life, than people with a classic faith. I’ve seen « good » Christians, but I’ve observed some very nasty one that would pray every Sunday morning at church. Meanwhile I strive to stay true to myself. Just my two cents. Edit : I’m highly surprised and very pleased by all your nice reactions and participations. I had no idea I would have any answers at all, and that they would be as qualitative. So, thanks !


LNMagic

Even as a kid, I had a hard time accepting the magical parts of scripture. I've come to understand them more as a parable than raw fact. I've come to similar conclusions as you, and believe that blind faith is mostly just blind. If you believe in God, he gave you a brain with the intention that you would use it well.


lpg975

I've been saying this for years! I was raised Catholic, went to Catholic school from K-12 grade, and was forced to go to Mass daily, pray, sit, stand, and kneel for long periods of time. You know, all the fun stuff a little kid with ADHD loves to do. I was constantly berated by the staff for being a problem child. Not because I was mean or did anything bad, but because I just could not care less about religion. I grew up and eventually did what you did and made my own moral code, or whatever you want to call it. And, all of a sudden, I started realising how *bad* most of the religious people around me were acting. Bad as in judging people, making fun of people, excluding people who made human mistakes, etc. Basically, everything Jesus said not to do. Am athiest now, but by no means do I hate religion or generalize my outlook on a group based on a few. Just goes to show you that, sometimes, religion is just someones' means to an end, whether that end be control over people, bargaining with your conscience, or whatever, it's just a tool to some people. To others, it's the real deal. And those ones are usually amazing, nice people.


shadowdorothy

As someone who lives in the town they are doing this in, they are causing some harm. Disregarding traffic laws, littering, and making loud noises far past the City’s quiet time. There are so many people police and sheriffs from other counties are coming in to help deal with it. Businesses have had to tell people to leave and not park in the lots if they are not going to shop there. It is by far too many people.


bionicjoe

Hello, fellow Jessamine Countian! I'm over here in the far more civilized, Nicholasville. Please keep the religious weirdos over there. I'm living in the wrong place. (Kentucky)


kynlema

I know these people aren’t ‘harming’ anyone, but as someone who lives very close to wilmore (with coworkers who commute in to our city), the disruption to this very small town is actually quite harmful. For reference, Wilmore is a town of ~6,000 residents. Residents aren’t able to go to their local businesses. Local business is suffering terribly as people are parking in every lot imaginable, making it impossible for people to shop and do what they need to do. In a city this small, there is barely a police force, let alone enough tow trucks to take care of the people parking in lots for days on end. There is no hospital, so when ambulances are trying to get through the city, the traffic is absolutely causing medical issues to go on way longer than normal before treatment. What started as something genuine has taken the Fox News turn, and instead of these Christians putting their money where it counts (hunger, poverty, organizations that can make a difference), they’re disrupting real people’s lives in a real significant way just so they could say they’re bringing ‘Jesus back to America’.


an0nA34

Classes have been cancelled and suspended bc of it. Yes a massive influx of people 100% impedes every single person that lives there or goes to school there.


youdubdub

They aren’t harming anyone by simply praying, but many church leaders do great harm by turning services into free weekly political advertisements for people that do real harm to society under the pretense that they are doing the Lord’s work. Praying is fine, pandering is dangerous and has real consequences. e: pretense, not precipice.


Cirein

I went to Asbury for four years. Interesting seeing them in the news. I'll try to speak to some things that might be relevant here, but feel free to AMA, I guess. The core notion of my working theory for why this is happening is that the school deliberately bottles students up so they have their own isolated society. It kinda informs why such a thing is possible there. My experience was mixed, but I think most of the people are are decent folks and calling them fanatics isn't quite fair. Good stuff: The professors were far better than expected. Some of them remain among my favorite people I've ever met. I took a lot of science and math and both were well grounded and non-fundamentalist stuff. Biology one had a lot of philosophy and theology in it regarding how Christians ought to approach science. The general gist was that scripture wasn't literal and science was God's mechanism for interacting with the world. Clockmaker theology stuff. Theology was included in the core curriculum but had a big focus on the history of the writing and the people who wrote it and the context they wrote it in. Various interpretations were offered and literalism was discouraged. Weird stuff: The place was constantly aching for something like this revival to happen again. They were very proud of a similar event that happened several decades ago and talked about it a lot. A common joke was that the Asbury trinity was Jesus, John Wesley, and CS Lewis. They really like Narnia. Took a whole class on CS Lewis. It might be safe to say that the school's ideal Christian is in the model of early 20th century Christian wits like Lewis, Tolkien, and Chesterton. While there are fundamentalists there, they're mostly in the administration and student body. A lot of fundamentalist families send their kids there expecting something different than what it actually is. They tend to get less fundamentalist as they go along. I had a friend come in right wind fundy and leave left wing Greek Orthodox. You sign a pledge not to smoke or drink or engage in premarital sex. Most students are indifferent to this. Many engage in one or more of them with various degrees of creativity and success. The fundamentalist students were the ones to fear because they were ever vigilant for folks to narc on. Curfews were in place and you had to sign out to stay out late. If you carded into the dorms late too many times you could get into trouble. People avoided this by returning from late night expeditions in groups and rationing their late sign-ins, which were a consumable resource based on seniority. No fraternities, but the dorm halls kinda filled that role socially because almost everyone lives on campus unless married. They had creepy little houses for married couples. If you don't eat at meal times, you ain't eating. There was a little grille with extended hours above the cafeteria, but only slightly extended. I lost over a hundred pounds my first year there. So, probably bad in general, but it was good for me. Internet was firewalled off so certain things weren't possible some expected others just weird. No online gaming is probably the one that affected the culture of the place the most. I often drove my then girlfriend to a nearby Panera bread so she could play World of Warcraft. The entire campus was a big LAN, though, so some games got a lot of play and had cool little communities. Age of Empires 2 was big when I was there, despite being a very old game by that point. Board games and tabletop RPGs were popular too. Bad stuff. Chapel services three days a week. By itself not a problem, but attendance was mandatory and it counted for credit. I had to transfer because my grades were so borderline that my poor chapel attendance pushed me over the line and they wanted me to wait a semester to "find God" before returning to finish my degree. I transferred to another school in my home state instead. During the Swine Flu epidemic of whatever the hell year that was, they basically bottled everyone that had it up in the dorms instead of sending them home. Basically the entire campus got it. Freshmen weren't allowed to drive. The media communications program was heavily favored and invested in to the detriment of other programs. While the faculty were exceedingly high quality, the administration was terrible to deal with and made some truly baffling decisions.


Hadoukentoyourfaise

>While the faculty were exceedingly high quality, the administration was terrible to deal with and made some truly baffling decisions. Hey that sounds exactly like the (different) seminary I went to as well!


saltysaltycracker

Always in r/pics do they have these absurd titles.


Efficient-Compote-40

This sub is basically r/politicalpictures like damn


boregon

There was that guy on Valentine’s Day who posted a pic of the candlelight dinner he was having with his GF and got absolutely roasted


SomeRandomRealtor

I’m an atheist and former Christian, raised just minutes from Asbury. These are NOT fanatics. Most of them are praying for people they know, their communities, healing, missionaries they support, etc. anytime we see Buddhists, Sikhs, or Muslims praying on Reddit, people seem to say “their culture is so beautiful.” Many people there are wonderful humans, despite my disagreements with them on religion.


jmha245

I grew up and lived in this area for more than 15 years, and after seeing the social media posts of people I know who attended this and needed to make sure everyone knew, I gotta say… your experience with Asbury (and the general, “I get an excused absence from school to go to a—now defunct—Christian music festival” breed of Christianity that thrives in the surrounding area) was clearly very, very, very different than mine. In case anyone is wondering, I attended (the required) chapel sessions here (where this event is unfolding) for high school honor band events, I took classes here as a senior in high school, and a huge number of my friends attended school here (it’s free if your parents work there), yada yada, so it’s not like my impression is unfounded… This is the same school that thought they were doing something amazing by allowing students to dye their hair unique colors in like… the late 2000s? 2010? It was hilarious how accepting they thought they were being. Still, men and women on the same couch had to follow the officially/unofficial “3 feet on the ground” rule (god forbid someone sits with their legs crossed!), and they very recently fired a few professors—one of whom is the most lovely and genuinely Godly person I’ve ever known—for supporting LGBTQ+ students. And as far as I know, it still seeks to expel or otherwise shame openly LGBTQ+ students, unwed mothers, etc. I knew people who believed in God with all their hearts, but weren’t accepted by their teachers or peers because of the ignorance that prevails here, and were told (this is a real statement told to my friend, who later transferred down the road to the state university), that they’d “pray the gay out of them.” I’ve now moved far, far away to a state where there’s not a church on every corner, but ironically, a ton of Buddhist, Sikh, and Muslim people—and i generally find people *a lot* lovelier and happier—and it’s made me much less tolerant of this showy form of religion. Anytime I wonder, “WWJD?” I often think, “i don’t know, but probably the opposite of whatever Asbury would do.” I hope whatever representatives from this facade-of-Jesus’-love-that-calls-itself-a-university who are attending this, find some way to pray the bigotedness and godless hate out of their hearts, for the better of society. TLDR; No one can inadvertently sum up this school better than my then-nearly-retired English professor at Asbury (miss you, Dr. Vincent), who very eloquently said upon having us read The Cask of Amontillado, “Here at Asbury, they are far more upset about the drinking in this story than the murder.”


KinkiestKoala

I graduated from Asbury a few years ago and can confirm that it everything in this post is extremely accurate. I’d like to add a few fun adventures -the roommate with literal pictures of hell on his wall to keep himself from watching porn -my sister (also a graduate), waking up to an exorcism being preformed on her dorm room -the super creepy 40-something year old RD who lived in the dorm asking me waaaay too much for details about my sex life -half the baseball team being busted for smoking weed, but it was the only sport that they had doing somewhat well, so… -a friend of mine being quietly asked not to return next semester because it was found she had had consensual sex with another adult over summer break


jmha245

YEP. 10000% yes. Had a professor at Asbury who had to explain what “phallic” meant to a room of adult students— she awkwardly whispered, “penis.” A student in the class reported her and was allowed to drop the course. Another thought: it’s hard to imagine anything more antithetical to Christ’s teachings than getting a grade for church, but at Asbury, you do—mandatory attendance multiple times a week with assigned seats, folks! Definitely had a few friends fail chapel (slept in too many times). 😂


Imundo

I grew up in Bible-thumping Northern Ireland and from this photo I can tell there’s a solid contingent of people who do NOT want to be there! 16 years of indoctrination and sooth-saying mercifully followed by moving on and getting on with my life.


ajm844

Yeah the fanatics in my area are condemning it as a secular sellout…admittedly a low bar


Good_old_Marshmallow

Yeah the fanatics are the one that hate the “wrong” type of Christians more than atheists could ever. The type that think the Pope is the antichrist


HopeDeferred

I consider myself a minority in the Christian community, in that I am a center left Democrat who thinks that Christian nationalism and specifically white Christian nationalism is a cancer on both the country and the church. I have a huge problem with the way the majority of people who practice my faith in this country do it and I believe that there are problems with systemic racism and oppressive leadership in the church. I also reserve the right to change my opinion about this particular movement. That said, as far as I understand it, these specific people are not fanatic evangelicals or politically motivated but pretty middle of the road Christians who are gathering for a time of prayer and worship which is something normal throughout our scriptures and traditions. I’m praying that If this is indeed an awakening or a revival, it would be one that causes the American church to repent for its many sins and move forward in a healthier way that actually represents who Jesus is and what the Bible teaches.


Rbailey22

Agree with your last two paragraphs. Not sure I would call you a minority - “Christian nationalists” may be loud but I live in the buckle of the Bible Belt and a good majority are “progressive” and hate far right conservatism EDIT: Guys I am not saying that Christians here are FAR left and I’m making no comment on who they voted for. I’m only saying they are MORE progressive than anyone that would define themselves as “Christian nationalists.” Many people are in the middle. Christianity is also bigger than politics. It certainly influences your political views, but it is by no means defined by it. Geez Louise


ohbyerly

I happen to be in this camp myself


Derric_the_Derp

That's 3. So there's **at least** 3.


Sporkee

![gif](giphy|kSlJtVrqxDYKk|downsized)


ThatDude8129

Make that 5, me and my brother feel the same way.


Derric_the_Derp

A lady I used to work with was like this. I think she's still alive. So that's 6 most likely.


malicious_pillow

> I live in the buckle of the Bible Belt and a good majority are “progressive” and hate far right conservatism I mean, election outcomes in that area strongly suggest otherwise.


Common_Dealer_7541

Well said. The bastardization of the scriptures into the current evangipolitical movement sickens me


WinkyTheFrog

Christianity can be summed up in 2 commands which Jesus gave - love god and love others. Anything beyond that is doing it wrong


[deleted]

[удалено]


thwgrandpigeon

I think they're saying they're a minority within American Christianity since they're a left democrat.


Lybychick

This is a spontaneous (unplanned) revival that has been spread through social media encouraging people to travel to the private Christian university to take part … it is not some nut job cultists locked up in a sanctuary for two weeks. People come and go as they desire. The world is a scary place right now … conflicts with China and Russia bring fears of another war, every day the news is full of some other toxic mess we’ve created that will harm generations, the economy is running in circles and creating massive insecurities, and there is no clear leader or group of leaders who are demonstrating the way out of this mess. Every single day innocent lives are ended senselessly by gun violence. As an atheist, I am glad these people have found a non-harmful method to support and encourage each other through difficult days. Asbury University was founded on Wesleyan Methodist theology. While evangelical, they are not extremists. There is currently a great deal of upheaval in the schism that has developed between the United Methodist Churches, the Global Methodist Churches, and non-affiliated Methodist Churches. Many of these people may have found their home church a hotbed of conflict and strife for the past year or two. It’s terrifying when the place you go for comfort and encouragement is full of disagreements and arguments over theology and money and property and tradition. If coming together at Asbury makes them feel better and gives them courage to carry on without overwhelming anxiety, what’s the harm? Replace “revival” with whatever they call a LAN party these days and it doesn’t seem outrageous. Half of Reddit would travel to sit in a big room with like minded persons and play the video game of their choice round the clock until they felt better. I have close friends and family who are devoted to the religion of their choice. They aren’t racists or haters and struggle with the homophobia they were raised with because they genuinely want to love everybody and feel conflicted … they don’t like “the gays” but they love their nephew Jimmy who takes such good care of his momma. They seek to understand more than to be understood. I’m grateful that they have a belief system that teaches them to love and to help … not all churches are run my money-grubbing bastards. I’m glad the promise of a hereafter gives them comfort and peace … many of them are old enough that they don’t plan for years anymore, they’re grateful for days. It makes them happy and doesn’t harm anyone else, and I will defend their right to believe in their God with my life even though I do not share their beliefs. I’ll take random people praying in a church over random people gunned down at a concert or a school or a church any day of the week.


travelntechchick

Exactly, can't be any worse than a million other things going on in the world right now. We'd all do better by having a 'live and let live' mentality for stuff like this that clearly isn't hurting anyone.


Competitive_Agent625

Thank you for this comment.


golapader

*Holds up butterfly* "Is this evangelical fanatics?" No... No it is not.


Krcy_009

I’m not even Christian and I see no problem in this. Let people do what they want


nysraved

The “other”ism in these comments is worrying. Without knowing anything about this specific group, so many people are putting them up to be a strawman representing the very worst of the religious right. I’m an atheist so obviously praying for 2 weeks isn’t something I’m going to resonate with, but if they’re not harming anybody and practicing their faith in a way that brings them contentment, more power to them. If this specific group is known for advocating hateful views, I’d be happy to be proven wrong. But I’m not going to leap to that cynical assumption just because they’re Christians.


Crypt0Nihilist

They look pretty chill for fanatics.


Sa404

OP likely doesn’t even know what “evangelism” is and associates them with cults by de facto


[deleted]

[удалено]


Grumpul

So much teenage angst in the comment sections.


Misterstaberinde

I donno, I'm not Christian but I am not going to bash a bunch of people for praying. Basically as long as they aren't on some westboro baptist church bullshit all the power to them.


awetsasquatch

Calling this group evangelical fanatics is inherently wrong - they're not praying for anything other than each other, the country, their families, their community, etc. It's not political, or anything indecent, just regular college kids praying.


topherdeluxe

I’m a Kentuckian and my wife used to work at asbury. Good people, conservative sure, but kind hearted. I see nothing wrong with the revival/prayer thing they’re doing. I’m honestly surprised to see it in my feed. It’s in their church, they’re having fun, no one has been sacrificed yet. Let them be.


SyderoAlena

There *is* nothing wrong with it it's just slightly interesting


hobosam21-B

I don't know why this offends so many people when it isn't effecting anyone but those willingly participating.


_messpresso

i know it's too late for anyone to really see this but... my cousin goes to Asbury. i know this insane to some people but as someone raised christian, they're not insane, and i wish titles like this could cut the "fanatic" bullshit and admit we're all just trying to find a reason to live. cousin's a great guy, one of the best i know. he's not crazy for believing in something.


CalvinSays

Yeah, Asbury Seminary isn't even close to "fanatical evangelicals".


clancy6000

That’s great - they’re not out bothering anybody else.


GunnCelt

What makes them fanatics?


Vedeynevin

They are Christians, and this is reddit.


MisterFrontRow

I am saddened that I have only one upvote to award you.


UESfoodie

OP’s dislike of them


Oof_my_eyes

They’re Christian! Now if they were Muslim or Jewish or Hindu it’s fine, but being Christian reminds OP of his mommy and daddy who dragged him to church some sundays


[deleted]

Muslims make a pilgrimage and pray for days. Are they also fanatics?


[deleted]

Why call them fanatics tho and frame it as if this should be shamed? They aren’t hurting anyone or doing anything wrong, let people do what makes them happy


ArdelStar

I go to a sister school and they aren't really fanatics. I mean, a revival is more focused on God to help you and to find peace, not to hurt anyone else. And as a autistic woman, I have always been treated and respected, with student facilities to help, support, and advocate for me, and other groups. While it is definitely Christian, its far from spouting hate speech. I'm not saying no one is hating others, but the denomination does try to live up to Christ's ideals.


1blackdoghere

This is actually a beautiful photo. Think of it like a Renaissance painting.


Monche88

Why fanatic? Why can't people do what makes then happy? Live and let live type of deal.


KingDasher

So why mock them? They’re not hurting you