The Problem With The Lord's Army

[@vacuousbard6410]

Lord army?! They couldn't even hear the word "happy holidays" or seeing two guys kissing without going into breakdown.

[@JackgarPrime]

Didn't you hear? There's a War on Christmas, therefore they must be soldiers. Seeing the words "happy holidays" is like enemy fire coming at them.

[@ZephyrusAsmodeus]

😂

[@glasshorse6893]

if an army is only as strong as its weakest link, they're basically made of crackers

[@moinmn250]

@@JackgarPrimeThats why Christians leave fake money with Bibel verses on them. Its like landmines

[@Sabazi]

​@@JackgarPrime😅😅😅😅😅😊😊😅😅😅😊😊

[@frahman_]

Growing up as a muslim in Indonesia, this "we're being attacked" message was also quite common given in Friday prayer sermon. Same shit, different flavour.

[@TheNzFox]

tell them everyone is against them and they can only trust you, its cult 101. Not only does it mean you can control the narrative, it also means if anyone shows them indisputable proof that your narrative is wrong they will still ignore it as an 'attack' against them.

[@ChristianF15cher]

"MY RELIGION IS BEING PERSECUTED" -Follower of a religion that makes up 87% of the national population

[@TheNzFox]

@@ChristianF15cher I wish I was as 'persecuted' as Christianity , very occasionally having to recognize that other people exist is a small price to pay for being tax except, immune to the law and not need to follow basic social responsibilities

[@frahman_]

@@ChristianF15cher it's kind of mirroring to what's happening in the US right now (I assume christianity is the majority over there). Just one small inconvenience and it triggered the "we're being attacked" sentiment. Another point is the preachers would use global situations to amplify that sentiment (middle-east war etc.) And again, that's what I think happening in the US nowadays.

[@ChristianF15cher]

@@frahman_ America’s population is about 70% Christian but that’s rather diverse between Catholics, Protestants, and Mormons. (Muslims make up less than 1% here). And yes victim-culture is very prevalent among American Christianity. It’s on a steep decline though, the younger generations are becoming more secular and the older more religious generations are just dying off. There’s actually more former Catholics in America than practicing ones.

[@angelikaskoroszyn8495]

It's called stochastic terrorism. When influencial leaders use vague but very agressive language to stir their audience. Most of their listeners won't do anything radical but there will be always one lone wolf who will take the hateful words to their heart and commit a terrorist attack. Then the leader can hide behind vaguesness of their words

[@ChristianF15cher]

"You have to fight like hell." Donald Trump, January 6th 2021

[@j.kaimori3848]

Yep, then claim their words never meant that. Well, that's just irresponsible. At very least that's a reason for me to leave and not want children anywhere near my old churches.

[@ddjsoyenby]

yup a lot do this.

[@ComradeLavender]

Non-compete has a great video about how this lead to the Christchurch attack.

[@julianparsons3027]

@@ChristianF15cher "... let's have a trial by combat!" -Rudy Guliani, around the same time.

[@elanagatien5220]

I forgot to plug in my headphones before clicking on this. Ended up blasting "WHO DOESN'T LOVE VIOLENCE??" for the whole dorm to hear lol

[@snooganslestat2030]

😂

[@Lizalazal]

🤣🤣🤣

[@Acefdiamonds]

Would've yelled "YEAH" In that dorm

[@elanagatien5220]

@@Acefdiamonds 😂😂

[@BarresiNewYork]

Lmfaoooooooo

[@aaronfoster5680]

"I died for your sins..." *Jesus racks back the slide of a Glock 18* "...but now it's your turn."

[@ChristianF15cher]

Passion of the Christ 2: Crucify This!

[@cummywummy2896]

"Just as god sacrificed I: his only son, are you willing to sacrifice your son on the front lines?"

[@stylesrj]

@@ChristianF15cher "You know how to use one of these?" *Hands his partner a gun* "Jesus, you know how to use one of these?" *Hands Jesus a joint*

[@kalebb1226]

" My son, I'm packing" -south park jesus

[@olivierluisin1790]

**insert joke about that one video of jesus kicking judas ass**

[@lucypher8223]

My breaking point for leaving Christianity as well as religion as a whole, was when someone whos company I enjoyed, a sweet caring woman I worked with, when the conversation of revelations came up, she was excited, I was like you do know people will die, yes it's sad but the lord is coming back and it's wonderful......just hearing it out loud, it dawned on me I'm in a religion that worships death and destruction

[@aazhie]

The part that steams me even more that is how much Christians abhorred "violent" (by Christian definition) religions, from Aztecs to modern conspiracies about Jewish space lasers... Accusing some group of human sacrifice when Jesus was slaughtered like livestock, and God smashed cities into pulp is so bizarre. Like... yes Aztec religion is pretty gorey and hands on murder, but how is it much different than waging war against infidels, or Crusades...

[@artemismoonbow2475]

I was at a Thanksgiving diner and my cousin that I grew up with's son, who was like six, yelled, "Jesus, blow your horn and take me away!" I was like, the kid just wished for his death and the death of billions and he hasn't lived yet. Everyone thought it was cute. I was pissed.

[@ShadowPa1adin]

It feels so weird, having to be so polite and respectful to people who smile at the thought of a day when you and people like you are being eaten by flesh-eating locusts and thrown into a lake of fire for eternity.

[@artemismoonbow2475]

@@ShadowPa1adin It is a monstrous thing. Even a death cult obsessed with revenge can become normalized and banal.

[@burbdoesthings390]

Personally I think there are two types of Christians when it comes to revelations: those who haven't thought about it and only know the basics and those who have been through so much suffering that they look forward to the idea that this world is temporary. After all, revelation isn't just "Jesus coming back and the dead coming back to life" as so many tell you. Its the end of everything. The entire universe will be destroyed after 1000 years of war and suffering.

[@skyeguy7914]

As a former Walmart employee, I feel that one random dude’s pain.

[@mrboerger1620]

I know right like fuck as someone who works at a grocery store I see and hear these things forever ugh.

[@zenairzulu1378]

I have done many tours of duty in retail. Oh the humanity oh the humanity

[@cummywummy2896]

I worked there for 3 years and for some reason that store seems to attract a metric fuckton of christians who choose that store to act weird in and leave pamphlets

[@redrasegarden]

I only had a splash of that crazy.

[@Celticshade]

walmart is a special place to be a retail worker. ive never worked there but it always seems to attract the most interesting customers. i live in massachusetts, but i also live on the rhode island border. any walmarts in rhode island are the worst places to go. the customers are horrible, and the workers are just done with everything. they dont even attempt to deal with people, and i fully understand that.

[@Porlarta]

The clips in this one gave me a profound sense of dread. Growing up outside of the church makes all of this look just insane.

[@goldenageofdinosaurs7192]

Same. I find it both frightening & incredibly depressing. I mean, how can regular, relatively intelligent people fall for this crap. Looking at it from the outside, it’s so obvious how much of a scam it is. I just don’t get it😔

[@Ben-Rogue]

People bring their children to church and are told this stuff is the truth. No wonder they grow up so damaged, they're branwashed

[@chriscortez2036]

As someone with friends from other cultures, what first started my deconstruction as a preteen was the idea that all nonbelievers deserve to suffer eternally in hell. It was just insane to me how you supposedly were just as bad as tyrants and serial killers for simply not being part of a particular culture. It’s also rather discriminatory tbh. Why not base a person’s judgement on their actions and intentions instead of just their cultural affiliation? Simply being a Christian doesn’t make you inherently more moral or superior to others. Furthermore, what is the purpose of torturing people eternally in hell? If they’re that bad why not just put them out of their misery? Let them rest. Show them ACTUAL mercy… and that’s when I started deconstructing. The concept of hell is less about true ethical justice and more about subtly threatening people who don’t convert.

[@Aencii]

De-converting also makes it seem insane.

[@keithk8275]

It is

[@AJSai3007]

This is one of the things I find disturbing about the Abrahamic religions (although this also applies to other religions): they speak of peace, love, and morals, yet they are willing to commit atrocities towards innocent people because their god commands them to. Atrocities are what they are, regardless if it is commanded by a mortal or god.

[@DemiRurge]

When you try to mix the beliefs of Iron Age barbarians with the teachings of a cult leader, you get a dangerous combination.

[@TheMilitantMazdakite]

No, you need not obey these commands religion is not dogmatic.

[@TheMilitantMazdakite]

​@@DemiRurge Even though our current world capitalist order is far worse. You wanna know what would horrify those "Iron Age barbarians". Bombing children in their school bus. For nothing. For just existing.

[@offdutyenglishmajor9924]

6:27... WHY DID THEY MAKE THE CROSS A FRIENDLY CARTOON?! Christ, that's like making a kid-friendly cartoon out of the electric chair!

[@ChristianF15cher]

I have this kind of argument over Baphomet. It's like "don't go saying that my statue is offensive because it has boobs and an allusionary phallus when you're praying to a statue of a man who was tortured and stabbed to death."

[@austinreed7343]

Dear gosh, that’s horrifying!!! And furthermore they’d say “Nezuko makes kids love demonic subhumans!!”

[@pills-]

@@austinreed7343 Lol. I need to hear that sermon 🤣

[@ShoutOfCoffee]

Being a Christian Warrior was very serious dream of mine. I've been training for this my whole life. I did some faith push-ups, 10 commandments sprint, holly water bending, seven sins martial art... I knew it all. I was ready! But...on my exams day for Anti Dungeons and Dragons Strike Team...church finds out about me watching Willow in 1993. 😁

[@jsnel9185]

Thanks. You made me spit coffee onto my phone. It was the comment "Willow in 93" that got me.

[@Ahsoka_Hyrule]

Holy water bending sounds sick tbh

[@goldenageofdinosaurs7192]

What a pervert. Go straight to hell, boy.

[@ShoutOfCoffee]

@@Ahsoka_Hyrule yeah. Take lot of time to achieve perfection. I using vodka for practice. Holly water is to dangerous.

[@ShoutOfCoffee]

@@goldenageofdinosaurs7192 yeah. I know. Willow was waaaay to much

[@tergish1]

You’re the only substantial thing I’ve ever shown my parents to get them to question dogma. I love what you do, and I hope you keep doing it: I may keep my faith forever, but, in a way, as a Christian, it’s our responsibility to question what we’re taught.

[@trapadvisor]

No matter who you are it’s your responsibility to question everything you’re told.

[@choronos]

Disclaimer, I'm not trying to be rude or start any kind of conflict by asking these questions, but I'd fully understand if you'd rather not answer me because it's really none of my business what you believe or why. That said, I am legitimately curious about what makes your faith tick. Harmful dogma aside, how can you keep your faith in the Christian God at all for any reason? Biologically modern humans have been on Earth for over 200,000 years. Countless religions have come and gone. What makes Christianity special? Are the billions of people who have lived and died in various parts of the world who had no way of knowing of Christianity's existence just not deserving of the grace of God? What do you get out of having "faith?" What even is "faith?" I was raised Christian but none of it ever stuck for me. I take no comfort in the idea that there's a "higher power." In fact, I'm morally opposed to such a thing, and if God revealed himself to me this second I'd reject him and his "love," because his love comes with contractual obligations, and I will never willingly submit to the will of an authoritarian tyrant. If I'm being 100% honest, God checks more fascist dictator boxes than I'm comfortable with (more than 0). As an adult, I've taken an interest in history, and learning the historical origins of Christianity and other religions has completely undermined for me any previous credibility they might have had in claiming divine origins. Full disclosure, I don't think of myself as an atheist. I think the idea of definitively stating that there is no God is presumptuous and arrogant. No one can truly know the nature of reality. That said, I don't believe in a God in the traditional sense, and I don't put much stock in spirituality as a whole. My sole guiding principle is to leave the Earth a better place than when I found it. I use empathy and kindness as my guides. The bottom line is that Christianity, Judaism, and Islam as laid out by their respective religious texts directly conflict with my guiding principles and my moral code- and in my opinion, a relationship with God is a fundamentally toxic and unhealthy one, as the power dynamics are wildly imbalanced. It's like a slave "loving" their kindly master. Not for me. So all of that is why Christianity doesn't work for me, in a nutshell. Why does it work for you?

[@aazhie]

I'm glad there are religious folks that can watch this kind of podcast and still appreciate Trevor's talking points. I do agree that anyone, Christain or not, absolutely should listen to other stances on their beliefs (or not lol) and question why they beleive or rely on anything

[@braden_m]

❤️❤️

[@Treyjacksxn]

Lmfao 💀 who tf is ‘our’? it’s ‘your’ responsibility to question your shite faith

[@theautisticguitarist7560]

My favorite conservative meme is saying "There's a war going on" only to immediately say "it's not being fought with guns, and soldiers, and artillery, etc." And I'm like, so it's actually not a war then???

[@ChristianF15cher]

Trusty keyboard in tHe cULtUrE wAr !

[@darkstarr984]

It’s one of those silly magic battles, actually!

[@exaucemayunga22]

It's more like Harry Potter

[@cipherpac]

I used to be a high school youth group leader and I can attest to the fact that this rhetoric of war in the church definitely holds hands with toxic masculinity in churches. The high school guys in our group were generally very disengaged and indifferent to what we were teaching, but they leaned in and listened closely whenever we started using war/battle language. I think this was due to the pretty strict and frankly toxic views on gender that the church held. Boys weren't supposed to get the message of mercy, empathy, and anti-xenophobia from the story of Jonah, because those are all emotional, caring, mushy notions that are more suited to women. But they sure loved David and Goliath, Samson, and the dozens of other stories where God sent or blessed someone to do violence in His name.

[@vytah]

Don't forget that God blessed Samson so that he could rob and murder some random guys to settle his gambling debts, and then so that he could commit a suicide attack.

[@storyweaver8821]

"People hate something that they don't understand because they were taught to hate it." Oh, just like I was taught to hate a bunch of things just because other Christians said I should hate a bunch of things they didn't understand!

[@aazhie]

Nailed it. My family knows so little about Muslims and yet they are terrified and disgusted by the religion and people who practice it. And I am often arguing how close Christianity can be in so many ways, to very little changes, but I still gotta say it :/

[@rachelk4805]

I was actually thinking... Oh, like the Crusaders hated the Muslims because they were taught that they were the enemy? And then they used that as a pretense for violence. 🙄

[@ChristianCatboy]

Yup. I was taught by religion to fear and hate queer people, for pretty much no reason. So naturally, I ended up fearing and hating my own body and mind for 20 years. Gee, thanks! 🙄

[@HotDogTimeMachine385]

"This is what happens when people hate something they don't understand just because they've been taught to hate it" -Brian Holdsworth, talking about why the crusades are good actually. Even though he sounds like he's talking about how the church teaches homophobia and racism to children and told to blindly follow hate.

[@jamesdragonforce]

Ugh Fuck Brian and his smug savior complex.

[@ALu-nq8rf]

Holy crap, I gotta watch that

[@ddjsoyenby]

ikr.

[@jimmythebold589]

a disgrace to the name 'holdsworth'! (allan holdsworth was my favorite guitarist, and he was an atheist)

[@ArnisKaye]

I always found it strange that Satan was just an angel that God created, but somehow his powers were basically equal to God's. And God has twice as many angels as Satan has demons, but Satan's side is somehow basically equal to God's. Then he's supposedly defeated after Jesus dies on the cross, but he's still basically equal to God in power to this day. It doesn't make sense for a lower, created, smaller army, much lesser power, defeated being to be able to do a fourth of what Satan supposedly does. It only makes sense if either Satan is a god in his own right, equal to God and therefore just as powerful making an eons long "war" possible; or Satan doesn't exist and is just a tactic to give humans something to fear and an excuse for evil behavior.

[@angelikaskoroszyn8495]

The enemy is both weak and powerful

[@IaMaPh1991]

You, my friend, have just discovered the Law of Conservation of Ninjutsu.

[@chriscortez2036]

It’s in human nature to want a scapegoat. A single simple something, or someone, to blame for all their problems. But reality doesn’t work like that. The world is chaotic and complex and there are some things that no one has any real control over. Falling to prejudice and discriminatory blame is not only unhealthy and ridiculous but it also doesn’t address any real complex issues in our world. Edit: Also, as The Truth Hurts’ Harrison explained: The concept of “Satan” can also be used to deflect blame. Imagine someone got drunk and hurt people. If that person was Christian, they could simply say that Satan manipulated them and that wasn’t the “real” him. If that person was atheist on the other hand, he has no excuse. He had to admit that he had done those things. I think this is also the reason why Christians view themselves as inherently moral and atheists as inherently immoral.

[@JackgarPrime]

@@angelikaskoroszyn8495 Bingo. Umberto Eco's entry number 8 on the facets of Ur-Fasicsm.

[@Liz-ux4lf]

This is actually the basic overarching plot of the book/show Good Omens. In that universe, over the centuries, both heaven and hell kept on doing their thing so they could have a war eventually. To loosely quote the anti-christ from that (since I can't remember the exact line and don't want to get out of bed), "You want to end the world just so you can see whose gang is best?"

[@logicalparadox815]

While I was never religious, I also never thought much about why I was opposed to it. These videos very clearly elaborate on my diffuse feelings of "I just don't like it because I want to be my own person" . They also made clear my biggest gripe with religion... that being that people shouldn't need an excuse to be good. But religion gives them a framework of "good", and an excuse to exercise it while categorically disregarding any alternative. Really, everyone should want to be good by their own will instead of by the will of God. And if they're still being racist, homophobic or whatever, then I can at least grant them the fact that they are bad people in their own right.

[@drkreuzer670]

Your pfp seems familiar, i don't know why.

[@derricksexton6804]

Religion has ruined spiritually, people who judge others instead of judging themselves are always pointing fingers at others. I've grown to not have respect for those or my family where respect use to be, I can't go to they're churches anymore. Compassion goes out the window with judgemental Christians 🥺 We look outside ourselves for the Creator but never look within💚

[@chriscortez2036]

As someone with friends from other cultures, what first started my deconstruction as a preteen was the idea that all nonbelievers deserve to suffer eternally in hell. It was just insane to me how you supposedly were just as bad as tyrants and serial killers for simply not being part of a particular culture. It’s also rather discriminatory tbh. Why not base a person’s judgement on their actions and intentions instead of just their cultural affiliation? Simply being a Christian doesn’t make you inherently more moral or superior to others. Furthermore, what is the purpose of torturing people eternally in hell? If they’re that bad why not just put them out of their misery? Just let them rest. Show them ACTUAL mercy… and that’s when I started deconstructing. The concept of hell is less about true ethical justice and more about subtly threatening people who don’t convert.

[@TheNzFox]

​@@chriscortez2036 its the contradictory mindset that seems to be core of modern day Christianity, god loves you SO much that he wants to torture you for all eternity, free will exists even though your creator dictated your every choice before you were born, god is all knowing yet he is constantly deceived by Satan and needs a rainbow to remind him not to kill everyone, god is the source of all morals who never changes and yet his views on slavery and child murder have changed, god is all powerful which is why we must fight to defend him. I just don't understand how anyone can look at Christianity and not see the mountain of contradictions in what they teach, i am talking about just the core narratives that are preached before you even get into the issues with the bible. The only answer I can come up with is 'brainwash them young so they don't ask questions' which is why billions is spent on pushing youth programs and why they care so much about forcing people to pray in schools

[@dalek7804]

@@derricksexton6804 “they’re “= their

[@SatanasExMachina]

I'm not proud to say it, but I used to love real violence. I was one of those sick Christians that saw people I felt deserve GAWDs wrath suffering for some reason, and would smirk in a satisfied fashion. I believed in an eye for an eye, and would seek recompense viciously. I was a rageaholic and very old testament believer. After much self searching, hard work in bettering myself and avidly adjusting my worldview, I realize much of my antisocial and abhorrent behavior fell to my belief in peoples inherent evil and GAWDs justice needing to be met. There was a direct correlation to my embracing violence, and my theistic views and upbringing. I've been an athiest for almost half of my life now and I'm happy to say those close to me consider me a temperate, patient, understanding and peaceful person. As a matter of fact many are surprised to find I was such a destructive person in my past, and say it's difficult to imagine. Leaving religion was the most healthy, beneficial and positive choice I ever made in my life. I'm glad I saw myself and my beliefs as they truly were, and made the necessary change. Thanks for the vidz, and keep up the great work.

[@offdutyenglishmajor9924]

Good on you for coming such a long way, my dude.

[@SatanasExMachina]

@@offdutyenglishmajor9924 thanks. The journey isn't over until that last 6 feet down, but every step I take from here is only on the path of self progression.

[@rachelk4805]

I think it is natural for people who feel very constrained by oppressive rules to take satisfaction in seeing others who break those rules suffering. You are suffering under the rules, seeing them suffer when they break them makes your suffering feel worthwhile.

[@BestOneEver247]

@@SatanasExMachina you are the definition of character development

[@Lmaoh5150]

Great to hear! I’ve found some of the same mindsets in my old Christian self. It feels like a dream now.

[@robercoli6136]

Trevor, you left out the "Gideon" episode of VeggieTales. "Join God's army, get a free flashlight!" 🤣🤣🤣

[@subtlegong2817]

I’m an agnostic former priest who for most of my life until this point has been ready for the moment when humanity destroys itself. I’ve been running off an old script. Maybe we destroy everything in my lifetime, but how self important am I to think that I’ll fix it or have any significance when that happens? Maybe I’ll give support to the lgbtq+ or donate money to cancer research. So much better investment of my resources and attention than preparing for the end of the world. This video was a revelation

[@jsnel9185]

Dude, I feel you. I come from a family that is very much obsessed with revelations and the end times. So much so that my uncle has written not one, but three books predicting the end times. Spoiler alert, he got it wrong. I find the end time obsession to be downright dangerous, not just annoying. Every problem will be solved by Jesus, at a time TBD. it absolves them of all responsibility for the state of the world. Global warming? Jesus. Ecosystem collapse? Jesus. Pollution? Jesus. Poverty? Jesus. I'm sure you see the point. Anybody who honestly and independently reads the gospels and the following books of the new testament will clearly see that everyone, INCLUDING jesus, believed the end was near. He even said to his disciples that many would live to see the day. And now, 2000 years later, we are still waiting. We do things like say "soon" for us is different than "soon" for god. I am sure, 100% sure, that some amongst the extreme christian right here in the states would be willing to do something very destructive if they felt it would usher in the second coming. And given the broken "left behind" theology american christians have swallowed, many are poised and waiting for their moment.

[@ChristianF15cher]

"This video was a revelation" Your subtle pun is not lost on me, sir. Welcome back to secular society. May you find true peace and happiness in your life.

[@proculusjulius7035]

@@ChristianF15cher hahaha I honestly hadn't seen it.

[@theboombody]

The Bible doesn't instruct its readers to try to figure out when the end times are. They will come like a thief in the night. It simply says that if you've walked with God during your life, you are prepared enough for the end times to not be frightened beyond comprehension when they do happen. Or, more likely, when your own end time happens. If you learn to trust the force that created your body, you can better trust the force that will take it away.

[@Lanthardol]

7:05 “There is an army of darkness, waiting, a strategic lethal enemy that will lie, cheat, and tell you you aren’t good enough” Interesting word choice, considering the people who so often told many of us we weren’t good enough, raised us from birth telling us we weren’t good enough, taught us that various parts of our core being that we could. not. change. made us not good enough, were Christians.

[@mattmorehouse9685]

Not to mention their punishment for not being good enough- Hell.

[@kadenoneill7227]

that was my first thought when that clip played. it's these religious people saying that we're inherently broken and bad, not satan

[@StrawberryVein]

Tim Conway: wow I can't believe God killed a man for trying to keep a box from falling over Me: I know right wtf Tim Conway: isn't that awesome? Me: wait

[@stylesrj]

Didn't someone else also burn the wrong incense? Then again how would you like it if someone sprayed a terrible perfume in your face? Would you wish death upon them? :D

[@lonewolfgamingplus379]

Me: Didn't God break his own Commandment ?

[@koboldparty4708]

@@lonewolfgamingplus379 "Rules for thee, not for me."

[@theboombody]

Probably a demonstration of not treating sacred things as common. The guy probably went to heaven still.

[@isaacmayer-splain8974]

​@@stylesrj i would wish better sense in perfumes upon them.

[@myqueen0402]

Thanks so much for what you do. The movie clips make laugh. I live in Nigeria where religion is seen as spiritual warfare, your supposed to cover yourself, your home, your business with "the blood of Jesus". You're supposed to be a prayer warrior, attend vigils because the devil is active at night. Christians are always trying to fight a battle. It sucks the fun out of life. I'm in a private christian university and the religious aspect makes school harder than it already is. Thanks for your videos 😊

[@amanaliendealwithit]

Hey me too, my parents are pastors in deeper life and they refuse to accept the fact that I have a different view on life am stuck because am a girl😂 anyways are you an athiest or an agonist?

[@imperatorshekwolo2750]

@@amanaliendealwithit Omo, we plenty o. I am a Nigerian too from a deeply religious home. But I know too much to remain in a faith that cannot justify itself or a god that cannot tell a straight tale. May the universe save Nigeria from the confusion and backwardness of religion.

[@littlesunshine4591]

I'm also a Nigerian; my parents are religious and even I don't know how I left. It's well sha

[@littlesunshine4591]

​@@amanaliendealwithitI'm gnostic atheist.

[@midgetwthahacksaw]

Holy hell, I might have been raised Catholic and that comes with it's own issues, but I have NEVER been taught that I was in the "Lord's Army". I'm glad I was NEVER exposed to this song. Edit: For spelling.

[@sassylittleprophet]

Oh I was. That was one of the "best" songs growing up. That message mixed with the message to constantly be ready to lay down my life for my faith (like Steve Rodgers jumping on the grenade) made me a very anxious, very depressed, very suicidal person -- at as young as age 8. In fact, I have an OC now whose backstory is having been rigorously trained non-stop by her abusive father to be the perfect, ruthless, "holy" soldier, to be weaponised by her dad for his own power hungry agenda for political power through religion. Her backstory, mindset, and ideology is heavily inspired by my own brainwashing growing up, if that says anything at all.

[@SusannahGraceMusic]

Exactly my thoughts while watching this 😳 my parents converted to Catholicism together when I was a toddler, likely thinking they were escaping to a “purer, more theologically focused” form of Christianity

[@angelikaskoroszyn8495]

Same. The worst I've ever been fed was this strangely inspirational story about a saint who fought her r@pist and died as a result. The moral of the story was that you shouldn't let someone r@pe you not because r@pe is horrible but because it would stain your soul or something. Better die a virgin than do everything you can to survive

[@aazhie]

@@angelikaskoroszyn8495 wow, that's so disturbing and misogynistic. Great way for awful religious types to auto-shame any woman who does survive rape even if she was drugged unconscious or restrained Dx

[@ChristianF15cher]

My girlfriend and I are both defected Catholics and while we certainly have all the same criticisms of the RCC that most people do, we can't help but look at the nutters who babble in tongues and think the Earth is 6000 years old and have pastors with private jets and think "Holy hell, we're actually LUCKY by comparison that we grew up Catholic."

[@benjaminjenkins394]

“We were not called to sit in front of a television set buuuuuuut you definitely should watch me…on the television.” 🙄

[@chaserose5127]

I love how I'm living a chill life after abandoning this so called "Prince of Peace" and replacing him with literal Mideval war gods.

[@samazwe]

"War is a racket" - Smedley Butler In this case war, in a religious sense, is also a racket. It's a state of mind which for so long made me feel useless and weak because I often 'lost the fight' against 'immorality'. I wish I could go back to my teenage self and tell him that his feelings were valid and biologically normal.

[@kendomyers]

"Love is a battlefield" -Pat Benitar

[@pansepot1490]

Religion is definitely a racket. You have to accept Jesus so that you can avoid Jesus sending you to hell. Plenty of memes out there about that.

[@artemismoonbow2475]

War is indeed a racket and I too suffer from "Smedley's Syndrome." I remain always faithful, but not in the way most would think. :)

[@Colddirector]

It reminds me of how in 1984 the three big superpowers maintain an endless war with eachother to expend excess resources and keep their citizens in a constant state of blind fearful fanaticism. It’s also great for shutting down any inconvenient questions or doubts - just say it’s a trick by the enemy.

[@milkenobi]

Having left Christianity and having an outside perspective, it’s insane to think about the kind of mindset we were taught to have - that a powerful invisible enemy stalks us, sets legions of other invisible underlings to task to ruin our lives and destroy us. It’s such an incredibly unhealthy mindset.

[@JWhitneyInc]

Growing up in the southern United States, I got this sort of message a good chunk of my life. Then I was a freshman in college when September 11, 2001 happened. And then things were DIFFERENT. People flocked to the churches. I was attending a mini mega church and the Sunday after the attack it was such a packed house they had people sitting on the steps of the stage to fill all the seats. I feel like that's the moment a lot of fringe Christian nationalist theology started to gain a real foothold in the US and I think we all know how that's going.

[@pills-]

Sadly, i think that's when it hit it's rebound.

[@Lora_1113]

A few years ago, when I started deconverting, no one included John Piper in such videos. He's too rational, well behaved, less shocking than the likes of Copeland and even MacArthur. But he was the basis of my Christianity. He's a good illustration of how firm your beliefs can be and how you can find a Christian excuse for every falsehood others may point out to you. So thank you for thinking of him.

[@annaairahala9462]

I really like that John Piper is included here. He is the biggest influence on my family's beliefs and hence mine as well growing up. Now I look back and am quite disgusted by many of his things

[@j.kaimori3848]

Some of the most disturbing things I've seen are from him. You don't even have to look far. But you need to know how what he is saying will be interpreted by evangelicals, and that what he is saying is wrong. Which is hard to do when the fallacies are subtle and the words aren't explicit.

[@Nocturnalux]

Really? I always found him extremely disturbing. His whispering, followed by SHOUTING, and then weeping…it is utterly deranged. I’d say he has been deranged for a long, long, long time.

[@Nocturnalux]

@@j.kaimori3848 Agreed. Piper is really deranged. Virtually everything he says is disturbing. The delivery makes it even worse. The way he will go into a kind of angry whispery tone then suddenly SCREAM, ending up literally sobbing and in tears, it’s all deranged to the extreme.

[@j.kaimori3848]

@@Nocturnalux but he always seems in control and that can emotionally substitute for logic if you aren't careful.

[@alienunicorn4178]

As a person growing up in church. I still hear this alot. It cause a paranoia and persecution complex. I know people who think every inconvenience is a spiritual attack. Tire goes flat the Devil, catch a cold the devil, consequences of my own choice the devil. Any person who not like me the the devil! Dealing with people like that are exhausting

[@neoqwerty]

Honestly if that's all the Devil's doing can I get him to mentor me, sounds like the dude is an expert at everything if he can do all that stuff. Especially infecting people with the cold on purpose, meanwhile on Plague Inc I can't ever get Madagascar and I'm trying really hard on purpose. (My condolences for you dealing with that by the way. and the Madagascar woes too if you play Plague Inc)

[@pills-]

Lol. I feel that. The depend-on-god-for-everything mindset goes to some weird places because of how much agency it strips from the person who believes it.

[@jayperz]

My old church used military language in a more spiritual sense. Our pastors called us “prayer warriors” and told us that’s how you fight against evil. But still, like you said, it creates an us vs them mentality and ultimately leads to passivity rather than proactivity when it comes to solving issues or helping others in need. Just pray and let god do it so you don’t have to…

[@theboombody]

Well, if you don't plug up the hole, all the resources you give will just sink into oblivion. Part of the healing process isn't just giving necessary resources, although that is a big part of it. It's about educating the needy to use those resources wisely. Can't do that if they have a substance abuse problem. The Bible has been at war against substance abuse WAY longer than the secular world has. And that is definitely a war, because those nasty substances are good at fighting back. Causing relapses and generational poverty. But you're right. There is a REAL danger in labeling the substance user as the enemy and just ignoring them, rather than trying to assist them by getting rid of their demons. I myself have never helped a substance abuser because I am afraid I don't have the strength to rescue them. Instead I try to keep my own son away from them so at least they can have less of a chance of adding one additional soldier to their side. Even that is something I am not sure I have the strength to do. The world has a tendency to pull young people down the VERY wrong path with the appeal of the wild party culture.

[@rachel_sj]

"People suffer because they are caught in their views. As soon as we release those views, we are free and we don't suffer anymore." "The main affliction of our modern civilization is that we don’t know how to handle the suffering inside us and we try to cover it up with all kinds of consumption." - Thich Nhat Hanh (1926 - 2022), a truly inspirational soul who called for peace while the Vietnam War was tearing his country apart

[@nicodemusedwards6931]

Replace the word “Christian” with “Islamic” and see how quickly the tune changes to most ears.

[@raymondluxury-yacht1638]

I'm an ex-soldier of the Salvation Army. It doesn't hit home harder than this!

[@artemismoonbow2475]

Starvation Army. :)

[@ShadowPa1adin]

@@artemismoonbow2475 Long-haired preachers come out every night Try to tell you what's wrong and what's right But when asked about something to eat They will answer with voices so sweet: You will eat (You will eat) bye and bye (Bye and bye) In that glorious land above the sky (Way up high) Work and pray (Work and pray), live on hay (Live on hay) You'll get pie in the sky when you die (That's a lie!) And the starvation army they play And they sing and they clap and they pray Till they get all your coin on the drum Then they tell you when you are on the bum Holy Rollers and jumpers come out They holler, they jump and they shout Give your money to Jesus they say He will cure all diseases away If you fight hard for children and wife Try to get something good in this life You're a sinner and bad man, they tell When you die you will sure go to hell Working folk of all countries unite Side by side we for freedom will fight When the world and its wealth we have gained To the grafters we'll sing this refrain: You will eat (You will eat) bye and bye (Bye and bye) When you've learned how to cook and how to fry (and bake a pie!) Chop some wood, 'twill do you good And you'll eat in the sweet bye and bye (That's no lie!)

[@artemismoonbow2475]

@@ShadowPa1adin A happy Swede I am.

[@Newfiecat]

I was actually really surprised this video didn't mention the Salvation Army specifically. I always thought it bizarre that their clergy are literally called generals and officers!

[@petrfedor1851]

"I will march foward until my enemies are desteroyed." - Eren Jeager Not exactly good when your ceremony at 17:05 reminds me of this sentence.

[@JackgarPrime]

At least Eren had legitimate grievances to work off of.

[@petrfedor1851]

@@JackgarPrime Truth, noone is turning Christians into mass destruction weapons and sending them to exterminate rest of Christians.

[@ceres090]

I always hated the "they weren't true Christians" defense. Whenever I mentioned the abuse I suffered at the hands of multiple churches, I always heard: "That's so sad. They weren't real Christians. MY church however..." Ugh!

[@HopDances]

I remember loving singing "I'm in the Lord's army" as a kid cause the hand motions were fun to do...

[@AssassinoJake]

Thats how they get you.

[@millenniumf1138]

To be fair, it's an insanely catchy tune. But so is the national anthem of Nazi Germany, so take that for what it's worth.

[@dfathers]

yea, hadnt thought about that song in a many years, but i remembered the words instantly

[@politereminder6284]

Me too. 😁 I still like it

[@RT-qd8yl]

@@millenniumf1138 Same deal with some of the CCP and DPRK songs, the key to seizing people's brains is catchy music

[@bethanythatsme]

As a continually deconstructing individual, I am ever grateful for this channel & it's community 🖤

[@katieeastman]

I am in the same boat! It's so hard to undue all the programming, but this channel and community make it a whole lot easier.

[@bethanythatsme]

@@katieeastman abso-freaking-lutely 🖤

[@kolgrimthunderhammer]

Great and insightful as always. I think what has stuck with me a decade after leaving the evangelical fold is the knee jerk "any criticism is an attack" that was pointed out. I can still see it in the eyes of anyone I have a casual conversation about religion with. I find religion to be fascinating from a social evolution / philosophy / history perspective and try to share some things I learn with still religious friends and family. I can tell when I've gone over a line when their eyes change a bit. They are no longer listening because they have perceived something as an attack and are putting up their defenses and preparing a counter. Its doubly sad because often I am not trying to shake their faith, I know those kinds of tactics hardly ever work, and am genuinely trying to find a common interest to discuss. Their persecution / warrior complex is so strong though that even such an innocent conversation lays their brainwashing bare.

[@bethanythatsme]

I can very much relate. Discourse eqautes to confrontation in too many cases with my own religious family.

[@jonathonriddle9922]

I was raised Lutheran, which means our congregation annually recognizes the anniversary of Martin Luther's protest against the Catholic church by singing "A Mighty Fortress Is Our God" a war hymn written by Luther in German. If you've never heard a bunch of white protestants croak their way through an English translation of a German war hymn, it's pretty terrible. Also, there are some Christian warrior references that I'm surprised didn't make the video, such as "Onward Christian Soldiers", the "Battle Hymn of the Republic" and the Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch.

[@presentfuture7563]

"O Lord, bless this Thy hand grenade, that with it, Thou mayest blow Thine enemies to tiny bits in Thy mercy. And the Lord did grin, and the people did feast upon the lambs and sloths and carp and anchovies and orangutans and breakfast cereals and fruit bats..."

[@jesusperez-arteaga5437]

@@presentfuture7563 skip a bit, brother

[@Madkap42]

Thy enemy, being naughty in my sight, shall snuff it. Amen.

[@presentfuture7563]

First shalt thou take out the holy pin. Then shalt thou count to three, no more, no less. Three shall be the number thou shalt count, and the number of the counting shall be three. Four shalt thou not count, neither count thou two, excepting that thou then proceed to three.

[@jadeharley7190]

Brother Maynard, bring the holy hand grenade. **singing in latin**

[@scottn322]

When it comes to individual Christians, I think in general most do care about other people, and how they feel. But there is always this wild card factor; when they feel really guilty about something, or some issue is really weighing heavy, a lot of them can end up being drawn into really ridiculous things like laying hands on someone in a Wal-Mart aisle, or walking across a beach with a massive sign talking about how you will go to hell without Christ, and a freaking bullhorn, ruining everyone's time at the beach like a jack@ss. In those moments their faith overrides anyone elses comfort or discomfort. They do not care. A street preacher will ruin everyone's day if it means one person accepted Jesus as their savior, because to them in that moment that one person is worth more than anyone elses discomfort, and they truly believe that. To them the stakes are as high as a paramedic responding to a gunshot victim. Your feelings don't even rate. Which only drives me further insane about it. It makes me beyond frustrated when I interact with people caught up in that kind of fervor. My dad is married to a woman who basically only exists either in that mode, or the true version of herself when no one is looking. She will tell you to your face that your feelings do not matter. Only her belief in god matters. Well, she doesn't matter to me, so I treat her with the same respect she treats me with. I pretend like she doesn't exist, even when she is speaking to me.

[@artemismoonbow2475]

YES! At the end of the day, it is narcissism.

[@ChristianF15cher]

Sounds like these are toxic people that you need to flush out of your life.

[@GrandArchPriestOfTheAlgorithm]

As the Grand Archpriest of the Church of the Algorithm, I comment you to engage with this video.

[@malum9478]

amen

[@SonicSparton]

It’s channels like this, along with atheist, science, and educational channels, that reassure me that I made the right decision to leave religion behind. I’ll always advocate for people to explore the world outside their gods. Thank you for the information, Friend! The worst part of Christianity that I suffered through was the constant feeling of impending doom and the groveling on my knees in prayer, crying ‘I’ll never be good enough for your forgiveness, Father God! I only ask that you Please have mercy and forgive me for (insert whatever sin I felt I committed).’ It was never ending and praying that way just acted as a bandage for my ‘spiritual wounds from the original sin’. It made me feel better in the moment, but the feeling of failure would return after a day, a month, a few minutes, etc. Hell, I’d even feel that way after church services on occasion. And Christians can’t put a little blanket over it and say ‘Well I’m not guilt free. I’ve never done anything wrong’, or rather they will tell you ‘I’ve sinned against the Father and ask Jesus to save me!’, as if it’s not unhealthy to constantly call yourself a piece of garbage deserving eternal torment. It’s fucking backwards thinking that ascribes self-depreciation, depression, and verbal abuse. Worse still, it doesn’t just stem from just the church, but your family, your social circles, and yourself. The chronic and toxic rhetoric about how I’m messed up and how only this Magic, intangible, invisible person was the final straw that made me drop Christianity as a whole and never want to rejoin it. Effectively, I jumped off a ledge into the unknown and I was even more afraid, but ultimately morphed into a person that felt increasingly happy with myself, more or less became a better person. I’m happy even to this day by my own efforts and take responsibility for my actions, rather than try to cover them up and act like they never happened.

[@Newfiecat]

Good for you. I'm really glad you got away from that and are doing better! It's always struck me how disturbingly close Christian worship mirrors how anxiety and depression disorders function. Just an endless cycle of despair.

[@mattmorehouse9685]

@@Newfiecat That and the utter inhumanity of Hell. The idea that people somehow deserve to be tortured forever. Even if it were mass murders I think after the first thousand years they'd be begging for the pain to stop. And Christians act as though infinite torture is somehow just because their vicious hateful book of bullshit says so. It's disgusting.

[@skreeran]

15:30 "This ministry is for the man that says 'I want to be used'" I know a few people who might be willing to sign up under those conditions

[@SpacedOut997]

( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

[@orangepretzel3573]

I’ve never heard the gods army song, I’m guessing it’s American, I had to double check I was hearing properly it’s absolutely shocking especially that it’s for kids.

[@empathicqubit]

I associate it with good memories of my childhood, so it's really weird looking back on it now.

[@sassylittleprophet]

@@empathicqubit SAME

[@chaserose5127]

I can sing you like 5 different variants

[@Teresa-sz3qs]

Yes, this was a real thing we sang as kids. I was the kid lip synching because I didn’t want to be in an army or fighting. I was always wanting people to be nice to each other.

[@LustStarrr]

Australian here - we had it over here too.

[@danmyers1245]

Maaaan did you bring me back 30 years with that song about being in the Lord's army. I still remember the words and hand gestures after all this time.

[@PurpleMetal75]

I even remember saying, "Yes, sir!" in between "I'm in the Lord's army." I'm lucky that I was too dumb to put 2 and 2 together when I sang it.

[@meatballhead15]

I vaguely remember 'marching' to some sort of military song for kids in preschool, it was fun to do the motions and stuff but the greater implications were way beyond my 3-5 year old brain.

[@justinallen2408]

@@meatballhead15 that's the point lol if America wants to go to war people will March to the tune again.

[@devinreed5725]

You're doing Gods work with these videos. Helping people get through their religious trauma.

[@AbdulHannanAbdulMatheen]

👏🙂 27:00 omg it is amazing of you to point out violent Hindu extremism. As I'm an ex-muslim atheist in India. I see this Hindu extremism, caste violence and minority persecution quite often here and I wish the western world can see that.

[@tomsenior7405]

Turn the other cheek. Live in Peace. Love Thy neighbour. Do unto others as you would have done to yourself. Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good. Avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto Wrath. Forgive your Enemies... Then kill them all! Yup, it all makes sense, as long as you ignore Jeebus and listen to the insane rants of these Pastors.

[@thymeisoftheessence]

I'm just baffled at how many Christians (including Christian relatives in my own life) brag about how loving they are, while at the same time doing everything they can to progress Christian fascism in America. Like they genuinely don't see the disconnect between their words and actions. Worse, every single one of those same relatives talks about how terrible other religions are, but then completely excuse verses like 1 Samuel 15:1-8 and 2 Samuel 12:13-18. So other religions murdering children would be bad, but everything that the Christian God commanded in the bible was done for a reason and is actually good and just, we just can't understand it, and also just shut up and believe without questioning.

[@jsnel9185]

I can't believe this used to sound sane to me. Now when I hear these preachers I just feel bad that I used to tell people things like this. Hey everyone, if you did nothing but play video games the would would be better than id you fought in this "army of god". I cringe at my old self.

[@goldenageofdinosaurs7192]

I’m so glad to see that not everyone succumbs. I just left a comment stating that, from the outside, it seems so obvious that it’s a total scam & I was wondering how seemingly normal, intelligent people can swallow this crap. Your comment gives me some reason to hope.

[@AegixDrakan]

@@goldenageofdinosaurs7192 Usually people fall into the scam because of one of two reasons. a) They are raised in a religious household from the start, so it seems normal to them. Because it's always been there and all your loved ones are doing it, so you don't critically think about it. And if you DO and you start realizing the whole thing IS nothing more than a control mechanism...Well, you're liable to keep quiet about it to not lose your entire social circle. :( b) They suffer some form of trauma and religion just happens to be the thing that grants them a feeling of relief and then they end up looking for a "sign"...And in that state, they will take almost anything to be a "sign" and jump into religious thinking VERY hard. :( So, most of the time, they don't willingly join. They're either indoctrinated to accept it from a young age, or their circumstances push them into it. It's really sad, honestly. :(

[@horsepaste]

​@@goldenageofdinosaurs7192 They usually tell you about hell when you're a child of a churchgoer. Vulnerable and impressionable.

[@ancientdarkmagic1409]

Religion is and always shall be a tool of power to influence the mind of those who can't handle the feeling of having no existential meaning. And as we can see you get a group of weak minded people doing anything to hang on to that existential meaning that they craved. Even if it means doing the very thing that go against there beliefs.

[@ComradeLavender]

"We find no call to violence in the NT." Jesus: "I did not come to bring peace but a sword."

[@lynnshort1635]

For me the creepiest moment was the choir singing there’s power in the blood so happily!

[@pills-]

Not the little children singing wistfully about how they're not shooting guns and have to be in the Lord's Army instead? 😆

[@lynnshort1635]

@@pills- well both truly. It’s just such a weird moment over all for sure

[@mattmorehouse9685]

His blood redeems! Blood for the blood god! No wait, wrong war obsessed god.

[@darkstarr984]

Yeah. I’ve heard that song but never in that intonation. It’s usually a song that’s much more intense but not cheerful. It’s definitely a marching song instead.

[@doom_bug]

Love the perspective you bring to seemingly natural elements of American Christianity

[@ladyhoratia1709]

a new video by belief it or not is always good

[@melanyebaggins]

I'd forgotten about how pervasive this was when I was an evangelical (and that was back in the 80s and 90s!) This brought back a whole lot of uncomfortable memories and it's sickening to see that brainwashing continuing and getting exponentially worse.

[@chrisdavis7951]

Wow take away their tax exemption. Sounds like politics to me.

[@goldenageofdinosaurs7192]

100%

[@rossnunez3512]

I’m a Christian and believe in God, and I love these videos. Instead of complaining about non believers and their morals, Christians should really reflect on how we affect the world negatively.

[@lonewolfgamingplus379]

But they are you. The more radicalized, more dangerous and literally using the Bible as like the constitution.

[@rossnunez3512]

@@lonewolfgamingplus379 I strongly believe the Bible shouldn’t be used to make policies for the United States. You sound radicalized though, believing people of faith are of the same mind when we have different beliefs from the christo fascists plaguing America.

[@horsepaste]

​@@lonewolfgamingplus379"I use the Bible, to prove the Bible"

[@jansalomin]

The fact that people will take up arms saying they represent god is a terrifying fact.

[@tombingus3984]

Moral Orel is quite literally one of the greatest shows of all time. Everything good about shows like "Bojack" came from that show daring to tell deeply emotive stories about complex human beings through claymation. Thanks for including it.

[@empathicqubit]

Your videos are always so thoughtful and unique, and I look forward to them every week.

[@Cvs999v]

This helps me deal with trauma. Thank you.

[@Naiche2003]

so glad your channel exists to discuss these issues thanks for covering everything you cover so thoroughly

[@aaronbecker5617]

I think things have gotten worse since when I was going to (Catholic) church back in the 80s and 90s like since their numbers are shrinking they feel the need to lash out.

[@ChristianF15cher]

I grew up in the Catholic Church and attended Catholic school from Kindergarten to 8th grade. Seems like all the time our priest would bitch from the pulpit about how they "didn't have enough money". Nowadays, I absolutely DESPISE victim mentalities and I actively avoid people with those mentalities. It is pathetic to me that people can't reflect on their own failures and blame everyone else.

[@laceyw476]

The Lord's Army song is giving me PTSD. And it's gonna be stuck in my head now for the next month lol. Thanks Trevor.

[@fireballedbard4620]

I heard the first line and my heart almost stopped

[@evancarlson5805]

Also, holy shit, this is literally just the concept of jihad. That you're "supposed" to interpret as struggling within yourself but enough Muslims interpret as fighting against non-Muslims that it becomes one of the most problematic things about that religion.

[@callmecatlord2322]

Holy crap, I havent heard that song in over two decades but I knew every single word of that chorus. I remember learning it as a kid. 😳 It's frightening how deeply that stuff gets buried into one's head.

[@fatcat1414]

My old sunday school legitimately had a song about 'the Lord's army' that we sung at least twice a month. It had lines like 'I will fight until I die in the army of the Lord.' It's very disturbing now that I look back at it.

[@torgeist.]

Absolutely offtopic, but i started watching "It's always sunny in Philadelphia", because of the clips you're using from the show.

[@schnabeltiertv]

me too!

[@scottn322]

Oh jesus I haven't heard that lord's army song since I was a kid, haha. Oh man. Hopefully my own son won't hear it until he is a grown adult. Also, as a former Christian who grew up going to super fundamentalist churches throughout the 90s across a lot of the United States and other countries (military brat), I definitely define Christianity by its past mistakes and violence. Christianity doesn't somehow get a free pass when they themselves will often hypocritically point to other groups and say "look at what they did back then." Christians get up in arms when people bring up the past atrocities of their religion, but no amount of hand-waving will make that stuff disappear for me.

[@Juiceboxdan72]

I once was made to attend a youth conference in which the cool young blonde preacher chick paced back and forth shrieking "THIS IS WAAARRRRRRR" The conference literally ended with us marching through the city under the banners of various tribes (I think I was in Judah lol). Of course this was after the literal buckets were passed around to clean out the pockets of hundreds of teens.

[@AGASHBAALAH]

Hey yeahhhh I remember that too. They were always guilting kids into giving up their life savings lmao Breaking the piggy banks for the enormous 5 dollar fortune inside 😭🤣

[@Juiceboxdan72]

@@AGASHBAALAH Haha I remember one kid, right after emptying his pockets, saying "I'm glad I didn't bring my wallet, I have $200 in there."

[@stylesrj]

@@Juiceboxdan72 Would they have attacked him if he refused to give up his 200 bucks?

[@cerealvapist333]

As someone who left the church nearly 20 years ago, I can't tell you how much I appreciate you giving people like me something to do on Sundays. Keep up the good work my friend.

[@artemismoonbow2475]

I was raised in this nonsense and remember having to sing that song "Lord's Army." I actually became a soldier and though I was not a Christian at that time, I was certainly a crusader. Is the warrior archetype a part of the human collective conscious? Sure. Is it a dangerous piece of imagery? Yes, it most certainly is. The warrior archetype is strong enough to overpower other archetypes and if your only tool is a hammer, than every problem is a nail. It is ironic how Christian men deal with this dualistic pull between being the stereotype of the effeminate male and worshiping and desiring the uberwarrior. Seriously Christians, just make piece with the divine feminine already and knock of the BS.

[@DonnaBorooah]

Thank you for putting this into words! I feel this attitude a lot throughout feminine/homemaker/homesteading communities (I lurk and learn from them). They often describe whatever they have to motivate themselves to do as a battle and I just don’t relate.

[@swordsmancs]

I had ‘nam flashbacks when you played that song in the beginning. My grandma used to sing that song to me and my sister when we were babies, and we sang it in Sunday school growing up (I think they still do). Wild to think about how much that affected me growing up, before I became an atheist

[@starofjustice1]

The scary thing is, I remember watching a video series when I was little that played to this exact sentiment, called 'Bible Man'. It was about a Christian super hero who fought villains based on the 7 Deadly Sins, and it talked about how kids needed to learn these lessons to fight back against 'the enemy'. I don't think it ever specified who 'the enemy' was, which is even worse after watching this video. Like it was gonna let the kids ask their parents about that, and how that gave the parents a chance to tell how the kids have to grow up to stand against the evil liberal lefties and muslims that are threatening our great country...

[@darkagedrifter]

Shit man, that reminds me of.. basically the same thing. I always remember two different versions of it though. One was live action, the other was some poorly done CGI stuff. Either way, bits and pieces stick out to me but nothing clear. Y'know, since I was basically a toddler and all at the time.

[@MarkSheeres]

I think Robert Price calls the Bible a ventriloquist dummy. You can make it say what you want. There are a good people who follow the good verses, and bad people who follow the bad verses. And they can both consider themselves good Christians.

[@nicolasandre9886]

The story of Uzzah is an excellent one to bring up to anybody who claims the bible is the perfect word of a benevolent god.

[@hellofriend545]

As a Jew I was really confused growing up about what Christmas was about, because literally all the exposure I got was about Santa. Kids clamoring about Santa bringing gifts, Christmas specials about him, where he was a pivotal part of making sure Xmas wasn’t ruined. I wasn’t allowed to say Santa wasn’t real to other kids, and I held my tongue for the most part. Jesus’ name vaguely floated around too, but he wasn’t ever really talked about like Santa was. Finally, in middle school, I asked a kid on the bus what the deal with Xmas was. She told me it was Christ’s bday. I told her I’d always heard the name but didn’t actually know what his deal was. She told me the whole horrific story, and I was flabbergasted: “What does that have to do with Santa?” 😆 I totally thought he was a major fixture of Christianity, and Jesus was just some saint or something

[@mattmorehouse9685]

That's hillarious. I can definitely see it as true with how Christmas has been heavily secularized.

[@KhiemNguyen-ly1wz]

Nah you were fine. Xmas is Santa’s day. JC just keep butting in for some reason

[@Squirmychair]

I always found the armor of god song troubling. The rhetoric of it basically teaches children to see any critical thinking as evil

[@charlottesimss9853]

Loved that clip of Powr in the Blood 🤣 I grew up singing sooooo many songs about blood in church, like we were all about There is a Fountain Filled with Blood. I like to sing these songs to my partner and friends and they get so confused and uncomfortable. Blood sacrifice baby

[@goma3088]

There's one song I recall singing at church camp that had some line about the being washed by the "blood of the lamb" or blood raining or something and the line always sounded stupidly dramatic to me. I also remember giggling over a song at my contemporary church service that had a lot of blood and fire language and who ever chose the graphics on for the projected screen with the lyrics was this fiery red background. Very distasteful but funny at the same time. Hated singing both songs but loved to make fun of them.

[@charlottesimss9853]

@@goma3088 was it “are you washed, in the blood, in the soul cleansing blood of the lamb; are your garments spotless, are they white as snow; are you washed in the blood of the lamb”?? Cuz that one’s a banger lmao

[@ryanahr2267]

You have a knack for picking great topics to cover and for finding ways of dissecting them that don't require a PHD to understand. I will admit that the children's song that you kind of based this whole episode on is one I have a soft spot for, and that's entirely because of my maternal grandmother. In all my almost 36 years of life there are few people that I've loved like I loved my Nana. She had 8 other grandkids besides yours truly and an extended family that covered most of Western New York and the Upstate of South Carolina due to her effortlessly outgoing nature. She was also a hardcore Christian, though she was the personification of "Love they neighbor" and didn't have a militant bone in her body. She loved "I'm in the Lord's Army" a lot, and I'm not entirely sure why. I'm sure that decades of teaching Sunday school and VBS as well as a general love of children had a lot to do with it, but it's only after watching this video that it strikes me that that's a strangely violent song to love for some as passive and gentle as my grandmother was. Anyway, I specifically remember it in conjunction with the dinner table. Whenever somebody was late arriving to the dinner table my grandmother would start up this tune, although she changed the words to "Here we sit like birds in the wilderness, waiting to be fed". If the target of the song was late enough in coming she'd usually follow up with the verse from "Lord's Army", but it was still always such a kind, harmless sort of ribbing that that song was totally innocuous to me until...well, pretty much until I clicked on this video. As of this March I'll have been out of the faith for ten years, but there's still so much that I'm learning about it, particularly things I that I didn't even realize were harmful.

[@BrianMakesFilms]

I can't tell you how many times I watched that "Paul Washer I'll Be Honest" video and ones like it as a teenager trying to hype myself up to be a warrior for God. Cringy as hell now, and crazy disturbing. It's no wonder we see groups like the Proud Boys and other militias being comprised mainly of Christians. It just takes a very small flick of the switch from "we're fighting spiritual enemies" to "spiritual enemies have manifested themselves as the liberal democrats" or "Muslims" or "Gays" or any other group they don't like. I went to one church later in my teens that was even deeper into it. It deemed its mission statement as a "war hospital" to patch up broken down Christians to get back into the fight. Sounded nice at the time, but the amount of war imagery they used, especially in the men's groups, and the sort of macho bravado culture they used was pretty whack.

[@LPNurja]

Love the videos, the insights are always on point and presented well. One, let's say plea, though: It would be very cool if you could do subtitles, at least for the songs. Me not being a native speaker plus slight audio processing issues cause me to just not understand pretty much anything these children are singing. If at all possible, it would be greatly appreciated!

[@maplestreetpictures7454]

Tim Conway is suuuuucccch a depressing person, when I was a Christian and I listened I would always feel so depressed and not motivated in my faith. I would just lay in bed frozen in fear and sometimes. He did a lot of damage to my mental health.

[@raywilliams212]

"Warriors, Winners, and Wimps all have one thing in common!" Me: "They start with W."

[@Noctuavida]

Your videos are incredible. Your recall is incredible with the random clips.

[@abtheflagman]

I hope this changes lives, and stops the threat of Christianity. Thank you sir.

[@cindys9491]

Re: the idea that I am my enemy: I initially thought the statement "You Vs. You" could work to stop self destructive behaviors maybe, as in the struggle to make oneself better. But then I remembered growing up in a church and school where my mind/imagination, body (sexual instincts in adolescence), the world/others, and Satan were all allied against me, and God wanted me to say no to ALL OF THEM including myself. My own body and mind were trying to trick me. I couldn't trust anything. I had an eating disorder as an 8th grader and was even surprised and "relieved" bc no more hormones. Note: I had never had a partner at the time. (Luckily I recovered from the eating disorder and also from all this "my body or mind is the enemy" crap.) Now I think that having to obliterate parts of one's self to be deserving of your own self esteem is a really lousy idea to put into kids' minds.

[@robasiansensation3118]

I used to be one of those little kids singing that song. I appreciate what you do.

[@aggielonghorn]

God put Sug Knight justice on Uzzah for NO GOOD REASON and that was so unfair. How can anyone worship an entity capable of that level of unfairness?

[@sassylittleprophet]

I remember hearing that story as a kid and thinking it was so unfair. But instead of leading me to question, it actually led me to realise that God values obedience above all, not good intentions. Which just goes to show the cognitive dissonance of a "loving God who sees your heart" and a "jealous God" who so brutally kills and genocides in (so-called) "righteous anger" and believing these two seemingly separate Beings are the same Being is an absolute mindfuck. And trying to grasp this as a child, you end up believing "God loves me, but heaven help me if I piss him off."

[@ShadowPa1adin]

I've said it before and I'll say it again: People think religion is good because they are told God commands them to love their neighbor. But what people tend to forget is that people who love their neighbor because they are commanded to will hate their neighbor because they are commanded to. It is a switch easily flipped by any "Spiritual Leader" with the sufficient use of rhetoric and scripture-quotes.

[@tetsujin_144]

17:03 - "And we take the high ground" And we say, "It's over, Anakin!"

[@AstaraelDarkrahBlack]

These are always hard to watch but I really appreciate your videos, they are important to the world.

[@wilberwhateley7569]

What always bothered me was the idea of waging war against yourself - that’s not a winnable fight! When you try to defy your own nature, you only defeat yourself when your real self reasserts itself: leaving you feeling guilty for not overcoming the self. Fuck this war - it amounts to little more than punching yourself…

[@SteinGauslaaStrindhaug]

3rd generation atheist (at least, I know all my grandparents were, and some of my great grandparents didn't seem very religious either) from Norway here: we don't really have any militant religious groups here at any big scale. So the salvation army with their uniforms and military ranks always seemed so ridiculous and ironic to me, especially since they all seems to be 70+ grandmothers and a few grandfathers. There exists religious hate speech here of course; but anyone who come even close to the maniacal nonsense spewing like American televangelists, are mostly isolated mentally ill loners literally shouting on street corners.... Well come to think about it, there is a cable television channel here with televangelists, but their most crazy content is imported from America, literally: they rebroadcast American mega church tapings. The Norwegian language stuff they send is less militant.

[@SteinGauslaaStrindhaug]

What a wall of text I wrote. Not even sure I remembered my point at the end... Fun with ADHD

[@mattmorehouse9685]

@@SteinGauslaaStrindhaug If only the USA could be more like Norway. Greetings from the crazy States.

[@sninckashley9514]

"There's no calls for violence in the New Testament." Yeah, when Jesus said he came bearing a sword, he was talking about pissing contests.