>>1926907
And my mind is BLOWN!

Aren't they usually like Jehovah's witnesses or something really evangelical? Yeah, that's nothing new. You see them at art walks and shit too, where there's generally a big crowd that may or may not have "young people".

They target any large group of people.

I'm Christan and watch anime/cosplay. The people handing out pamphlets and saying things like "God hates you" are NOT. They're bigots flying the Christan flag because they think it will make their prejudice more exceptable.

It happened to a friend of mine once that a freaky old lady chased him claiming him to be Satan's son or so, and the lady didn't go away until my friend called the police...

A friend of mine got in a taxi a few years back with some preaching guy, saying he'd go to hell too
I dont really understand

>>1926925
OP here, I think this is very very true. Makes alot of sense. I guess I just need to have a heart to heart with one of these guys until they GTFO(Though as persistant as they are, who knows).

>>1926928
Would you like me to explain it to you?

>>1926938
...k?

My grandmother... such a sweet lady and she was one of my original supporters to learn how to sew (she bought me this big patternmaking book in spanish). But lordddddddd, did I get shit from here after showing her some of my drawings of Pokemon, she called it the devil and read me something from the Bible that I don't remember.

I love her, but she's super religious.

At the same time that I really dislike the religious-based protestors (really, don't you have something better to do, like being tolerant to people?!) I also have to say that the intolerance at cons goes both ways.

At Fanime there were the standard BURN IN HELL protestors, and one nice guy with a "Jesus Loves You" sign handing out prayers and wishing people a nice day. I saw people screaming obscenities at that poor guy, and it made me sad.

Sorry. Soapbox I've wanted to get on for a bit, which all boils down to "CAN'T EVERYBODY JUST AGREE TO DISAGREE AND GET ALONG, FOR FUCK'S SAKE."

>>1926949
Agreed. seriously.

>>1926943
The basis for Christianity is the belief in "The Fall of Man". Very simply, mankind was created to spiritually be with God. When Adam/Eve disobeyed, mankind became separated from God.

Christians believe that belief in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ is the only way to be reunited with God.

Christian hell, despite what the media (and most Christians) think, is not a flaming place of torture. Christian hell is simply where God does not exist.

Ergo, if you haven't "accepted" Jesus, you are still in the "separated from God" state and when you die, you will "go to hell".


Personally, I am a Christian... but I'm of the opinion that if God really wanted me to "save" people, He'd send them to me and have them ask me questions and not have me screaming hatefully at people.

I also watch anime and cosplay. :P

>>1926944
lol that's hilarious

>>1926966
there's far too many different christian sects and denominations for there to be a unified view of hell. i think the modern billy graham view that hell doesn't exist is more of a liberal christian view. you still get the fire and brimstone variety from the crazy southern baptists who unfortunately still dominate christianity in north america.

>>1926966
>Christian hell, despite what the media (and most Christians) think, is not a flaming place of torture. Christian hell is simply where God does not exist.

The Baptist Church would like a word with you. Haha. That's 90% of their belief system.

>>1926988
yep, baptists are a bunch of cocksuckers

>>1926987
True. I suppose it's really just my interpretation. ^^;;

>>1926944

My whole family falls into the "nice people but crazy fucking religious" category. I have a cousin who just graduated college, and she joined some Catholic missionary group... only instead of going to some foreign country and helping the poor, she's going to M.I.T. to preach Catholicism to all the engineers. She once tried to tell me that Darwinism/the theory of evolution was just an example of religious bigotry against Christianity on college campuses.

>>1927005
My best friend's brother was one of those Creationist believers. Every time I saw him, I'd get into a debate with him in evolution's favor, and mind you, this was when I was a pre-teen and he was already well into high school. I held my ground *nod*

>>1927005
What? That doesn't make sense. Catholics believe in evolution.

>>1927021

That's what I was going to say. It's only fundamentalist religions that have an issue with things like evolution.

>>1927021
Individuality.

>>1927056
>Implying being religious doesn't require you to discard scientific reasoning

Cool story bro.

>>1927021

We do?

Fuck. I'm a shitty catholic. LOL.

I've had people give me pamphlets here and there, in front of grocery stores, in front of my old high school, under my windshield, at work, wherever. I've never seen or been bothered while at SDCC. Maybe it's because I show up well before they're there passing things out and leaving way past any suitable time for them. That and when I head out for some grub I'm more interested in getting food to pay attention to someone giving me a flyer for whatever. Maybe it's because there's far too many people attending for them to print out as many pamphlets. Maybe it's because I just can't be bothered wondering if 'that guy' will be there this year, I'm far more interested in if 'that comic book artist/writer/director/producer/Stan Lee' is there. Because really, I'd rather listen to how many women Stan Lee has slept with than some guy with a poster talking about how I'm going to some place I just don't care about.

>>1926944
But Soni, Pokeman IS the devil. . .

>>1927205
I'm Catholic, and was raised in a Catholic highschool. We were taught that there is room for the concept of evolution AND creationism since time within the Bible is debatable. (The world made in 7 days? That's didactic, not scientific.) We were taught that existence was created/started by a higher power, and from there we evolved over millions of years.

My school was kinda hurp derp though, because anytime religious mumbo jumbo was interjected into science class there was an incredibly present disclaimer of "THIS IS WHAT THE CATHOLIC CHURCH TEACHES BUT-"

>>1927253

>>1927253
Grats bro, your school was Deist (lazy god) with a Catholic stamp on it.

I'm sorry, but my aunt is a nun and she still thinks that people like that are insane.

Would anime fans go to a church and demand everyone watch anime?

There's a guy who comes to my university and screams at girls as they pass by, calling them sluts and whores and telling them they're going to hell because they're going to school and getting jobs instead of getting married and having kids. He tells the guys they should rise up against the whores and "put them in their place".

People like this confuse me. Did he miss all the bits about loving each other and peace on earth and all that jazzz?

>>1927268
Ffffffff no, it was definitely Catholic. It was obvious that the teacher didn't believe in evolution, but as a science teacher she was obligated to mention it. We didn't cover that topic for very long haha.

>>1927269
No....But that's a really good idea!

If you've ever been to Anime Boston, the pamphlet guy who hung around outside with stacks of Chick pamphlets wearing a "HEAVEN OR HELL ITS YOUR CHOICE" illustrated sign sign is an old hat around the city. This guy just does that all the time, and has since I was little. It's not just the cons, but sporting events and concerts, too. He goes to where the people are and does his damnedest to save them, whether or not they want or need saving.

Some people just think anything they ain't used to ain't natural, and anything ain't natural distracts you from the Lord, and they only thing distracting from the Lord is the Devil.

They full and honestly believe this, and believe they are helping you when they try to steer you away from this stuff. Just thank them for their thoughtfulness, and tell them you're trying to find your own way.

Judging these people based on their beliefs makes you just as closed minded as you think they are.

>>1926987
There are hundreds of different sects of Christianity. Not one of them can get along with the others because of the difference in beliefs.

Always seems to me that these people just seek out a crowd.
When I was still going to college, there were always people handing that shit out. Same with some concerts I've been to and amusement parks and such.
When I worked at a gas station, people LOVED to leave pamphlets about Jesus in the bathroom for me to throw away. I don't think it's cons in particular.

>>1927268
not true. even recent popes have gone on the record to support evolution (john paul II in particular), so it's kind of bullshit that there are still catholic schools that *don't* teach evolution.

>>1927300

I was doing a summer program in Hartford, Connecticut, just hanging out by the canal because I had time to kill and it was a lovely morning, and a stranger threw me a Chick pamphlet. I was amused, and its always interesting to read it, to look into what these people believe and want you to believe.

People with strong support systems (friends, family, communities) see these things as hokey and offensive, but to the people who've really hit rock bottom, who don't know where to turn, these pamphlets can mean a lot.

Respect a person's faith. For some, it's all they've got.

>>1927285
>Judging these people based on their beliefs makes you just as closed minded as you think they are.

So you're saying I'm wrong for thinking that the religious group that comes to my college campus every semester spouting hate speech and claiming to work for God are idiotic assholes?

I have waist length hair and a habit of wearing long dresses, so people often assume I'm a member of a Holiness or hard-shell Baptist church. Yesterday two old ladies came up to me, told me I was "a true and humble hand-maiden of the Lord", and invited me to the their church.

This is the kind of evangelism that doesn't bother (most) people. The crazies should take note.

I think what bothers me the most is when people engage their children in spiritual battles. This past Ohayocon, there was a very large youth-group thing going on. The parents would like, lurk, with these big grins of approval, as their kids, some probably as young as five, would walk up to total strangers, in weird costumes (yes, some of them were completely without adult guardians too), and gathered "scavenger clues", which ultimately lead to "Can you say for sure that you're going to heaven?"

I wanted so badly to tell them to shove it, then I realized, it was their parents I wanted to slug.

Anyone ever see "Jesus Camp"? That's seriously one of the saddest documentaries I've ever seen...

>>1927316

No, because you're judging them based on their acting like assholes.

That makes them assholes who happen to be religiously motivated.

If they treat you with respect, even if its weird, they deserve respect. If they genuinely treat you like shit, they deserve no better.

>>1927330
>If they treat you with respect, even if its weird, they deserve respect.

That's the thing. They don't.

If hating on religious nutbags is wrong, I don't want to be right. :)

They're likely cultist playing up a bastardization of Christianity or Judaism and trying to target impressionable young men and women who are the most likely to be indoctrinated easily. They show up any place you find large groups of young people without security guards to stop their heckling.

>>1927371

Which reminds me: Anime Boston had a shit ton of polyamory fliers. What the hell is that all about?

Unless promising virgins that they can not only HAVE sex but have multiple faithful partners for it is a better business than I originally thought.

>>1927348
I think you missed the part where they said when they act like dicks act like a dick. But I guess you're being too high and mighty to actually finish reading a post.

>>1927321
I have. Shit's disgusting.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LACyLTsH4ac

>>1927398
I actually did read it, but I guess you're too busy trying to be a douche to get that.

>>1927408
I guess you don't get the point of you're just a dick if religious people are being respectful and you're nothing but a hateful hypocritical nut yourself.

>>1927415
There's a line between being respectful, and being an annoying prick that won't shut up. Most religious people will NOT simply stop trying to get you to convert unless you outright ignore them, and trying to talk logic to them often can result in 30 minute long debates depending on how stubborn each side is. The most annoying part, is that those same people actually feel that what is supposed to be a simple belief is truly fact, which makes it even harder to get a point across to them.

I know there's some good people that happen to belong to a particular religion and actually don't try to push their beliefs on others, but the fact is that the pushy, douches are the majority.

Every moron that hands out those propaganda comics, every idiot that gets easily offended by the slightest thing, every asshole that thinks they're doing God's work by saying one of my friends may be cool, but they're still going to Hell for not believing in some fictional man in the clouds. These people are the problem with the country today.

So, sorry if my dickiness "offends" you, but that's how I am. Also, you may want to look up the word hypocrite.

Sage as an apology to everyone else for the angry rant.

>>1927462
>>the pushy, douches are the majority.
Untrue, the pushy douches are the ones you hear about the most. The majority of christians are pretty chill. Most people, regardless of religious orientation, know that politics and religion are touchy subjects which they avoid unless relevant.

I find it somewhat sad that there are induhviduals who state they have open minds. These folks will attend a rally for proliferation of generic holidays in school or root for some minor religious or even socionomical effort because its the minority but then they become raging lunatics when confronted with a majority presentation of the same thing. They can stand by and support minority beliefs but when mainstream beliefs come alone their mind is just as closed as the rest of ours.

How many of you can say you have a truly open mind.

>>1927462
>the pushy, douches are the majority.

Except not really. Though it could depend where you live.

I live in one of the most populated cities in the world and I can say that I'm approached by a fundie maybe... MAYBE once every 4 months. I see Jehovah's Witnesses in the subway holding up Watchtower pamphlets but being quiet. I see Scientologists parked with their metal handlebar thingies, not really being a bother. Every so often we'll get a person on the train preaching, but we tend to pretend they aren't even on the train. Yes, fundamentalists exist, but the way I see it is that they are so passionate about their faith, they need to tell people to try to "convert". They aren't wrong, its their belief to "save" as many people, and although they can get annoying about it, it doesn't hurt to listen. Religious people are remarkable people, to believe in something so deeply with no guarantee of anything in the afterlife, its inspiring to a degree.

Though you're entitled to your opinion. I just find religious people to be interesting.

>>1927617

I find them interesting too, just not when they're in my face.

I KNOW that the super religious can play nice. My grandma is a Catholic, my grandpa was a polytheist, my aunt is a nun, my cousin is an atheist. We're all still on good, happy terms. Except grandpa, if only because he's dead.

>>1927617
>Religious people are remarkable people, to believe in something so deeply with no guarantee of anything in the afterlife, its inspiring to a degree.

That statement is pathetic. They're acting the way they are because they think they ARE guaranteed a blissful afterlife. Excuse me for finding it morally repugnant when people who've made the choice to waste large chunks of their time and money on this garbage start trying to convince others to do the same. Don't even get me started on the breaching of children's rights when it comes to religion.

>>1926907
Source please

I am too lazy to read the whole thread, so forgive me if it's been said.
My parents and myself are chrisitans, but we have very opposing views about games and anime/manga (which they're ok with, as long as I don't spend extreme amounts of time and money on it).
Cosplay is where we have always clashed.
We recently had a showdown of sorts about it, where I confronted my mother about it. She believes cosplay can be "demonic" (yes, she called it that when we had an argument once), because it pushes you even closer to sources that may not always have a positive influence. Like any good christian, she believes the acting force in one's life should be God, therefore anything that you invest yourself into so much is a negative thing. She also believes cosplay is a minor form of exhibitionism (can't really fault her there) and escapism. Her attitude always was that if I wasn't ok with life, and felt the need to "escape" by dressing up as a cartoon character that I was lost in a sense, and not focusing on things that had true meaning (God).
In short, anything that isn't created with religious intent can lure you away from the true meaning of life, and can have a negative influence on you.

So really, for my parents at least, it was mostly concern. It's just a bit saddening when they get upset over something I love.
But I HATE christians who are as extreme as those you mention, OP. Generally, it's just that people aren't informed. Or, because video games take inspiration from other religions and stuff, they're worried there's satanic forces at work. I can understand perfectly, but the way some of those people try to force their beliefs onto people is a bit out of place.