And it's a weekday/workday, so the horror's built in!That's just about all I have the time for this morning.
Now if only these tools could say the same... What's the motto they're shooting for? "Christians: There's nothing we can't bring down"?
Why am I not surprised that The American Tract Society is Texas-based?
Speaking of Christian tracts, tools and Halloween, I can't help but link to Jack Chick's Halloween message. Always good for an unintentional laugh. Who better to point to as a source of horror than a man who's been publishing for 40 years scare messages intended to scare the sin (and any rational thought) out of people?
Comments
Read, don't read. Link, don't link. I'll just sit here in the dark.
I do agree that Watters is playing it more pleasantly than his more xenophobic brethren, but having seen the ruin, pain and suffering caused by the march of organized Christianity over the centuries I'm not going to celebrate it. This also likely spares him considerable toilet paper and dried egg problems November 1st.
As at least alluded to in my post back on May 20th, in the 4th century cultural battle between what would become Roman Catholicism and Mithraism, I wish the battle had gone the other way. Not that I would be likely to be a Mithraist, either. Mithraism had been around for better than a millenium by the time it winked out, and as best I can tell it wasn't responsible for anywehere near the death, squelching of thought and general misery that Catholicism and several other branches of Christianity was to be at the root of in the centuries that followed.
I did enjoy the Wiccan note to round out the piece, and while my beliefs are my own I'm with her on mostly finding Christian efforts to inject their message into this to be largely unimportant to me.
As a parent, though, I suppose what I have in common with conservative Christians is deep concerns over what is being handed to our children. Some of them are deeply concerned that secular culture is opening the doorway to sin by presenting things such as same-sex relationships as viable obtions instead of decrying them. In my case I'm saddened by the prospect that one of my children might grow up to try to get all his answers from one book and strange voices in his head, and feel a calling to hand out gospel tracts.
And, Mike, as long as your kids are under 18, you are still the one (along with their mother) charged with deciding what is right and what is wrong for YOUR children. NOT one of your neighbors. No matter if his message/mission is religious, political, or cultural.
And at least he's not giving out candy corn.
People certainly have a right to give out whatever strikes their fancy when they're doing it from their own front door. But I think that something as potentially offensive and personal is crossing the line. I imagine that there are more than a few parents out there that feel that their kids don't need Christianity. And, yep, they can certainly pitch the tracts, right along with anything else they didn't want from the night's haul. Personal taste, after all. Candy corn.
I just happen to think there's a significantly unsavory element to it that isn't there with candy corn. Thinking I wouldn't much like it if someone was handing out condoms (though I'm certainly preaching safe sex to my girls) or republican campaign buttons, either. And though we could easily toss those items in the trash, I would certainly feel pretty insulted about it. Far more than I do over candy corn on Halloween.
Definitely JMO. And I'm shutting up on Mike's blog. I've likely said too much already...;)
And I thought you'd like the candy corn line. I just read a reference on Mark Evanier's blog before my last comment, and it reminded me of Lewis Black's routine about how he forgets every year that he hated it, and that it hadn't been made for years because they go around to all the trash cans after Halloween, get all the candy corn thrown out, clean it, and resell it.
Oh, and I was just saying that guy had a refreshing attitude to Halloween/Christianity. Believe me, it's a LOT less intense.
Geez, who do I gotta kill to get this kinda back and forth on my blog ^_^?
I'm lucky to get one comment (present company excluded, of course)
Today's posting brought to you by the word "toomf", which is the sound of a child farting in his store-bought Halloween costume.
As I noted, people have every right to hand out whatever they feel is appropriate. If kids know ahead of time, they can avoid the houses they want to avoid. My point is that kids don't always know ahead of time on Halloween stuff. It's not like it's advertised...unless the party in question has a long-standing tradition.
Comics, while this crowd will never agree with me here, are somewhat geared towards a younger crowd. Consequently, I find the idea creative and something many kids would find appealing. I just don’t believe kids would feel anywhere close to the same about receiving religious tracts. Could be me, though.
Trick or Treating is about the kids. And while I’m CERTAINLY not trying to tell anyone what they should or should not do, I’m just saying that I would be offended if someone offered up that stuff to my kids and I’m not thinking I’m alone here. Highlander’s notion that people need to grow a thicker hide to deal with this stuff is apt. My six year old ain’t there yet. And, frankly, I’m okay with giving her a little more time to get there.
I’m familiar with the Lewis Black “candy corn” stuff and while it’s not quite on the same level with fruitcake, I get it. And, yes, I appreciated the reference.
I know what you mean about the back and forth and lack of comments…we’re not worthy…we’re not worthy….
I suppose this falls under the catagory of posting the first thing that comes to mind and waiting for the rough edges to catch on things. Such lesson as it offers may be that long, thoughtful pieces aren't the way to go to get a reaction, though that's far too much the oversimplification.
In the years of my kids going out for Halloween, I believe we've only had a tract appear in a bag two or three times, and it was easily dealt with. The impression I tried to leave the kids with was that it was to be treated like any other rogue drug, and avoided except under supervision.
I do agree with the persepctive that religious tracts fall outside the range of normally expected and appropriate items for Halloween. However, traditions start somewhere, and if the parent can't handle this sort of item (ie discuss it with their child to the depth that the child's even interested) then they're already in trouble.
Candy corn, after not touching it for a year or more, tends to be interesting for the first piece or two - sweet, but otherwise seeming to defy classification even as a candy - but then it starts to do something to my throat. The coughs that follow are like those that come from a horrible throat infection, where the lining's been stripped away. Surely there's a line in the Geneva Convention covering it.