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How do street preachers make you feel?

Lark

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Are there a lot of street preachers in your part of the world and how do you feel when you encounter one or a group of them?

I feel a range of emotions between annoyance to anger, its mild annoyance if they seem to be preaching in vague or general ways, quote obscure sources to make even more obscure points which even the schooled are going to wonder about to anger if I think they are doling out a well rationalised sectarianism.

In all cases I'm generally struck about how different they are from their inspiration, in people skills, presentation skills or public speaking alone and on the other hand in their appeal or persuasiveness, they are all exlcusionary rather than inclusionary which bothers me a lot and their good news doesnt seem like good news at all.

I passed one today and the guy made me want to rush into a book shop and bring him out James Hogg's Confessions of a Justified Sinner or Erasmus and Luther's Discourse on Free Will because they were obviously very ignorant of either of them, the guy seemed smart enough too.

Which leads me to another thing about them which annoys me, although this is not restricted to street preachers by any stretch and includes any soap box speaker, when someone is smart enough to have acquired some learning, to be able to regurgitate it, but either arent interested in a more complete learning which could undermine the little knowledge they have already acquired.
 

citizen cane

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When I go into the city near here for events I've only seen street preachers perhaps once or twice. I have, however seen people holding signs or handing out pamphlets of various natures. These I more or less ignore. What does bother me are the people that come up to me, explain that they believe in being healed by God, and ask to pray for me. I find it a bit invasive, not to mention the fact that I can't wrap my head around the apparent arrogance of the particular theology they follow. What makes them believe that their praying is going to do healing that the guy on that street last month, countless doctors, my faith in God at one point, and God's will hasn't done?
 

Julius_Van_Der_Beak

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There are actually a lot of street preachers in Philly. There was one dude dressed up in goofy, ornate robes going on about how caucasians are the devil in downtown today.

Generally, they make me uncomfortable, but I pity them, because they care a lot about something, and think it's something everyone needs to know about, but most people (myself included), at best, regard them as a nuisance.

I honestly wonder if people like that have a mental illness that they aren't being treated for. Not because of their religious beliefs, but because they do things like wear silly robes and shout gibberish over a microphone. That's an excellent way to get ignored or laughed at, not to get listened to and taken seriously.
 

prplchknz

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most of them are bat shit crazy, and get thrown off of busses in chicago for disturbing the peace. not many down here though. so it depends on how big of city you're in here ??? plus i generally ignore them and if they engage me i go yes ma'm yes sir no ma'm no sir and try to leave as quick as possible
 

Haight

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I used to engage them for entertainment when I was younger. Now, I have lost interest and just ignore them. The fact that I can't remember a lot of the comparative religion stuff I knew when I was younger might be part of the reason as well.

However, I despise the Jews for Jesus people. I will aggressively engage them whenever I see them. Although, I haven't seen those folks since I left the LA area, so I don't expect to be challenged any time soon.
 

Julius_Van_Der_Beak

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Do Jews for Jesus ever successfully convert Jews? Do they think Jews don't know about Jesus? I'm pretty sure it's impossible to be a functional adult in the U.S. and not have heard of Jesus.
 

Haight

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Do Jews for Jesus ever successfully convert Jews? Do they think Jews don't know about Jesus? I'm pretty sure it's impossible to be a functional adult in the U.S. and not have heard of Jesus.
Well, they themselves are Jews. So yeah, they are successful at least occasionally.

They are a very specific sect, that hold a very specific set of beliefs. They are not merely Jews who talk about Jesus. They dress in Hasidic garb and attempt to convert Orthodox Jews, primarily. And that ticks me off.
 

/DG/

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I've only ever seen one at my university and I had a somewhat mixed reaction. I was both annoyed and amused at the same time. It seemed interesting that he'd be there considering the majority of the people where I live are already Christian anyway. There is also a sizable population of Muslims, though. Maybe they were his target demographic.
 

Julius_Van_Der_Beak

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Interesting... It wasn't clear to me if they were Jews that converted, or Christians pretending to be Jews.

I think the dude I saw today was a member of some offshoot of this group:

Black Hebrew Israelites
 

Siúil a Rúin

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Just as a side note, [MENTION=7280]Lark[/MENTION], I think some people's impression of Christianity is based on something closer to what the street preachers you have seen are doing than what a broader range of Christianity is about. People who have a lot of pent up anger about it are probably reacting to being surrounded by that sort of thing.
 

Ivy

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I haven't actually seen very many of them. There was this one guy, Gary Birdsong, who was frequently seen preaching around campus when I was in college, and he was very entertaining. My friends and I used to engage with him for sport. I was never very theatrical but I would argue with him some about doctrine and the bible. But my friend Doc who was far braver than I, would challenge him to a "Lord-off" and then out-preach him, going on and on about the Church of the Subgenius or something equally silly that we thought was clever back then. Good times.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gary_Birdsong
 

miss fortune

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the crazy urban variety that blesses people at bus stops and yells about the end of the world delights me to no ends by fulfilling certain expectations about cities that I had as a child... whatever color they are, they've GOT to look homeless too! :holy:

however, the obnoxious, evangelical type who has opinions about what I do with my own body and makes signs about it and who regularly tell me that I am going to hell? they can fuck themselves in the asses with unlubed dildoes... fuckers :thelook:
 

Siúil a Rúin

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When I have seen or known street preachers, I guess I'm uncertain about how extreme they might be. I also feel some of the psychological tension that goes into being willing to be socially "off" for the purpose of a religious ideal. I think there can be a lot of teaching about how it is important to be persecuted for your faith, so if you aren't crossing social boundaries, there is a sense you have not done enough. There can also be a lot of examples of prophets throughout the bible that were considered socially strange and off-putting, and this is presented in a way to imply that a person sincere to following god's truth will be seen in this same light.

Since this is a psychology related forum, I might as well venture to point out that this creates a huge "super-ego" type of weight on a person's shoulders. Their religious, separatist group is at odds with the larger culture and so the individual must experience tension either from the religious group or the larger society. It is easy for an individual to lose a sense of self by being torn between these different external expectations. I think there is a great deal more to explore regarding the psychology of the experience, but it does require certain types of conflicting layers.

So, simply put, when I see a street preacher I feel uncertain about their social boundaries, and I feel a great deal of psychological tension and pressure, and something almost akin to panic. It is different from panic, in that it feel like a slow, heavy, sustained urgency that can provoke extremism.
 
W

WALMART

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There aren't too many here. I ironically pray they won't take note of my presence.


I do enjoy engaging Jehovah witnesses. They ask thought provoking questions, though I don't think I answer them from the same vein they are used to.
 

Chiharu

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I feel really really intense hatred before I remind myself that I can't really judge them. I've been disturbed by how antireligion I've become.
 

Lark

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Just as a side note, [MENTION=7280]Lark[/MENTION], I think some people's impression of Christianity is based on something closer to what the street preachers you have seen are doing than what a broader range of Christianity is about. People who have a lot of pent up anger about it are probably reacting to being surrounded by that sort of thing.

Well Orwell did write that like the Christian religion the worst representatives of socialism were socialists, I think he was right on both counts, I actually think in some ways that the worst representatives of most things are the self-appointed representatives, they're usually channelling negative archetypes and the ideas are window dressing.

I wish there was more thinking though, both about the ideas which are supposedly being fronted, the frontmen, also, though this is too much of an ask I figure, that the ideas being fronted by thought about by the front men themselves.

This guy was bellowing up about sin, no one thinks about sin at all but when they do they are generally liable to be thinking about consequences of actions but no he's full on everyone is doomed as fuck per se, the only solution is justification by belief, belief alone, yadda, yadda.

I understand most of the points about why "belief alone" can be plausible, most basically "what could you give to God that he hasnt got already?", earning favour is a very human anthropomorphic idea etc.

Although like I say there's some great books about the terrible consequences of those ideas, James Hogg's principally, the exchange between Erasmus and Luther is more of interest to believers, probably, although if you dont believe in religion at all but read discussion threads or are interested in debates its worth a read and I'll bet for a modern thinker, with all the "time honoured truisms" they think they "know for sure", is liable to have some surprises.

These sources cant have escaped the attention, or if they have I wonder why, seriously, that they would have done.
 
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