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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

It is unreasonable to expect a friend not to send me this in an email?

102 replies

delphinedownunder · 07/09/2010 04:18

I have been sent this in an email by a christian friend. I am not religious at all (and she knows it) and I work fulltime. It feels like a personal dig and I am deeply offended by its content - especially the stuff about headaches, music (Christian music - yikes - spare me) and good causes. Who reads and believes this nonsense? AIBU to think this is absolute crap? Does it have any merit? Bombard me with opinions and comments please!

Satan called a worldwide convention of demons.
In his opening address he said,
"We can't keep Christians from going to church."
"We can't keep them from reading their Bibles and knowing the truth."
"We can't even keep them from forming an intimate relationship with their savior."
"Once they gain that connection with Jesus, our power over them is broken."

"So let them go to their churches; let them have their covered dish dinners, BUT steal their time, so they don't have time to develop a relationship with Jesus Christ.."

"This is what I want you to do," said the devil:

"Distract them from gaining hold of their Savior and maintaining that vital connection throughout their day!"

"How shall we do this?" his demons shouted.

"Keep them busy in the non-essentials of life and invent innumerable schemes to occupy their minds," he answered.
"Tempt them to spend, spend, spend, and borrow, borrow, borrow."
"Persuade the wives to go to work for long hours and the husbands to work 6-7 days each week, 10-12 hours a day, so they can afford their empty lifestyles."
"Keep them from spending time with their children."
"As their families fragment, soon, their homes will offer no escape from the pressures of work!"

"Over-stimulate their minds so that they cannot hear that still, small voice."
"Entice them to play the radio or cassette player whenever they drive." "To keep the TV, VCR, CDs and their PCs going constantly in their home and see to it that every store and restaurant in the world plays non-biblical music constantly."
"This will jam their minds and break that union with Christ."
"Fill the coffee tables with magazines and newspapers."
"Pound their minds with the news 24 hours a day."
"Invade their driving moments with billboards."
"Flood their mailboxes with junk mail, mail order catalogs, sweepstakes, and every kind of newsletter and promotional offering free products, services and false hopes."
"Keep skinny, beautiful models on the magazines and TV so their husbands will believe that outward beauty is what's important, and they'll become dissatisfied with their wives."

"Keep the wives too tired to love their husbands at night."
Give them headaches too!
"If they don't give their husbands the love they need, they will begin to look elsewhere."
"That will fragment their families quickly!"

"Give them Santa Clause to distract them from teaching their children the real meaning of Christmas."
"Give them an Easter bunny so they won't talk about his resurrection and power over sin and death."

"Even in their recreation, let them be excessive."
"Have them return from their recreation exhausted."
"Keep them too busy to go out in nature and reflect on God's creation. Send them to amusement parks, sporting events, plays, concerts, and movies instead. "Keep them busy, busy, busy!"

"And when they meet for spiritual fellowship, involve them in gossip and small talk so that they leave with troubled consciences."
"Crowd their lives with so many good causes they have no time to seek power from Jesus."
"Soon they will be working in their own strength, sacrificing their health and family for the good of the cause."
"It will work!" "It will work!"

It was quite a plan!

The demons went eagerly to their assignments causing Christians everywhere to get busier and more rushed, going here and there.
Having little time for their God or their families.
Having no time to tell others about the power of Jesus to change lives.
I guess the question is, has the devil been successful in his schemes?

You be the judge!!!!!
Does "BUSY" mean: Being Under Satan's Yoke?

OP posts:
justsue · 07/09/2010 23:56

Its a email dont read it if you dont want to, personally I found it quite interesting but then again I am not religous

Heracles · 08/09/2010 02:34

I thought BUSY stood for Benedict Understands Sexy Youths; that's Catholic doctrine, right? Or have I been reading the worng papers again...?

NickOfTime · 08/09/2010 02:43

one of my friends forwarded an e-mail asking for suggestions of pacifist books for children. both dh and i are in the military.

i just replied with a huge smiley and got a very Blush reply, as she hadn't meant to send it to me. we rub along fine, but she doesn't invite me to woodfolk meetings or cnd rallies, and i don't invite her to open days to look at tanks. Wink

usually i just delete shite, but i do like vivelacliche's suggestion tbh. and i'm going to remember it in case i ever get this one...

nomedoit · 08/09/2010 03:06

I'm an agnostic and I didn't find this email offensive. If you can look beyond the Satan-talk, some of it is quite interesting as justsue says. I live in the US and the culture here is very much based on comsumption and competition. It's right to say that even the recreation is exhausting. Childrens' sports here have to be seen to be believed. It's all about getting into the 'elite' teams. Also, debt levels here are much higher, people do work incredibly long hours and they don't take as much holiday time. It's just more intense. Oh, and Botox is offered at my local dentists! So I think you have to put it in that context. I wouldn't lose a friendship over it.

tortoiseonthehalfshell · 08/09/2010 03:37

Delphine, you realise that by cut and pasting the entire thing here, you've given it a much wider audience than it would otherwise have had? Look at how many posters are saying it's quite interesting!

MIFLAW · 08/09/2010 10:10

"And finally, in reading that email, methinks someone has finally gotten around to reading The Screwtape Letters"

I've read the Screwtape Letters. It was a while ago, but, though I was ultimately not convinced by it, I don't remember it being badly-written Americanised horseshit.

WhereYouLeftIt · 08/09/2010 10:24

I'd be tempted to ask your Christian friend if she really believes that religion only came about because people were bored, with nothing to do. That's my reading of her e-mail. :)

Lizcat · 08/09/2010 10:44

I feel I am a Christian, but don't go to church regularly and this holier than thou type attitude just gets me angry.
Personally as a Christian I have never felt closer to god than the day I delivered a calf at 5am in a field as the sun came up after struggling for over hour. I had worked at 70 hour week that week and was definately too tired to love my husband. However, as the sun came up and shone on the new born calf and mother as she licked I felt that god smiled on us.
Being a Christian is not about what you say or write in an e-mail, but what you do. Only god and I need to know about our relationship and my personal belief is that he will judge me on how I have helped others in my life.

Scuttlebutter · 08/09/2010 11:00

A couple of points. The email is American in origin, and American Christian practice is often quite different to British - more people in the USA go to Church regularly, politicians and people in the public eye talk about their faith openly and happily and without the paroxysms of embarrassment that afflict most Brits once the G word is mentioned. As others have pointed out, this should be seen in the context of American culture which does work long hours, and encourages consumerism. There is also a much more defined cultural "split" between those who are comfortable with and proud of the role of the SAHM/wife in the Christian context and a very loud and proud liberal/atheist paradigm. You can see typical cultural splits on issues like abortion, gun control, home schooling, gay marriage etc.

Like others have said, I think the underlying message is a good one, and thought provoking. I gave up full time work about a year ago and have been amazed at the varying responses I've had, ranging from envy/approval to outright horror. I can honestly say though it's worked brilliantly for us, and yes we are poorer but we have much more time and much less stress.

It is an example of a lazy and impertinent chain email (definately Satan's work!) - and there is a real issue over how to respond to idiots and numpties that press the bloody Forward button. I particularly hate it when they forward to a long list of email addresses and so you then have contact details for a raft of strangers (ever heard of privacy?) and am reserving a warm seat in Hell for the twonks who forward stupid urban myths without checking on Snopes. It's even worse when that happens in work - you'd think you'd be safer from stupidity there.

eaglewings · 08/09/2010 11:15

Don't lose a friendship, bin it and if she sends another, ask her to stop

As a christian (non bells and smells, but still sane) I know I'm too busy to love people and God as they deserve, but God loves us and I can't see him penning this, its just not his tone.

He's a cup full not half empty God Wink

stubbornhubby · 08/09/2010 15:01

I have a religious friend who keeps asking me if he can take my children to church with his family.

Really! I know that if I even once tried to entice HIS children AWAY from the church our friendship would end straight away, and no one would have sympathy with me.

why are religious people allowed to behave so badly?

(I shrug and say "sure, ask them yourself: they can go if they want to")

sodslaw · 08/09/2010 15:58

I love the idea of a Demons' Convention- all helping themselves to coffee and tea and eating biscuits at the start, wearing name tags, looking nervous

marvellous...

tittybangbang · 08/09/2010 16:08

My cousin is an evangelical Christian. A while back she asked me if I went to church, and I said a voice or reason tells me that it's dishonest and unethical to align myself to something that I believe to be based on a false premise, no matter how much comfort or useful moral teaching it might offer.

She sat back, looked at me and said

'You know that little voice which tells you that it's all false? You know who that is don't you?

It's Satan.'

Hmm
nickelbabe · 08/09/2010 16:24

oh dear.

i have a very busy lifestyle, but i manage to find time to "have a relationship with Jesus"

(actually, that's part of my busy life - spend a lot of time at church!)

it's a horrible email.

maybe they feel guilty that they're not spending enough time with their family...

ooh, needs a Hmm face!

corriefan · 08/09/2010 16:49

Just to say where I am religiously: I used to call myself a Christian but felt very let down by the church and some of the rules it upholds eg homosexuality. I believe in Jesus' teaching, but also the teaching of many others and also in elements of other main religions. I believe in prayer. What grates with me is small-minded rules, quite clearly created by man that were appropriate for their culture that are being upheld as the essence of a religion, rather than love which should be at the essence.

I would not like to get this email as a working mother, or as a non-working mother it would make me cringe. Plus as if it's always the woman who's too tired!

However, I do think there is a point in the jist of it that we who live in a capitalist society have lost sight of the simple things that can bring us joy and instead set ourselves challenge after challenge. I also think as I society we are quite greedy and want more and more. But once you're in it it's very difficult to get out.

But to frame it as Satan as the body's desires is a bit childish and the sexism towards women is really irritating and stepford wifeish. Also having unsolicited emails of a religious sort thrust into one's inbox is just rude.

FlyingInTheCLouds · 08/09/2010 16:57

behind all the sick sexist crap is a message that modern life leaves little time for the important things.

So she sent this nugget of information by email. ha ha ha.

my mum's a buddhist and if you took away the satan crap this is a rehash on some of buddhas teachings. seems they were too lazy to even come up with some original philsophising. Grin

tokyonambu · 08/09/2010 17:11

"'You know that little voice which tells you that it's all false? You know who that is don't you?

It's Satan.'"

In any other arena than religion, openly saying that you hear voices that tell you how to lead your life would be a rapid path to antipsychotic medication...

RunawayWife · 08/09/2010 17:26

Could I just point out that if you take away blaming Satan for all of this mumsnet is full of threads about people working too long hours, children and too much TV, people being too tired for sex, and just about everything else on this email.
I guess it is ok to complain about all these things as long as you don't bring religion in to it then Hmm

nickelbabe · 08/09/2010 17:41

corriefan sometimes i think that those Christians who don't go to church are better Christians than those who do - very sweeping generlisation before i get flamed!!
some people think that once a week is enough to fulfill their duty without acting like a christian in every day life.

Coolfonz · 08/09/2010 17:50

How can you be friends with anyone who is religious? Fucking ignorant primitivists the lot of them...

RunawayWife · 08/09/2010 18:01

Coolfonz do you not have some books to burn or something?

corriefan · 08/09/2010 18:15

nickelbabe Just to join in the generalisations I agree! Particularly as when my brother who had been in the choir for years and very religious became interested in martial arts and rastafarianism, then started hearing voices, apparently brought that on himself by invoking the devil with his alternative beliefs. FFS as if God only likes middle class white folk! None of the church lot were at his funeral. The 'bad boys' from his school were though, after years of him being schizophrenic, they came. They didn't judge.

Sorry if I've overshared there!

nomedoit · 08/09/2010 18:38

"How can you be friends with anyone who is religious? Fucking ignorant primitivists the lot of them..."

Not really into irony are you, Coolfonz?

I agree Runaway. There's not much in there that isn't an issue for anyone bringing up a family in modern-day society.

nickelbabe · 09/09/2010 11:30

corriefan :(

gagamama · 09/09/2010 12:11

Most of it is just smug, patronising bullshit, but the following I find offensive:

"Persuade the wives to go to work for long hours and the husbands to work 6-7 days each week, 10-12 hours a day, so they can afford their empty lifestyles."

Women (sorry, 'wives') going to work is work of the devil!

"Keep skinny, beautiful models on the magazines and TV so their husbands will believe that outward beauty is what's important, and they'll become dissatisfied with their wives."

Objectivication of women (oh, I mean 'wives' again) is bad because it makes men dissatisfied!

"Crowd their lives with so many good causes they have no time to seek power from Jesus."

Charities are the work of the devil!

I really think anyone not doing any of the things mentioned is probably Amish, so quite an extreme viewpiont.

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