"Faith"
15h 30m ago by lemmy.world/u/thisecommercelife in comicstrips
I grew up in a small town that was full of this. You know why everyone thinks that revelations is coming true and it's the end times? Selfishness.
Christians who believe that they're living in the end times are narcissists, hands down. I was surrounded by them growing up. They will tell you it's because the world is sinful and all the signs are matching but really their actual reasons for believing that it's the "end times" is:
- They don't need to feel guilty about using resources/polluting (God will "renew" the earth)
- They don't need to worry about the next generation, because it'll be over before then
- Someone else (Jesus or God or the Holy Spirit or all three in the mecha-jesus form) will save everyone for them
- They get to be raptured, leaving behind all the sinners, and thus proving that they really are better than everyone else.
It's all pure selfishness and narcissism. I read the bible, and then I read the entire left behind series. All of them. It's rapture porn for Christians. It's 13 books of "Oh if only we were as smart as the Christians to accept Jesus earlier!" Of course it was, and that's why it was marketed towards Christians, and not non-Christians. (Seriously, think about how fucked up that is that they had 13 books dedicated to that, marketed towards them, and how much they ate it up. But I digress)
Christians are more than happy to put their head in the sand. It's why you see Christians not giving two damns about the planet or pollution, or the next generations. They don't care. They're going to be fine. They'll be raptured. Everyone else? Well jokes on them because the Christians were right and everyone else deserves it.
and I haven't even touched on the pure arrogance of assuming that of all of the generations and billions of people who came before that somehow you're the one who experiences the return of your savior
Once again, I agree with this sentiment but Lemmy has got to stop putting all Christians in one basket. There are certainly loud and proud Christians like the ones you're describing. But there are many many Christians who also do care about our environment, and do the quiet work. Humans were supposed to till and keep the Earth. Just like all groups of people, there are bad and good Christians.
You're not wrong, but the immediate danger of the bad Christians is WAY more important right now than the feelings of the good Christians. If the good Christians don't like it, they should get their fellows in line.
Timothy 4:16 – “Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching. Persist in this, for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers.”
There's a clear duty to keep others from using scripture in corrupted ways. Silent good Christians are no better than protest non-voters.
The particular kind of loud narcissism people are describing in this thread isn't particularly common amongst European christians in my experience and when it comes up it almost always seems to be USAmericans that complain about it. That leads me to believe it's less about christianity and more just a different flavour of the typical selfish individualism that (to me looking in from the outside) seems to dominate American culture. So if you insist on painting a whole group of people with one brush, perhaps it's Americans who need to get their fellow countrymen and women in line...
Agreed with you. But the same can be said for any group of people no? There are also lots of atheists who are ruining the planet, and lots who are not. Lots of ____ who are, and who are not. It's up to all of us with good character to act right now in this time. That's why I'm saying, it's better to recognize those who are your fellow humans in this fight, and those humans exist in all groups.
The thing is, we’re not talking about the ____ group. We’re talking about those obnoxious Christians who are ruining it for everyone. If that doesn’t include you, nice. But that doesn’t change anything about that overly vocal minority.
They don't see me as a Christian because I don't think the Bible is the “innerrant word of God” (the Bible itself says the the “innerrant word of God” is Jesus-Christ, not a text), and thus don't apply moral ideas from Antiquity in the 21st century. They're not my fellows, they reject me. I'm not silent, but progressive Christians don't have more leverage than others on them. They are narcissists.
Believe me, we're trying. But we're tired too, and the people we're trying to reach are our friends and family, so... it takes time.
What they are describing is exactly the rhetoric I grew up absolutely surrounded by. It's extremely common.
I kind of wish the rapture would go ahead and happen. Us sinners would be much better off in the long run.
narcissists
Do you know where that word comes from? It started as Narcissus, a teenage boy who was cursed to fall in love with his reflection because he didn't want to get married. Then psychiatrists used his name for a mental disorder. Then this pop scientist, Christopher Lasch, said the mental disorder is on the rise due to American culture. And a bunch of self help books made money telling you that you're surrounded by evil... that word. And that's how it broke into pop culture.
Now, people who have heard the word in pop culture have looked it up, and they've landed in all different parts of that history through their research. So some people only know the myth, some people know the mental illness, some people know the pop science. And I've talked about different parts of this history, and met people from all three groups saying I'm wrong, and the truth is actually one of those three parts. Some people say it has nothing to do with mental disorders and it's just a myth. Other people say the people with the mental disorder are evil monsters. It's all jumbled up. But now you know the whole history, and I encourage you to sit and have a think about all of that, and decide what you think about using the word.
You’ve been called a narcissist more than once, huh?
Yep. It all started when I saw some memes on Reddit about what having NPD is really like. They sounded like Me, so I looked the disorder up on the internet. But half the search results, even when I used search terms about support for people with NPD, was about how we're evil and people want us dead. It's a big barrier to treatment. And neurotypicals say they want us to get therapy and deal with our emotional difficulties, but they make it impossible to get treatment with all this stigma. I couldn't find any therapist who specialises in helping people like Me be better. I couldn't even find advice on exercises I can do at home to work on My problems. I had to work on this stuff alone. I want to be a kinder person, but there's so much hate trying to drive Me deeper into the pit of bitterness and despair.
As someone who has grown up around and is related to actual narcissists, shut the fuck up, it’s not anybody else’s shit to have to deal with. It’s a self inflicted condition, you are in complete control. Your brain isn’t broken, you chose to be that way. Grow up. Expecting people to feel sorry for you because you are a narcissist is the most narcissistic fucking card you can play.
One of the defining traits of NPD is a lack of empathy, which you are exhibiting in spades right now. Do you think personality disorders in general are made up?
You're kinda both right and wrong, it is a narcissistic card to play, but it also is a real condition often inflicted by parents and/or environment. I'd say you're more in the wrong, because this is more likely to not be a conscious choice.
So you think narcissistic personality disorder doesn't belong in the DSM and psychologists shouldn't treat it?
It’s not a psychological disorder, no. A psychologist can’t fix it. It is a choice. The only person that can doing anything about your narcissism is you, don’t put it off on someone else. It’s not depression, it’s not autism, there is no chemical imbalances, you just choose to be shitty and you have to choose to stop.
You expecting someone else to be responsible for making you a tolerable person is, yet again, the most narcissistic card you could play.
Well, it's neat to see that Lemmy has an anti-science community who disagree with psychologists.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narcissistic_personality_disorder
Narcissistic personality disorder (NPD) is a complex and heterogeneous personality disorder
NPD often involves impaired emotional empathy, superficial relationships, and difficulty tolerating disagreement. It is often co-morbid with other mental disorders and associated with significant functional impairment and psychosocial disability.[1]
Criteria for diagnosing narcissistic personality disorder are listed in the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM)
NPD's etiology is thought to be largely genetic and neurobiological, with structural and functional brain differences in areas related to self-processing and empathy
I do disagree. Fix yourself, there’s nothing wrong with you other than the person you choose to be.
Okay, do you mind if I post more sources and quotes from actual health professionals who disagree with you?
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/narcissistic-personality-disorder/symptoms-causes/syc-20366662
A narcissistic personality disorder causes problems in many areas of life, such as relationships, work, school or financial matters. People with narcissistic personality disorder may be generally unhappy and disappointed when they're not given the special favors or admiration that they believe they deserve. They may find their relationships troubled and unfulfilling, and other people may not enjoy being around them.
Treatment for narcissistic personality disorder centers around talk therapy, also called psychotherapy.
https://www.psychiatry.org/news-room/apa-blogs/what-is-narcissistic-personality-disorder
Many people may be familiar with the casual use of the term narcissist, referring to a person who is very self-centered, boastful and hungry for attention and admiration. However, narcissistic personality disorder, a condition described in the DSM-5-TR*, is more severe, persistent and problematic.
While many people may have traits that might be considered narcissistic, that is not the same as narcissistic personality disorder. “Only when these traits are inflexible, maladaptive, and persisting and cause significant functional impairment or subjective distress do they constitute narcissistic personality disorder” (APA 2022)
While research is limited, studies show that people with narcissistic personality disorder can improve, but the improvement is gradual and slow. Several treatments have been developed for the condition and they share common aspects, such as setting clear, realistic goals; attention to relationships and self-esteem; and building- the clinician-patient alliance (Weinberg& Ronningstam, 2022).
All these studies are saying the exact same things I am. There’s nothing wrong with you other than who you choose to be, you have to choose to not be a narcissist. Stop acting like it’s an affliction that was outside of your own motive, take responsibility for your shitty behavior, you’re not deserving of sympathy for being a narcissist. You’re not sick and you’re not broken, do the work.
https://www.alignmentpsychology.ca/post/narcissism-is-not-a-choice-a-deeper-look-through-the-lens-of-attachment
Narcissism Is Not a Choice
Narcissism is not a character flaw—it’s a protective response.And diagnosing Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD) is not something we can or should do casually.
When we call someone a narcissist without proper context or diagnosis, we flatten their humanity into a label.
We reduce complex trauma and attachment ruptures into a fixed identity.
And perhaps even more importantly, we cut off the possibility for growth—in ourselves and in the other person.
Healing begins when we are willing to see—not just the behavior, but the wounded humanity beneath it.
Yeah, their position is unlikely to change. I may not like people with this condition, but you're right that it is not a choice
Words can have multiple meanings, and change meanings over time.
AGI, 2030: Dude what the fuck you've known what you had to do for over 100 years now. I help those who help themselves.
Proceeds to ritualistically destroy itself by hacking its own datacenters and overloading the UPS batteries...something it learned from reading Mr Robot wiki
JFC, I just had this same fuckin interaction with a customer today, it fuckin mind blowing. I was talking about green energy push fue to Trump's dickery and he brought up " but why do do you think God put all of that down there" I thought he was joking at first because he was able to speak in mostly full sentences but noooope. Spent the next ten minutes getting mad because I thought his dumb beliefs were stoopid. I was very respectful btw.
"Because once upon a time, there were many trees. There were so many trees that they filled the atmosphere with oxygen. Since trees need carbon dioxide to breathe, and there wasn't enough of it, many trees died. These trees got buried over time and became fossil fuels."
"Soo... what you're saying is, oxygen in the atmosphere is bad? And if we kill more trees there will be more fossil fuels?"
🤦♀️
Huh, then I wonder why God put all that asbestos in the earth then? And all the arsenic. And all the other lovely toxic minerals that I couldn't think of in 10 seconds
The same reason he put all that uranium in the ground for Iranians.
I live in this town.
This town is America.
Earth actually.
I live in Australia
I spent a lot of time in the US too
Australia isn't perfect, but it's leagues ahead of 'Murica. There's really no comparison
God creates dinosaurs, God destroys dinosaurs. God creates Man, man destroys God. Man creates AI, AI destroys man. AI creates dinosaurs…
Circle of life.
.......where's the part where woman inherits the earth?
Sorry, y’all were relegated to trad wives during the AI creation era then faded from the plot. Don’t yell at me, I’m just the messenger.
about the third loop around, when science had evolved to the point males of a species were no longer needed to procreate--the women left and settled somewhere amongst the stars, far far away.
We really be not heeding the prophets (scientists)
Scientist: "We're all doomed unless we engage in a political project to change industrial policies"
Politician: "We won't change industrial policy"
Industrialist: "We won't change industrial policy"
Media: "Actually, I'm being paid to tell you the scientist is full of shit"
Fossil Fuel Employee: "The Bank says if I lose my job I'll be homeless"
Global South Countries: "We're building enormous amounts of green power, mass transit, and cutting edge nuclear naval shipping"
Everyone Else: "Aaaah! Boo! We hate it!"
Religion is a mental disorder.
- Make a caricature of Christianity
- Get mad at your caricature
- Get mad at the real people you made a caricature of
you cheated on me in a dream
No, seriously; you know, how actual acquired mental disorders happen, because you adapt harmful thinking patterns early on? Religiosity is not classified as one, but it shares the same mechanisms, including rejecting/downplaying evidence by habit.
So is stupidity
Nope.
I feel there's no reason god won't let us sodom and gamorrah ourselves, it's not like we haven't been warned about what we are doing
Side not my phone wanted to auto complete it to sodom and Gambino
I’ve figured out what Sodoming myself entails, still not sure about what exactly Gammorahing entails. But I’ll try anything once.
I'm more thinking of the civilization level self destruction despite warning like the parable or whatever of sodom and gamorrah(Gambino again why?)
Is the Gambino family actually ancient astronauts who participated in the destruction of Gammorah? Autocorrect says
The Christian looks like professor Oak
So much pain over what is basically creating sides and then committing crimes bad enough on their account to retroactively justify them.
Grok explain this in simple terms
No no no. Asking AI to fix the problems AI causewon't make AI act responsibly
Something something about a boat and a helicopter…
"Question & test everything against what you know to be true." (Science, bitches! 🤪)
There's a formula for abortion in the old testament somewhere - look it up.
"Love one another, do not load heavy burdens upon others. Carry one another's burdens. Wash people's feet. Husbands submit to your wives. etc." - ooh boy, Christians are going to be really mad when they get around to reading the Bible!!
People can be so dumb. Religion can help alleviate that problem somewhat by encouraging skeptical thought and acts of service and a sense of community... or it can help a horny person diddle little kids, but obviously this is religion followed incorrectly. Religion offers adaptive value, to help people go beyond tribal antics and consider the needs of a wider society, or to open our eyes to greater truths. Though tbf it does seem more often than not to be followed incorrectly, more's the pity.
wives submit to husbands and husbands submit to wives
theres a formula for crack somewhere in a bottle in the ocean go look for it
saying "Religion" is like saying "Females"