General Chat XXXIX: Reading Rainbow Returns Edition.

Darth Luna wrote:

Koenig wrote:I will look into those anime.

As for a complex, I suppose it comes with the territory.  You would be surprised how much shit I get for being a Christian sometimes.

Where are you from?

New Mexico.

Koenig wrote:*Drools*



I still really hope we get a Wii U version.

Sadly, that probably won't happen.

http://www.nintendolife.com/news/2014/03/monster_hunter_producer_ryozo_tsujimoto_emphasizes_the_value_of_community_and_the_3ds_for_mh4_ultimate

Koenig wrote:New Mexico.

I didn't know it was full of anti-christian sentiment.

Darth Luna wrote:

Koenig wrote:New Mexico.

I didn't know it was full of anti-christian sentiment.

In all honesty, I think New Mexico is a safe haven by comparison to some states. The general reaction I have seen is that some people seem to consider all Christians either idiots and/or bigots.

Try being an atheist...anywhere as a kid. Even here in Los Angeles, I realized my lack of faith when I was in middle school....MIDDLE SCHOOL. My schools were majority low income black/hispanic. Do you think things were easy for me? How many atheists do you think there were?

I would presume not many at all.

The first atheist I met, my own brother who decided to just admit he lacked faith later on when we were in high school.

Darth Luna wrote:Try being an atheist...anywhere as a kid. Even here in Los Angeles, I realized my lack of faith when I was in middle school....MIDDLE SCHOOL. My schools were majority low income black/hispanic. Do you think things were easy for me? How many atheists do you think there were?

I realised my lack of faith when I was nine. It was really hard since everyone around me believed in God. It wasn't really until when I went out west a few years ago that I found out that the rest of my family (aunts and uncles) were atheists.

First thing, MAZER YOU HAVEN'T ADDED ME TO THE SKYPE GROUP!!!!!!!

Second thing, on the topic of Christianity: I'm a catholic and I see where Koenig is coming from when he says that most JRPGs and anime look at religion in a bad way. For example, I'm watching Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood right now and religion is viewed in a bad light in the world. In third or forth episode there was a priest that was corrupting the entire population through religion.

But the only thing is that I feel indifferent about it religion's portrayal in the media/anime, it doesn't really bug me at all. I personally don't give a crap how other people view my religion and people can make religion look like a bad thing all they want, but it's not going to sway me or anything. I like to listen to what other people say and for the most part, I would say that atheists have a right to be hesitant to believe in a god. It does seem far fetched and I won't deny that.

Maybe I don't mind the hate on religion because I grew up in a very liberal/hippy town where probably most of the population were either atheists or agnostics. So I've kind of grown numb to the backlash that religion gets. I won't deny, religion has done a lot bad in this world so I don't mind seeing it portrayed in my animes as something bad. But, religion has done a lot of good as well and that's why I like it. People can think what they want and sometimes it might get annoying to see religion portrayed as something bad, but for the most part I just brush it off.

ColumbianLoom wrote:First thing, MAZER YOU HAVEN'T ADDED ME TO THE SKYPE GROUP!!!!!!!

What is your name on Skype? I'll do it for him.

Religion has been portrayed as a tool for the corrupt to take advantage of people. This isn't exactly a new twist, this has happened in reality. That's how Christianity fractured and separated into Catholocism and Protestantism in Europe. It would be easy to point at the tool, religion, used, but the culprits are the corrupt ones who used that means for their evil. That example you used from FMA, seems more like this than saying religion is inherently bad.

Lux wrote:

ColumbianLoom wrote:First thing, MAZER YOU HAVEN'T ADDED ME TO THE SKYPE GROUP!!!!!!!

What is your name on Skype? I'll do it for him.

My name is LoomDoom.

Darth Luna wrote:Religion has been portrayed as a tool for the corrupt to take advantage of people. This isn't exactly a new twist, this has happened in reality. That's how Christianity fractured and separated into Catholocism and Protestantism in Europe. It would be easy to point at the tool, religion, used, but the culprits are the corrupt ones who used that means for their evil. That example you used from FMA, seems more like this than saying religion is inherently bad.

I'm very aware of what happened in the past and what I'm what trying to get at here is that it was portrayed as a bad thing thing. Just supporting Keonig's argument.

You guys really think you've suffered for being christian? I mean seriously?

Oh god, the second tooth that needs a root canal has decided to give me constant pain with surges of prolonged sharp pain and my coverage was used up completely a few months ago @_@

Darth Luna wrote:Religion has been portrayed as a tool for the corrupt to take advantage of people. This isn't exactly a new twist, this has happened in reality. That's how Christianity fractured and separated into Catholocism and Protestantism in Europe. It would be easy to point at the tool, religion, used, but the culprits are the corrupt ones who used that means for their evil. That example you used from FMA, seems more like this than saying religion is inherently bad.

I can't speak for Loom, but in regards to FMA my main complaint about its portrayal of religion was that its final note basically said that religion had no power. The lead priest was corrupt, yes; but rather than focus on the individual the entire religion was villainized as a being a sham.

Going back into a broader perspective, I am fine with criticism of a religion or idea; however the thing truly gets under my skin is the hypocrisy that is typically involved. Theists, Aetheist and the like always claim a wish for co-existence but jump at any chance they get to outright attack the beliefs of the each-other. In the case of JRPG's and anime it is typically the latter picking of the former. I have yet to see any form of media that truly makes someone of one group walk in shoes of the other instead of villainizing or alienate them.

Darth Luna wrote:You guys really think you've suffered for being christian? I mean seriously?

Suffered? No. Discriminated? Absolutely.

LegendX48 wrote:Oh god, the second tooth that needs a root canal has decided to give me constant pain with surges of prolonged sharp pain and my coverage was used up completely a few months ago @_@

Ouch. Do you have any back-up plans?

Pardon me, but I just can't see how you have gone through so much discrimination to make you gain a "persecution complex" for being a christian...in the US. If you were from somewhere closer to Asia or the Middle East, I would understand it much more often, but Europe, especially western, and the Americas are the places you'd face the least and I mean least discrimination for being christian.

I agree; the US and other heavily westernized parts of the world Christianity is given a much larger berth of freedom and protection than can be found in most parts of the world.  However countless times I have seen Christianity and its core beliefs derided and degraded; entirely within the legal spectrum but without any valid reason other than spite.

You'll find discrimination for anything anywhere, but you're coming off as it's especially bad for you and that it's rampant. Try being an atheist or non-christian or anything other than heterosexual or a minorty.

Koenig wrote:

LegendX48 wrote:Oh god, the second tooth that needs a root canal has decided to give me constant pain with surges of prolonged sharp pain and my coverage was used up completely a few months ago @_@

Ouch.  Do you have any back-up plans?

No, at least not for the root canal. Gotta ask if they have any sort of payment plans cause this is starting to suck, big time @_@

Darth Luna wrote:You guys really think you've suffered for being christian? I mean seriously?

Pffffff Luna, to say that we don't get shit for being christian is an extremely ignorant statement. Have you turned on the news lately? Religion gets demonized all the damn time. That's a fact.

Darth Luna wrote:You'll find discrimination for anything anywhere, but you're coming off as it's especially bad for you and that it's rampant. Try being an atheist or non-christian or anything other than heterosexual or a minorty.

It's not rampant but it is growing. The internet usually land blasts anyone with beliefs and target Catholics/Christians the most however the most evident time you'll see this is during the holidays. Every year there are more and more lawsuits from nonthesists to take down anything Christmas related.

http://radio.foxnews.com/toddstarnes/top-stories/elderly-residents-outraged-after-christmas-tree-ban.html

I think this was last year.

And 3 years ago a non theist decided to ruin the yearly nativity scene in a city by suing so that he can rent out the space himself and instead of the nativity scene he put up the devil, santa, and a few other statues with a sign that said something like "as real as your god."


I think however what Koeing is mainly referring is the fact that it isn't the fact people don't believe and just leave it at that is the problem with the superiority complex some non thesits have acting like anyone (of all beliefs mind you) who have a belief are ignorant caveman and lump us all together with those jackasses who protest funerals or those parents who don't go to the hospital for their kids because of faith.

Darth Luna wrote:You'll find discrimination for anything anywhere, but you're coming off as it's especially bad for you and that it's rampant. Try being an atheist or non-christian or anything other than heterosexual or a minorty.

Which goes back to what I was saying about hypocrisy.  Discrimination is everywhere, but unlike the LBGT movement or secular community, I have NEVER seen anyone stand up for religion against discrimination in the modern era.

For what ever reason non religious people assume it does not happen, which is a very arrogant assumption.

LegendX48 wrote:

Koenig wrote:

LegendX48 wrote:Oh god, the second tooth that needs a root canal has decided to give me constant pain with surges of prolonged sharp pain and my coverage was used up completely a few months ago @_@

Ouch.  Do you have any back-up plans?

No, at least not for the root canal. Gotta ask if they have any sort of payment plans cause this is starting to suck, big time @_@

That really stinks.  The only advice I can offer in the mean time would be to try applying aspirin powder directly to the tooth.  This helped me and my family a lot in the past.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goody's_Powder

I never said there isn't some backlash against Christianity. Then again, backlash is far different from oppression, but my point is that you're coming off as having suffered greatly for being christian and my point is that you don't know what real discrimination is. Being a Christian in the US....that's far and away one of the least discriminated against things.