A social experiment with fundamentalist Christians

[Jose Fly]

I haven't been to Religious Forums since last September, mostly because I got a little bored because I agreed with so many people here. When a forum becomes essentially a "mutual back-slapping club", I tend to lose interest and go looking for something else.

This time around, I decided to do something a little different. I searched around the internet for a fundamentalist Christian discussion group that tightly controlled their membership. After a bit, I found one and applied for membership posing as a college age female who was also a born-again Christian. After I was accepted, I started off posting in a pretty innocuous manner, portraying myself as a bubbly, positive Christian. There were lot's of "Praise God" and "Amen" type things in my posts. Once the group got used to me and accepted me as one of their own, I started questioning some of the things they were posting. Not, "questioning" as in disagreeing, but as in simply asking things like "Is that really true" or "Can you show me where it actually says that".

And boy, did the poo hit the fan! I've never seen such a quick and unified turnaround in a group of people.

Let's be clear here...the sorts of things they posted were some of the most vile, mean-spirited, disgusting views I'd ever seen. Everything...and I mean everything...was a conspiracy. There were threads about rounding up all Muslims in the US and deporting them, jailing them, or even killing them; there were threads arguing that gays would go out at night and kidnap babies and eat them; there were threads about how the civil rights act was fascist; and there were so many threads about Obama and how he was a terrorist, Muslim, atheist, Nazi, communist, gay, CIA/Al Queda operative...it's hard to describe. There was even a lengthy discussion of geocentrism (with people actually advocating it).

What I discovered is that as loony and strange as fundamentalist Christians seem on open boards like this one, when they discuss things amongst themselves where they feel safe and like no one is listening, that's when the true crazy hate comes out. Also, they do not tolerate even the slightest bit of doubt or questioning from within. All one has to do is ask something like, "Really? Can you show me where that language is in the proposed bill" and you are immediately set upon by the group. I even had multiple threats of physical violence posted to me.

I also came away with a confirmation of some opinions I'd had of fundamentalists before the experiment, mostly that they are extremely paranoid, intentionally ignorant, and genuinely unhappy and angry in a very deep and serious way. And the fact that they've become more politically influential in recent years is something we as a country need to take very seriously. These are some very, very disturbed, messed up people.

EDIT: As I mentioned above, I was posting as a young female. It wasn't too long before I was struck by how differently I was treated. Being a male and always having posted as myself, I wasn't really prepared for what I experienced. In general, the men were very condescending and didn't take me seriously and the women really wanted to....what I call "bicker". The men regularly referred to me with terms like, "little girl", "sweetie", and even a few sexually offensive terms, and the women were even worse! Being the father of two young girls, I was really bothered by this treatment. At the very least, I came away from this experience determined to make sure my daughters don't ever allow anyone to treat them like that simply because of their sex.

 

[Father Heathen]

Welcome back!

 

[outhouse]

You just dont try hard enough LOL

physical violence posted to me

ive had that here from a blind christian

I also came away with a confirmation of some opinions I'd had of fundamentalists before the experiment, mostly that they are extremely paranoid, intentionally ignorant, and genuinely unhappy and angry in a very deep and serious way. And the fact that they've become more politically influential in recent years is something we as a country need to take very seriously. These are some very, very disturbed, messed up people.

And thats why i fight to bring out the historical truth, they need to know, hell everyone needs to know the real history and expose it for what it is.

blind faith drags humanity down, plain and simple

good post

I posed a few questions yesterday, not one person answered

#1 Now,, can you argue that man has not been creating man and women gods and spirits for the last 200,000 years???

#2 Can you show me a remote tribe who does not have made up spirits or gods in any part of the world???

#3 Can you show me any parallels in these remote tribes that would indicate that there god is also your god talking to them in the local language and thus the god figure is sharing the same information with all people????

#4 Can you show me that your hebrew god figure does not have any simularity's with previous pagan religions such as sumerians and egpytions???

#5 The ancient hebrews put more importance on male's then females, does this show in their early writings regarding the god figure, that they made him male ????

#6 Do you think all other gods and spirits are made up by the local people of that geographic region?

 

[lunamoth]

I haven't been to Religious Forums since last September, mostly because I got a little bored because I agreed with so many people here. When a forum becomes essentially a "mutual back-slapping club", I tend to lose interest and go looking for something else.

This time around, I decided to do something a little different. I searched around the internet for a fundamentalist Christian discussion group that tightly controlled their membership. After a bit, I found one and applied for membership posing as a college age female who was also a born-again Christian. After I was accepted, I started off posting in a pretty innocuous manner, portraying myself as a bubbly, positive Christian. There were lot's of "Praise God" and "Amen" type things in my posts. Once the group got used to me and accepted me as one of their own, I started questioning some of the things they were posting. Not, "questioning" as in disagreeing, but as in simply asking things like "Is that really true" or "Can you show me where it actually says that".

And boy, did the poo hit the fan! I've never seen such a quick and unified turnaround in a group of people.

Let's be clear here...the sorts of things they posted were some of the most vile, mean-spirited, disgusting views I'd ever seen. Everything...and I mean everything...was a conspiracy. There were threads about rounding up all Muslims in the US and deporting them, jailing them, or even killing them; there were threads arguing that gays would go out at night and kidnap babies and eat them; there were threads about how the civil rights act was fascist; and there were so many threads about Obama and how he was a terrorist, Muslim, atheist, Nazi, communist, gay, CIA/Al Queda operative...it's hard to describe. There was even a lengthy discussion of geocentrism (with people actually advocating it).

What I discovered is that as loony and strange as fundamentalist Christians seem on open boards like this one, when they discuss things amongst themselves where they feel safe and like no one is listening, that's when the true crazy hate comes out. Also, they do not tolerate even the slightest bit of doubt or questioning from within. All one has to do is ask something like, "Really? Can you show me where that language is in the proposed bill" and you are immediately set upon by the group. I even had multiple threats of physical violence posted to me.

I also came away with a confirmation of some opinions I'd had of fundamentalists before the experiment, mostly that they are extremely paranoid, intentionally ignorant, and genuinely unhappy and angry in a very deep and serious way. And the fact that they've become more politically influential in recent years is something we as a country need to take very seriously. These are some very, very disturbed, messed up people.

Don't you think that the views of that board attracted people with the same crazy views, and people, even fundamentalist Christians, who are more sane would be just as disgusted as yourself?

 

[Mister Emu]

Those forums are just a conspiracy of people who want to bad-mouth fundamentalist Christians

 

[Jose Fly]

You just dont try hard enough LOL ive had that here from a blind christian

Yeah, me too, but this was very different. I really got the feeling that it was quite serious and the people were making a real effort to track me down. That they also thought I was a 20-something female makes that all the more creepy.

And thats why i fight to bring out the historical truth, they need to know, hell everyone needs to know the real history and expose it for what it is.

I agree.

 

[Kilgore Trout]

Amen!

 

[Jose Fly]

Don't you think that the views of that board attracted people with the same crazy views, and people, even fundamentalist Christians, who are more sane would be just as disgusted as yourself?

That did occur to me. But prior to picking that forum for the experiment, I found similar groups where crazy, hateful things were the norm. But they were either too restrictive (one dissenting post and you were kicked out) or not active enough.

I will grant that the level of crazy and hate was pretty high at this specific place, but as I said, in general it confirmed an impression of fundamentalists I'd formed from having grown up around them. Even some of my relatives can seem normal and cheery in public, but once they get together in a "safe" environment and start talking among themselves, it gets ugly very quickly.

I'm not saying all fundamentalist Christians think gays eat babies and the sun orbits the earth, but I have read some material on the psychology of fundamentalism and what I experienced the last few months fits right in with the overall profile of fundamentalism.

 

[Jacksnyte]

You should see what is said at some gatherings of my family! A lot of them are still convinced that the "Satanic African Jungle Rhythms" of rock & roll music have had two generations hypnotized, and that it is one of the main reasons our society has "fallen away from Gawd-ah".
I have relatives that continue to spread the whole "Harry Potter will turn your child into an evil minion of the Devuhl", and will teach them to practice "Black mad-juhk".

 

[lunamoth]

That did occur to me. But prior to picking that forum for the experiment, I found similar groups where crazy, hateful things were the norm. But they were either too restrictive (one dissenting post and you were kicked out) or not active enough.

I will grant that the level of crazy and hate was pretty high at this specific place, but as I said, in general it confirmed an impression of fundamentalists I'd formed from having grown up around them. Even some of my relatives can seem normal and cheery in public, but once they get together in a "safe" environment and start talking among themselves, it gets ugly very quickly.

I'm not saying all fundamentalist Christians think gays eat babies and the sun orbits the earth, but I have read some material on the psychology of fundamentalism and what I experienced the last few months fits right in with the overall profile of fundamentalism.

I know you are a clear thinker, JF, but doesn't it seem a bit off to start to with your personal views about fundamentalists, deliberately choose a forum that you admit represents those views, and then conclude from your experience there that your views are valid?

 

[crocusj]

You should see what is said at some gatherings of my family! A lot of them are still convinced that the "Satanic African Jungle Rhythms" of rock & roll music have had two generations hypnotized, and that it is one of the main reasons our society has "fallen away from Gawd-ah".

I'm not entirely sure this is false. Shackles come off, kids rebel, info spreads like never before. Certainly worked for me.

 

[Jacksnyte]

I'm not entirely sure this is false. Shackles come off, kids rebel, info spreads like never before. Certainly worked for me.

I escaped! And I am so glad I did!

 

[outhouse]

deliberately choose a forum that you admit represents those views, and then conclude from your experience there that your views are valid?

I have seen what he states here everyday.

hit any devote religious person with real questions regarding reality and then go nutty on you.

they have to go beserk, because they wont face reality so they go sideways everytime.

sideways gets ugly

 

[Jose Fly]

I know you are a clear thinker, JF,

Well thank you!

but doesn't it seem a bit off to start to with your personal views about fundamentalists, deliberately choose a forum that you admit represents those views, and then conclude from your experience there that your views are valid?

I see your point, but I didn't really set out with any sort of goals like that. I honestly was just looking to see what happened. Also, I looked over a lot of fundamentalist Christian forums and they were all pretty consistent in the sorts of topics discussed; they varied mostly in terms of activity and restrictive management. And as I said previously, there is a bit of literature out there about the psychology of fundamentalism and what I saw in all the forums fit a general mold pretty well.

But you have jogged my memory about one other thing I learned that was somewhat surprising. It has to do with being a female. I'll add it as an edit in the OP.

 

[lunamoth]

Well thank you!


I see your point, but I didn't really set out with any sort of goals like that. I honestly was just looking to see what happened. Also, I looked over a lot of fundamentalist Christian forums and they were all pretty consistent in the sorts of topics discussed; they varied mostly in terms of activity and restrictive management. And as I said previously, there is a bit of literature out there about the psychology of fundamentalism and what I saw in all the forums fit a general mold pretty well.

But you have jogged my memory about one other thing I learned that was somewhat surprising. It has to do with being a female. I'll add it as an edit in the OP.

Now, how are we ever going to believe you really are a male atheist?

 

[Jose Fly]

Now, how are we ever going to believe you really are a male atheist?

Dang! I've been exposed!!

 

[Breathe]

Welcome back!

 

[esmith]

I posed a few questions yesterday, not one person answered

Alright outhouse I will give it a try. Oh by the way are (you a 1 or 2 hole'r)

#1 Now,, can you argue that man has not been creating man and women gods and spirits for the last 200,000 years???

Can't argue against that. All civilizations have been worshiping some form of deity since man first walked upright.

#2 Can you show me a remote tribe who does not have made up spirits or gods in any part of the world???

Nope, as the answer to #1 indicates

#3 Can you show me any parallels in these remote tribes that would indicate that their god is also your god talking to them in the local language and thus the god figure is sharing the same information with all people????

Well, not sure if this qualifies your answer, but try the Great Spirit and other variations of the name among many North American Indian Tribes.

#4 Can you show me that your hebrew god figure does not have any simularity's with previous pagan religions such as sumerians and egpytions???

Well let me try this. Most of the ancient Near East deities associated with nature and could not be found if you left the area of that deity. Note the Hebrew God was not associated with nature and perceived as a God of history. Although during the earlier period the Hebrew God could only be worshiped in a certain "territory". But this changed later.

#5 The ancient hebrews put more importance on male's then females, does this show in their early writings regarding the god figure, that they made him male ????

No the Hebrews did not put more importance on males. There are many stories in the Bible that have the heroines. Actually the Hebrew God was gender neutral (modern concept) and male (ancient Israel).

#6 Do you think all other gods and spirits are made up by the local people of that geographic region?

That is a hard one to answer. So let me answer it this way....different civilizations had different deities. Some had multiply deities, others single. As a matter of fact, in the 14th century BCE (around 1350 BCE) Egypt experimented with one god precept. This was implemented by Pharaoh Akhenaten (1335-1336 BCE) who closed down all temples and only one deity, Aten (sun god) was to be worshiped. But the idea didn't last past his rein.

So there is my input. Maybe ole smokeydot will come along and give you some answers

 

[blue8]

This time around, I decided to do something a little different. I searched around the internet for a fundamentalist Christian discussion group that tightly controlled their membership. After a bit, I found one and applied for membership posing as a college age female who was also a born-again Christian. After I was accepted, I started off posting in a pretty innocuous manner, portraying myself as a bubbly, positive Christian. There were lot's of "Praise God" and "Amen" type things in my posts. Once the group got used to me and accepted me as one of their own, I started questioning some of the things they were posting. Not, "questioning" as in disagreeing, but as in simply asking things like "Is that really true" or "Can you show me where it actually says that".

Jose Fly, I find your post very interesting and disturbing. Think that such a fundamentalism is a real threat to our society. I think it should be prevented from entering into schools. I know some fundamentalist christians personaly, and though they can be very sweet occasionally, they can soon turn into something completely different and show their dark side. I found them ignorant (taking young earth creationism as a fact), talking hateful about science, other faiths, Catholic and Islam particularly, and things like that. I was told things like "do you know that people are getting resurrected today? Dead people can arrise!" and they were looking at me to see my reaction. Crazy

 

[Rainbow Mage]

I am sorry to say that most of what Jose has stated about fundamentalists is true. Most in my family are fundamentalist Christians. My stepmom believes demons come out of television and video games and jump on kids. My dad thinks Obama is a Muslim. Family members say the Catholic Church is the whore of Babylon.

It really is that bad guys.