It’s disappointing seeing a local Canadian Salvation Army unit climb into bed with the religious right.
There is nothing on the Canadian Sally Ann site about this being a rogue decision by a Calgary SA captain, but for an organization which counts on donors good will, this is not helpful.
Twilight books, movies and toys might be among the hottest gifts of the season, but one popular charity won’t be giving those donated items to needy children.
Also on the do-not-distribute list for the Salvation Army: Anything to do with Harry Potter, sorcery or warlocks.
Capt. Pam Goodyear says the 6000 gift bags for kids Calgary gives out won’t contain anything that she thinks supports witchcraft, witchery and black magic. The toys and stuff Goodyear bans is supposedly given to other agencies. However, there are conflicting reports online that a Calgary Sally Ann staff member told a volunteer to toss wizardry, vampire and werewolf themed stuff and that the Calgary Sally Ann didn’t pass them to other agencies to distribute. Goodyear is quoted in the Sun as saying the church passes the unwanted donations to other agencies. The volunteer who came forward is not named and he did not volunteer his name. The story has taken on a world-wide life of it’s own. Across Canada the Salvation Army distributes 300,000 toys to 100,000 children across the country at Christmas.
CTV has a statement from the national headquarters of the Salvation Army. May be too late, this story has gone international. However, it is important for donors to note Capt. Pam Goodyears decision is not national policy. She caved to some upset parents, and that is her prerogative.
Andrew Burditt, a national spokesperson for The Salvation Army, said the decision would not affect chapters of the charity outside of the Calgary area.
“The Salvation Army in many respects is a very grassroots organization across the country, so toy drives and toy donation campaigns are really local in nature,” he told CTV News Channel.
“Parents over the last number of years came to the Salvation Army in that region and just said, ‘Look, this isn’t something that we’re comfortable with. The Salvation Army in that area determined that enough parents had come to them that they said, ‘We’ll just not include these,’” he said.
“It’s certainly not a national policy or an edict from the national office.”
Reading that the Calgary Salvation Army unit is behaving like the religious right is unsettling. Captain Goodyear is not representative of the Salvation Army staff I’d had the privilege to observe and report on across Canada. Sally Ann officers are free to hold extra-biblical and cultural views you and I don’t agree with, and Calgary parents who can’t give their 12 to 17 year olds a Twilight or Potter gift their offspring really wants will have to go to another agency.
I know, I know, one Sally Ann officer afraid of ‘witchy’ things cannot spoil our joy of giving through our donations, we don’t turn our back on need because of one church leader. I had to look up ‘witchy.’ It’s not in the dictionary – perhaps the Salvation Army can reassign Captain Goodyear to a post where there is no fundamentalist parental pressure and into a job which is little less scary for her next Christmas.
Atheistatbirth (sorry here people and Bene) get stuffed, I have a physician of high honour ‘which is something else I learn’t.
Hopesome, you willingly chose to fast. Maybe you can talk to me when you’ve slept on park benches and in cars because you haven’t had a roof over your head and you’ve had to beg, borrow and steal just to have something in your stomach.
What you paid was the sale price my dear, for a cheap knockoff. I purchased an original for which a value cannot even be set.
There’s a lot about me that you couldn’t even begin to know, so when it comes to talking about experience, chances are I’ve been there and at much greater depths than most others would dare to tread.
If you are ever looking for something to do, maybe spend some time reading the bible verses that are used so frequently for encouragement. I have put them all to the test throughout my life and proven every one of them false, even though it was my most sincere hope and desire to find at least some truth to them. If you must know, the god of the bible is the biggest liar of them all and my life proves it.
Tim: Take the arrow out of your heart instead of aiming it at me. You are bitter not I.
Hopesome, stop elevating yourself and get in the trenches and you won’t be such an easy target…
Vitriol Tim – be careful
Be careful of what, my brutal honesty? Me thinks not!!!
It’s funny, my words are merely words of strong conviction and passionate truth based on my real-life experience but to those who don’t want or outright refuse to hear them, they are words of bitterness, vitriol, vomit and everything else that turns off religious people.
Hopesome, why don’t you take a few months off from your life and come and hear my story, then maybe you can tell me all about your jesus afterward, if there’s anything left to tell. And should you decide you want to hear the whole story and not the Reader’s Digest version, you might want to take off at least a year. By the way, my wife’s also a great cook and hostess.
The real funny part about all of this Hopesome is that it was words like yours that first got me into the church and then much later on, got me out of the church. You’re just stuck in the middle somewhere and you don’t even know it because you’ve been brainwashed into believing it’s great to be where you are because if you don’t believe that, there’s a hell waiting for you.
The church of man has left many victims tim your one of many -
So how do you explain away the verse that reads something like, “seek ye first the kingdom of god and his righteousness and ALL these things shall be added unto you”? Where the hell was he when I was seeking with all earnestness? Where the hell was he when I toiled and cried with others who were also sincerely seeking him? What about the verses that say he will never forsake his own and they will never beg for bread? I tried to be his and gave my life for it, only to be found begging for crumbs. What a pathetic god. Am I bitter? Perhaps, but only at myself because I devoted over twenty years of my life promoting this fictitious character and defending his church in greater ways than you have probably only dreamed of. I used to be one of those jesus people that was cheered on by the hopeful onlookers who were too cowardly to get in the ring and fight alongside me. Now I sit here tolerating shit from people who know sweet fuck-all about me, and why? Only to demonstrate to others who might happen upon our musings, just how self-deluded some people really can be.
How long do you have to seek? How real are the promises? You’re talking to a once dead man who has actually found life outside the church and now has it more abundantly, even to overflowing for those who so desperately need and deserve it.
Hope my language didn’t offend you. It’s common talk for me now in my fallen state, especially with all the gangsters and home boys I hang with who have nothing better to do than to poke cheap shots at somebody’s belief about a so-called god.
Oh, and if there’s anyone who deserves to burn in hell, if there were such a place, it would be the hypocritical god of the bible.
@Tim
Couldn’t have said it better!
Enough ranting… Now to get back on topic…
Earlier today, I had an epiphany and am now starting to believe that physical items can be possessed by demonic spirits. Let me share the story…
A few years back, when I was still a fundamentalist Christian, I had a brother in the lord give me a snow blower, no strings attached, free, au gratis. All I had to do was get it from his place to mine.
Well, I was ecstatic the day it arrived. I was not in a position to purchase one and here I am getting something I so desperately needed for free. I have a large driveway and being taller than the average person, they just don’t build shovels that are easy on my back. What a god-send.
I couldn’t wait for the first snowfall that offered enough substance to use this new tool. Being in Saskatchewan, I didn’t have to wait too long. One of the worst winters of the decade and now I have a snow blower.
I was so excited about having it, I not only blew out my own driveway, but did all the neighbours’ driveways as well. It was a great winter and I couldn’t have been happier.
Well throughout the next year, things began to change, my walk with the lord was changing and so was the walk of the brother I had received the snowblower from. Within a year, we had both become unbelievers. Not sure if it was coincidence at the time thought.
Now I’m beginning to wonder, as the next winter, the damned snowblower just wouldn’t run properly. It would choke and sputter and only run for about 10 minutes if things went well, less than two minutes otherwise. I had to exorcise the hell out of the pull-start day in and day out. I couldn’t figure out what was wrong with it for the life of me, even after a good professional tune-up. Finally, one day, I became very angry with it and cursed it up and down. Lo and behold, it started and ran well (Looking back, I bet it was the cursing that got the demons excited as they were now being fed and that’s probably why it started). I was elated and went about doing all the neighbours’ driveways again and the snow was very deep so this happened just in time.
On the final driveway of the neighbour across the street, one strip left, it happened. The engine started sputtering, losing power, then smoking in the front. It had again given up on me and no matter how much I cursed, I could not keep it running. Fortunately, it was the last big snowfall of the year but the unfortunate part is that in my generousity, I did all the other driveways before my own and was left to shovel mine by hand.
The following summer, we had a garage sale and I decided to get rid of the snowblower. Since I knew it didn’t run properly and I had gotten it for free, I was not about to make a dime on god’s blessing so the first Christian person who came along that offered to take it off my hands and perform the proper exorcisms on it to get its bearings straight, it was theirs.
This year, now as a strong unbeliever who was actually making progress in life, I decided I should buy a new snowblower. Not realizing it, I purchased one from a professing Christian and it was not only on sale but they paid the taxes and threw in a free canopy. What a deal!!! I could have purchased the same model with the same pricing and extras from a non-believer because it was a factory promotion, but dealing with him was so much more difficult. After all, he was almost 60 miles away, so convenience won out, not to mention the warranty was exactly the same.
Now, to my benefit and the credit of that Christian guy I bought the snowblower from, it runs perfectly and has a ton of power. It also has electric start so I very rarely have to perform exorcisms on it. However, part of the curse remains… My neighbours know of my new acquisition and for some reason, they are slow to shovel their own driveways when they see me using it. I did get wise though through all of this… I learned to do my own driveway first!
Now, back to my atheist friend… We had lost touch over the summer and only recently began corresponding again. He asked me the other day if I still had the “old beast” (his words, not mine), and I still have not told him the story of what happened and am not sure how to break it to him as now I don’t know if it was mechanical failure or demon possession that caused it to fail. Any advice is greatly appreciated. He is also now faced with a curse. Since he gave me “the beast”, he has relocated and now has a much larger driveway that occasionally requires machinery to clear the snow.
Perhaps I should have sent the snowblower back to him which may have cancelled the entire curse. Too late now, it’s in the hands of another Christian and it’s probably haunting him too.
Through all this, it really leaves me wondering about this whole demon thing and if it’s actually real. I know there’s something strange going on in the spirit realm though because the other day, I told my wife I was going to go out and “blow some snow” and you can imagine the shock on my face when down at the end of my driveway, I see Frosty the snowman, standing there with a big smile on his face and his pants down to his ankles. There must still be a Jezebel spirit in our midst.
Like I said there are many Gods Tim! and yours deceived you and lead you into ANTI – if you ‘stay there’ you will continue to grieve -
@Hopesome
Not before we both die laughing.
Athiestatbirth: You’ll be dying – I’ll be laughing with his iternal life.
Tim: say it, ‘you need salvation’.
Frosty the Snowman has pants? Who knew?
Ok Hopesome, I’ll say it… “you need salvation”.
There, I said it. Let me know if anything happens…
@Tim
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/2111174/Intelligent-people-less-likely-to-believe-in-God.html?sms_ss=facebook&at_xt=4d06b2bdadc70d10%2C0
I suppose your contemporary ethics are a consequence of too much intelligence.
@Hopesome
You have now exceeded the maximum number of “condemnations to Hades” permissible.
Bene D, obviously i dont know you and so i sincerely ask; do you have a testimony of salvation? Was their a point in your life when the Holy Spirit convicted you of your own need of Christ Jesus’ salvation? What makes you believe in your own heart that you know the Lord on a personal level? Not judging you, but i am trying to gauge your own understanding of what makes you believe that you have had the born again experience. Sincerly John[naxus] one of the lowliest of beings but loved of God and chosen for service in His kingdom.
Naxus, glad you qualified the lowliest part… I now own the title of lowliest so you can have the next level up which is being loved of god.
Great question for Bene too…
It wasn’t an emotional experience for me Naxus – I read, I listened and came to understand and believe Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God and that He died for my sins.
I came to understand God became man, entered history and I needed Him.
“…Is my gloom after all but shade of His hand outstretched caressingly”
When that awareness came, I bowed before the cross and asked forgiveness and asked that His will be done.
I told a minister friend, prayed with him and a few years later as an adult decided to go through full immersion baptism as a public declaration of faith.
He is love, He is peace; He has never left me or forsaken me. I don’t feel a need to defend God, I am called to love Him with all my heart, mind, soul and to love my neighbour as myself.
No great drama, no dramatic testimony, His word is reliable, fear is gone – I passed from death to life because He is who He says He is and I am grateful.
Bene, good answer! Survey says….
Atheistatbirth – +: you exceeded all my expectations of proving yourselves to be ………
Give them enough rope and theyll hang themselves!!
AT LEAST I PRACTICE WHAT you accuse me of preaching which is more than can be said of you ‘all, thats why you weren’t chosen dear friend!!
Frosty the Snowman is just about your level of understanding it seems.
There will be no atheist in HELL…………………….Beware………………
@Theresa
“There will be no atheist in HELL…………………….Beware………………”
Wonderful! If I’m not gong to Hell, Guess where I’ll be then?
@Hopesome
Nothing personal I assure you – Its just that I “got it” the 27th time you told me I was Hell bound.
Unfortunately, there are no “degrees” of Hell for those who have been admonished more than once. Don’t you get weary of playing Holy Ghost?
“AT LEAST I PRACTICE WHAT you accuse me of preaching which is more than can be said of yo”
Please do tell me what I practice!
Tim :
”If any man see his brother sin a sin which is not unto death, he shall ask, and he shall give him life for them that sin not unto death. There is a sin unto death: I do not say that he shall pray for it.” 1 John 5: 16
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”And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;
Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers,
Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents,
Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful:
Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.” Romans 1:28-32
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”Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened,
Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools.” Romans 1–21:22
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Tim,
the Bible says that if you deny Christ before man, he will deny you before his Father.
The fact that you were once a pastor who helped lead souls to Christ and are now ashamed of that fact (oh the horror of offering someone eternal life through the Cross) means your punishment will be 10 times worse than for the average sinner who never knew Christ in the first place because you had the privilege of being enlightened through God’s Word and turned your back on it.
I can only hope and pray that you see the light before it’s too late but it will involve eating copious amounts of humble pie (to the point of nausea), which you will then have to serve to the unstable souls you beguiled through your own blasphemous words.
Your posts have become increasingly sarcastic, mocking, blasphemous, malicious and implacable, to the point that you have now stooped to using swear words (which shows a distinct LACK of intelligence by the way, as much as you love to boast about your superior IQ).
Only God knows whether you’ve been turned over to a reprobate mind (in which case, he says NOT to pray for that person anymore) but it IS clear that your foolish heart has been become darkened to a great extent.
There is a verse that tells us to NOT think higher of ourselves than we ought (ie. to NOT boast about our intellect) and that ”pride comes before a fall.”
I could list endless verses but it would be too time consuming. I know you like to boast about how you can quote Scripture better than anyone else (after all, you were a pastor) but I’m not actually including these passages of Scripture for YOU !
I’m doing it for others out there in cyberspace who may be unaquainted with their Bibles, backsliders (perhaps it will give them food for thought) and for my brothers and sisters in Christ out there. You never know who’s getting witnessed to in cyberspace.
Frightening to think that you were once behind a pulpit preaching to a congregation of people, given you have said such blasphemous things on this blog (indicating your LACK of fear of God, while the Bible says that ”The fear of God is the beginning of wisdom.”) and the Bible tells us that ”Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.” In other words, it wouldn’t have come out your mouth, if it wasn’t in your heart to begin with.
From what I understand, being turned over to a reprobate mind means that the person has permanently lost their ability to repent because the Holy Ghost is no longer drawing them (He has departed). They don’t WANT to repent ….EVER. They have permanently hardened their hearts against the Gospel and there is NOTHING you can say to enlighten them. Once again, I hope and pray you have NOT crossed this line.
You are very rude in your rebuttals, irreverant, showing no respect or manners whatsoever (insulting people’s intelligence, etc), and if this is the fruit of an atheist, then give me Christianity ANY DAY !
You believe in nothing, worship nothing and have nothing to eat on Christmas day except sour grapes. Must be a drag, especially when ’tis the season to be jolly and everyone around you is feasting on the plan of salvation.
”Ye shall know them by their fruits.”
”God uses the foolish things of this world to confound the wise.”
I may have dyslexia and it may take me 3 times longer to read a book than the average person because of it, but God is still able to use me (a lesser light) anyway.
”God has hidden his word from the wise.” (Perhaps you are too intelligent for your own good.)
”Some of the biggest fish are caught with a worm.” (That’s not in the Bible but is very true.)
Atheistatbirth: You are already in hell – you have rejected and resisted any attempt to ‘get you out of it’ SO …………………. !
Atheistatbirth: I LEAVE YOU TO THE PACK OF WOLVES you seem to dine with.
AtheistAtBirth, it appears the best answer you’re getting for any of your inquiries thus far is, “Go to Hell”!!!
Even an honest answer of, “I would answer you, but it would force me to examine what I believe and I’m not sure what exactly that is and I’m also afraid of what I might find out” would be a lot better than what you’ve been getting here.
At least you’ll be good company for me… I can see it now, we’ll be sitting around enjoying the heat while discussing absolutely nothing…
Jackie, Christmas isn’t all that bad as I can choose to celebrate the original holiday of Saturnalia, but for me, Easter is a real bitch. LOL
@Jackie, “The fear of God is the beginning of wisdom”
Don’t know if you’ve ever seen the show, The Wizard of Oz, but it was the same attitude until someone had the guts (or was dumb enough) to pull back the curtain.
There will be no atheist in heaven either.
Well, I do believe “Atheistatbirth” you missed my point. In hell, you and the other’s will believe and you and the other’s will know that there is one “true God” and you screwed up.
I will not be nasty to you, I will be praying for the LORD to reveal himself to you.
We all will spend eternity some where.
If I am wrong then I lived a good life, I was kind to other’s, served my LORD Jesus Christ and was obedient to his word, etc………..
If you are wrong and continued to be anti-God etc…………..Where does this leave you? Are you willing to gamble?
Someday whether you want to or not…. every knee will bow and every tongue will confess……………………..
KJV Romans 14:11
For it is written, [As] I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.
KJV Philippians 2:11 a
And [that] every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ [is] Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
I will no longer comment back and may the LORD open you eye’s.
@Theresa
You said “If I am wrong then I lived a good life, I was kind to other’s, served my LORD Jesus Christ and was obedient to his word, etc……….. ”
My service to god lasted 35 years, during which I did all those things and much more. Does that not count in heaven’s court? Does the bible NOT say that Faith without works is dead? (James 2:20).
@Hopesome Are you convinced I am lost? Does NO hope remain? Has Holy Ghost told you so? Have you read my heart, and is it your contention? Are you now speaking for god?
It is blasphemy to ascribe to Satan what Holy Ghost has done. How do you know that Holy Ghost (and not Satan) did not lead me to be an atheist, so that I might glorify god in my conversion later in life. Beware sweet, judgmental Christian – I hear Hell is full of wolves & well intentioned people.
@Theresa
You wrote: “If you are wrong and continued to be anti-God etc…………..Where does this leave you? Are you willing to gamble?”
This is known as Pascal’s Wager. We godless folk like to sit around and amuse ourselves with trivia like this.
French philosopher, mathematician and physicist Blaise Pascal reasoned that, even though the existence of God cannot be determined through reason, a person should wager as though God exists, because living life accordingly has everything to gain, and nothing to lose. It only calculates with two options when there are, in fact, at least four alternatives: The christian God and afterlife, some other god and afterlife, atheism with afterlife, and atheism without afterlife.
Another serious problem with the concept is it assumes god will be blind to the deception of those pretending to believe in him. Are you suggesting I lie?
AtheistatBirth said,
“You won’t likely read it right now, but ultimately you might fancy evaluating an outstanding book on how shoddily Christians have been duped into seeing demons in just about everything apart from their toothpaste. I well appreciate if you prefer “Pigs in The Parlor”, but this book is entitled “The Demon Haunted World” by Carl Sagan.”
Ah yes, Sagan’s famous “baloney detection kit.” Very insightful read for those wishing to hone their critical thinking skills. And speaking of baloney, witchcraft, evil spirits and superstition….here’s the baloney detection kit at work –
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w7IIumu0FJU&feature=player_embedded
Do yuh think good ‘ol Sally Ann takes Bob Larson dolls?
@Hopesome said: “Revolutionary ‘spirit’ LEAVE HIM !!!”
Since then I have started walking in squares, and I feel MUCH BETTER!