tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-878914472051909043.post3065348683472260500..comments2024-01-12T12:39:47.241-08:00Comments on The Christian Monist: Lying for Jesus . . . What Should We Do?Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-878914472051909043.post-77962465515424506952009-08-15T00:39:56.705-07:002009-08-15T00:39:56.705-07:00I first heard the "Vanishing Hitchhiker"...I first heard the "Vanishing Hitchhiker" tale in a sermon in Skandia, MI, in the early 80's as a closing anecdote to a sermon. Because the sermon giver was not the main "ruling pastor," but a much more humble man I really trusted, and since he cited it as from a newspaper article, I believed it with delight--yes, and I really WANTED to believe it...and in turn, told others. In this version, the hitchhiker was a young man, dressed all in white, who, shortly after the car resumed its journey, began speaking of the second coming of Jesus. Then after a period of silence, the driver would look behind him to the back seat where the passenger had been seated, only to find an empty seat--with the safety belt loosely lying there--buckled. The alleged sources, according to the article, were toll takers along the New York Thruway, who had heard countless astonished motorists relate the same story with great frequency. Only years later did a friend tell me that it was an UL. What a shame. Such a cool story. But if that ever really had happened, I think we would also have heard of some car crashes, too...but maybe that's another variation on this well-crafted version...Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16824250710798035986noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-878914472051909043.post-88305526651287449952009-08-14T09:09:10.952-07:002009-08-14T09:09:10.952-07:00Interesting HUG. I have never heard that precise s...Interesting HUG. I have never heard that precise story before.<br /><br />There are two question raised for me, the latter more important than the former.<br /><br />The first question is why are we so vulnerable to these poorly supported stories. But then, every group of people save the most logical (eg. The Great Randi) seems to buy into these.<br /><br />But the more disturbing thing for me is that we Christians are not allowed to question these stories without looking "unspiritual" So while the majority of church people wouldn't be telling these strange stories, they would be upset that you would question those christians who do. But it seems like the role of the Church is to seek truth . . . thus to question everything.MJhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09240462070445948163noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-878914472051909043.post-51834264421368603732009-08-14T07:31:23.247-07:002009-08-14T07:31:23.247-07:00Ran across a Christian site claiming people are ha...<i>Ran across a Christian site claiming people are having visitations from the Angel Gabriel who appears in their Truck or Car and says, My lips are on the horn!, and then dissapear.</i> -- Don Hendricks<br /><br />This is a known urban legend, a sub-type of The Vanishing Hitchhiker called "Jesus on the Road". It usually gets attributed to little-used country roads, though locally it's been applied to one stretch of a major freeway (SR22 through Garden Grove). <br /><br />I first heard of it in a cheezy Christian Bookstore in North Hollywood circa 1978; there the location was a lonely country road in Norway or Sweden, and the "news report" ended with how drivers are now barreling through that stretch without stopping for anything.<br /><br />Then in the early Eighties, Prof. Brunvand's book <i>The Vanishing Hitchhiker</i> related it as an urban legend. Since then, "Jesus on the Road" has appeared on other sites under "Christian Urban Legends", and Christians are known to be extremely gullible when you push the right buttons.<br /><br />The version you related is a typical "Jesus on the Road": Mystery hitcher gets aboard, rides for a while, then reveals himself as a supernatural being uttering Words of Prophecy (usually Ye Ende Is Nighye) just before bamfing out.<br /><br />-- Headless Unicorn GuyAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-878914472051909043.post-30421805573955302212009-08-13T23:47:40.523-07:002009-08-13T23:47:40.523-07:00This is good. How many of those lies I have parti...This is good. How many of those lies I have participated in. *wince, wince* And how many I have believed, swallowing doubts because, hey, God is getting glorified...right? <br /><br />I wanted to add a flipside to the "believe everything that puts Jesus in a positive light" dynamic, and that is when things happen that DON'T put Jesus in a positive light...such as when things happen to His followers that aren't so pretty, things that they did, such as sexual abuse, etc... We tend to have that "cover it up and slap a smile on top, now it's fixed" mentality, as we've all talked about before, and I think it's born of the very same thing that makes us cover up lies as long as they're "glorifying God."Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-878914472051909043.post-18839940674583233922009-08-13T20:00:06.416-07:002009-08-13T20:00:06.416-07:00Ran across a Christian site claiming people are ha...Ran across a Christian site claiming people are having visitations from the Angel Gabriel who appears in their Truck or Car and says, My lips are on the horn!, and then dissapear. Now this strikes me as either mass hysteria, or downright bandwagon lies to get attention.Don Hendrickshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13807417739407553416noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-878914472051909043.post-18407628856141963272009-08-13T19:01:48.130-07:002009-08-13T19:01:48.130-07:00Scott, I agree with:
"I've often felt th...Scott, I agree with: <br />"I've often felt that if I hadn't become a Christian when I was a teenager, I might have become too jaded & distrustful as an adult...certainly after exposure to all the "christian crap" on the airwaves, cable, internet, etc....AND in many local churches!"MJhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09240462070445948163noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-878914472051909043.post-27540847195755113722009-08-13T18:29:36.818-07:002009-08-13T18:29:36.818-07:00HUG, I was going to cite the Mike Warnke case, too...HUG, I was going to cite the Mike Warnke case, too...but was too tired when I first read this to respond.<br /><br />I agree, Mike...this "accommodation of falsehood" really rubs me wrong, too...after all, even Paul wrote that if Christ is not risen, then we are most miserable among all people (for believing a lie, I assume is the implication)...would some Christians say, "Oh, but the story of the crucifixion & resurrection is so beautiful, even if he didn't rise from the dead, I'd still be a Christian." ??? That's where that kind of logic leads. <br /><br />I've often felt that if I hadn't become a Christian when I was a teenager, I might have become too jaded & distrustful as an adult...certainly after exposure to all the "christian crap" on the airwaves, cable, internet, etc....AND in many local churches!Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16824250710798035986noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-878914472051909043.post-9842607716989739592009-08-12T17:08:22.722-07:002009-08-12T17:08:22.722-07:00It is my experience that there is tremendous socia...It is my experience that there is tremendous social pressure, within the church, to believe everything that "puts Jesus in a positive light." But what about truth? If truth really doesn't matter, then I think I prefer to be a pantheist. It would make my moral choices much easier.MJhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09240462070445948163noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-878914472051909043.post-43119734849279055592009-08-12T16:38:23.742-07:002009-08-12T16:38:23.742-07:00..."even if it's not true, thousands of p...<i>..."even if it's not true, thousands of people have accepted Christ because they heard the story."</i> -- Budster<br /><br />That is word-for-word what Mike Warnke's fanboys said in his defense after <i>Cornerstone</i> exposed him as a complete fraud.<br /><br />Headless Unicorn GuyAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-878914472051909043.post-17759094203384346252009-08-12T16:31:25.512-07:002009-08-12T16:31:25.512-07:00I'm with you 100% on this. The lies and exagge...I'm with you 100% on this. The lies and exaggerations drive me crazy. I got into a big argument with a friend about a faith healer in Africa who supposedly raised someone from the dead. She believed it...then added, "even if it's not true, thousands of people have accepted Christ because they heard the story." I was stunned. It's OK to lie to people to get them to accept Christ?? If we have to do that, our faith isn't worth anything.Budsternoreply@blogger.com