Saying that televangelism is a reflection of global Christianity (from tribal churches in Zambia to Western congregations) is sort of like saying the entire world of music is shown on MTV. I too am apalled at the gaudiness. I see it as detrimental and over the top. But the sets you see aren't real, they're just backdrops. I also take issue with a lot of the theology, especially on TBN. A lot of it is sort of off the wall and has nothing to do with the Bible.
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Name : Dan, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : na, Race : Chicano, Religion : Pentecostal Christian, Age : 21, City : Los Angeles area, State : CA Country : United States, Occupation : Student, Social class : Lower middle class, I'm a 21-year-old man currently fending his way through college. I've met a variety of people. And when I say 'variety,' I do mean 'variety.' Just about every viewpoint is represented here. A college is about as diverse as any major U.S. city. As for whether everyone is nice and well-mannered, I've known more than a few peers who would not fit into such a category. I've met people who treat others like trash, do highly disrespectful things such as trash a club or harass local people in a resort town (such as Cancun), think themselves above everyone, are spoiled snobs or who just have plain old nasty attitudes. But much more often than not (or so I hope), we are there to get an education and to better ourselves.
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Name : Dan, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : na, Race : Chicano, Religion : Pentecostal Christian, Age : 21, City : Los Angeles area, State : CA Country : United States, Occupation : Student, Social class : Lower middle class, Yes, theoretically it is. Watch Braveheart and observe when they moon the British. The Scotsmen of old did not have boxers or briefs. When it was cold out, they wore leather-strap or strap-wool leggings (and I guess a loincloth if it was really cold). Otherwise, it was just the kilt by itself. Your Scottish-ex was most likely adhering to tradition. The tartan fabrics are generally pretty heavy wool and are elaborately folded and pleated (an unfurled kilt would probably cover your entire bed), and a proper kilt bisects the knees, so the only worry would be either an extremely powerful gust of wind or being turned upside down on one's head. However, most kilt-wearers I know wear underwear just to be safe. But basically, at first it was customary and no one thought anything of it (for all Scotsmen did so), but nowadays it's more of a macho tradition.
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Name : Dan, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : na, Race : Chicano, Religion : Pentecostal Christian, Age : 21, City : Los Angeles area, State : CA Country : United States, Occupation : Student, Social class : Lower middle class, Halloween is of Ancient Celtic origin. I think it's either New Year's Day or a tribute to Samhain (Celtic God of the afterlife and such). Young kids would dress up like deceased ancestors and go from house to house collecting hazelnuts and apples. If the house didn't have any for them, they might play a little prank on them (I think that's how it goes). They used a carved-out turnip as a lantern, hence the Jack-O-Lantern. The Catholic Church later turned it into All Hallow's Eve, the night before All Saints Day (to honor all Christians who have passed on). America's modern concept of Halloween was introduced by Irish immigrants. It's not necessarily an evil holiday, though many things do happen on it (the lunatic fringe who go around killing cats and stupid stuff like that). The lady who flew off the handle like that was way out of line. I would never do that, and would verbally chastise anyone I know who would do such a thing.
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Name : Dan, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : na, Race : Chicano, Religion : Pentecostal Christian, Age : 21, City : Los Angeles area, State : CA Country : United States, Occupation : Student, Social class : Lower middle class, I'm definitely with you on this one. Here in L.A., the Chicano/indigenous communities have been raising a huge pedo (stink) over this. We were out in full force picketing the premiere down in Hollywood. I've been forwarding e-mails to people as far away as New Zealand asking them to refrain from seeing it. Basically, how would people react if Dreamworks made a family cartoon about the holocaust, starring a pair of Waffen SS troopers as the good guys and throwing in all kinds of Jewish stereotypes? Some might think that's a stretch, but 23 million human lives were ended by the Spaniards, and entire cultures were destroyed.
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Name : Dan, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : na, Race : Chicano, Religion : Pentecostal Christian, Age : 21, City : Los Angeles area, State : CA Country : United States, Occupation : Student, Social class : Lower middle class, This is just my opinion, not science. Here in Los Angeles, when gangsta rap first came out, the number of gang initiations went through the roof. Kids who formerly regarded gang life as stupid were suddenly turned on to it. Now that gangsta rap has gone the way of grunge, it's sort of leveled off. I feel that is a direct correlation. I don't know about Marylin Manson or Rammstein or all that, but I saw it with thug rap. With me, I started getting into death metal and synth industrial something awful back in my early teens, and I turned into a complete scumbag. I'm a nice scumbag now.
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Name : Dan, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : na, Race : Chicano, Religion : Pentecostal Christian, Age : 21, City : Los Angeles area, State : CA Country : United States, Occupation : Student, Social class : Lower middle class, They should rather tell you about the saving grace of Jesus Christ. I feel it is my duty to at least explain to the people I know what Jesus is all about. If you want someone to escape a burning theater, you don't scream at them that they're going to burn, you lead them to the emergency exit. As for using the Lord's name in vain, when the Bible is explicit about something, well, as they say, 'You can quote me on that.'
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Name : Dan, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : na, Race : Chicano, Religion : Pentecostal Christian, Age : 21, City : Los Angeles area, State : CA Country : United States, Occupation : Student, Social class : Lower middle class, I'm pleased to meet you, because I'm in the same boat. In my high school years I had an unusually bad reputation (my situation was different from that of the common thug), and my notoriety got to the point where there were rumors floating around that I had a closet full of bodies. For some reason, in certain circles, noteriety equals prestige. Nobody messed with me, and everyone wanted me on their side. But the good Lord straightened me out, and now I'm as upstanding as the next young man. However, when it comes to 'sheltered girls' ... I think I scare them. I'm still rather imposing (the way I talk, the way I stare, etc.), and my experiences are strikingly different from that of the average college kid, let alone a girl who grew up in an upper-middle class suburb and was a cheerleader. I don't want to date an addict or 'thuggette,' which was all that was available back in the day, yet my chances seem pretty slim with 'daddy's little girl.' But I'll tell you something: consider it advantageous, as in, a 'filtration system.' Only a girl who is special enough to see past my past and through my demeanor will be the one for me.
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Name : Dan, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : na, Race : Chicano, Religion : Pentecostal Christian, Age : 21, City : Los Angeles area, State : CA Country : United States, Occupation : Student, Social class : Lower middle class, Basically, it's a form of rebellion, just like smoking weed or getting a tattoo. I was an F student back in my junior high and high school days. The first time I got an F, I freaked out, and I knew my parents were going to kill me. Sure enough, I caught plenty of heat, and I suffered the consequences. But after my fourth report card in a row with Ds and Fs, it became a thrill. My friends and I would compare report cards and give props to the one with the worst grades. To make the point in one sentence: Such kids think they have no future in the 'legitimate' real world, and bad grades are a badge of defiance against what their teachers and parents (sometimes just teachers) want them to be. The badder your grades, the badder you are.
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Name : Dan, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : na, Race : Chicano, Religion : Pentecostal Christian, Age : 21, City : Los Angeles area, State : CA Country : United States, Occupation : Student, Social class : Lower middle class, Well, all I can say is, if you're fine, you're fine. I've discovered that beauty is equally distributed among all people. As for me personally, if I had to pick the 10 most beautiful women in the world, about 6 or 7 of them would be Latina, and half of them would be those whom I know or have met in my own life. Long black hair, olive or golden brown skin, kickin' curves, incredible eyes, full lips, etc. etc. etc. And I see even the mainstream media is slowly but surely beginning to come to the same realization. However, blond hair is a rarity amongst Latin and Mediteranean nations, so if you were in an area of predominantly said groups, you'd stand out for being blond, and perhaps for being an attractive woman in general, not because of the 'blond bombshell' perpetuation.
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Name : Dan, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : na, Race : Chicano, Religion : Pentecostal Christian, Age : 21, City : Los Angeles area, State : CA Country : United States, Occupation : Student, Social class : Lower middle class, Well, the year 2000, in my view, is an arbitrary date that is anywhere from 6 to 11 years off (the Millenium happened anywhere between 1996 and 1988), as it was miscalculated in the 6th century due to lack of available documentation and evidence (which has since become available). Also, Jesus said that even He didn't know the date or time of the end, only the Father does. In other words, it's a suprise. However, there was the Y2K hype of blackouts and planes falling from the sky and ICBMs flying free, and certain preachers might have interpreted it as the beginning of the end. As you know, nothing like that happened. But these certain circles of believers do not represent all of Christendom. For instance, TBN does not illustrate the whole global Church, just like Mtv does not illustrate the whole world of music (ever seen Tchaikovsky or Dead Kennedys on Mtv?).
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Name : Dan, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : na, Race : Chicano, Religion : Pentecostal Christian, Age : 21, City : Los Angeles area, State : CA Country : United States, Occupation : Student, Social class : Lower middle class, Back in Biblical days, the world population numbered probably around 40 million. If you've ever taken an environmental biology course and saw the line graph of the rise of the human population, it goes up a slight bit after 40,000 BC, rises extremely gradually, then around 1890 it literally skyrockets from under 100 million to 6 billion today. Medicine, technology, improved conditions, and promiscuity or sexual proliferation without birth control all have contributed to this. I think we're done populating the earth, and decline would be beneficial. I don't disagree with birth control (I only want 2 or 3 kids at the very most), except for abortion. But non-Catholic countries (from my personal observation) are the ones that have the biggest problem with birth control (the Pope doesn't have much clout in India). An interesting note, a child born in America uses 50 times more resources in its lifetime than one born in 3rd world poverty. Perhaps both decline and improved ecology must be instituted.
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Name : Dan, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : na, Race : Chicano, Religion : Pentecostal Christian, Age : 21, City : Los Angeles area, State : CA Country : United States, Occupation : Student, Social class : Lower middle class, Neo-Nazism, or racism in general, mixes with Christianity like matter and antimatter. The two ideologies are completely incompatable. Jesus was indeed a Jew, and is regarded to be a descendant of King David (through His earthly father, Joseph the Carpenter), of the Tribe of Judah. Christianity, when it first started out, was considered a sect of Judaism centered around Jerusalem, in Israel/Palestine. There were converts in Ethiopia and Egypt before Europe. There were converts in India before England. There were converts in China before Scandinavia. Today, about 80% of Christendom is non-white, including me (viva la raza!). The Apostle Paul was a verbal opponent of racism, and he spoke against it in Galatians 3:26 and Colossians 3:11. Jesus was also 'notorious' for defying the Jewish xenophobia of that age. Racist organizations who claim Christianity came up with a false doctrine that states Jesus was really a white man, and that northern Europeans are the actual chosen people while Jews are the result of Eve having sex with satan. They believe that other minorities are 'mud people' who have no souls. As you can see, it's completely ridiculous and has absolutely no place in God's church.
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Name : Dan, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : na, Race : Chicano, Religion : Pentecostal Christian, Age : 21, City : Los Angeles area, State : CA Country : United States, Occupation : Student, Social class : Lower middle class, Adoptive parents are an all too scarce resource, so if the kid can get into a loving home, then it should be pursued at all costs, regardless of the color. However, there are guidelines I think need to be followed. First off, the parents should make every effort to make their child aware of their heritage. A black or Asian child is eventually going to figure out that they are different from their Anglo parents. The family might have to make an effort to move to an ethnically diverse neighborhood or send their child to an ethnically diverse school. Trying to turn a black child into a white child is harmful, not because of race but because of culture. If the child wants to know about their heritage, the parents should jump at the chance to accomadate them and learn along with them. Back in the early part of the century, when Native American children were taken from their families and placed in white families to be raised as white, it did irreparable damage to these children. Heritage is important, and can make all the difference between a confident and happy child and a confused and marginalized child.
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Name : Dan, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : na, Race : Chicano, Religion : Pentecostal Christian, Age : 21, City : Los Angeles area, State : CA Country : United States, Occupation : Student, Social class : Lower middle class, In one word: Stereotypes. For the most part, the rich don't have much contact with the poor and working class (except for servants and gardeners and whonot), as well as vice versa (there has yet to be seen a Beverly Hills housewife at the Compton Swap Meet), so all they have to go on is what has been perpetuated by tradition, history, and the media. The old bit goes that the poor are lazy, stupid and violent, the rich are the arrogant bourgeoise, the working class are the rough-edged people on the wrong side of the tracks, the middle class are the harried office types who constantly complain about who or what their tax dollars go to, and the upper middle class are forever competing to outdo each other and eventually make it to the upper class. All of the above are indeed stereotypes, and cannot by any means describe the infinitely wide array of humanity that transcends all class.
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Name : Dan, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : na, Race : Chicano, Religion : Pentecostal Christian, Age : 21, City : Los Angeles area, State : CA Country : United States, Occupation : Student, Social class : Lower middle class, 
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