Category: philosophy/religion topics
hi. i have noticed that alot of christians, when they see a blind person, they feel compulsed to pray for them as if they will gain instant sight. it has happened to me plenty of times. has it happened to anyone else as well?
I haven't had that, though I have had someone try to convert me to Christianity after I told them I was pagan. Very interesting conversation. The man was pulling stuff out of thin air and being very disrespectful to The Gods etc, from what I can remember. I actually put it in my Livejournal and sent it to a few friends so we could have a laugh. However, when I was eight, my mother wanted me to get my first communion. My family's technically Catholic, but we never went to church or anything. Anyway, a nun answered and said she'd be willing to accept me. But when she heard I was blind she actually said "oh no! We have 450 students here. We can't be worried about a blind one." My mother was like "excuse me? Does Gods know about this? I'm a Roman Catholic!" All the other places said they'd call us back and didn't. I had it done in a Protestant church. From that day on, Mom said I should follow my heart, since her religion had rejected me, and I had no religion until I was 19 and became a Hellenic Polytheist. Btw, when I told the story of the nun to priests at my college, they were horrified.
Forgot to add. The first thing my co-religionists said to me when I told them is "do you think The Gods care if you're blind?" They were very accepting and helpful. Not saying that most Christians are like the local churches, but that's just what happened.
yeah alot of christians make me upset. one day i was walking in the store and i had my islamic dress on. a man came up to me as i was waiting for my ride and asked me what religion i was. he asked r u a nun? i said no i am a muslim. and he goes, oh no! u better get out while u still can. that religion is full of terrorists and is not the right way to salvation! i told him. u need to get your facs straight, most muslims are peaceful people. and he says to me, oh i will pray for u. i said. if i want praying for, i will ask. i am perfectly happy in my religion and anyway, how can u be sure if i am going to hell or not?
he said to me, because u have to accept jesus into your heart in order to have everlasting life. i just laughed inside. i really wish people would stop trying to convert every nonchristian around.
oh and any religion that does not accept blind people is a bunch of poop
oh btw would u be able to pqn me the link to your live journal so i can read about that particular expirience?
The link to my ljs right in my profile, but I'll search around for that particular conversation and find the link. It was at least a year ago. The sad thing is that I know alot of Christians who are decent, but these people make them all look bad. I have a friend of mine who's a very devout Hellenic Polytheist. His mother was a fundamentalist Christian, but actually respected his right to believe differently. Well, one day, some relatives of his came to their house, busted up his statue of Hermes and blamed him for making his mother sick with his pagan beliefs. My friend was actually frightened cause these guys were trying to break down the door. His mother had a heart condition and was obviously upset at all of this. He called me right after it happened and was crying about his statue. It took him awhile to recover emotionally, and he didn't have the money to get another one. He also had neighbours complain about the same statue because it was nude. Now, it wasn't huge or obvious. YOu'd have to go up to it and see it. But they wouldn't leave him alone and basically called him a pedophile, which was totally ridiculous. Thank The Gods, I've never had such experiences with anyone, but yeah.
I found that conversation post for you. There are actually two of them. Btw, I'd forgotten about this, but he did try the blind being cured by faith act.
http://theophania.livejournal.com/174684.html
is the first one and
http://theophania.livejournal.com/175089.html
is the second one. Enjoy.
that post that u left about some relatives busting up his statue. that is extremely sad. man. that is horrible.
hey tiff. i read the conversation between you and that man on that first link. after u posted the last message to him, did he say anything back? or did he leave you alone. btw, i agree with you about the whole religion thing.
i hope that you dont mind me using a quote from your convo tiff.
"If I'm going to put my faith in any man, it'll be one whom I know as a
fact existed. One who was documented and whose work will live on."
actually it has been doccumented that jesus did exist. i do not know where, but it has been doccumented somewhere of his existance. i do not believe in christianity though or the way that the people portrayed jesus as sinless. no mortal man is without sin in one form or another.
Jesus Christ physically walked on the earth over 2000 years ago, which is a Fact, but Greek Mythology is just that Mythology. Put your Faith in God through
Jesus Christ and learn about Jesus Christ by starting to read the words of Jesus Christ from the Bible. If you want to be cured of blindness, see God the
Heavenly Father, the Creator of Mankind, though Faith in Jesus Christ, whose death on calvary was not only for the sins of mankind, but also for our healing.
Put your Faith in Jesus Christ and God and then you have the opportunity to be healed and your soul saved. Put your Faith in Mythology and you will have
just that a Myth. Its your own free will and choice, but as you get older you will not forget the Truth I have shared with you in Love, and perhaps one
day you will check out the links I gave you from the Bible. Bye.
here are my comments.
lol, this guy uses jesus christ in that post way too much. lol, replace the word with, him, instead of using jesus christ 5 or 6 times in that same post. lol
. and also. that prooves that christianity is polytheistic.
quote, "Put your Faith in Jesus Christ and God and then you have the opportunity to be healed and your soul saved." is that not a form of polytheism? see that? therefore, christians lie when they say that they are a monotheistic religion. do you have any comments tiff?
and what he says about u having the opportunity to be healed and your soul saved. oh come on! blindness is not a curse. i am blind for a reason, not because of sins. and also, y do most christians feel so sorry for us ahem, "poor blind people?" it makes me mad when a christian comes up to me and starts praying that i will someday see again. i have seen for nearly 15 years of my life. i have seen all i want to see. alot of things were beautiful, and then again alot of things were not so beautiful. but i am thankful that i had the chance to see. i am blind and i really do not want my sight back.
Thanks for all the wonderful posts! Yes, after the posts on the second link, he did leave me alone. I too laughed with all the Jesus Christs in there, and I don't know if you could tell, but he capitalised the last few sentences, as if putting them in all caps would help. Furthermore, when he gave me a link to The Bible, it was a large print edition, as if that would help a totally blind person. Honestly, some people are so incredibly closed minded! And where did he come from? I still have no idea! I was posting for some fun (I was single then) and he comes at me with religion? Btw, no, I don't mind that you quoted me. But please, I'd love to hear more about the documentation of Jesus and if it was from sources other than Christians themselves.
roflroflroflrofl. i will find the doccumentation. my husband tells me that it is doccumented in the history books.
There's one question I want to ask these people who claim God can or God wants to heal/cure us. "Dear Christian: Can you explain to me why the idea of accepting me for who I am including my blindness either has not crossed your mind or is a bad idea to you."
I am a christian but as i said in other topicks i don't like christians who would pray for me to be able to see again. Why they don't pray for me to be happy, to have a good job, to be happy with my girlfriend? This would be much more appreshiated lol.
And it's anoying when i go to the church and when there are no sits available they all want to offer me their sit. Why do they think that because i am blind my leggs don't work either? I don't understand some people.
Anyway interesting topick.
I am A Christian too and am not opposed to have people pray for me and with me, but I do have problems with people assuming that I need to be healed from this infirmity called blindness which I have lived with all my life and am quite accustomed to. My fiance and I have a Christian friend who insists on praying for us to be healed. We have tried pointing out the adjustments that would be needed to accompany our restoration of sight, but the next time he sees us, he's back to praying for physical healing. I believe he genuinely cares, but does not grasp the whole picture.
oh wow u guys. that is crazy. but u really wanna know what takes the cake? when people also think we cant hear and ask the person with us what we want as far as ordering food in a restaurant and things like that.
or when they practically yell at us. or when they ask whoever is with us if the person with us is our supervisor or caretaker
lol, i am blind, not paralyzed. when my husband and i went out to the parking lot of our apartment complex to meet my father so he could drive us to his and mom's house for christmas, these little kids who live in our complex came up to us and asked my husband, "why does she need that stick?" let me tell u, that really infuriates me, especially when these little kids who know perfectly well that i am blind because these kids have seen me before do that. sorry to stray off topic.
On the subject of the healing thing, I bet such people really deep down think they're doing the right thing, but it's a shame it's hard for them to believe that we actually live happy lives as blind people. From their perspective, they're coming from the idea of what would it be like if it happened to them, and when they conclude that life would be depressing and difficult, they conclude that because it would be this way for them, it is this way for all blind people in reality. So since they now have their answers all solved for them by the power of what-if, they don't want to hear anything different. For them their opinion is decided. I think for a lot of folks, that's what religion is about: finding very simple answers for very complex questions. The problem is, once they've found these answers, they stubbornly refuse to believe there can be more than one. I don't like to use terms such as open or closed mind, but I will describe such folks as very stubborn.
On the subject of why people talk to the sighted person you're with instead of you, that's all about eye contact. I suppose for a lot of sighted folks, eye contact is a crucial part of communicating, and when they are confronted with somebody who can't make eye contact, I guess they just refuse to bother to try to use verbal-only mode. I guess lack of eye contact is just that much of a hardship, I don't know. Now, the bit where they yell at you is just ignorance, else they get their disabilities mixed up. They probably think blind people can't hear and hearing-impaired folks can't see or something. Hahahaha, I don't know. I don't get that very often from folks anymore. Last time it happened was when I was with a friend I had just met and she wasn't quite used to me as a blind person, but when the server at this restaurant not only spoke to her instead of me, but whispered to her I guess because she thought that if I heard her inquiry and got offended I'd hack her up with an axe right then and there or something, but my friend got really pissed at that woman and even referred to her as a bitch, even though I tried to convince my friend that the server was just ignorant and acting out of fear and wasn't being mean at all.
on your first comment god zilla, very true.
your comment on religion i mean
so not to get off topic again, but what did your friend say to the surver and what did the surver say to your friend just out of curiocity?
I was prayed over. It's a shame people feel the need to "open my eyes."
Well, I don't know what they were whispering back and forth, but I'm sure the server was asking her what I wanted. If you're asking if she confronted the server, no she did not, and although I had come there a number of times afterwords either by myself or with this friend, I don't know if that person served us again, so I have no clue if somebody had noticed and clued her in.
That angers me greatly when that happens. One point I always make is that when someone wants to pray for me, I always tell them to pray that I have a good life and do well with the things I want to do, and that obviously if God made me blind it had to have been for a reason, and who are you to try and go against how God made me?? That makes them pretty angry but it's the truth.
I agree. The Gods do things for a reason. Also, I had a friend in a similar situation, but he did something about it. He was going out with some friends and the waitress kept asking his friends what he wanted. So at the end of the meal, he turned to them and said "he's not paying for the meal since he wasn't asked anything." lol And he didn't either! They picked up the tab.
Well, I was asked first, but I like it a lot. But of course I would ask first before I pray for someone and not just pray for them if they don't want that.
Wow! To Samania, I am sorry about the negative comment from the man in the grocery store. I am a Christian, and do not feel that all Muslims are terrorists. There is much about your religion that I really admire. As for being prayed over, I did have that happen when I was young. Honestly, I felt extremely uncomfortable. Many of us on this board have been blind all our lives. If they're gonna pray for blind people, why not pray for the ones in other countries that haven't the experiences that many of us have had. Education, jobs, good friends/family. I am very lucky to have been born blind in America. That doesn't mean I don't have my struggles, but I do have it a lot better than other blind people from around the world. I once went to a revival and was prayed over. I didn't like it, cause we had to announce what our condition was. I was only 16 at the time and I went with a bunch of friends. I would not consent to this type of prayer now. I felt like I was on display. it was actually kind of embarrassing. This is not to say that I don't believe in prayer, I most certainly do, but there are much more important things to pray for than a person being blind. I guess I could understand if that person were really having trouble in some are. But to pray for healing is kind of awkward. Besides, Christians believe in an afterlife where everyone will be given new bodies anyway. So why does it matter. I have a good education, live on my own, have good career prospects, and have great friends and a somewhat crazy but loving family. What do I need to be healed from?
Somehow, my impression is that such folks who want to pray over us are only concerned with the blindness and see it as something that needs fixing. I believe people assume if you are blind, it is impossible to live a contented life, be educated, or be loved by anyone, simply because I think when many sighted people see us, their minds go into a frantic series of what-ifs in the hopes they can identify with us. When their minds end up calculating that they would be miserable and pathetic and lonely and useless if they were blind, then they conclude that that is just exactly how it is for all blind people in real life. So they're taking a hypothetical outcome and trying to apply it to reality and this is all they see, so they think their point of view is just decided. You try and try to tell them you actually are happy being blind and live a good life, but since they've concluded this is impossible, they shut your words out and claim they do not compute or that perhaps you're just putting a brave face on your unending misery and depression. But then again, I could be totally barking up the wrong tree.
well see. the thing is, also, these people who pray over us are probably thinking about sudden blindness as well, not gradual blindness.
there was this girl who i knew when i went to college. everytime i would run into her in the store and things, she would start talking about jesus and trying to pray for me. there was this one woman who actually anointed her whole office in oil as well. and when people start randomly talking about religion on public transit, it upsets me because they do not care who is around them when they talk about it.
i would not usually post to a religion board, but I have had some experience of this. I have, for example, been told that jesus will give me my sight back if I prey hard enough. hmm, ok, well, I won't comment further in case I call that utter bollocks, which in my view, it is.
lolololol. i am sorry. but that is the perfect example of ignorance. if god had meant for me to see, he would have made it so. god let me see whith my physical eyes for 17 years even though my vision started slowly deteriorating at the age of 10. so in this case praying would not work if my blindness is god's will. apparently it is, because my vision is totally shot. anyway, i see in other ways, my other sences take over. and furthermore, i see with my heart because it is open to many things. so dear christian, please do not feel sorry because i cannot physically see. i see with my other senses, and most of all, i see with my heart. i do not lack perfect vision of the heart, soul, or mind.
i think that this is what you should say in those instances. bbut veri it a bit to fit your particular situation.
Forgive me for being irreverent, but it sure sounds like all these Christians want is for the supernatural to put on magic tricks and light shows.
They want to see a person turned from one physical form or state into another, yes?
To Kodiak Bear. I'm curious. When you say that people discussing religion on public transit bothers you, do you mean in general or when they're aiming it at you? for instance, if two people were talking about a ritual they wanted to perform or about a religious experience that they had, and they were only talking to each other and weren't proselitising, would it upset you?
actually tiff, that was me talking about people talking religion on public transit. it wouldnt bother me if i could not hear them talk about it. like if they were using lowered voices, but i was on the way home one day and this woman was talking to another passenger very very loudly about christianity. she was sitting right across from my instructer and i. he and i took the same bus to our houses when i was living in that part of the state. my instructer and i were talking about how we dislike people to talk about religion, especially if they r not trying to keep their voices down.
the passengers who were talking about that without jesus, you are doomed to hell were sitting right next to each other as well. neither of them had a hearing problem either and there was no noise on the bus.
I think some here have hit it right on the head. IMO, if something goes against the "normal" it needs changed, and for Christians this often seems to mean praying for the change. I checked out many churches before I settled on my religion, and most of them were Christianity. I always felt uncomfortable when it came to "praying for my site"...It doesn't bother me, so, what's to pray for? Sure, if I had the oportunity I would like to be able to see, if only for a day...If only to know what it was like, if only to see the faces of those I love, but I don't feel like I'm missing out on life just because I can't see, and no matter how hard you try to explain, it doesn't seem to matter, they don't seem to get the picture. But I'll tell you what irritates me more about some of the Christian religions...One day we were in the middle of Wal-mart and this older woman approached and started preaching at us. I was like, "Listen, all I want to do is get the stuff we came for and go..." She insisted on giving us flyers etc. I was so mad when we left. If I wanted to know about her religion I'd go to her church. On that note, I also feel if someone wants to know about my religion they'll ask...Anyways, kinda off the topic, but kinda not...I personally think the reason she first approached us was do to my blindness, but I may be way off about that.
Hmm, interesting. Mom often prays for me to see. Sometimes, I do too, but it's mostly when I'm frustrated. I think tht at least one of the reasons why The Gods haven't granted that prayer is because I haven't wanted it badly enough. I also haven't given anything in return for it. But I'm not about to go guessing the will of The Gods. lol As for preeching, it all depends. Of course, I"d start by saying I'm not interested and already have a religion. No sense to start a fight. But if she were to continue, I'd either start going on about my faith or tare up the flyers in front of her. I'd do the latter first if she was really getting on my nerves. I don't preech to others and don't tollerate others doing it to me. But man I wish I could pull out some good Hellenic quotes like some of those Christians do with their Bible. lol
same here tiff. it gets on my last nerve when people come up to me and say. "have u heard the word of jesus?" and it surprises me that in this town that it does not happen to me because this town is full of uber christians.
I’m just curious here. I’m a Christian, and believe in the power of prayer. However, if someone of another religion wanted to pray for me, I wouldn’t mind. To me, even if I don’t believe their prayers will do any good, it shows that another person cares enough to take the time to do something for me they think important.
As far as preaching to non-believers, part of the belief of Christianity is to spread the word of Christ to them. To be a good Christian, we are instructed to do so. However, Christianity is not the only ones who believe this. Many religions seek to show non-believers the way to Heaven, paradise, nirvana, or whatever it is the religion believes. It seems Christianity is being picked on a little unfairly here. Regardless of what each of us believes on this board, approximately 90% of Americans claim to be Christian, so it is natural that you would run into so many Christians. If we were in a country here that was primarily Islamic, for example, the reverse would be true, and it would be Muslems you would run into most often.
I totally agree with the last post.
As for my personal thoughts on this, I've been prayed for to see, and it doesn't bother me much, because I know that if God had meant for me to see, He would do what is best, whether or not it's causing me to see or not. The person probably doesn't know what they would do if they were blind and think it would be a mostly sad experience. It doesn't bother me either if I am asked about my belief in God, although I never know what to say when someone asked if I have been saved. I feel like even though I do believe in God, I can't say I am saved because I know that can change from time to time; sometimes I feel at peace, and other times I feel like I really need to ask for God's help on getting thru something. So yeah, the "being saved" I don't get.
What bothers me (and I don't think I've had this happen personally), is when a Christian (or any religious person) brings int upon themselves to condemn others. I feel like God is the only One to choose who goes to Hell (or even Heaven), so a person can't really say "you're going to Hell," and "I'm going to Heaven," because they don't know that for sure. Just my opinion. *smile*
It may be in the christian religion to share beliefs, but there is a difference between sharing and preeching. If someone were to say to me that they follow such and such a religion and were to then ask me about mine and were willing to listen, I'd be willing to listen to them tell me about their's. It would only be fair. The trouble is that with alot of these preechy types, they refuse to listen to anything but what they believe and the fact that you're happy with your religion, or lack of one, doesn't make a difference to them. If you're a pagan, you're going to hell and God hates you and you need to be saved and so on. If you're a christian but not their kind, they still have issues with you. Thankfully, I've only encountered one person like that, as I stated elsewhere.
I’m sorry you got the feeling God hates you for not believing in Him, because whoever told you that is wrong. Yes, The Christian belief is that if you don’t accept Jesus as Saviour, you will go to hell, but God loves all. Probably the most famous scripture in the Christian Bible is John 3: 16 "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
I’m not trying to convert you by quoting scripture, just explain where my statements are coming from. God loves everyone, the world, not just Christians. Because He loves us, Christ died on the cross for everyone. Again, I’m not debating with anyone whether to believe this or not, it is not my job as a Christian to do this. My job is to simply tell people about Christ, and at that point, the ball is in their court. God has given us freewill.
Yes, you're respectful and no, I don't mind you quoting scripture here because you were using it honestly to back up your statements. *smile* It's those who try to convert who cause the problem.
Well, Yes, I am Christian, but all this nonsense is driving me nuts. All the converting is too. I don't think like all other christians, though. I don't believe we should hate muslims, catholics and other stuff. I don't believe we should turn from any because of any circumstance at all. Yes, even if you were gay. Seriously, The cristian has some major problems, and the bible, well... you don't even want me to start. I use to be prejudice against gays because of the Bible, but decided not to.
Well, anyways, the topic...
Yes, I went to this church once, and they got in a circle around me. Put some ointment on my eyes, and started to mumble in prayer. Damn, I just wantedt to slap them. It was awful. I was so damn relief when they finally let me go. Shit, that was really stupid.
oooh that would scare the living daylights out of me if people did that to me.
Me too. I don't like strangers touching me in the first place. I'm not the touchy kind of person. As far as people praying for me...I've got Christian friends. They've learned to respect my beliefs, and I completely respect theirs. They may talk about their religion; and I don't mind, and I may talk about mine, and the ones I'm friends with respect me enough to listen. If one of them offers to pray for me...I don't mind, because (1) I know they're offering because they care, and (2) They are praying for the "right" reasons...Not because the pitty me, but because they want to help. They offer to pray for a relief to my health problems, for me to get pregnant, end to financial problems...not for my sight...And stuff like that is much more important to me. I don't care to have anyone pray for my sight, I've been this way all my life. I always feel when strangers offer to pray; or even worse and not offer but just say they're going to do it, they're being so condesending...They don't know me and they praying for the wrong reasons/wrong things. Hope that makes since.
i had some friends a few years ago who i stayed the weekend with because they were childhood friends. but when i got to their house, i got cleaned up and properly dressed to go to the mosque for services because it was friday.when i got back from the mosque, they told me to burn all of my islamic garmants. not only that, but they made me listen to christian music and worst of all, i only had one meal, and one shower that whole weekend as in saturday and sunday, i had food on friday and monday. so i do not know what happened, but the next minute, i find myself on the floor, shaking and gasping. they said that my skin turned pale as well and that i was clutching their hands really hard. this happened twice that weekend. they claimed that it was the evil spirits coming out of me, but i think it was a mixture of an asthma attack and lack of nourishment. it was really scarey for me. when i told my sister about this when she came to pick me up that monday, she literally hit the ceiling.
Why didn't you call and go home sooner? If that would've happened to me, I would've suspected poison to be honest. And what on Earth were they thinking telling you to burn your garments? Sickos!
the reason that i did not call was because i had a ride picking me up that monday. i overslept and missed it. that is y i called my sister to pick me up.
but how could they have poisoned me seeing as i only was allowed one meal that whole weekend?
Ooo, muslim... eh? Cool...!
No I wasn't being sarcastic.
Anyways, that seems cool, and why in the name of fuck were you only allowed one meal. I'd would have damn yelled and slapped them.
Oh, yeah, about that touching me thing, I told my family that I never want back there again. I hated it. Even if I was like ten.
i am not sure about y i was allowed only one meal. maybe because they wanted to get the demons out of me or something lol.
There are many branches of Christianity, and each has somewhat different beliefs. I’m sorry anyone here has had a bad experience, but lumping all who claim to be Christian into one category would be like me saying, for example, all followers of Islam are the same. The muslems I know have nothing in common with suicide bombers other than the name of the religion.
You're right, poster above me.
Hmmmmm, that's still cruel.
yeah i know. believe me i suffered all weekend.
So, I assume you don't see them anymore?
no way! after that, i cut all ties with them.
Good, good. Don't sound like good people to settle with. I am glad you hang with better.
definitely.
they were actually really strange people. it was a little strange what was happening. when i collapsed both times that weekend, after i came around, she said that her 2 year old daughter was doing what she called the "holy dance" around me. that just seems a bit scarey to me.
The holy dance? WTF?
Why were you friends with them in the first place?
This hasn't happened to me personally, but it happened to my boyfriend a few times. He goes a lot of places by himself on the buses, and he's come across a couple people who see his cane and tell him they'll pray for him. One guy said, "Son, are you with Jesus? Because he can save you from your blindness." Another guy just said right out that he would pray for him. Oh wait, it did happen to me once too, now that I'm thinking about it. I was in Wal-mart this one time with my mom, and she saw someone who knows my grandmom. I was talking to her and she said, "Oh, you must be such a wonderful person. Ever since I found out you were blind, I've been praying for you and everyone else in your situation. I hope you live a blessed life." It's ridiculous how extremem some people can get.
ok. some of you i know won't share my views but i'll say this.
I am totally blind, was born blind. I have been a christian for 7 years. I am a baptist, not that that means that other denominations of christians won't share some of my opinions.
its clear in the bible that god accepted blind people for who they were. its also clear that when he heald them of their physical blindness, he heald them of their spiritual blindness too. and he did this as a way of proving that he is the son of god, eg it gave the people something to see happening and marvel at.
there have been plenty of hymn writers who have been or gone blind. Fanny Crosby is a good example. i am not totaly sure if she ever saw or not but god and christians certainly accepted her for who she was, blindness included, and used her hymns in an amazing way to even reach the hearts of sighted people.
the only blindness jesus is concerned with is spiritual blindness. people who don't believe in him or harden their hearts to him are spiritually blind. it is not the physical blindness that matters.
one hymn that FC wrote says "and i shall see him face to face and tell the story saved by grace". here she is saying she wants to see her saviour, rather than the world. the first thing i will see is Jesus, and he is perfection-what more can I ask for?
when someone prays to God in true sorrow and repentence for their sins, that is when they are heald of spiritual blindness and their soul is saved. that is what has happened to me, yet i am still physicly blind. blindness isn't given to us for any sin, as has already been said, but rather as a chanange to us, and, in some way i feel god wants me to use blindness to show people the true way.
i hope this doesn't sound to patronising or anything, i just wanted to tell you how i felt, and what the lord jesus christ means to me.
i have also had some random guy come up to me when i was walking round town and say "i rebuke this blindness on jesus's head" but nothing happened. also some random woman came up to tell me about a prayerr and healing thing at the church she goes to. its not how its done. if a doctor can operate and heal you because of the advances in medical science, then fair enough. but some one standing there with their hands on you isn't going to cure anyone. the faith has to come from within as it is from within that your blindness will be lifted, ie, you will come to know God personally as your saviour.
well, i'll go and let people have their say on that. feel free to email if you have any questions that you think i might be able to help with lol!
What tWhat? Now I woodn't starve anyone to scare deamonds out of them. And besides, I can't scare deamonds out of anybody. Only jesus can do that. And besides, letting you starve to death is not something Christ would do. So I I'm sorry you had a bad experience with thoughs people.
O and hear is something else. for you. Yes I had people from a church pray over my eyes when I had an I infection. And one of the people bent down and put his hand on my knee and he was slowly moving it up my leg. I was pissed. And the church kicked me out because I was blind.
I get a lot of people who wants to pray for me, but I did have this one thing happen to me. I have a cousin thats down the line, he is a preacher at a Pentlecostic church, He wanted to Anoyent, me once, when he prayed he prayed for me to gain sight, but not sight in my eyes but in my heart. I thought that was cool. A different look at being blind.
Having people pray on you is a blessing.
God can heel you and give you sight. It takes faith from the people that are praying for you and it takes faith from you also. There cannot be any boubt from them or from you. A little doubt can ruin what God is trying to do for you.
I know God is restoring my vission little by little, praise the Lord.
I saw a lady who was having problems walking and when we prayed for her, she started walking like nothing was ever wrong with her. God is trying to do some thing good for you. If you think people are just feeling sorry for you, they probably are not. Trust in God, he has a purpose for us.
Now, this is coming from an agnostic perspective, whatever that is, but who's to say God doesn't have a purpose for letting the blind and disabled remain the way they are. I feel it's mankind who wants our eyesight restored because disability and most difference offends their eyes and minds. I'd figure God sees the whole self and loves a person for that and the physical part is just a tiny aspect of it. Besides, these people that want us magically to become sighted to my estimation are only thinking in the moment. Will these healers help you learn how to use your eyes to read and drive and get things done that were formerly taken care of by the other senses? Will life be any better or worse for a person just because they've now become a sighted person? And what about people who've never had eyesight and those visual parts of the brain have taken on other tasks?
i just think that if god wanted to accept perfect people, he wouldn't have acceptted me. he wouldn't hav accepted anyone. its just your hearts blindness towards him that he is concerned with. he can use your blindness or anything that the world views as a disadvantage to his advantage. and to teatch people things and make them think aboutt stuff they wouldn't have been humble or senseable enough to think about with out him.
well, it's interesting to hear that it is just churcheswhere there is ignorance about blindness. that is so untrue...there are ignorant people wherever, which makes sense, because, as was said earlier, they think they're doing the right thing. in terms of the Christian attitude towards bindness, it is not the way that it has been commonly portrayed here. In fact, if you look at a passage in the Bible where Jesus meets two blind men, Jesus asks them what they want from Him. He does not assume that blindness is the reason for their seeking Him out:
Matthew 20:30 And two blind men seated by the wayside, when they had the news that Jesus was going by, gave a loud cry, saying, Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us.
31 And the people gave them orders to be quiet; but they went on crying even louder, Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us.
32 And Jesus, stopping, sent for them, and said, What would you have me do to you?
My point is that Jesus loves u no matter what, it's not that blind people have more evil spirit than the rest. It's just common ignorance.
Also, in terms of historical documentation, if any of you have questions about things like that, you might check out the Case for Christ by Lee Stroble. It was written by someone who started out as an atheest out to disprove Christ. It's an interesting read, especially if you're into that kind of philosophical thinking.
From a religious perspective, I can think of three blind people who played very important roles. Homer, one of our most sacred writers, Tiresias, the blind prophet in the underworld, and Phineas II, the blind seer from Thrace who revealed the course of travel to Jason and the Argonauts. It seems that The Gods often give us insight into the world around us and many times, bless us with other gifts when They take our sight. Not to say that's a necessity but I think that blindness has taught me alot and if I do become sighted, I only pray to Hermes, Athena and Nemozine that I remember these lessons and not become superficial and take my sight for granted.
I agree with the idea that blindness is a gift and can provide greater insight.. I wouldn't want my life any other ay, and I am so grateful to Jesus that that is how I was made.
Oh, and to answer an earlier comment of how Christianity is not a monotheistic religion, the reason that it is is that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are one and the same. It's God presenting Himself as flesh and as the spirit, but it is the same God.
My religious preference is jehovah's Witness. they do not try to pray over me, and they do not pity my blindness. They actually respect me. Not to mention, all of their media is accessible, and it is free. I never ever have to be left in the dark, as I can follow along with everything. Their site is one hundred percent accessible, and so is their software. i was amazed because when I studied with other religions, I did not have this good as an experience. I had to fight for braille materials, and I was left in the dark because i could not get a lot of it in accessible format. I just had to learn through listening, which is not the best way for me, since i'm not at all an auditory learner.
Another good thing I like about my faith is that they respect everyone. We do not go around insulting people because they believe different. Yeah, we teach the Bible, but we are not going to put people down and belittle them. Sorry for any of you who have had such experiences. My heart hurts for you.
I had this situation too. Someone asked me if he can pray for me because I am blind. I agreed to that because I think that praying can help help. I think that it's ok to ask people about that if they don't force you.
It was a bit ago that I met some of Jehova#s witnesses. They tried to convert me to the same religion but I didn't want that. They didn't accept that I am a christian and that I don't want to be one of them. But I think that this can happen with all of the religions.
Geek Woman - I'm surprised about your experience of Jehovah's Witnesses.
Anyway nobody has ever tried to heal me of my blindness. Religious people I've met have different views on blindness. A Muslim taxi driver told me he thinks that my blindness guarantees me a place in heaven. When I've been to church, my blindness hasn't been discussed.
All the stuff about blind people being healed of their blindness and about blind people going to heaven etc is against my beliefs.
I've never known Jehovah's Witnesses to be tolerant of other faiths, specially one like mine. I suppose they have more liberal followers who don't forcably preach etc, but the rest make them out to be proselitising fire and brim stone types.
Spiritual abuse is sadly common in asome churches, especially those that concentrate on the negative aspects of Christ and His people. It's sinful, sad and insane in my opinion. God would never want us to suffer in that way and it angers me how judgemental and crazy some can be. Those who inflict that kind of abuse on others should and will be justly punished.
OK, so what I'm responding here to is the topic in general, because I haven't read all the posts, don't go to church, and probably don't need to point out I'm atheist. It's pretty well documented for those who know me. I'll say this first and foremost, generally I don't bring it up unless I'm asked about it, or I'm in a position where it's unavoidable, like how someone earlier mensioned being in transit and having to ride in close proximity with these really outspoken people and they're aiming it at me, say, trying to tell me how I should live my life, etc etc. So whatever you believe in, as long as you don't expect me to follow, fine with me there. by all means do what makes you happy. But for those times when I'm out in public and someone comes up to me wanting to pray for me, hell, I let them if it doesn't go on too long. Chances are, that person's probably gone far beyond any point where they can be reasoned with, so most of the time it's easier to humor them.
On the other hand, if they're too pushy, I kind of enjoy scaring the piss out of them. Once, I'd just moved into a new apartment about a week before, and this peddler came up to my door, gave me the usual. "My name is... and I want to help spread the word..." etc. I was trying to be polite and just say, "nah, I'm busy, thanks." It was my day off, so I was busy wasting time. Of course that wasn't working. They got into, "Oh it won't take long we have this..." So I just interrupted and said, "I'm in the middle of a satanic ritual right now, but I'll be happy to squeeze you in later if you'd like to come back." I'm not satanist, but they didn't know that, and they got a move on. But that worked really well, in the sense that I got a good laugh, and as long as I lived there I didn't have any problems with that again. I'm sure they got the word around.
hahaha! I remember that one. Sometimes you have to say something of the sort if they just won't go away. I've got absolutely no problem with religion, but please don't shove it in my face. I'll be as respectful as anyone can be, as long as you don't get pushy.
lol I heard on a website of someone who was cutting up steak and the doorbell rang. So he went to the door, in a bloody apron and holding a knife and told the proselitisers that he was in the middle of a Satanic ritual. lol They ran like the wind! Another story I've heard is of a father and son. The son opened the door and when he saw who was there, told his father "it's those Christians again." The father told him to invite them to the basement to take part in their ritual... Of course, there was no ritual but it scared them away. I wonder what they would've done if it were true? I really do need to set up an altar to The Gods, not that these people come around here but it would be interesting. Could you imagine, though, if some actually wanted to come to a Hellenic ritual to see what it wwas like? I would be flabbergasted!
I've been reading all of these posts here and the image that I've been portraying is that I don't want to see. This is entirely untrue. But I don't think that anyone of any faith can truly make this happen. Only a doctor or a scientist can do that. I don't mind if people pray for me in private but I'd feel a bit strange if they did it to me in public. Still, I think I could tolerate it alot better if the person was a pagan.