The Words of the Wife of a White, southern, Baptist Preacher . . .

 

Mrs. Sherry Worthington is the wife of the Rev. Dr. Pastor T. D. Worthington, the subject of my previous post.  She is also the Principal of Pathway Christian Academy.  From the few issues of PathPointe Magazine that I have read, it looks like she is a regular contributor to the magazine.

My task in this post will simply be to expose some of her claims as being:
1 - More true than she realizes
2 - Deceptive

#1 - More true than she realizes:

"When is the last time we shared the Gospel with someone? We know how terrible Hell is and yet we go on with our day to day lives as if there is no Hell."

~ and ~

"When is the last time our lives made an impression on other people? If our words and actions are no different than lost people, why would anyone desire what we have in our lives? By not sharing Jesus Christ with others through our words and our lives, we become Satan's assistants. People all around us are going to Hell, and we don't seem to care."

Good Questions Sherry - may I call you Sherry?

Perhaps you could read my blog post "Where Are All the Christians".  I wrote it over a year ago, even before you wrote the above words - and we seem to mostly agree, you and I (except for the admission that you are "Satan's assistants" - I don't believe Satan exists). In my linked blog post I addressed the apparent attitude of Christians like you - people who "should" have a desire to share their faith, yet it seems that very, very few Christians actually do share their faith.  And I don't mean to pic nits, but don't you think it would be more accurate to say that you merely (perhaps barely) BELIEVE that hell is real and terrible - because - we both KNOW, you and I, that you really don't KNOW that there is a hell.  Sure, it feels like you KNOW, but in reality it is just a mere belief based solely and entirely on the words found in a 2,000 year old book.  

Perhaps an appropriate quote from my namesake from over 100 years ago:

"If there is a God who will damn his children forever, I would rather go to hell than to go to heaven and keep the society of such an infamous tyrant. I make my choice now. I despise that doctrine. It has covered the cheeks of this world with tears. It has polluted the hearts of children, and poisoned the imaginations of men . . . What right have you, sir, Mr. clergyman, you, minister of the gospel to stand at the portals of the tomb, at the vestibule of eternity, and fill the future with horror and with fear? I do not believe this doctrine, neither do you. If you did, you could not sleep one moment. Any man who believes it, and has within his breast a decent, throbbing heart, will go insane. A man who believes that doctrine and does not go insane has the heart of a snake and the conscience of a hyena."

~Robert G. Ingersoll

So, Sherry, if you actually do KNOW (believe?) that hell is real and terrible, how many people, complete strangers, have you approached - just this year - for the sole purpose of warning them of this supposed doom that awaits all who don't know Jesus?  My blog post (linked above) should give you an idea as to how many Christians have approached me, a man in my mid 60's who has lived in very, very close proximity to Christians my entire adult life.

“I believe it is an established maxim in morals that he who makes an assertion without knowing whether it is true or false, is guilty of falsehood; and the accidental truth of the assertion, does not justify or excuse him.”

~Abraham Lincoln

#2 - Deceptive:

"Most forms of media are so slanted the children can’t see both sides. The censorship is extreme. I don’t even care if they put on the radical message but put on the conservative message, too."

A) When it comes to the truth, to facts, there are no "conservative" or "radical" truths or facts.  The truth is simply the truth, regardless of ones willingness or unwillingness to accept it.  

"Truth doesn't depend on what you want it to be."

~Brian Larnder

But I am a bit confused as to why you would want children to see "both sides".  The vast majority of children have no interest in CNN, MSNBC, or FOX.  I work in the public school sector, and I have yet to hear an elementary, middle, or high school student utter the words "Democrat", "Republican", "liberal", or "conservative".  Children are not interested in one side let alone both sides.

B) Notice your slight of hand labeling - "radical message"  "conservative message". Obviously you equate every "message", that has a liberal slant to it, as "radical".  I suspect that if I said "liberal view" and "crazy view", you would gladly point out to me that I obviously see all conservative views as "crazy", which I don't.  Of course, if I am misled by your use of the word "radical" instead of "liberal", feel free to let me know.

C) You seem to have a problem with "most forms of media" being "slanted" to one (radical / liberal) political view over the other (conservative).  Granted many media outlets have a bias (some slight, some extreme) to one view or another - but are you willing to admit that it would be very hard to be more "slanted" than the slant that FOX News presents on a daily basis?  And would you be willing to admit that Fox News is watched by far more people than CNN and MSNBC?

April 2022 - Fox News averaged 1.52 million total viewers during the month, up 25% compared to the same month in 2021, compared to 668,000 for MSNBC, down 30%, and 582,000 for CNN, off by 26%. In the adults 25-54 demo, Fox News averaged 248,000, up 16%, compared to 132,000 for CNN, down 35%, and 75,000 for MSNBC, down 46%.

FOX has more viewers than CNN and MSNBC combined, and FOX is gaining viewers while the other two are losing viewers.  So it seems to me that your complaint is merely, for lack of a better word, a deceptive tactic, simply a rehash of the very same claim often made right there on FOX News.  The very thing that you complain about is exactly what has propelled FOX News to the top for many years - and that is - being "slanted". 

So, if you and yours want ONLY to hear conservative views expressed, then just watch FOX - they offer a steady diet 24 hours a day. 

In closing let me say that I am confident that Mrs. Sherry Worthington is a very nice Christian lady.  But I suspect that she, knowing that I am a "lost" atheist, likely will view me as lacking moral character, as well as being evil and wicked.  And as a result of her view of me, I also suspect that she would be very cautious in letting me have any contact with her grandchildren, because, after all, if I am not controlled by God, I am controlled by Satan, right?  I wonder what she would think about me having regular, daily contact with about 50 elementary through high school children (many no doubt being Christians) in the public school system in my county?  Me, an atheist, with no other adult in attendance, at several points in every school day, I am responsible for the safety and well-being of these children.  Does Sherry think that it is good or bad to allow an atheist to have so much contact with children?  If Sherry believes that I am "evil", then she has to think it a bad idea for me to be allowed around children, I suppose.

I guess it would be a good idea to ask Mrs. Worthington if she has ever considered how safe kids are around, let's say, Baptist Ministers? Perhaps if she would read this blog post she might come to understand that us evil non believers are actually a safer bet than the leadership in many Baptist churches - just something to consider.

"The most formidable weapon against errors of every kind is Reason. I have never used any other, and I trust I never shall."

~Thomas Paine

"It is wrong always, everywhere, and for anyone, to believe anything upon insufficient evidence."

~Wiliam K Clifford

bob

r.u.reasonable@gmail.com