Rolling Stone Photo Gallery: Teens of Christian Rock
30 August 2006 by Sean
I’m sorry, but these kids look way more fucked up and deranged than any of the acid heads I used to go to concerts with.
The caption for the photo on the right reads:
Young worshippers support a girl overcome with the rapture at Hampton, Virginia’s Acquire the Fire event, January 30th, 2003. The fest is the brainchild of Texas evangelical minister Ron Luce, who also helms the quasi-political Battle Cry initiative, a youth group devoted to protesting the depiction of un-Christian ethics in the media. Luce also oversees the Texas-based Honor Academy, a training camp for teens and young adults intent on entering the youth ministry.
Our old pal Uncle Ron again. This guy should be taken to court for the mental torture of children. Does that girl on the right look like she’s ready for the rapture — or a 5×5 padded cell?
When I was a teenager, we were sitting around reading the X-Men, running around the streets shooting super 8 movies, playing frisbee and eating junk food. Not balled up on the floor in anguish over an imaginary armageddon we were soon going to live through. What the fuck kind of brainwashed generation are these people creating?
(Thanks to David for sending it in.)
30 August 2006, on 7:54 pm
This article really shows how religion causes mental illness. When will the brainwashing stop! I grew up in this kind of shit and most of my family are still in it, and are still praying for me- dumb fucking bastards. One of my brothers sent his two gay sons to a program that promised to make them straight. One just got very religious, a real nancy boy, and the other became an atheist, with a little help from uncle Dave.
30 August 2006, on 8:13 pm
Ok, now this is not right. Maybe they thought he was Jerry Garcia. Nobody loves falwell.
30 August 2006, on 9:17 pm
As a rock ‘n’ roll musician, I must say that I’m completely offended by these Jeebus pimps appropriating my musical genre, screaming conformity, chastity, and subjugation on a stage meant for rebellion, sex, and freedom. It makes my fucking skin crawl. Several years back, my band I overdubbed a demo of ours with ambiguous pseudo-xian lyrics and managed to get us on the bill at a huge Xian rock fest called “Ichthus(sp?)”- after the fish thingie, in nearby Wilmore, Ky- home of Asbury Semen-ary. On the day of our scheduled performance- we even had the goat I was gonna sacrifice on stage (don’t worry, we were gonna roast it and eat it), we got narked out- by a theoretically xian girl our guitar player had slept with then ditched, to the powers that be and scratched from the line-up. (We ended up doing the “performance” at a party we advertised as featuring the local Dead tribute band to a crowd of granola vegan hippies. Oddly, noone wanted any of our goat fajitas afterwards) We did all manage to cull fillies from the xian herd to keep our beds warm that night. What the fuck was my point? Oh, yeah. Fuck POD and any other xian “rock” posers- except for STRYPER! Oz Foxx Rules!
30 August 2006, on 10:08 pm
“This article really shows how religion causes mental illness. When will the brainwashing stop! I grew up in this kind of shit and most of my family are still in it, and are still praying for me- dumb fucking bastards.”
I’m in the same boat, only 15, raised catholic until 6 months ago declared my atheism, my parents say the stupidest shit, and always “praying for me” and “keeping me in their hearts” and they’re all smart people (as far as the religious go…) just their stupid religion! Not to mention the fridge has become a pope-shrine.
30 August 2006, on 10:52 pm
I was going to write something about how Uncle preys on all those emotionally vulnerable teenage girls, but then I thought better of it because he’s probably into boys instead.
30 August 2006, on 10:59 pm
Look at that poor kid in the pic. If the Rapture is gonna be wonderful, why is she in total anguish?
Because this whole mythology is fucked up. She fears she may be “left behind.” She fears for all of her friends and family who are “sinners” and will be “left behind.” She’d really rather just go for a hike and ride her bike than watch millions of screaming souls get “left behind.”
Talk about child abuse. Sheesh. I would love to bring a lawsuit against these people for mental anguish towards children.
30 August 2006, on 11:02 pm
A concertgoer is overcome by emotion at SoulFest, in Gilford, New Hampshire, July 2002.
SK: “People get really, really into it and they’ll fall on the floor and pass out. The term they use is ‘extreme worship’ — they’re just so overcome with love of Jesus that they can’t believe his power. It is eerie. They get that ecstatic drug sort of feeling.”
And then they line up for the Kool-Aid.
30 August 2006, on 11:16 pm
Yo RDZ,
HOw was the Xavier U thing with Michelle Goldberg? I see you didn’t get tarred & feathered. Or did you?
31 August 2006, on 1:00 am
From Popular delusions and the madness of crowds.
http://www.econlib.org/LIBRARY/Mackay/macEx9a.html#Ch.9,%20The%20Crusades
EVERY AGE has its peculiar folly; some scheme, project, or phantasy into which it plunges, spurred on either by the love of gain, the necessity of excitement, or the mere force of imitation. Failing in these, it has some madness, to which it is goaded by political or religious causes, or both combined. Every one of these causes influenced the Crusades, and conspired to render them the most extraordinary instance upon record of the extent to which popular enthusiasm can be carried. History in her solemn page informs us, that the Crusaders were but ignorant and savage men, that their motives were those of bigotry unmitigated, and that their pathway was one of blood and tears.
When I read about these fucks twitchin around I automatically think about that book. The link takes you to the online vesion of the complete book (I think It’s complete). The book was written in the 1800’s and the religious are still at it. Is it any wonder we as nonbelievers have been growing in numbers?
31 August 2006, on 5:27 am
Jees man … I have seen a ton of those shitty Sunday shows on TV where those wannabe Christian Hulks start transforming into mouth foaming screaming piles of spastic shit. What the Fuck is that all about ? Imagine if Jesus went on like that 2000 years ago ? …my Hero…! lol
I guess my family could be called religious and they are really nice people, but I think in the past years stuff like that has actually made them more weary of the overly religious. It’s been a hard road for me to try and convince those closest around me about my belief in …ermm..nothing.
I think South Africa is at least 20 years behind the rest of the world when it comes to ideas such as post-modernism, Creationism etc. It’s as if atheists here are considered the scum of the earth. But luckily some of my friends (who couldnt understand my beliefs and thought it to be outrageous) have over the years come to understand that everything I stand for makes perfect sense and that mankind and their most beloved beliefs is a huge collection of narrow-minded jokes conjured by wankers who needed control, this all in combination with our sad pathetic need to always create imaginary gods that motivate us into believing that life is this narrow cobble road into a greater existence. If you look at it that way I guess you could believe why some of these kids freak out like that… But as I get older I have started to reach a point where other Religions are no longer just a belief that I do not share, but everytime that someone discriminates against me for something that I wholeheartedly believe in, I wanna bash their fucking heads in.
Scenes like the one on the photo sometimes makes me wonder if the world will ever get to a point where people realise the redundancy of their religious beliefs…
31 August 2006, on 7:22 am
Ninja Says:
August 30th, 2006 at 10:08 pm EST
“This article really shows how religion causes mental illness. When will the brainwashing stop! I grew up in this kind of shit and most of my family are still in it, and are still praying for me- dumb fucking bastards.”
I’m in the same boat, only 15, raised catholic until 6 months ago declared my atheism, my parents say the stupidest shit, and always “praying for me” and “keeping me in their hearts” and they’re all smart people (as far as the religious go…) just their stupid religion! Not to mention the fridge has become a pope-shrine.
How heroic of you. Keep it up. And stick around. Lots to learn here in the Beautiful Land of Sanity.
31 August 2006, on 7:25 am
Jimmer: Thanks for bringing up Extraordinary Popular Delusions & the Madness of Crowds . A masterpiece. Poke arouned and make sure you get a good edition of this book, folks.
31 August 2006, on 7:34 am
PS: Another one I have mentioned here before is The Devil in Massachusetts: A Modern Enquiry into the Salem Witch Trials by Marion L. Starkey. Written 50 years ago, it is still brilliant and relevant.
I love how the negative reviews of it on Amazon say “the sentences were too long.”
Oh. How we have failed our children.
It’s a vivid book to anyone with a decent attention span. It taught me a lot of what I know about the incredible power of mass hysteria.
31 August 2006, on 7:44 am
Yeah Ninja ….like musician Frank Zappa said “Children are naïve — they trust everyone. School is bad enough, but, if you put a child anywhere in the vicinity of a church, you’re asking for trouble”
I dont care if the church tries to convert (poison) grown-ups…let their own stupidity lead them, but this whole situation where churches focus on the young people is exactly what is making it so damn hard for these people to ever realize the truth.
I dare you to go tell that poor girl that Jeebus walked on water cause he was high on LSD…
31 August 2006, on 10:49 am
I think I just barfed in my mouth. Christian mosh pits. uh.. oh….Excuse me….
Whew. Nausea passing….oh no… here it comes again.
Oh how modest of you. The baby jesus will be so displeased. Why do they want to make the baby jesus upset?
31 August 2006, on 11:18 am
I went to something like that once. I swear some of these mega church things take a page out of the (and here I just lost the arguement) Nuremberg rallies playbook where everything is designed to overload the senses and leave you in a stupor of suggestibility.
31 August 2006, on 3:57 pm
Man, the way you rant it is hard to tell who is fucked up. IF you lived a “normal” youth and turned out this way, I would say that can’t judge who is fucked up. You and your followers are just another form of religion. Why dont you admit it. Your religion is an antireligion. Just reading the posts following to “article” show that they are lambs no more than those you criticize. Maybe they should get a mind of there own instead of letting you think for them….
31 August 2006, on 5:39 pm
No, Blow Job, we all simply agree that your religion- whatever it is, doesn’t matter, so long as there’s a gawd involved, is retarded and we enjoy having a good chuckle about the zany doings of it’s adherents. At the same time, we feel sympathy for those with gawd-stunted minds like yours- particularly those who aren’t of an age to consent to such brainwashing. And, yes, occasionally we rant at the sheer futility of trying to reason with the delusional. Until you can come up with some sort of sound, scientific evidence to back up your absurd claims, we’ll continue to conclude they’re invalid. We “believe” nothing without a logical reason for it. Hence, we are not a religion.
31 August 2006, on 6:33 pm
If Joe Blow bothered to read more on this site, he’d soon discover that we often disagree with each other, many times very heatedly. That’s the problem with theists: they have to couch everything they see, including this site and us, in their own brainwashed terms in order to even begin to try to deal with it. Hence, we’re just like them, except with an “anti-religion” (I wonder if genius thought that up on his own or his local screecher-preacher coined that word), and when we do agree on something, we’re sheeple just like them.
Joe, what happens to kids in evangelical religion *is* fucked up. I should know; I lived it; I was put through that kind of mental abuse. My first post for GifS was about it.
1 September 2006, on 2:40 am
I love the comment in the article that “Christian girls are hot.”
Yeah. Until the speak.
1 September 2006, on 3:12 am
Rangodzilla and Eve hit the nail on the head ….
There is unfortunately no way that we “anti-religious” will ever be able to distinguish ourselves from the rest of the world without people referring to the fact that we have inadvertently created our own religion. That is something that we must accept, the difference however is that (like Rangodzilla said), we don’t believe in anything that is not based on logical human reasoning and facts that can be proven beyond reasonable doubt.
The soundness of this process and the reasoning is to a certain extent debatable, buy mostly all scientific knowledge is based on sound rules governed by most humans’ perception of the natural world around them and the ability to observe, simplify, and prove these claims.
To me the most important fact is that, when hypothetically speaking, the world ever reaches a point where religious belief becomes obsolete…there wont be anymore discussions like these, no more churches, no more wars against people based on religious differences. The only battles left will be all the issues remaining after you eliminate religion (differences in race, scientific differences, need for power etc.)
OH yeah and I just wanted to say Hi guys and girls!
I’m new on this blog and from what I have seen so far I think I will be checking this site out as often as possible. I am from South Africa so I might not always understand everything you guys have to say about your religious upbringing or your politics, they dont even teach us Evolution here in schools!
1 September 2006, on 3:17 am
P.S. Oh and sorry if my spelling or grammar sometimes looks a bit shitty. I’m a programmer sitting at work all day so it’s hard to type comments AND keep the bosses happy
Plus I’m Dutch so my Englih isn’t always up to scratch…
1 September 2006, on 9:59 am
….poor Christinsanity pupae ! ….concerts are about spontaneity and these Christian simpletons are thinking,”What would Jesus do”?
when they should be kissing without hesitation like normal humans. I wonder if Warren Jeffs had concerts ?
1 September 2006, on 10:00 am
I usually don’t write here since you peoples’ posts are soo much better than mine would be, but this is FUCKED. UP. The headline says “Young and pious” and I have to say that, in my head, “pious” has always been synonymous with “gullible”, before I even knew the meaning of “pious” (English ain’t my mother tongue). Coincidence? Of course, but still!
These images want to make me cry, laugh, puke and kill.
1 September 2006, on 10:16 am
I’ve ben trying to come up with more catchy names for their Acquire the Fire events.
What do you think of these?
Step into the Quagmire
Get Jesus, Because Things Are Dire
Don’t Fuck, for it is a Child You’ll Sire
Don’t Fuck, Or STDs You Shall Acquire
Jeebus! A Man to Admire!
If You Are Gay We Will Slay You and Dangle You from Barbwire
Learn to Surpress All of Your Desire
But You Wanna Fuck That Hot Dude in the Choir?
Kenny’s Gonna Snap. Prepare for Gunfire!
Ron Luce is a Fucking Vampire
If Only This Whole Sad Business Was a Goddamn Satire
1 September 2006, on 10:38 am
Sean Says:
Don’t Fuck, Or STDs You Shall Acquire
Ironic isn’t it ? Christian teenagers who take a public vow of sexual abstinence have been shown to acquire many more STD’s than non-Christian teens because they go hog-wild with the oral and anal sex in the idiotic belief that they are still virgins if they do not engage in vaginal sex-u-al in-ter-course.
1 September 2006, on 10:45 am
I liked these:
Jeebus! A Man to Admire!
If You Are Gay We Will Slay You and Dangle You from Barbwire
Kenny’s Gonna Snap. Prepare for Gunfire!
Ron Luce is a Fucking Vampire
If Only This Whole Sad Business Was a Goddamn Satire
1 September 2006, on 11:37 am
How ’bout “Raise up Squire, adjust your attire, we have no time to wallow in the mire…” I’m pretty sure that’s Q-Tip from A Tribe Called Quest.
Or;
Obtain the Brain Drain!
1 September 2006, on 6:00 pm
“This article really shows how religion causes mental illness.”
This is kind of like noting that metastatic cancer causes serious disease. But your point is well-taken.