Dwayne Waden, whose Facebook profile identifies him as pastor of Elevated Life International Ministries and a semitruck driver, was arrested after the incident at a High Point, North Carolina, McDonald's.
    • WFloyd@lemmy.worldEnglish
      3014·
      11 months ago

      I’m biased (a Christian myself), but the Christians I know are not violent, probably because they’re at least half-decent human beings who at least try to practice what they say they believe (which doesn’t include deepfry oil).

      I know a handful of nuts, some claim to be Christian, some don’t. Of the ones that claim to be Christian, none I know actually seem to live anything close to what they spout off. As a general trend in my circles, they’re the loudest about their faith, the most political/patriotic (either side, but usually right leaning), and most likely to force their beliefs on others. The ones that don’t claim to be Christians are pretty similar, just less hypocritical (opinionated, but not religious).

      The issue is that anyone can claim to be a Christian, and as a Christian it’s not for me to judge and say if they really are genuine or not.

      All that to say, this article is a great example of not living out a good Christian faith, at all.

      • Crikeste@lemm.ee
        112·
        10 months ago

        Still though, those violent people exist and your belief system enables them.

        As long religious superiority exists, so will the terror of religion.

        • WFloyd@lemmy.worldEnglish
          41·
          10 months ago

          As a follow on, I’ll give a little more from my experience.

          Where I grew up (child to expat parents in a very third world country), church is holistic - that is, we care for more than just people’s spiritual state. Church organizations run the large majority of healthcare and education, and no one else will. We could get into the weeds about the value of the services provided, but the reality is it’s between that or nothing.

          The schools teach everyone, and the clinics treat everyone, not just Christians. This I believe is (just one) example of what being a Christian is about - loving others unconditionally. Anything that’s contrary to loving others unconditionally is contrary to being a Christian. That doesn’t mean anyone (least of all me) is perfect at doing this, it’s not a yes/no distinction on “being a good Christian”. What matters is where someone’s heart is. But at the same time, if someone’s heart is right, there should be outward signs of this.

          For example, not trying to deep-fry people…

        • WFloyd@lemmy.worldEnglish
          42·
          10 months ago

          I agree, one of the failings of Christian culture (in many/most countries) is a false sense of superiority (edit: to clarify, there should not be a sense of superiority). It causes all too much hurt, and shields those who claim Christianity but do evil.

          I believe this is especially pronounced in religious settings, but it’s true for any power imbalance (family, church, school, government, work, etc). The thing is that any violence, abuse, and hate that come from Christians is so contrary to what we say we believe, it is that much worse - it undoes any of the (nonreligious, materially helpful) good that the Church does.

        • IronKrill@lemmy.ca
          23·
          10 months ago

          Without religion people will still find reasons to be violent or hateful. Let’s not damn an entire group of people just because of the crazy few.

      • SendMePhotos@lemmy.world
        61·
        10 months ago

        Why are you a bot account?

        Also, I hear you. You don’t see it often but it’s because it isn’t reported when a Christian does good Christian things, like volunteer, help people, etc.

        Just as the right sees the LGBT community and only eats up the horrible news, ironically the Christians are seen that way to the left. Neither side sees the other in good light.

        This is a general statement and not a representation of all views.

        • WFloyd@lemmy.worldEnglish
          41·
          10 months ago

          lol Not a bot account, but you’re right, opposing views feeds on the failures of the other, it’s sad both ways. Sorry if I’ve been commenting too much!

        • Birdie@thelemmy.club
          31·
          10 months ago

          It’s probably not reported when Christians do good Christian things, because those things are actually “good decent things”. You don’t have to be a Christian to volunteer, help people, etc.

          I see plenty of reporting about volunteers, maybe because I live in a hurricane state. Very rarely does the report mention religion, because people of all faiths and people with no faith at all are out there saving people and pets.

        • WFloyd@lemmy.worldEnglish
          52·
          10 months ago

          At risk of taking the bait, I’m curious of other’s experiences - is it all religion that’s a cult, or Christianity alone? If so, is there a divide between Catholic/Protestant?

              • theangryseal@lemmy.world
                3·
                10 months ago

                To me at least, the primary difference is time and size.

                If the founder/god/messiah/prophet/messenger is still alive or died recently, folks call it a cult.

                If the founder/god/messiah/prophet/messenger died a long time ago, folks call it a religion.

                From my point of view it’s all the same, it’s just easier to add to the myth after a long time has passed. That and religions are widely accepted throughout wider culture as basic reality, and cults are considered fringe.

                If those cults grow to represent wider culture, they’ll stop being called cults and instead be called religions.

                This doesn’t take legal status into account or anything. It’s just an observation.

            • WFloyd@lemmy.worldEnglish
              41·
              10 months ago

              Again, I’m curious. Personally, I have not found my loyalty as a Christian to be forced, it’s of my own will. How can I ever prove (to myself or others) that it’s of my own free will, and not being brainwashed? This applies to anything: religion, politics, sports, school affiliation, nationality.

              • proleEnglish
                1·
                10 months ago

                So you have free will according to your belief system? You sure about that?

                Then I guess God isn’t all-knowing right? Because if he knew what you were going to do before you did it, then it wouldn’t be “free will,” would it?

                • WFloyd@lemmy.worldEnglish
                  21·
                  10 months ago

                  This doesn’t answer the question though - how can anyone know or decide for others that they are not brainwashed? I trust you’ve come to your own conclusion, as I’ve come to my own. It’s a poor excuse to call anything contrary to what I believe as being brainwashed unilaterally.

  • FlashMobOfOne@lemmy.world
    369·
    11 months ago

    It’s always fascinating to me that people are so shocked when Christians display extreme violent tendencies.

    Have you cracked open a Bible lately? Their religion is founded on blood sacrifice and torture porn.

    • ironeagl
      912·
      10 months ago

      I’m kinda suprised why being a pastor is relevant at all? Edit: For those who down voted, “Elevated Life International Ministeries” seems to have no online presence related to North Carolina, and he’s also a trucker. Why was pastor put in the title rather than trucker? Would this behavior be expected of a trucker?

      • Birdie@thelemmy.club
        11·
        10 months ago

        Oh man, I wonder if he’s the guy who preaches at truck stops? He’s a trucker who travels around and everytime he stops his truck he grabs his Bible and starts pushing his view of Christianity on all the other drivers who are unfortunate enough to be there.

        Weird dude.

        • ironeagl
          11·
          10 months ago

          Try searching for the church mentioned and see if he’s prominent. The article also mentions he’s a trucker. Why wasn’t that in the title?

          • proleEnglish
            11·
            10 months ago

            Are truckers well known for spreading an ideology of non-violence? It’s notable because of the extreme hypocrisy.

            • ironeagl
              1·
              10 months ago

              That I can understand more. But at the same time if all news is just hypocritical examples… wait, that explains a lot actually.

  • SpaceBar@lemmy.worldEnglish
    261·
    11 months ago

    Waden, whose Facebook profile identifies him as pastor of Elevated Life International Ministries and a semitruck driver, was arrested on a charge of assault

    • ChicoSuave@lemmy.world
      32·
      11 months ago

      Ah, so he’s an evangelical trucker. That makes sense. He’s a trucker first. R voter second. Pastor third.

      • jmcs@discuss.tchncs.de
        1·
        11 months ago

        Why pastor third? Assaulting an employee for disrespect is very much in line with sending a bear to murder a bunch of disrespectful children and killing a tree for not having fruit out of season.

  • sndmn@lemmy.ca
    151·
    10 months ago

    Usually “Pastor Arrested” equals “child molested”.