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Don’t troll people trying to help the desperate when you’re not offering anything better and there’s Nazis you can throw a brick at instead. Priorities.
What’s the worst case scenario? You end up throwing a brick at them anyways?
Are they trying to help the desperate, or take advantage of them?
Yes yes all Christians are completely duplicitous in all of their actions and thus there cannot be a single person associated with this project who has a genuinely heartfelt belief that the suicidal are making a terrible mistake and that it’s a moral act to try to prevent them from doing so, approaching the problem through the lens by which they (mis?)understand the world. Certainly none of the people involved may have struggled with their own suicidal ideation and want to pay forward the kindnesses they received that kept them from pulling the trigger. The first thing the JesusCares.com website asks you is how much money you’re able to tithe to whatever church you’re associated with and if you answer less than $100/month they tell you that death is preferable to the poverty you live in and provide detailed instructions on the least painful method of slitting your wrists.
Personally I think the heartfelt people working there are also being taken advantage of, having their genuine human compassion used to pressure desperate people into the faith.
This is actually the first thing it says on their ‘about us’ page:
Youth in America are in crisis. Millions have lives filled with pain and empty of meaning. Seventy-eight million Americans were born between 1980 and 2000. This is the Millennial Generation. Although 65% of them would claim Christianity if they were filling out a government form, less than 20% have a biblical understanding of Jesus and matters of salvation.
If statistics are true, less than 1 in 5 Millennials have a relationship with Christ that provides forgiveness and the promise of Heaven. This leaves over 60 million who are dying in their sin. This is a huge mission field. One we cannot ignore.
It has been said that the Millennial Generation is the most difficult to reach with the Gospel, but if you know where to reach them…and how, the task becomes much easier.
It seems like they’re more interested in leveraging desperation to convert millennials to their religion than in offering genuine heartfelt support to people in crisis.
For anyone who might be in crisis and is looking for a secular solution, the newly established 988 hotline in the US will offer genuine help without the sales pitch for Jesus.
Simple websearches connects this to Groundwire and Champion Ministries, which have a minimal footprint considering their websites. So this smacks of being a false front to hide the identities of its benefactors, much the way the whole He Gets Us campaign.
So approach cautiously.
That said, the statement of faith of Champion is more interested in getting you onboard with Christianity so you can die with a saved soul, than the survive-then-thrive model that is typical of services that use psychological models (first get you out of crisis, then get you to where you can make life choices, than facilitate those choices towards a functional life).
This is to say I wouldn’t actually trust its counseling to actually be useful to callers anymore than a priest at the side of a critical patient. (Comforting if the guy is already a Christian, detrimental if otherwise. I have to explain my jokes.)
I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that there isn’t even a person on the other end, but instead it’s just an AI.
I’ve met a few guys named Jesus and I can confirm that they didn’t give a damn in the slightest.
This may be unpopular, but arguing with or trolling people only serves to strengthen their bias, and you look as petty (if not more) than the people you’re trolling. It’s a lose-lose situation.
It’s a hard pill to swallow, but you convincing a Christian that they’re wrong about their beliefs is as effective as them convincing you their beliefs are correct. It’s two sides of the same coin. Instead of evangelizing about atheism, make it known you’re there to listen and if they have questions then you’ll be happy to give them answers. Criticizing ones core beliefs and values will only cause them to shutdown and stop listening. It doesn’t matter how correct you are; they will double down on their beliefs and you’ll become the bad guy.
For example, I have a group of neighbors who are all very religious. Most of them know where I stand, and how I feel. One of them even took the time to sit me down and express how worried about me she is. I listened. I politely explained my position, and we both went about our ways.
Most of these people are still good people at their core. They are misguided; I won’t argue that. But to them, they are doing the right thing. Just like you feel you’re doing the right thing. This ain’t the movies; nobody thinks of themselves as a villain. Everyone is both the main character and hero of their stories.
That said, all you can do is speak your peace and carry on. Other people will either agree or they won’t. No sense in wasting yours or their time otherwise.
Thank you for coming to my TED talk.
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its not nearly as fun as youre probably imagining.
Fentanyl, but it’s words.
It doesn’t take a lot to give false hope to someone at rock bottom, just swap out one crutch for another.
