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Rating: 
Summary: Disturbing Yet Important Glimpse At End-Times Mind-Set
Review: After reading "Gentle Persuasion" by Joseph Aldrich, I began wondering what a space alien might think of fundamentalist Christianity's relentless hoping for the snuffing out of human civilization, which to them would fulfill the so-called biblical "prophesies." Our author, whose mind has been hijacked and reprogrammed by the most powerful tool of psychological manipulation in human history, the Bible, would surely make a fascinating study for an extraterrestrial creature. Fundamental Christianity's most cherished wish for all of us: that the world will end in a blaze of nuclear glory, is horrifying indeed. What could possibly be more disturbing and Orwellian than listening to the type of happy double-speak, robotic sloganeering, redefining and appropriating mainstream words for creedal purposes, all of which are Mr. Aldrich's stock in trade within these pages. Mr. Aldrich's brand of evangelism is simple enough: Everybody needs HIS information, and at the same time, there is nothing anybody could ever teach HIM about the nature of existence and our universe. The scientific, logical and reason-based aspects of these grandest of questions are ones which Mr. Aldrich seems blissfully uninterested in. Deliver a freshly-baked cherry pie to the new neighbors! Help an overburdened co-worker at the office! Fix someone's broken car and don't charge them for the work! But don't perform any of these acts out of pure human kindness or good old-fashioned compassion; Perform them because every avenue for the author's style of stalking evangelism must be pursued. If all goes according to plan, the new recruit can be softened up by a series of initial contacts until, when the time seems ripe, he or she can be proselytized mercilessly into brainwashed submission. If you're worried that the author might take offense at such an unromantic description of his motives, let me put your mind at ease. He doesn't care what anyone else thinks about him. His deeply-indoctrinated psyche wouldn't allow it. And moreover, author Aldrich himself is one of the most shameless name callers and ad-hominem slingers I've yet come across among Christians. Here are a few examples of his bald-faced disrespect for wonderful people:
1. Assault the enemy. Page 84
2. ... if you've got the disease of carnality. Page 94
3. The proud, the pushy, the arrogant, the impure, the tainted, the cruel. Page 102
4. Our non-Christian friends are doomed to everlasting darkness. Page 111
5. Notice that it is their MINDS that are dysfunctional. Page 112
6. Pray that our hearts will be moved by their lostness. Page 112
7. They are intellectually handicapped. Page 113
8. Most are religiously unsophisticated. Page 116
9. Christians can smell sin on them. Page 117
10. How do you recognize human "dogs" and "pigs?" Three clues are given: (a) their frame of reference is secular, not sacred. (b) they are insensitive to that which is of value. (c) They are dangerous. Page 119-120
11. The prohibitions set up by the Lord do not mean that "dogs" and "pigs" are beyond salvation. Page 120
12. It may not be wise for you to expose yourself or your family to such people. Page 121
13. I backed up the evangelical dump truck and pulled the lever. Page 130
14. I don't mean you should ignore the troubled, the unruly, or the vile. Page 160
15. ...was a fornicator. His language was vile, his associates ungodly. Page 171
16. He worshipped power, sex, pickup trucks, guns, RV vehicles, the open road, and the next woman. Page 171
17. To win the weak, we must become weak, throttling back our intellect, holding in check our brilliance and logic. Page 171
18. One of the sad discoveries you'll make is that many non-Christians have no real friends. Page 187
19. Sometimes a fish fights the hardest when it's closest to the boat. Page 192
20. ...why get involved in debate over things which take away from focusing on Jesus? Page 198
21. I'm always a bit ill at ease with non-Christians. Page 202
22. A few carefully placed comments may be all it takes to steer them away from enslavement to the lie. Page 223
23. By and large, people want you to make a decision for them. Page 231
24. God isn't going to put healthy babies in a diseased incubator. Page 232
25. LOVE NON-CHRISTIANS! PAGE 125
This last one is a good example of the Christian penchant for word redefinition. Obviously no sane person would consider the sick and hatemongering examples just given "love" in any sense of the word. Also note that the author makes references to how people whom he has ideological disagreements with, "smell," and compares them to "pigs" and "dogs." These devices are right out of the Hitler/Nazi lexicon. So THERE, you loving Christian guy you. Presently, the United States is relentlessly chasing Al Qaeda down to the ends of the earth, and rightfully so - because of their stated goal to end Western civilization. Yet, we are surrounded by fundamentalist Christians today like the author of this book. Additionally, dozens of major political figures in office at this very moment share his belief that we are in the "end times." Even more frightening, they WANT to be in the "end times" because as they see it, when the world blows up and human existence comes to an end, this fulfills the sick Bible "prophesies" they pine for on a daily basis. I believe in free speech. And I'm using mine to proclaim that these people are SICK. The author is far less dangerous than a man named George W. Bush whose fingers rest on the nuclear button. Human thought must evolve NOW as we relegate dangerous religious dogmas such as "end-times" theology, to the dust bin of history.
The universe will be around for many billions of years to come. Our children are counting on us to pave the way for a safe and beautiful future. It is time to fight for the future of humanity. The time is now.
Rating:
Summary: Don't read in one sitting.
Review: Aldrich's book is best absorbed a page or two at a time. Keep it next to your devotional literature and pray through it on a daily basis. It is an encouraging, inspiring, and thought-provoking look at the most important aspect of religious conversion-- the one-on-one connection established with another human soul. That is the hardest and most time-consuming aspect of witnessing, something the hit-and-run methods of evangelism are (perhaps purposefully) ignoring. Don't read this unless you want to see your in-laws, neighbors, boss, and co-workers become believers.
Rating:
Summary: It works for selling Amway too!
Review: I found this book very helpful in not only making believers out of non-believers, but sending my Amway conversions through the frigg'in roof! I closed my poor aunt Selma four months and now she's putting $2k/month into my pocket today. Gold mine baby (or should I say TOUCHDOWN JESUS!)
Rating:
Summary: It works for selling Amway too!
Review: I found this book very helpful in not only making believers out of non-believers, but sending my Amway conversions through the frigg'in roof! I closed my poor aunt Selma four months and now she's putting $2k/month into my pocket today. Gold mine baby (or should I say TOUCHDOWN JESUS!)
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