news of the weird (?): Clubbing for Jesus
Dec. 10th, 2004 11:12 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
anotheranonI couldn't make this up: "I thought I would have to be single forever and live in Africa and wear unflattering tops. I was totally not up for it." (spring for the free day pass - you'll want to).
I'm not surprised that "evangelical raving" came out of Europe; electronic music is more "mainstream" there so perhaps the idea isn't as radical as it would be here (U.S.). As it is, most fundie kids I knew growing up were much too uptight to do something as hedonistic as dance all night, let alone nice enough to spend the evening handing out fruit to passers by, so their willingness to stay up late and get on down represents a favorable evolution, IMHO!
Reading this article, I'm not sure what to think. If the quotes in the article are representative, these kids (I shouldn't say that - most are in their early-mid twenties, technically not children by any country's legal standard) aren't cynically trying to gain converts, they're really earnest and I find it sweet, in an eerie, zealously wide-eyed sort of way.
I do question the ethics/effectiveness of preaching to the tweaked: I can't help but think it's unfair to press someone high as a kite into religious conversion (espeically when they'd happily find a bit of heaven inside their own skull, if left to their own devices).
Givng away free fruit and candy is nice - hell, my friends and I used to do that many moons ago when I was a raver - but we did it because we liked to, not as the opening pitch to try and save someone's soul. The idea that someone is only being nice to me in order to gently shove their views down my throat is frankly offensive. Besides, to me the whole "rave ethic" was one of tolerance and respect, not interference/attempted manipulation in your fellows' personal beliefs.
Putting this in my gray box for now. An interesting development in both the raving/clubbing population and in evangelical Christianity, at any rate.
I'm not surprised that "evangelical raving" came out of Europe; electronic music is more "mainstream" there so perhaps the idea isn't as radical as it would be here (U.S.). As it is, most fundie kids I knew growing up were much too uptight to do something as hedonistic as dance all night, let alone nice enough to spend the evening handing out fruit to passers by, so their willingness to stay up late and get on down represents a favorable evolution, IMHO!
Reading this article, I'm not sure what to think. If the quotes in the article are representative, these kids (I shouldn't say that - most are in their early-mid twenties, technically not children by any country's legal standard) aren't cynically trying to gain converts, they're really earnest and I find it sweet, in an eerie, zealously wide-eyed sort of way.
I do question the ethics/effectiveness of preaching to the tweaked: I can't help but think it's unfair to press someone high as a kite into religious conversion (espeically when they'd happily find a bit of heaven inside their own skull, if left to their own devices).
Givng away free fruit and candy is nice - hell, my friends and I used to do that many moons ago when I was a raver - but we did it because we liked to, not as the opening pitch to try and save someone's soul. The idea that someone is only being nice to me in order to gently shove their views down my throat is frankly offensive. Besides, to me the whole "rave ethic" was one of tolerance and respect, not interference/attempted manipulation in your fellows' personal beliefs.
Putting this in my gray box for now. An interesting development in both the raving/clubbing population and in evangelical Christianity, at any rate.
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no subject
Date: 2004-12-11 05:44 am (UTC)I do agree that giving away fruit and candy simply for the joy of giving is far more representative of a love-thy-brother attitude (and far more Christian, for that matter) than doing it to lure somebody in the hopes of converting them.
no subject
Date: 2004-12-11 04:40 pm (UTC)This IS an interesting development, and I hope these kids/young adults hang on to their acceptance form of Christianity, but I find it disturbing that they think lying (saying they're a Christian group of beach cleaning volunteers instead of admitting that they're a mission group) to the people they want to convert is acceptable as a means to their end ... dishonesty is never a good way to start any relationship, religious or other.
Now off to clean out the ***counts list*** seven cookies that Salon actually installed in my computer, instead of the one that the daypass claimed ... like I said, dishonesty is a bad beginning :p