What Do I Do with This?


Yesterday I got an E-mail from a sorority sister who occasionally sends (forwards) religious E-mails to large groups in her address book. Most of these are kind of cheesy, but well meaning, cutesy messages of good will, and God loves and protects us all, etc. etc. I have no problem with those. But this one had a short video attached (which I wouldn't post on my Blog even if I knew how) that proposes to prove that there is a message in the Bible that, get this, the Anti-Christ (A/C) is none other than ... Barack Obama.

It points to parts of Scripture that reference the (A/C) bringing us all up to great heights (you know, the great temptor leading us to the fall), and then tries to make sense of these references by explaining that in ancient Hebrew, and in Aramaic before that, the languages in which the Bible was written, certain words that pointed to the A/C were pronounced "Ba rack O ba ma," leading us to believe that IT IS WRITTEN that our President is the AntiChrist.

It was so convoluted and difficult to follow that you either accept it at its word, or are left, like me, shaking your head trying to figure out how in Hell they got from point A to point B! I was offended. I feel I should say something to her -- but what, exactly? That members of Al Quaida, or Osama bin Laden himself, are more likely to be antichrists (if there really is such a thing) than Barack Obama?

I typically am not one to force controversy so my first instinct was to delete it and let it go. But I can't get these feelings of anger out of my mind. The message in that little video is a dangerous one. There are people who would act on it, and do dangerous things. So tell me, you readers who follow me, what would you do? Leave it alone? Write her an E-mail explaining that her friendship is important to me but it's apparant that some of our viewpoints are at opposition and perhaps we should avoid the topics of religion and politics? What? Send your suggestions, and I'll wait until I act.

Good Night, TTYL, and Be Well.



Edited to add: If anyone wants me to forward the E-mail to you, write me at webster@harbornet.com .

Comments

  1. BibliotekarenSeptember 29, 2009 at 11:31:00 AM PDT

    Your post is timely. I have an acquaintance-friend who I knew held opposite political beliefs from me but had no idea how extreme. We've been "friends" for a few weeks on Facebook now. At first I respected that her posts were just different viewpoints than mine. However, now they're getting more extreme and have the tone of Obama being 666.

    I did speak up about one organization who assisted me in the purchase of my home -- take a guess. But am debating whether I quietly block her on my stream or write her an gently worded email explaining why I'm unfriending her.

    It feels scary but somehow I need to articulate for me the line. It's fine to disgree or dislike Obama but to attribute demonic undertones, well...I don't expect to be heard but do think I need to speak up.

    Good luck in figuring out what you need to do.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Kim@stuffcould....October 3, 2009 at 6:58:00 AM PDT

    I do not care for Obama but this anit-Christ thing has been going around as long as I can remember. Every new person on the scene could be the anit-Christ,according to these groups.
    Don't worry too much about it.
    kim

    ReplyDelete
  3. HerradOctober 4, 2009 at 8:18:00 AM PDT

    Hi Webster,
    I think I would e-mail her you respect her right to have her views,but you do not share them and request she stop sending her religious mails.
    Have a good day.
    Love,
    Herrad

    ReplyDelete
  4. WebsterOctober 4, 2009 at 3:19:00 PM PDT

    Thanks for your input, I appreciate your comments. I haven't decided what I'm going to say yet, but I will say it face to face so I can follow it up with a hug.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Anne POctober 4, 2009 at 8:38:00 PM PDT

    Webster,

    More often than not, I just delete things like this and move on. Howevger, I have had occasion to reply and the first thing I do is search Snopes.com. In the case of the email you describe, is this it?

    http://www.snopes.com/politics/obama/antichrist.asp

    What I'll do is just paste whatever link that denounces the crap the sender is circulating into a "Reply to All" message with no additional comments.

    Let me know how this issue resolves itself, ok?

    ReplyDelete
  6. WebsterOctober 4, 2009 at 10:56:00 PM PDT

    Hi Ann, No that wasn't the one. The one I got was a much better polished production which said basically the same things.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Diane J StandifordOctober 5, 2009 at 8:15:00 PM PDT

    I started getting religious emails from a long lost cousin a couple years ago. At first I ignored them, then I started replying and copied all whose names she had CCed and sent them individual responses. I quoted scripture that counter pointed the orginal email. Finally they stopped and she passed on to the Lord. People grow very close to God when they are ill, don't they? But, I put way too much energy into this crap, yet, it made me feel better.

    ReplyDelete
  8. HerradOctober 7, 2009 at 8:29:00 AM PDT

    Hi dear friend,

    Please go to my blog and pick up your awards.
    Love,
    Herrad

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

jinxed !!

Image
no sooner had i written that last post than i came  down with a  fever and a raging case of cellulitis. needless to say i was admitted into the hospital the monday before thanksgiving and stayed until  the sunday  after. i did however order a turkey dinner on thursday, and they served a special dessert! since i came home, i haven't heard from my caregiver... so i called the office and spoke with her supervisor. it turns out that she was clocking  in and out all week! that's tantamount to fraud. don't know what'll happen to her. i have had two caregivers since. both i liked, but the first one lasted only one day, and the other hasn't had much experience. i'll give her a chance and we'll see what happens. good night, ttyl, and be well.
Read more

My MS Update 2017

Image
I entered last year celebrating by watching 'new year at the needle' fireworks display (The Seattle Space Needle) on a hospital TV.  I was in there from 12/27/16 to 1/3/17 with, I believe, cellulitis and a bladder infection.  I have been in the hospital several times since then, 5/19 to 5/22  with cellulitis. I didn't have any cuts so it must have been a cat claw poke or a bug bite... any break in the skin will do for those of us who are immuno-compromised. August brought me in hospital from 8.19  to 8/25 with the perfect trifecta -  cellulitis, vaginal and bladder infections. So, how am I doing? you might ask. Well,  36 years with MS and this is my current condition. From head to toe, here goes nothing. if you are newly diagnosed let me tell you here that mine is not a typical case, but still, you may want to stop reading now. head - intermittent memory lapses; I thank the heavens for post-it notes, I have three on my laptop now reminding me...
Read more

my back yard pt. 2

Image
well. there's a new addition to the pet cemetery. last  week we lost Rajah, brother to nishita and punima who died in 2o18. he's buried adjacent to them. when dh was digging the grave, he found  a large skull of a dog (not ours), so he had to put a little more space than we would have preferred between the cats. i  imagine in thirty years or so, whoever buys the house and digs up the yard will be quite surprised. good night, ttyl, and be well in this year of COVID-19
Read more