The world can be a pretty cruel place and people tend to be self-consumed at times. Random acts of kindness are rare and yet over the weekend, I was the recipient of two such acts. However, one was a little less random than the other and the kindness of one might have been more self-consumed than the other as well.
Category Missionaries
One of the events that I am planning is the annual Philadelphia Coalition of Reason picnic. On the flyers and press release, I invited atheists, agnostics, humanists, freethinkers, rationalists, skeptics, etc. Well, someone messaged me demanding that I openly invite theists too.
Last night, I got to hear author Katherine Stewart talk about her book, “The Good News Club: The Christian Right’s Stealth Assault on America’s Children.” Before the talk, I was vaguely aware that there were fundy Christian groups pushing afterschool Bible Studies, but I had no idea just how extreme these groups actually are.
Let’s say Tom Cruise sent a “mission” of Scientologists to Uganda to help people. The group brings food, medical supplies, etc. But the poor starving people in Uganda need more than just food and medical supplies, they need hope too. So Cruise and company offer a free personality test and auditing session for everyone. He isn’t forcing Scientology on anyone, merely introducing it to starving people who are physically, emotionally, and mentally vulnerable. Scientology is helping people in need, right?