Text from my evangelical sister just now.

[Buckeye_Democrat]

She wants me to watch a video by someone named Sid Roth titled “How to stop Coronavirus in its tracks.”

Yep, a quick Google search showed he’s a religious nut with a TV show about supernatural encounters with God.

Not watching it. Giving her my typical “thanks” reply when she does this crap.

I am NOT going to attack her for this nonsense. I’ve done it in the past, and she has never become more reasonable. She IS nice, trying to help people in need, so at least she has redeeming qualities.

My oldest brother claims she was ALWAYS gullible, easily believing in Santa Claus and all kinds of supernatural ideas long after I was calling it BS as a preschooler.

[Jirel]

1. Be not quite as nice.

I get it. She is family. She is nice.

But being gullible about COVID-19 is dangerous, and trying to get others to drink that kool-aid is deadly. We can’t afford to stay quiet. If she believes nonsense because she is gullible, she can believe truth because she is gullible. You owe her - and a lot more people she may cause to get infected, the discomfort of truth.

[Buckeye_Democrat]

6. I have already shared numerous facts about...

... the virus.

I was giving her that information earlier than every local news station, and long before this supposed “shutdown” in Ohio, because I’ve been tracking the international news about it for awhile.

And I’ve followed up with other information as it became available.

Her children have done the same, including one of her daughters who is the operating manager of a nearby hospital. (Only one my sister’s kids seemed to get her “mystical thinking” gene, assuming there’s actually some kind of genetic aspect to it, and it’s not that daughter.)

The daughter who works at the hospital made me chuckle when she was a little girl. My sister took her to one of her faith-healing churches, and encouraged her to have her toothache healed by the minister. (I was a young teen who was somehow trapped into attending with them, but I can’t recall how it happened. Maybe my parents left me with her for whatever reason.) Anyway, my young niece replied to the minister that her toothache “still hurt the same” after the supposed healing took place. She was the only person in the church who wasn’t supposedly “healed” after they walked up and went through the rituals. He eventually said something about how it should feel better later, and my niece silently returned to the pew next to us.

[Newest Reality]

2. I found this...

I found this article about death to be rather interesting and even relevant in understanding some of the extreme behaviors we are and will see while going through this crises. Aeon is a great magazine and very thought provoking, BTW. The whole article is worth a read.

This mortal coil

The fear of death drives many evils, from addiction to prejudice and war. Can it also be harnessed as a force for good?

<snip>

A variety of studies since have helped to explain why this happened, how death fears draw people toward leaders who convey a certain kind of worldview. Metaphorically, the world is stuck between two types of worldviews, the rock and the hard place. Charismatic leaders sell the rock-type worldview. Our group is great, there is certain good and evil, right and wrong, and our group is destined to triumph over that evil. This kind of worldview works well for quelling anxiety, as it helps people feel that they are significant contributors to something great and lasting, whether a great cause, a great nation or a great deity. It is most commonly a fundamentalist or conservative worldview, but it also characterises some Left-wing ideologies such as hardline communism and environmental extremism. The problem with this type of worldview is that it often leads to destructive actions against those designated as evil.

The hard place is a more uncertain worldview that acknowledge that one person’s good could be another person’s evil. It stresses tolerance and the validity of different views of the world. Truth and how to do good in the world are less certain. In this kind of worldview, there is less hostility toward other groups, but self-worth and how to leave a lasting positive mark on the world are less clear. Anxiety therefore tends to be more prevalent, and there is more need to self-medicate it away in various ways.

https://aeon.co/essays/how-to-apply-terror-management-theory-to-improve-human-lives

[smirkymonkey]

7. Thank you for posting.

I really enjoy this online magazine and read their thought-provoking articles as often as I can. This was very interesting and underscores the findings that those who are conservative/right-wing tend to be very fear-based in comparison to those who are more liberal minded.

[Newest Reality]

8. My pleasure.

Good to hear from another Aeon fan.

[Buckeye_Democrat]

9. My sister always seemed especially fearful about death.

She asserts that she’s NOT afraid now, since she’ll have an eternal after-life, but she’s still been the most upset at family funerals and such.

All of us weeped when our parents passed away, but she cried the most during the actual services. And it seemed to linger with her longer, with her still trying to assure herself years later that our parents had “truly accepted Jesus” before they passed away. (It’s something she has asked the other siblings periodically.)

Thank you for the link!

[Newest Reality]

10. Thanks.

Well, the behaviors tend to indicate more than what is presented superficially.

I think when one has come to terms and is at peace with death, they will act consistently. I don't mean one would not mourn a loved one or be concerned, but there is a peace that comes with acceptance that reveals where a person is with mortality.

As an aside, in a humorous sense, I wonder if people ever think through living forever and ever and ever, etc., and so on, especially as the same personality without end. Oh my. I think I would be rather tired of me by 1000-years, let alone eternity and maybe wondering if Heaven was actually Hell. Praise, macaroni pictures for God, praise, praise, stringing popcorn, praise. Yikes.

I'm sorry, I was just being facetious and waxing philosophical there.

[Buckeye_Democrat]

11. Lol, no problem.

I’m happier when I accept evidence and try to not make the universe bend to MY will.

I still think right-wingers have a greater tendency to believe what they WANT to believe, if it makes them feel better about themselves.

They often WANT to believe their country (USA) always has benevolent intentions, or whatever.

And if something isn’t true, then just claim there was “good intentions” that didn’t work out. Nobody’s perfect, after all, and it’s the SUPPOSED intention that matters.

I’m sure my sister would view the Ohio woman who was interviewed by CNN, after attending a public church service while “covered in Jesus blood”, as someone with good intentions too.

By the way, I was relieved that woman wasn’t my sister! (I heard about the interview before I saw it.) It was extremely improbable it would be my sister, of course, but I was still somewhat relieved. Lol. I also learned that my sister is NOT attending her church during this shutdown. At least her particular pastor chose to switch to all-online services. If not, I’m not confident that my sister would’ve resisted going to church services.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

12. I have always found it strange that many fundamentalists

who claim to believe in an eternal after life are terrified of dying.

I happen to believe very strongly in an afterlife, but not the stereotypical christian version. The details of my belief are utterly unimportant here. What is important is that even though I hope to live a very long time, I'm not terribly bothered by the possibility of dying in the near future. Other than not getting to accomplish certain things, or read certain books. No matter how long I live, at some point I'll die. And that's that.

[gibraltar72]

3. Pat Robertson has it figured out too.

[jberryhill]

4. Here you go

[Wounded Bear]

13. Remind her that the road to hell is paved with "good intentions"

[Pobeka]

14. Wait, whad'r ya saying about Santa Claus !

Is there something I don't know?

[Buckeye_Democrat]

15. Lol! Reminds me of another story.

I made one of my nieces (from another sister) cry about Santa Claus not being real. I later felt terrible about it.

That niece is just a few months younger than me.

I spent the night at my sister’s house when I was 7 years old, and my niece was 6. It was a Saturday morning, and Christmas was around the corner.

I was flabbergasted to hear my niece talk about what she hoped Santa would give her.

I told her that Santa wasn’t real. Blah, blah, blah.

She locked herself in a bathroom, screaming about it. I was outside the door, screaming back it was “okay” because she’d surely get the gifts anyway!

Then my sister, who was apparently busy cleaning the house because she looked sweaty while wearing old clothes and a bandana on her head, rushed toward me with an extremely irritated expression. She asked what we were screaming about?!

My niece wailed back from behind the restroom door, “He says Santa Claus isn’t real! Waaaaah!!!” I was like, “Yeah! She STILL believes in Santa Claus!”

Then my sister yelled back at her daughter that Santa was indeed not real, and it was she and her husband giving her those gifts the whole time, and my niece better stop driving her crazy with all the damn yelling or they might think twice about doing it again.

Then my niece started SHRIEKING, and my sister leaned down to me and yelled, “Are you happy now?!” and stormed off.

I went outside and pondered the trouble I had caused, and why I didn’t just keep my mouth shut about it in the first place.

That niece turned out fine, obviously, but she still brings it up sometimes during Christmas gatherings (with a laugh).