[InfiniteNow]

So, I'm going back to university this spring to get my second degree. I am quite excited, and have been very invigorated. I have always loved learning, and the fact that my company is covering books and tuition makes this time around much less stressful than the first where I had to find funds for everything.

So... today in the mail, a few weeks after I registered for class, I received a little letter. It surprised me, as I haven't joined any mailing lists, nor any groups, and have only submitted my registration and payment information to the school. This school is a state university, one of the largest student populations in all of the US, and is NOT religiously affiliated.

Below is the message I retrieved from my mailbox (sorry for any typos, I retyped it):

Dear [*school*] Student,

As Christians on Campus, we welcome you to [*school*]. During our college years we have found great joy an dpurpose in pursuing the Lord Jesus Christ with other Christian students. This pursuit has been truly valuable, and we invite you to join us this semester. Indeed, God's Word charges us to "...pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace, with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart" (2 Timothy 2:22).

We are a registered [*school*] student organization. We hold the faith that is common to all believers (Titus 1:4; Jude 3):

• The Bible is the complete divine revelation inspired by God through the Holy Spirit word by word (2 Peter 1:21; 2 Timothy 3:16).
• God is uniquiely one, yet Triune -- the Father, the Son, and the Spirit (1 Timothy 2:5a; Matthew 28:19).
• The Son of God, even God Himself, was incarnated to be a man by the name of Jesus Christ (John 1:1,14).
• Christ died on the cross for our sins, shedding His blood for our redemption (1 Peter 2:24, Ephesians 1:7a).
• Christ resurrected from amont the dead on the third day (1 Corinthians 15:4).
• Christ ascended to the right hand of God to be the Lord of all (Acts 1:9, 2:33, 36).
• Whenever any person repents to God and believes in the Lord Jesus Christ, he is regenerated (born again) and becomes a living member of the one Body of Christ (Acts 20:21; John 3:3; Ephesians 1:22-23; Romans 12:5).
• Christ is coming again to receive His believers to Himself (1 Thessalonians 2:19).

We offer a variety of activities throughout the semester, all of which focus on enjoying Christ in God's Word. If you would like to be contacted for Christian fellowship or a small group Bible study, please mail us the enclosed postcard.

Also enclosed is "The Mystery of Human Life," a gospel tract similar to the one we will distribute during the semester.

We look forward to hearing from you and meeting you this semester.

Christians on Campus.

And this nifty little packet they referenced (which I fortunately found online so I don't have to retype it):


Tracts - The Mystery of Human Life

Have you ever wondered why you are living in this world and what the purpose of your life is? There are six keys that unlock this mystery.

1. God's Plan
God desires to express Himself through man (Rom. 8:29). For this purpose, He created man in His own image (Gen. 1:26). Just as a glove is made in the image of a hand to contain a hand, so also man is made in the image of God to contain God. By receiving God as his content, man can express God (2 Cor. 4:7).

2. Man
To fulfill His plan, God made man as a vessel (Rom. 9:21-24). This vessel has three parts: body, soul, and spirit (I Thes. 5:23). The body contacts and receives the things of the physical realm. The soul. the mental faculty, contacts and receives the things of the psychological realm. And the human spirit, the innermost part of man, was made to contact and receive God Himself (John 4:24). Man was created not merely to contain food in his stomach, or to contain knowledge in his mind, but to contain God in his spirit (Eph. 5:18).

3. Man's Fall
But before man could receive God as life into his spirit, sin entered into him (Rom. 5:12). Sin deadened his spirit (Eph. 2:1), made him an enemy of God in his mind (Col. 1:21), and transmuted his body into sinful flesh (Gen. 6:3; Rom. 6:12). Thus, sin damaged all three parts of man, alienating him from God. In this condition, man could not receive God.


4. Christ's Redemption for God's Dispensing


Nevertheless, man's fall did not deter God from fulfilling His original plan. In order to accomplish His plan, God first became a man called Jesus Christ (John 1:1, 14). Then Christ died on the cross to redeem man (Eph. 1:7), thus taking away his sin (John 1:29) and bringing him back to God (Eph. 2:13). Finally, in resurrection, He became the life-giving Spirit (1 Cor. 15:45b) so that He could dispense His unsearchably rich life into man's spirit (John 20:22; 3:6).

5. Man's Regeneration
Since Christ has become the life giving Spirit, man can now receive God's life into his spirit. The Bible calls this regeneration (1 Pet. 1:3; John 3:3). To receive this life, man needs to repent to God and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ (Acts 20:21; 16:31).

To be regenerated, simply come to the Lord with an open and honest heart and say to Him:

Lord Jesus, I am a sinner
I need You.
Thank You for dying for tire.
Lord Jesus, forgive me.
Cleanse me from all my sins.
I believe You rose from the dead.
I receive You right now as my Savior and life.
Come into me! Fill me with Your life!
Lord Jesus, I give myself to You for Your purpose.

6. God's Full Salvation
After regeneration, a believer needs to be baptized (Mark 16:16). Then God begins the lifelong process of gradually spreading Himself as life from the believer's spirit into his soul (Eph. 3:17). This process, called transformation (Rom. 12:2), requires human cooperation (Phil. 2:12). The believer cooperates by allowing the Lord to spread into his soul until all his desires, thoughts, and decisions become one with those of Christ. Finally, at Christ's return, God will fully saturate the believer's body with His life. This is called glorification (Phil. 3:21). Thus, instead of being empty and damaged in each part, this man is filled and saturated with the life of God. This is God's full salvation! Such a man now expresses God, fulfilling God's plan!

At the end was their contact information and website.



So, how would people feel if an invitation to a Muslim gathering went out in this manner?
Wouldn't those Muslims be put in harm's way from those ignorant people who think they're all terrorists?
What if it were an atheist gathering?

How did they get my contact information?
What has happened to my school?
How is this even possible! :lay:


To be honest, this has really killed a lot of my enthusiasm and excitement to be returning to school. I'm going to educate myself, not indoctrinate myself, and this is not how I wanted things to begin. Is there anyone out there who has encountered this? Anyone who thinks this is okay?

[freeztar]

Originally Posted by InfiniteNow

So, I'm going back to university this spring to get my second degree. I am quite excited, and have been very invigorated. I have always loved learning, and the fact that my company is covering books and tuition makes this time around much less stressful than the first where I had to find funds for everything.

Awesome!

So... today in the mail, a few weeks after I registered for class, I received a little letter. It surprised me, as I haven't joined any mailing lists, nor any groups, and have only submitted my registration and payment information to the school. This school is a state university, one of the largest student populations in all of the US, and is NOT religiously affiliated.

Below is the message I retrieved from my mailbox (sorry for any typos, I retyped it): ...

At least they quoted their source(s?)!
I love the diagrams!!

I would be cracking up if I got that letter...and then...I'd have the same reaction of... how? wtf? (which might include some tears and sighs)

So, how would people feel if an invitation to a Muslim gathering went out in this manner?

I'd feel the same indignation you're feeling about the Christian letter. It's inappropriate regardless of religion which is what I thought you meant until you said...

Wouldn't those Muslims be put in harm's way from those ignorant people who think they're all terrorists?

What are you getting at here?

What if it were an atheist gathering?

What if?

How did they get my contact information?

That's a rhetorical question, right?

What has happened to my school?

The stars at night...are big and bright (clap,clap,clap,clap)

How is this even possible!

I was expecting a question mark there, you totally threw me off.

To be honest, this has really killed a lot of my enthusiasm and excitement to be returning to school. I'm going to educate myself, not indoctrinate myself, and this is not how I wanted things to begin. Is there anyone out there who has encountered this? Anyone who thinks this is okay?

"Mama don't like no guitar playin' 'round here
No Mama don't like no guitar pickin' 'round here
I don't care what Mama don't allow
I'm gonna play my guitar anyhow
Momma don't like no guitar playing 'round here"
-JJ Cale

Don't concern your self with the letter. Laugh, cry, and set it on fire. Then go into school and learn.

[paigetheoracle]

Originally Posted by InfiniteNow

So, I'm going back to university this spring to get my second degree. I am quite excited, and have been very invigorated. I have always loved learning, and the fact that my company is covering books and tuition makes this time around much less stressful than the first where I had to find funds for everything.

So... today in the mail, a few weeks after I registered for class, I received a little letter. It surprised me, as I haven't joined any mailing lists, nor any groups, and have only submitted my registration and payment information to the school. This school is a state university, one of the largest student populations in all of the US, and is NOT religiously affiliated.

Below is the message I retrieved from my mailbox (sorry for any typos, I retyped it):




And this nifty little packet they referenced (which I fortunately found online so I don't have to retype it):


Tracts - The Mystery of Human Life


At the end was their contact information and website.



So, how would people feel if an invitation to a Muslim gathering went out in this manner?
Wouldn't those Muslims be put in harm's way from those ignorant people who think they're all terrorists?
What if it were an atheist gathering?

How did they get my contact information?
What has happened to my school?
How is this even possible! :lay:


To be honest, this has really killed a lot of my enthusiasm and excitement to be returning to school. I'm going to educate myself, not indoctrinate myself, and this is not how I wanted things to begin. Is there anyone out there who has encountered this? Anyone who thinks this is okay?

I had something similar in that I belonged to a UFO forum and recieved a similar "You are going to hell in a handcart, unless you renounce your evil ways!". It amused me because salvation said "Please click on this button , if you want to be saved". I knew a rabid Christian on this site from personal experience, so I certainly had my suspicions about where it came from. It certainly soured my postings on that forum for a while but in the end it didn't matter as I drifted away from it and onto here, which probably means I'm even worse off than posting on Flying Saucer sites, according to whoever sent me that religious spam, I suppose.

[Pyrotex]

InfiNow: this shit has been going on a loooong time. Ever since the so-called "Jesus Movement" back in the early 70's (maybe late 60's in some places) as a reaction to the Hippie Movement.

At Mississippi State University in 1970, "Jesus Freaks" began insinuating themselves in the "freak" community, spreading tracts instead of joints. One very charismatic bible thumper got three hippie girls of my acquaintance pregnant in one semester, before he was essentially "run off". Apparently, he was using Jesus as an aphrodisiac.

At Methodist State University in Dallas, TX, in 1975, I went to the central fountain on campus to read my CS books and two dudes gravitated in my direction. They had long beards and were actually wearing "hair" shirts down to their ankles. They tried to convince me that God wanted me to forswear all worldly knowledge, for only in ignorance could we be as children before the Lord. Knowing a bit about the bible ( ) I tore them a couple of new ones. Later, I found they had slipped some smarmy hell-and-brimstone "comic book" tracts into my backpack.

At the University of Houston, Clear Lake Extension, in 1981, there was an active Campus Crusade group that picketed several classes.

Going to college is often the FIRST opportunity that semi-indoctrinated youth have to explore the real world of ideas and reason. The Fundies know that if they have any hope of pulling these victims back into the fold, they have to "play interference" on the college campus.

[InfiniteNow]

While I find extreme distaste in it, I completely understand the tactic. My bigger questions were how did they get my home address, and why was it only a christian affiliated group that did so, not muslims, athiests, etc...


I've heard nothing since, and am halfway through the semester. I had quite forgotten about this since originally posting, but it's still strange to me and shows how virulent our faith based culture has become.


A comic book, eh? That's freakin' classic right there.

[Pyrotex]

Originally Posted by InfiniteNow

While I find extreme distaste in it, I completely understand the tactic. My bigger questions were how did they get my home address...A comic book, eh? That's freakin' classic right there.

There are scads of folks who sell contact info. It could be your bank, for all you know. Or the university itself.

Yeah, the comic book was one of those 3 inch high, 6 inch wide B&W jobs where they go into graphic detail on Hell, burning forever, agony, eternal torment... blah, blah, blah. I can almost remember the name. Something like Chix Tracts, or something. Too lazy to Google.

z-z-z-z-z-z-z...

[REASON]

Don't worry about these idiots IN, they're just fishin' for suckers. They're on a mission you know.

I imagine they are able to acquire lists of new students from the school, and then look up the addresses in the phone book or something.

It would be interesting, though, to take the religious propaganda to the Administration Office and ask them if it is their policy to give out your personal information to local groups to see if they have any restrictions to that at all. If not, than tell them you're with the local chapter of Hell's Angels and you'd like a list of students and their contact info so you can recruit some new members.

Or else you could contact the folks that sent you info and invite them over to get acquainted and do like the cartoon attached.