Christian Unions at UK Universities

dowie

dowie

dowie

Caporegime
Joined
29 Jan 2008
Posts
59,180
Do they deliberately target losers?

Serious question...

I guess some kids who lack social interaction invent imaginary friends and whilst lots of them will grow out of this, people who grow up and continue to be less sociable end up being more susceptible to finding comfort in an imaginary person (Jesus) who is there for them.

Without wanting to sound overly shallow, the Christian union at my university weren't exactly the coolest kids on campus and certainly did attract social misfits. It did seem at times that they almost targeted them though, the people who didn't make many friends during freshers week could instantly be accepted by a group of artificially happy and deluded god botherers.

Now obviously Christianity is becoming less prevalent in Europe which IMO is a fairly logical conclusion as the level of eduction of a population increases. I do wonder however if we'll see a time where Christianity becomes so sidelined that it is the exclusive domain of misfits seeking some form of escapism from the real world as seems to be the current situation with Christian Unions.

Perhpas that was just my singular biased opinion of the Christian Union at my particular university - so back to my original question - 'Do they target losers?' I'd be interested to know if other people have had different experiences of the Christian Union at their universities - were they (in your completely subjective opinion) delusional misfits or where they fairly normal every day students not much different to any other random student?
 
I had a very similar thought this morning when I wondered past a load of church folk (they had T-Shirts on). All were the typical religeous lot, odd looking and the sort you'd cross the road to walk past them (because you thought they had escaped from the local mental institute). Not all religious people are like that sure, but a significant number do appear to be.
 
Brian: I'm not the Messiah! Will you please listen? I am not the Messiah, do you understand? Honestly!
Girl: Only the true Messiah denies His divinity.
Brian: What? Well, what sort of chance does that give me? All right! I am the Messiah!
Followers: He is! He is the Messiah!
Brian: Now, **** off!
[silence]
Arthur: How shall we **** off, O Lord?
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Not specifically relevent, but given tonights two religious threads, it's about time we had a LoB quote. :p
 
Rainmaker said:
LOL. :)

The OP is based on too many root assumptions to attempt a serious answer, tbh.
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I wasn't asking that anyone answer or criticise or so much as comment on any of my root assumptions or my own personal viewpoint put forward within the post. You don't even have to take any notice of my assumptions in order to provide an answer as a large potion of my post was simply put there for the purposes of context.

I merely asked for other people's personal opinion on one thing - was the christian union at your university generally comprised of misfits?

Its a fairly straightforward question that could even be answered with a simply 'yes' or 'no' should you chose.
 
dowie said:
I wasn't asking that anyone answer or criticise or so much as comment on any of my root assumptions or my own personal viewpoint put forward within the post. You don't even have to take any notice of my assumptions in order to provide an answer as a large potion of my post was simply put there for the purposes of context.

I merely asked for other people's personal opinion on one thing - was the christian union at your university generally comprised of misfits?

Its a fairly straightforward question that could even be answered with a simply 'yes' or 'no' should you chose.
Click to expand...

OK then, 'no'. My university was made up of grown ups who all held various traditions, cultures, beliefs and backgrounds. We all got along and I don't really recall anyone I'd particularly describe as 'misfits' (excepting the usual academic bugbears we all loved to hate lol). I really don't see what you're getting at.

My point about root assumptions was that 'misfits' is a very subjective term. My misfit is your peer, etc.
 
Rainmaker said:
My university was made up of grown ups who all held various traditions, cultures, beliefs and backgrounds. We all got along and I don't really recall anyone I'd particularly describe as 'misfits' (excepting the usual academic bugbears we all loved to hate lol). .
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Open University?

Not sure about anyone else but I'd certainly not have referred to any of my student peers at 18 as being 'grownups' ?

I'd also probably state that we definitely didn't all get along, the rugby team offended people with a bad taste party, the cheer leaders on the American football team offended various feminists. Various drunk chav type students offended various gay students when the LGB night was on. And various socialist worker types generally annoyed everyone else.

I'd be quite surprised tbh.. that undergrads at any UK university would be comprised mostly of 'grownups' who all got along. Certainly at any other universities I'd been to whilst visiting friends from school there were similar social groups to those at my own university.
 
I don't believe the local CU targets "losers". It would be more accurate to say they target everyone who walks past the library. However it's plausible that they have a higher success rate with people who haven't done that well with anyone else.

Christian unions in general have always struck me as completely insane. More frustrating though is that the majority of the members seem to know very little about their religion. I don't understand how anyone can live the majority of their life by a set of rules yet never put any thought into where they came from.
 
Is it possible they approach people who seem isolated/alone/unhappy to help them (even on a persona level) and that "misfits" tend to be more likely to appear outwardly unhappy or in need of help?
 
I was always under the impression that they targeted people feeling vulnerable and a bit lost living away from home for the first time, offering support and a friendly ear. With an agenda, naturally. My parents always warned me to beware of them, though I was never likely to be an easy convert.

As an aside, the CU used to meet in my kitchen in first year. They soon learned to give my room a wide berth, given the all night drinking and gambling sessions, but the guy who later became their head did come in with trays of sandwiches for us once in a while. Futile, but nice anyway.
 
Wow, just, wow. I am amazed at the depth OcUK lolreligion can sink to. I mean, forget Glee and its 'its ok to be a loser' message. No, instead, what we need to do is judge people solely on appearances and anybody who doesn't look like us is a loser.

Well done guys :) You have really hit the button on this one

/offensive thread is offensive
 
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