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[red]

Hello I'm Red.
I studied Zoology at University with a leaning towards Ecology and Countryside Management.
For various reasons I ended up working in a Mental Health Day Centre.
I've been a non-believer since primary school, (I was sent to a catholic school and became aware that they were talking out of their rear ends quite early).
I 'debated' with Creationists/Intelligent Design Proponents on the internet since about 2000 (after overcoming the initial surprise to find a living population) though they became noticeably quieter after the Dover Trial.
I'm now trying to find a way to undermine the proselytizing by a particular church of the vulnerable adults that attend the Centre where I work.

[Colanth]

You probably can't.  They've been indoctrinated, since before birth, that if they stop believing all the bullshit they'll {go to hell|become immoral|something else terrible} (or all of them and more).  The best you can do is educate them, one subject at a time as it comes up, and hope that something will rub off on one of them.  If you convert 2 fundies to rationality you're doing as well as anyone can be expected to do.  Three, and you should publish your method.

And welcome.

[Plu]

Welcome to the forums :)

[red]

You probably can't.  They've been indoctrinated, since before birth, that if they stop believing all the bullshit they'll {go to hell|become immoral|something else terrible} (or all of them and more).  The best you can do is educate them, one subject at a time as it comes up, and hope that something will rub off on one of them.  If you convert 2 fundies to rationality you're doing as well as anyone can be expected to do.  Three, and you should publish your method.

And welcome.

Actually these aren't, the ones I'm familiar with are diagnosed mental health sufferers who 'Found God' after being recruited by members of this church. The church at one point tried accessing the vulnerable adults directly by becoming volunteers and then proselytising within the Centre to other Service Users who then became recruited by the church. We expelled the 'Volunteers' specifically for their proselytising, we then spent considerable time convincing the converted Service Users not to discuss their religion on the premises or bring in printed material related to it, (We've still got a problem with one or two singing hymns, but we're working on that).
Unfortunately the Service Users tend to congregate at a particular cafe prior to the Centre opening, and the church has leafleters harassing the Service Users during this time.
In the next couple of months we're looking to open our own cafe so we should have more control over how much access the church gets to our Service Users.
Of course the church isn't just targeting people with Mental Health problems, those with Learning Difficulties are also getting similar treatment and I know of one person who was signed up for a Bible study course despite being illiterate...

[stromboli]

Welcome. This is the kind of crap that makes me boil. They see it as proselyting to raise numbers, but it is just insidious victimization.

[WitchSabrina]

Welcome to this tiny corner of the world.  Hope you are happy here !  :-D

[LikelyToBreak]

Welcome aboard!

As far as your problem with the church, just look at it as job security.  Sure plenty of people will suffer needlessly from being indoctrinated in bullshit, but your checks won't bounce.  Unless of course the higher up's are into pilfering funds.  That happens sometimes.  

You have to keep in mind that I am a proud misanthropist.  So, depending on your personal feelings, you might want to ignore me.  

[Brian37]

Hello I'm Red.
I studied Zoology at University with a leaning towards Ecology and Countryside Management.
For various reasons I ended up working in a Mental Health Day Centre.
I've been a non-believer since primary school, (I was sent to a catholic school and became aware that they were talking out of their rear ends quite early).
I 'debated' with Creationists/Intelligent Design Proponents on the internet since about 2000 (after overcoming the initial surprise to find a living population) though they became noticeably quieter after the Dover Trial.
I'm now trying to find a way to undermine the proselytizing by a particular church of the vulnerable adults that attend the Centre where I work.

I am not sure if you know about the TV Sitcom "That 70s Show", but Red is the character who is the father on show. So now when you debate theists you can call them "DUMBASS", (that was his catchphrase).

[the_antithesis]

[youtube:2o2uwxmz]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jv6MgODqMZc[/youtube:2o2uwxmz]

[red]

And now for something completely different...
[youtube:10b7iuzt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uGr7lXlyK3Y[/youtube:10b7iuzt]
I suppose it should be stated that I'm from the UK.
In general terms christianity is dead here, churchgoers make up about 5% of the population and falling.
The bulk of those are the remnants of the generation that fought WWII and the Church seems on course to die with them, from the looks of it the next decade should see the closure of most churches. One particular denomination however is declining more slowly than the others and the particular church that sends proselytizers does belong to that group, which may explain the slower rate of decline.

[the_antithesis]

Ah, proselytizing. Preying on the weak and helpless.

[Colanth]

It actually depends on the law - and how the law gets enforced - but see if you can check with a solicitor about the situation.  Some things just can't be done with/to the mentally defective in civilized countries.  Things like signing up an illiterate person for "Bible study", without first teaching the person to read, might fall into that class.  Proselytization of those in need of mental health care might also.  And freedom of religion doesn't, in many jurisdictions (unfortunately not in all) include violating other laws.

[Mister Agenda]

Hello I'm Red.

Welcome, Red! Retired and extremely dangerous?