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Religious Proselytising in Caches


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I recently started dropping handheld Constitutions into geocaches. I wonder how well that will go over.. :ph34r:

The kids love em!

EDIT: I'm just kidding of course. If it's a nice one I'm sure someone will take it.

 

It's sort of funny how no one has said they like finding these things, just that it's not garbage. I would suspect dirty golf balls get traded for more often than tracts. If nothing else, it's just bad swag.

Edited by d+n.s
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Hey sniggle, get a life. I just can't believe anyone would even start a thread about something as insignificant as a piece of paper in a cache. You and the others that push your non-religion BS are much more offensive than any religious literature you might find in a cache. Get a hobby!!!

 

Read the Forum Guidelines

 

Personal attacks and inflammatory behavior will not be tolerated. If you want to praise or criticize, give examples as to why it is good or bad. General attacks on a person or idea will not be tolerated.

Edited by BlueDeuce
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Hey sniggle, get a life. I just can't believe anyone would even start a thread about something as insignificant as a piece of paper in a cache. You and the others that push your non-religion BS are much more offensive than any religious literature you might find in a cache. Get a hobby!!!

 

Read the Forum Guidelines

 

Personal attacks and inflammatory behavior will not be tolerated. If you want to praise or criticize, give examples as to why it is good or bad. General attacks on a person or idea will not be tolerated.

 

And yet it's happened about four times in this thread already. Where's that lack of tolerance at these days...?

 

 

Back OT: Trade up or trade even. Or throw it away. If you do throw it away do it quietly.

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I dont think finding a tract is a cache is forcing anything on me. I just ignore them.

 

Read the Forum GuidelinesPersonal attacks and inflammatory behavior will not be tolerated. If you want to praise or criticize, give examples as to why it is good or bad. General attacks on a person or idea will not be tolerated.

 

It would be nice if these rules were actually followed and inforced.

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If you are offended by religious pamphlets then you should just go live in a cave and avoid personal contact.

I don't think a geocache is an appropriate place to push any personal beliefs or agendas... religious or otherwise.

 

If anything, reading this thread just makes me want to toss everything like that from caches. Real estate agent's cards, religious solicitions (ie: come to church X to donate $$ -vs- just 'isn't God great'), etc.

 

And I could be wrong on this (wouldn't be the first time I've been wrong about something), are these scraps of paper really considered SWAG? Do I really need to 'trade up, trade even, etc.' for scraps of paper? If so, perhaps I should just carry blank scraps of paper which IMHO are 'trade up' from solicitions found in caches.

 

If I see a pin, plastic toy, etc. of course I trade up, but I (currently) don't view solicitations as in that same category.

Edited by Redfist
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I'm offended by Bed Bath and Beyond. You know what I do about it? I don't go there. I assume I wouldn't like Playgirl. What do I do about it? I don't read it (or look at the pictures). It ain't rocket science, people. You can only be offended by something if you make it your problem.

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I'm offended by Bed Bath and Beyond. You know what I do about it? I don't go there. I assume I wouldn't like Playgirl. What do I do about it? I don't read it (or look at the pictures). It ain't rocket science, people. You can only be offended by something if you make it your problem.

 

not exactly an appropriate example for this situation, you have the benefit of knowing already why you're avoiding those places/items, my crystal ball is not that advanced to tell me what's going to be in cache ...so you're telling me to stop caching and not to look at the stuff in the cache at all

Edited by t4e
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I'm offended by Bed Bath and Beyond. You know what I do about it? I don't go there. I assume I wouldn't like Playgirl. What do I do about it? I don't read it (or look at the pictures). It ain't rocket science, people. You can only be offended by something if you make it your problem.

 

not exactly an appropriate example for this situation, you have the benefit of knowing already why you're avoiding those places/items, my crystal ball is not that advanced to tell me what's going to be in cache ...so you're telling me to stop caching and not to look at the stuff in the cache at all

 

No, but maybe if you see a pamphlet that says "Why you should turn to Christ" in a cache and you're already annoyed, you could just not open it, read it, and get more annoyed, right?

 

I still don't get the need to "do something" here. I really don't. I wish someone would clarify why there's some compulsion to "do something" in this case, and not just sign the log and move on.

 

 

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I wish someone would clarify why there's some compulsion to "do something" in this case, and not just sign the log and move on.

 

Like I said before, let them worry about it and just continue to have fun caching.

Edited by GroveBird
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I tried to be circumspect in my original post, and I guess that was a mistake. The reason I was not enthusiastic to find this tract in a cache was that a neighbour's child had got their hands on the same tract and was *very* upset because the tract told him he was going to burn in hell. I imagined a similar thing happening while a family was on a day's outing. Enough said, I'll not worry about it in future.

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I leave the religious doo dads behind. As an agnostic atheist I just don't care what people believe. Honestly it bothers me more when people use caches to advertise their businesses in.

 

But all in all I'm comfortable with my beliefs. I get told to my face on a regular basis where religious people choose to believe I'm going to go. You get used to it. And if those scare tactics are how people are going to attract people to their religion... oh well. I'm not about shelter children from other points of view. If I was out with children who found that we would have a real conversation about other people's beliefs. Whatever. It's not that big of a deal to me.

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If you are offended by religious pamphlets then you should just go live in a cave and avoid personal contact.

I don't think a geocache is an appropriate place to push any personal beliefs or agendas... religious or otherwise.

 

That may be. The point is that if it does offend you and you feel the need to cry about it, get over it. Coming here and stating that it offended you is just going to get you hazed.

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I'm offended by Bed Bath and Beyond. You know what I do about it? I don't go there. I assume I wouldn't like Playgirl. What do I do about it? I don't read it (or look at the pictures). It ain't rocket science, people. You can only be offended by something if you make it your problem.

 

not exactly an appropriate example for this situation, you have the benefit of knowing already why you're avoiding those places/items, my crystal ball is not that advanced to tell me what's going to be in cache ...so you're telling me to stop caching and not to look at the stuff in the cache at all

 

No, but maybe if you see a pamphlet that says "Why you should turn to Christ" in a cache and you're already annoyed, you could just not open it, read it, and get more annoyed, right?

 

I still don't get the need to "do something" here. I really don't. I wish someone would clarify why there's some compulsion to "do something" in this case, and not just sign the log and move on.

 

Hey now! No common sense allowed. This is a internet forum. An invention by those who like to argue. Most likely started by a wife.... did I just type that? Silly me. :rolleyes:

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"If you can effectively explain your faith to a complete stranger on a scrap of paper, you probably don't have much to spare."
I dunno. I think my own personal beliefs could be squeezed into a pretty small space.
Mine too. According to the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus was asked what the greatest commandment was.
Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’
That's how I'd like to think I'm putting my faith into action. Fits a very small space, heck, yo could put it on a micro-sized geocoin!

 

By the way, in my opinion, part of living out the second part involves not telling people via little bits of paper (or any other means, for that matter) that they are going to hell. Not my job to pick who goes to hell, thank goodness!

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I tried to be circumspect in my original post, and I guess that was a mistake. The reason I was not enthusiastic to find this tract in a cache was that a neighbour's child had got their hands on the same tract and was *very* upset because the tract told him he was going to burn in hell. I imagined a similar thing happening while a family was on a day's outing. Enough said, I'll not worry about it in future.

 

That must have been distressing. I've found it hard enough when it's my own children to have to explain this kind of thing to, but must be much harder when it is someone else's you're with. At least you can reassure the kid that nobody here has said that they take any notice of hate filled messages like that. It is worrying to find there are people who think like that and would publish pamphlets about it, and there's geocachers distributing them.

 

I think proselytising religious tracts should be added to the what-not-to-leave-in-a-cache guidelines.

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Doesn't "offend" me but I don't think it belongs in the cache either. I remove religious tracts, business cards, etc. that really don't belong in caches. I also remove rusted items, bullets, etc. None of this stuff belongs in a geocache. (Yes, I've found live ammo in 2 caches to date.)

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I leave the religious doo dads behind. As an agnostic atheist I just don't care what people believe. Honestly it bothers me more when people use caches to advertise their businesses in.

 

But all in all I'm comfortable with my beliefs. I get told to my face on a regular basis where religious people choose to believe I'm going to go. You get used to it. And if those scare tactics are how people are going to attract people to their religion... oh well. I'm not about shelter children from other points of view. If I was out with children who found that we would have a real conversation about other people's beliefs. Whatever. It's not that big of a deal to me.

 

As a devout atheist, it has taken me quite a bit of research to arrive at my beliefs (or lack thereof). My only objection to religion is when religious people interfere with my life. My beliefs are mine, yours are yours. Leave me alone! I find the remarks of a Utahan that 'atheists complain the most' to be incorrect. I think we're a pretty laid back group. I don't care what anyone else believes, as long as it doesn't impact me. My caching partner is a devout religionist. And wishes to attend services every week. Time is set aside for this. I have not problem with this.

There is a four-page, hand-written religious dissertation in one of my caches. I have a prety good idea who left it. It is interesting reading. It's been there a few years. Nothing Fire-and-Brimstone, threatening the souls of others. I have chosen to leave it there, so that others might enjoy the writing. If it had been "You are going to Hell if you don't convert to our bizarre religion", I would have discarded it.

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I am new, however, this might be a valid thought, though maybe not to the OP's original find.

 

I live in an area that is very much religious. Not only is there a tourist location of a well know and loved garden dedicated to God, but also this is a location of Plain People. It would be difficult to make a cache that represented this area and not include doctrine. I suppose that doctrine would find it way on down the road as it was found.

 

I am a newbie, this is so true. I have not even found my first cashe. However, there are many things I do not partake in. I am sure there might be some items I find that am bewildered at why someone would possess such and item, much less leave it. And if I found something bad while in the company of children, I would find that time to be an opportunity to help a child navigate the world.

 

In light, I do not expect every cache to be free of (insert your scrunched-up nose item here), nor do I expect that of the world.

 

Someone mentioned Utah, quite frankly, I would expect to see a BoM in one of those caches. lol And I suppose if someone had the gumption to carry it on to another location, they would. But if I climbed up a mountain or whatever, and found a cache with a book (writing, crystal ball, or talisman) in it. I would know it meant something to someone and might take a moment to feel that person.... or not. JMO.

 

Cheers!

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The reason I was not enthusiastic to find this tract in a cache was that a neighbour's child had got their hands on the same tract and was *very* upset because the tract told him he was going to burn in hell.

I dunno. I'm thinking a kid like that could be a lot of fun. Just imagine the pranks you could pull on someone so naive as to so thoroughly believe something written by a stranger, on a scrap of paper, in a box, in the woods that they would suffer emotional distress over it. I'd be tempted to sneak out to caches we plan to hunt later and plant tracts with other bizarre stuff on them.

 

Suggestions?

 

"Your kindergarten teacher was a space alien!"

has a nice ring to it.

 

"Your shampoo was made from live bunnies"

could affect his hygiene for years.

 

"Spongebob Squarepants causes brain cancer"

could concievably lead to a higher IQ.

 

Just sayin'...

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It's been many years since I've seen a religious tract in a cache.

 

I consider them tacky in any situation. If someone wants to have a serious conversation about religion, I can discuss things intelligently. But usually, people who want to talk religion want to talk "at" you, not actually have a conversation or learn anything.

 

As for what I do with them...they're pretty harmless. I let them rot in the cache with the other paper junk nobody ever takes. If they wind up in my caches, I trash them like I trash other advertisements.

 

A cacher once crammed a coupon for a local business into my bison tube micro cache. Seriously? It took tools, but I removed it and threw it in the trash.

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Someone mentioned Utah, quite frankly, I would expect to see a BoM in one of those caches. lol And I suppose if someone had the gumption to carry it on to another location, they would. But if I climbed up a mountain or whatever, and found a cache with a book (writing, crystal ball, or talisman) in it. I would know it meant something to someone and might take a moment to feel that person.... or not. JMO.

Well, now that I think about it even more, my earlier post may just be because of my background. I live in Northern Utah in a town that is 89% LDS. (I am not LDS.) When someone is atheist/agnostic here, it is usually because they had some sort of gripe with the LDS church and are still pretty sore about it. Maybe atheists/agnostics are more chill in other places, but I have never seen an LDS as gung-ho about changing my religion as an atheist. Sure, there's the "are you interested in joining the mormon church?" jib-jab, but nothing that has ever made me uncomfortable. So, my experience is a bit sheltered up here in Northern Utah.

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The reason I was not enthusiastic to find this tract in a cache was that a neighbour's child had got their hands on the same tract and was *very* upset because the tract told him he was going to burn in hell.

I dunno. I'm thinking a kid like that could be a lot of fun. Just imagine the pranks you could pull on someone so naive as to so thoroughly believe something written by a stranger, on a scrap of paper, in a box, in the woods that they would suffer emotional distress over it. I'd be tempted to sneak out to caches we plan to hunt later and plant tracts with other bizarre stuff on them.

 

Suggestions?

 

"Your kindergarten teacher was a space alien!"

has a nice ring to it.

 

"Your shampoo was made from live bunnies"

could affect his hygiene for years.

 

"Spongebob Squarepants causes brain cancer"

could concievably lead to a higher IQ.

 

Just sayin'...

 

Funny! :laughing: After all - were we that sheltered by our parents when we were kids? Best solution to all that stuff is TALK TO YOUR CHILDREN (and not just AT them). You'd be surprized how much they can learn and even more surprized at how much you can learn from them :)

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Can you just treat stuff like that the same way you treat different stuff in museums? Would you try to grab a Guillotine out of a museum and burn it right outside? That'd be just silly. To some it shows the horrors of death, to others - way to freedom from tyranny. Same goes for the religious stuff in the cahce - look at it and see what kind of stuff people around there do, or what silly message could be on the pamphlet. Or just pass by it like without a glance like you would some not interesting to you item in the museum, and let the others, more interested gawk at it. This stuff is not against Groundspeak rules, so we usally let it be. After all - Geocaching is one of the ways for people to express themselves, and if religion (whichever one it might be) is a part of themselves, we should not condemn that.

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If you are offended by religious pamphlets then you should just go live in a cave and avoid personal contact.

I don't think a geocache is an appropriate place to push any personal beliefs or agendas... religious or otherwise.

 

I'm with you on this. But there are adherents to a certain religion who think they are the perfect place to promote their agenda. It's why this subject comes up here so often.

 

We have a cacher in the area who is apparently a 9/11 "truther" and leaves pamphlets in caches. He's pretty prolific because I encounter them in about half the caches I find.

 

I treat them the same way I treat the religious tracts, I read them, get a good chuckle and move on to the next cache. I've yet to be offended by anything I've found in a cache. I think some people go through life looking for reasons to be offended.

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What happened to just ignoring it? As they say if you don't like a particular channel on the television or radio you should change the channel. Why trash something that isn't offensive? Nobody tells you you have to read it. Just log the book and move on.

 

Why must their be whining about something that has such a simple solution?

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Why not just leave the pamphlet there? Maybe someone other than yourself will appreciate it. Geocaching is about community and not about protecting eachother from our own personal views. I don't take rubberbands out of caches because someone else might not like rubberbands.

 

If you don't like it, push it aside and grab something that you do like and don't complain, just enjoy the adventure. That's what it's all about.

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Why not just leave the pamphlet there? Maybe someone other than yourself will appreciate it. Geocaching is about community and not about protecting eachother from our own personal views. I don't take rubberbands out of caches because someone else might not like rubberbands.

 

If you don't like it, push it aside and grab something that you do like and don't complain, just enjoy the adventure. That's what it's all about.

 

I often lug around a bag of stuff to leave in caches which are in need anyway. If I find too much stuff that isn't real swag, I'll take it upon myself to CITO the junk and leave some swag. Way I figure it, I'm trading up! :lol:

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I prefer to keep my caching secular. That's just my opinion and I don't get my panties in twist when I find advertisements, religious or otherwise in a cache.

 

There is a four-page, hand-written religious dissertation in one of my caches. I have a prety good idea who left it. It is interesting reading. It's been there a few years. Nothing Fire-and-Brimstone, threatening the souls of others. I have chosen to leave it there, so that others might enjoy the writing.

 

Hah! I just found that cache last week. Like I said in my log, I was surprised none of the previous logs have mentioned it. A four page, single spaced, hand written letter is worth a mention IMO.

 

If it had been "You are going to Hell if you don't convert to our bizarre religion", I would have discarded it.

 

There is one of these in the cache down the trail from yours.

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In the first cache I ever found, I traded out a keychain of a guy wearing a sombrero and taking a siesta. I mentioned in my log that this was an offensive ethnic stereotype. Later on I realized it was just a souvenir somebody brought back from a trip to Mexico. After that I decided not to be offended by what I found in caches anymore.

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In light, I do not expect every cache to be free of (insert your scrunched-up nose item here), nor do I expect that of the world.

 

 

I like that phraseology. :lol:

Thanks!

I went on my first Geocache hunt today. I did not find it. :blink: I had set out to find 5 I did not even get past the first one. I came home a read the logs. It seems they are covering it with pine straw. I think I read somewhere the caches are not to be buried. Hmm.. Burried under pine straw. I am offended.

When I find the actual cache (I am certain I walked over it.) I will look for the thing that scrunches my nose. I read there was a Micky T-shirt in there. I really do not like Miley Cyrus. The lack of talent in todays music is REALLY offensive! I blame Disney! <_<:lol::rolleyes:

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In light, I do not expect every cache to be free of (insert your scrunched-up nose item here), nor do I expect that of the world.

 

 

I like that phraseology. :lol:

Thanks!

I went on my first Geocache hunt today. I did not find it. :blink: I had set out to find 5 I did not even get past the first one. I came home a read the logs. It seems they are covering it with pine straw. I think I read somewhere the caches are not to be buried. Hmm.. Burried under pine straw. I am offended.

When I find the actual cache (I am certain I walked over it.) I will look for the thing that scrunches my nose. I read there was a Micky T-shirt in there. I really do not like Miley Cyrus. The lack of talent in todays music is REALLY offensive! I blame Disney! <_<:lol::rolleyes:

 

Had you grabbed that pamphlet and prayed to your god, you would have found the cache. Regards.

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