Should Airlines Hire Evangelical Christians as Pilots?

[Ravy]

During the rapture, wouldn't that be a safety issue?

The Sunday-toons got me thinking about this.

[SharkSquid]

1. Left-Behind would indicate

That heathen pilots are a preferered option.

[Ravy]

8. Probably a whole list of professions they shouldn't be in.

Bus drivers, surgeons, heavy machinery operators, president...

[SpiralHawk]

25. Support your local Heathen pilot !

Fer sure...

[NoodleBoy]

2. the rapture won't happen.

it gets me a little bit when people frame a discussion as though that stupid load of crap is ever going to happen-- it won't. it's like playing along when someone interjects "when I win the lottery..." into a discussion and they're serious about it, except that the chances of anyone winning a lottery are untold trillions higher than some death cult's great sky father calling them home.

[SharkSquid]

12. Sarcasm Blindness anyone? n/t

[Olney Blue]

3. I prefer my pilots to be Druids.

[Ravy]

6. I can see why the airlines wouldn't want to hire them...

those stone altars everywhere add weight to the plane. More weight, less passengers...

But still preferable if they are actually *going to be there* to finish the flight.

[shadowknows69]

27. Ah, but a deep desire to get back to mother earth

preferably alive so you can hug a tree. B-)

[Bluzmann57]

4. Are they qualified?

If so, then yes indeed the airlines should hire Evangelical Christians.
Yes, I get the point of your post, I just chose to ignore it, sort of.

[Ravy]

7. I dunno. Is attendance for the full flight an absolute requirement?

And, of course, the OP was sarcastic.

[A HERETIC I AM]

19. As far as attendance is concerned....

the number of take-offs should equal the number of landings.

A discrepancy in this regard is bad form.

[blondeatlast]

38. That might depend on who is giving the performance reveiw... nt

[WillyT]

5. Not If They're About To Be Raptured !!!

:evilgrin:

[Ezlivin]

9. No. They should hire them as baggage handlers

Then maybe I'd have a prayer of getting my luggage when I arrive.

[treestar]

10. By their own admission it would not be safe

but they won't care, because in their heads, the other passengers are going to be raptured with them or are heathens who deserve to die horribly anyway.

That is the flaw in the religion - does any other religion have this? The fundies complain about suicidal jihadists but their suicidal hopes involve the entire planet. Why is there a doomsday in this religion?

[China_cat]

16. Anything that call itself a religion

but is based on one particular death and only postulates rewards and punishments after death can only be called what it is...a death cult.

[Name removed]

11. Deleted sub-thread

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[rurallib]

13. Jesus, maybe they shouldn't even be allowed to get driver's licenses

You make an excellent point, young Ravy.
I wonder if Tim Russert (well known serious guy) has considered this. And will he ask this very important question at the next evangelical er Republic debate?

[Ravy]

28. Perhaps an excellent question for Mike Huckabee.

"Gov. Huckabee. During the 2000 Senate campaign, Republicans insisted that Senator Clinton promise that she would complete her full term if elected. If the rapture happens during your presidency, will you do your best to be left behind?"

[Pavulon]

14. As long as they dont cut power

put the aircraft in a 70deg dive and smash into the ocean at near supersonic speeds repeating allah ahkbar, its all good...

On that note..I prefer american airlines , at least the pilots have been through air force training.

[frogmarch]

15. It would probably be okay until

all the nations on earth are amassed in the Valley of Megiddo on the eve of the great battle between god and the devil. After that comes the flame bath, or some such, and after that, no one but the True Believers will be left anyway, so chances are if you aren't one of them, you won't be around to be on a plane anyway.

So, yah, it should be okay for airlines to hire Evangelicals as pilots.

[Kosmo]

17. As long as...

the co-pilot is an atheist or any other non-rapturable person I'm cool with it.

[CreekDog]

18. Not to worry, the rapture is not biblical n/t

[KharmaTrain]

20. A Jewish Question...

Lets say the pilot is an orthodox Jew...according to Jewish law he isn't allowed to "work" on the Sabbath. So, here's our pilot...the plane get delayed by weather and takes off late...the sun goes down on Friday night...does the pilot ditch the plane?

Or how about a Moslem pilot flying during Ramadan?

Somehow seems like every pilot I see around an airport looks like Leslie Nielsen.

[SharkSquid]

41. Have a different religion copilot

Most of us Jews have a goy friend who helps us on Shabbat (at least the ones I know)

[Bluebear]

21. RAPTURE READY Artist's rendering: judge for yourself!

[Ravy]

30. Bluebear, that is AWESOME! Thanks! nt

[DemoTex]

22. As a retired airline pilot, I can tell you that airlines DO hire evangelicals as pilots.

But I can also tell you this: those evangelical Christians keep it well hidden during the screening and interviewing process. The final phase of interviewing at my airline was done by a three-member pilot board (all line captains .. not training department, not management). The training department and management evaluated every applicant from many angles, including flying proficiency, experience level, psychological testing, rigorous physical exams, etc., etc). However, the three-member pilot board had the last word on hiring a pilot. They wanted to make sure that any new pilot would: 1. support the union and honor any strike, and; 2. "get along" in the cockpit.

When I was a first officer (co-pilot), I flew with a few Fundy captains. Most quickly went on my "avoid-bid" list. A few of them were OK.

When I became a captain, the following phrase became part of my briefing to every first officer I flew with from then on: I am easy to get along with. However, in my cockpit I do not allow smoking, chewing, excessive farting or proselytizing. That always seemed to work, although it was hard to be objective about what constituted excessive farting.

The bottom line was this: I don't want to fly with anybody who looks at me and tells me that they are not afraid to die.

[Donald Ian Rankin]

23. No, because by definition only bad people will be left behind.

So none of the people killed when they crash will matter.

[uhhuh]

24. OF Course!!

As long as they are all confirmed to be unrepentant sinners. A lot of evangelical Christians are amazing hypocrites, so I think the risk is minimal...

Edit to be more fair: I originally said "most Christians", but I have met a lot a of good ones, so I changed it to "a lot". Don't want to offend...

[shadowknows69]

26. I knew where you were going with this just by the post title.

Twisted minds think alike. Hey, most jobs today test your credit score, test your blood for drugs, especially for dangerous jobs. I'd like to know that my pilot wouldn't be expecting to vanish during a flight or even that he puts too much faith in his God at 30,000 feet.

[cali]

29. Stupid slam.

Not all evangelical Christians believe in the rapture. And not all of them are bigoted, superstitious cretins. Ever hear of Jimmy Carter?

[Ravy]

31. Jimmy Carter doesn't believe in the rapture?

link please.

[cali]

33. Sure.

"Brevity requires me to put off getting very far into Carter's views of our political scene, but suffice it to say that Carter sees a big problem with the intrusion into America's political life of the same Fundamentalism that took over the SBC. He discusses, for instance, how the ideas presented in the popular Tim LaHaye "Left Behind" book series based upon pre-millennial dispensationalism and belief in the rapture now influences U.S. policy in the middle east and helped get us into the war in Iraq. This is all part of the "moral crisis" in which Carter sees the U.S."

http://morevile.blogspot.com/2006/01/jimmy-carters-new-book.html

Many evangelicals are not believers in the rapture.

[Ravy]

34. You are right. I generalized.

Thanks.

[cali]

36. no problem.

I enjoy poking fun at the rapture ready crowd as much as anyone, and it is easier to call them evangelicals than pre-dispensational Millenanrians.

:hi:

[Stuckinthebush]

35. Correct

I think there is a huge difference in "evangelical" and "fundamentalist". All fundamentalists are evangelical but not all evangelicals are fundamentalists.

[michaz]

32. Ridiculous!!!

[Thothmes]

37. Sound like religious discrimmination to me.

[CT_Progressive]

39. Of course not. Pilots should be sane and normal.

And religion should not be a factor in their hiring.

[mainer]

40. I want an atheist in the cockpit.

Atheists know this is their one and only life, and they'll fight damn hard to make sure it lasts as long as possible.

I don't want some pilot who thinks, "Oh, well. If this plane crashes, so what? There's always heaven to look forward to."

[DemoTex]

42. See my post #22