Look, I respect your right to be how you are, but keep it in your church. I don't need to see it everywhere I go, and I damn sure don't want it anywhere near me. I don't have a problem with you, but if you try any of that God shit on me, I'm gonna put you on your ass, bro.
I crave for some kind of religion and I want it to be real, I think I was made for it genetically. My core being tries to find meaning in everything, every story, every feeling, the connection with others. Therefore I understand that desire.
But I just can't take the bullshit when I think about it rationally. The lack of doubt people have in any of their beliefs and the kind of certainty they support their imagined traditions and Gods with. It's insane.
Finding a meaningful life feels natural, but the only truth I have is that I cannot believe anything for certain. So all religion becomes a complete mindtrap for people who use it to sooth themselves.
And that is fine, I get it. I get that you don't want to question it as that's harder and makes life more chaotic. And I also feel some envy for people who are able to not care (as much) about uncertainty. But good for them.
The only thing is, keep those ideas to yourself and your community and accept others for not being able to commit to your story. My story and all my beliefs are probably also flawed, but that doubt is a healthy way to accept that others have different ideas.
This is all funny until you do it. Trying this kind of shit in 2009 as I was starting to fully transition got me a full swing baseball bat to my hip. I laid there for maybe 30 mins before I could crawl to a phone.
From a safety standpoint, please don't do this. Just flip them off as you walk away and then vote as if your life depends on it, because it just may.
This is why everyone who isn't a cis hetero white Christian man absolutely needs to buy a gun and learn how to use it. It's your job to defend yourself. (Don't get me wrong, allies are great, and people should be helping each other against the bigots, but end of the day, you're alone, gotta defend yourself)
Edit: also, I'm really sorry that happened, not trying to blame the victim, just advocating for people taking their power back
No. Hard to do when there was no way to identify them. I mouthed off at a gas station, and before I could react, a dude jumped out of a truck and assaulted me.
That both tracks and also says all anyone needs to hear about how much they actually believe in their religion that says to turn the other cheek. Holy hell
I'm sorry that happened to you but I appreciate you warning people of the dangers of being confrontational with these people.
It's not worth it. You won't change their mind, people nearby aren't going to clap for you, you're just unnecessarily putting yourself in harms way because many of these people are not kind, they will respond aggressively.
And to add, they will only fight if they have an unfair advantage (more people, better weapons, etc). It's better to defend your own ground if necessary.
Depending on the jurisdiction, always have a baseball and potentially gloves with you as well. Having only a baseball bat can be considered as either possession of a weapon or having an intent to cause harm I think, which can really backfire when authorities get involved.
IANAL, and anyone reading should consult their local laws surrounding self-defence before carrying items for the express purpose of self-defence
I just don't understand why they feel they have to flaunt their religion. Like, we get it, you worship a zombie-corpse God and you really, really dont understand the concept of eternity but you don't have to make it your whole personality.
They proselytize because of a prophecy, that has already been fulfilled. The prophecy said that once there were Christians world wide, Christ would return. Since they don't recognize the guy that fit the bill, they assume that prophecy hasn't been fulfilled, and they need more Christians everywhere.
It basically caused the 7th Day Adventists, and The Jehovah's Witnesses to be founded. Funny thing was they got the year right, and then completely missed everything else.
There's this spook in their religion that says everyone who's not them will get tortured forever in hell so save as many as you can, but even the ones who don't quite buy that aspect still have its lingering relative of "well if you're gonna be a casual you ought to at least let them know how great it is"
Sure. If you'll indulge me, its best explained by a kind of story.
Say you got into heaven and you think "ok, I always wanted to play golf while I was alive." So, you play golf every day for 10,000 years. Afterwhich, you can play an 18 hole game in 18 shots, one handed. Then you think "well, I always wanted to learn the piano. So you learn the piano for a million years. Afterwhich you can play every song ever written, perfectly, by heart and with your feet. Then you think "ok, well I always wanted to learn lots of things." So, you read everything ever written. More so, you learn every language ever, so you can read everything ever written, in its original language. This keeps you occupied for a billion years (and I'm being very generous there).
Now, maybe not the first, maybe not the second or third but, by the 7th or 8th hundred, thousand billion septillion years, you might start getting a little bit bored. By the 9th, existence will be indistinguishable from hell and you still won't be even 0.00000000000001% of the way through eternity.
So, you go to God and ask "hey, I've done everything ever. Time means nothing to me. Any amount I spend on something, I can always spend infinitely more on something else. Anything I do, I master. Whats the point? I don't understand."
God then replies, its not that you don't understand. Its that you finally understand the meaning of heaven and now you're able to accept your own death.
The other alternative is that its eternal worship of God which would be hell. Some claim God's godness will make that all not true. However, the you that would be ok with eternity would be so far removed from you that it wouldn't be you at all but something else entirely.
Remember when he flipped all those tables because people where trading in church. Then the church went ahead and did trading in church, sure he'd love all those private jets and cars.
I saw a documentary about them, about a children's camp. The indoctrination, mind control and child abuse sure would send you to a hell if it would exist. Next to that, the women running the camp were talking in jibberish tonge, which is the devils work according to the Bible. The irony is great.
"It's not jibberish, it's speaking in toooongueeees!!!! Like that time the holy spirit did something with someone, it's in the bible!! Where? You'd know if you read it!!!"
Thank you so much for posting this, I needed that levity right now.
I don't know what happened to me, just suddenly realized that christians are totally nuts and they should not be allowed in any position of power.
Have faith, no problems there, believing in an existing book as a source of all truths is a bit much, forcing any part of it on anyone else (including their own children) is despicable and should be stopped.
Ya I walk my dog past a church and every Sunday when I see the crowd of people there I can't help but view them as a group of weird cultists, even though it's pretty vanilla Christianity.
This highlights a contradiction between Christianity and the modern secular world. Biblically speaking children are chattel property of their parents. In modern law children have their own universal set of human rights, so essentially by that model children belong to themselves and rightful guardianship goes to a succession of people if parents and family do not follow those rules.
But you see constant tension with this idea of child being property to do with as one pleases. It's also the history of why we use the term "disowned".
Having grown up under a model of parental stewardship where my parents always saw me as a person they were to train to become an autonomous adult I gotta say the difference between my family and my biblically raised neighbours is pretty stark. That kind of stability has had knock on effects throughout my entire life where I have become a life raft of sorts for friends of mine who grew up with religious trauma.
And the thing is, unlike someone's sexual orientation, which they are born with, someone's religious beliefs are actually a choice. A lifestyle, if you so will. They're not something you're born with, but something you're taught.
If no kids were indoctrinated into religion, there would be significantly less religious people, I can dream.
The majority of people need to be taught religion when their kids to believe in it before they develop their critical thinking skills, once you're an adult and have critical thinking skills it takes a much more unintelligent or wishful thinking person to invest in the idea of religion.
I like the thought exercise of; consider you as you are now never heard of religion/higher powers/all the gods. Now picture yourself being spoken to by a pastor of the lord Jesus christ. You'd think this guy is absolutely batshit and shouldn't be out walking around. Certainly at the very least not be allowed to indoctrin more to their causw within a tax free building paid for largely by taxes.
Indoctrination is a thing, and it is extremely damaging. Both while inside, and also once free. They (the parents) will build their (the child) lives around X people, doing X things, not Y things, and if you do Y things you’re no longer X.
I’m from Utah. The number of friends I’ve had who were ‘excommunicated’ from their friends, families and lives is huge.
I do agree with you for the most part, I just think it’s something to understand.
I know this is probably going to get downvoted, but I'm getting tired of people using "evangelical Christian" as the term for the problematic flavor of Christians. If you look up what evangelical Christian means, it's just that there's an emphasis on the authority of the Bible, sharing of faith, and personal salvation. Maybe it's the sharing of faith that seems problematic*, but by context, I think you're more referring to political conservative Christians.
*If that is the case, I hope it's just when it's done in an aggressive/tactless/heavy-handed way. I'd like to think we haven't reached the point as a society where someone sharing their faith respectfully is seen as problematic.
Which is a fool's errand, as the whole reason for Jesus (or at least a big part of it) is that you can't save people through laws. Nobody can live up to those standards, so everyone would be a criminal.
evangelical Christian" as the term for the problematic flavor of Christians.
If you look up what evangelical Christian means, it's just that there's an emphasis on the authority of the Bible
sharing of faith, and personal salvation
Whether people WANT to share your personal superstitions or not. That's why evangelical Christians are worse: they evangelize to those of us who have made it clear that we don't consent and, which is much worse, pass laws based on the assumption that everyone must believe in their favorite fairy tales.
Maybe it's the sharing of faith that seems problematic
Congratulations on getting the point! If only you hadn't immediately dismissed it again, there might have been hope for you yet.
If that is the case, I hope it's just when it's done in an aggressive/tactless/heavy-handed way. I'd like to think we haven't reached the point as a society where someone sharing their faith respectfully is seen as problematic
What you don't seem to understand is that telling people who have not asked about your weird relationship to your invisible friend is an INHERENTLY aggressive, tactless and heavy-handed way to attempt to convert people. Don't make me trot out the penis example..
I think you're more referring to political conservative Christians
Because believing that the Bible should continue to have authority over modern society IS a conservative view that's very political in nature.
There's a difference between sharing your faith and making it illegal to not follow its rules. That's what I was trying to emphasize.
I fit the definition of evangelical Christian, though I generally don't use that label. I believe the God is the ultimate authority, and by extension, the Bible is the ultimate authority over Christians. That does not mean I believe in forcing people to follow its rules or punishing them if they don't. A lot of the laws simply don't work or make sense if you don't have faith, and the Bible makes it clear that you need a change of heart to follow the laws, not vice versa. That's why I'm not voting for or supporting movements to ban abortions (also the biblical basis of that is questionable) or force shops to close on Sundays.
I believe in the sharing of faith, but I'm not acting like an arch user or a vegan who has to work it into conversation every chance they get (yes, that's an exaggeration.) My friends already know I'm a Christian, and most people in Western society already know the basic tenets of the religion, so sharing that repeatedly isn't going to do much. And I can't force someone to be saved or bring them to salvation, God has to call them. So all I can and should do is help to show it's real by the way I live my life, demonstrating love for all mankind, and hope they get the idea. If that much is problematic, I think we've got issues.
The reason I take issue with demonizing evangelicals is that it comes off as "Christianity as a whole might be fine, just don't be an evangelical because they're the bad ones," and then you look it up and it becomes "you can be a Christian, just don't tell anyone and don't believe the Bible." I figured that isn't what was meant exactly, which is why I'm asking for a different label to be used, because that's how it comes off.
I don't we were ever at a time where sharing your faith respectfully was problematic. We were and are always in the phase where people sharing and using their faith as an excuse to be a dick is problematic.
If someone is religious but they're chill with my people and the lgbt community then I'm chill with them.
Anyone who's actually an evangelical Christian should be. The Bible says to emulate Jesus, and that Jesus is a friend of sinners. Even if someone walks in naked and wasted with "I love Satan" tatooed on their chest and they punch you in the face and steal your wallet, love is not rude.
All flavors are problematic. It shows a lack of critical thinking skills that leak into every facet of their lives, showing that they can’t be depended on to make rational decisions. The vast majority of this worlds problems have religion as a root cause, and the rest are just greed, which goes hand in hand with most organized religions.
If you call yourself a Christian while evangelical Christians are making all these problems, you are helping them make problems. They love more than anything being able to claim that they're in the right because they're in the majority. If you want to follow the teachings of a middle eastern Jew from the Roman era, that's fine, but don't call yourself a Christian because that label has been ruined.
Not only that, it's unlikely most of the beliefs, teachings and rituals done since the establishment of the Eastern Orthodoxy (~110AD?) are part of Jesus* original teachings. Add the differences that happened after the catholic schism, then protestant reform, plus other shenanigans and you get to today.
If someone's out trying to bring about a second Holocaust, you can call them a Nazi. It wouldn't be right to call them "someone with an old German mindset."
I read the Bible as a child, because I believed what l was taught.
Now, Jesus is my one and only role model - Jesus sacrificed his life to spread a message that is only more valid 2k years later
Jesus was the shit. He's my only hero - everyone else I've ever looked up to let me down.... Jesus died so he would never be the villain.
He never needed to be magic - he was just in harmony with the creator. Be was in harmony with existence lol. His every appearance was to deliver a message
His message was bastardized. Read the new testament - without the assumption of magic. Read it for yourself - as a child, I got through it all on the toilet. - and I read it cover to cover, you can read the new testament in few hours
I prefer to say "aww. Aren't you a bit old to believe in imaginary friends and faieytales? I mean, I liked Harry Potter but I don't believe something is real when I read a book about it. And Harry Potter even has seven books."