cav, As probably the world of A2K knows by now, all my siblings are christians as are their spouses and children. I married a buddhist. But I feel my life has been 'blessed' beyond earthly explanations. c.i.
Same here. Our wedding photographer and his wife are Christian converts to Buddhism. Their brand new baby is currently learning Tibetan and English. In my family, we have Jews, Christians and Muslims. I figure my bases are covered
C.I.
I once almost became engaged to a Buddhist. A lovely person with a lovely outlook.
Due to religious beliefs I was denied medical attention, education and contact with the non-religious world till I was 12 (e.g. if I wanted to read a book I had to steal it and keep it hidden).
That personally irked me.
One potentially fatal disease or accident ---
Due to religious beliefs I've never received an education past the age of 11 (most of my study before that point consisted of nonsense like learning that the stars couldn't possibly be more than 6000 light years away due to their recorded age in the bible).
Monger, silly point, I know - but how does the age of the stars affect their distance?
Once (I was about 20) a couple of fanatics were preaching about how the bible says homosexuality is wrong - they were outside the grocery store. That made me madder than I'd ever been in my life. They were using passages from the bible to prove their point. I told my brother who called his friend to go down there. This friend of his is gay and knows the bible in and out. She countered passage for passage and concept for concept. Didn't do any good. My mother and I went into the grocery store and complained. That did some good.
edited for sense.
Ah yes, the accountant I used to work with who asked me, "What does Jesus mean in your religion?" (I'm Jewish). My response: "Same that Muhammed means in yours."
When I was eight years old we visited my grandparents and I was forced to go to a church for the very first time and to attend summer Bible school. At one point each child was asked to pray aloud... when it was my turn I prayed for the flowers & animals. Afterwards the prayer leader took me aside and told me that I should never pray like that, it was wrong and God didn't like it. Even at eight, I knew they were full of it.
Most recently an otherwise apparently sane in-law worried aloud that a dearly departed relative was burning in hell since he may not have accepted Jesus as his savior.
<shaking head in sad DIS-belief>
Every time I hear "Have a blessed day."
Every time a politician prays in public or mentions God in a speech.
Every time a car with a fish or a religious bumper sticker cuts in front of me in traffic.
Ditto Mac11 - though I don't really hear "Have a blessed day" very often.
I DO NOT mind that my extended family prays for my mislead immediate family. I used to. But, I've come to figure out that it makes them feel better, who am I to feel upset for something that makes my cousin/aunt/grandma feel better?
I am irked by religion being used to discriminate against women - (especially, currently, with the ordination stuff) - homosexuals, people of other religions and other races, and so on.
I am irked by prohibition of effective birth control.
I am horribly irked by fundamentalism of any stripe.
I used to hate being made to go to church lots and lots.
I go nuts when I hear ex-Catholics being described as "lapsed" catholics.
I have been appalled by christian schools which preach that forgiveness means that girls who have been raped by one, or more, of the boys at the school, (in front of witnesses, on the oval, as it happened) should not press charges, and should not object to the boys remaining at the school, and in their classes. (Yes, this has happened 3 times in my personal experience in working with the girls. Yes, the schools changed their tune rapidly when talked to firmly.)
I have been irked by a church which refused to allow women to divorce husbands who had been convicted of sexually abusing their children. One of these women's husbands also had a sex change operation - the church did not consider either of these events as reason to allow a divorce, if the women wanted to remain in the church. The subsequent marriage of the husband who had the sex change to a fella did not change their minds, because the marriage was not a true marriage, because it was, in the eyes of the church, still two fellas!
I mean, wanting to remain in the church struck me as oddish, but still...
dlowan wrote:wanting to remain in the church struck me as oddish, but still...
There's an understatement!!!
LOL! Well, when your life has been defined by a very all-embracing and fear provoking fundamentalist church, it is a big step to make - especially when the other structures of your life have collapsed big-time - like your marriage, and the trust and safety of your kids.
Sex-change man mama actually fought like a tigress at the highest levels of her church to make it change - and I believe there ARE winds of change stirring.
Haven't had any problems with folks beyond the usual proselytes (???), and some of the fire and brimstone bits at a couple of relatives' funerals (and it was their church, so I shouldn't have a problem with it).
Knew a girl in college whose upbringing sent me into a murderous rage, though. Because it was imperative that she sit like a proper Catholic girl, her knees were bound with a belt at the dinner table every night until she moved out of the house. Needless to say, she had a few issues. (Not that I think this representative of Catholicism, but it was used as the justification for what I can't see as anything but psychological abuse.)
I was brought up as a Christian Scientist by VERY strictly religious parents. I could tell you lots of stories, but the one that comes to mind is, that as a child I got spanked for coming down with a bad cough, because disease is unreal and therefore I was just being obstinate.
