OK...so I've had this problem before and managed to get rid of my anger.
I'm so frustrated with Christianity. I never realised how blind it was before. People insist on following it like it's a gospel. For goodness sakes, it promotes killing, killing witches etc etc. It's just ridiculous!!! I was having a heated debate with someone on Facebook about the death penalty. He started saying things like "Even though Im a Christian I think that guy should sudder under the death penalty." I'm slightly insulted that this faith that people build their lives on, is so hypocritical.
I don't understand why someone finds it so hard to accept the fact that the Bible is not real!!!!
Another thing annoying me was something I watched on Youtube. Over here in Britain we have a medium called Derek Acorah. He is a fake, granted. I used to believe in him but there was a parapsychologist who managed to prove that he was making things up. However, there was some guy on there, totally bashing his beliefs, saying that a belief in the afterlife was childish and immature!!! I wanted to strangle him! Absolutely disgusting. No-one can prove either way whether it exists or not. And then he started bashing on the Christian faith. Even though I hate Christianity, it was just so out of order!
I'm feeling so angry because I know that there will always be people like this in life and they will always believe that what they believe is right. No changing their minds really. I just...feel exasperated.
It would be nice to know if other people are feeling this same frustration. I find it quite hard to cope with at times!!
Au revoir mes amis! x xx
Just need to vent
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wiccachicken
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Re: Just need to vent
Because it's a part of their religion. To them it is real.wiccachicken wrote: I don't understand why someone finds it so hard to accept the fact that the Bible is not real!!!!
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lucy_san_elfenlied
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Sweet I'm your friend, I hope I read your french right((laugh)).
Yes I am feeling angered by people like them also. I get so frustrated that I want to beat up and church but I don't do it since I would become one of them((meaning, if they burned a witch and I burned a christian I would be doing what they are doing which is no better)). I also get sick of hearing that non-christian people will burn in hell but what happens to the Buddhists? They NEVER do anything wrong yet they go to hell. I just don't get it and with the bible they cut so much out of it that it's not funny. I love Dogma since it explains so much.
Yes I am feeling angered by people like them also. I get so frustrated that I want to beat up and church but I don't do it since I would become one of them((meaning, if they burned a witch and I burned a christian I would be doing what they are doing which is no better)). I also get sick of hearing that non-christian people will burn in hell but what happens to the Buddhists? They NEVER do anything wrong yet they go to hell. I just don't get it and with the bible they cut so much out of it that it's not funny. I love Dogma since it explains so much.
I'm right there with you Wiccachicken. I find blindness in any faith abhorrent,not just Christianity. I missed all the Derek Acorah related excitement, but a friend mentioned it to me. The circular logic of Christian fundies always amuses/infuriates me. It's like trying to reason with a zombie.lol.The 'Catholicism is pagan idolatry' argument makes me fall down laughing, I see the base point , they don't like the saints and statues,elaborate rituals etc. like the protestant reformists, but they take it to ridiculous lengths.No Catholicism , no later Christians. They evolved from the Catholic religion, whether they acknowledge that or not. Evolved, hehe, fundies don't like that word at all.
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[Obsidian]
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I am not really arguing about or discussing christianity/hell/the devil and related things with people any longer. There is no real point. We do not even argue from a common cosmological base, so reasoning and debate is like two people talking at each other in different languages. Whenever someone goes on about me going to hell or that they are praying for my soul to be saved I just tell them that I appreciate it and that I will be sure to ask the Lady of the Silvery Night to protect them as well. I just don't have the energy to get angry at them anymore.
Harry
Harry
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wiccachicken
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Yeah the Derek Acorah thing was quite sensational. You can watch it online...and look it up on Wikipedia. Wikipedia will tell you how it happened and the episode shows how...bless...I did actually believe he was real in the beginning but its starts to get a bit tedious when he gets possessed by a malevolent spirit every time! lmao! What a numpty!
I realise that the Bible is the core of their religion. But when I was a Christian...I didn't believe in it blindly...I liked to adhere to the commandments but I knew that the Old Testament was rubbish!
I get hurt ALOT when I see people attacking witchcraft. I read a site once where he was totally mauling Wicca and Paganism. Making VERY good quotes based on his religion; "Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live". The ironic thing however...the first witch recorded in 'history' is the Witch of Endor. She appeared in the Old Testament and helped King Saul in his hour of need before battle. He needed to raise someone from the dead. They didn't kill her. Slightly hypocritical I think. They let one witch live when she helps them but after that it's get-the-stakes-and-kindling-out time!!
I'm not totally against Christianity...all of my godparents are in the Methodist Church (alot nicer than Catholicism I have to say) and they are the most loving people I know (apart from my Mum and folks). Christianity can sometimes bring people together in a lovely way. Hell...I should believe in it....I got healed by a Christian healer...lmao!!
I don't know if there's any solution to this aggressive annoyance with those Bible-bashing freaks out there. Is it just one of those things you have to take with a pinch of salt? I think that's what it might be.
So far I've never met any people on here that try to force Wicca down other people's throats. I don't really think that Wiccans do that. We accept the fact that other people believe in what they want.
It's great to know I'm NOT alone in this though! Thanks for cheering me up guys...I can always count on you. Hey maybe it's even been a relief for some of the wiser members of our forum to get a break from love spells! LMAO!
Take care all x x x
I realise that the Bible is the core of their religion. But when I was a Christian...I didn't believe in it blindly...I liked to adhere to the commandments but I knew that the Old Testament was rubbish!
I get hurt ALOT when I see people attacking witchcraft. I read a site once where he was totally mauling Wicca and Paganism. Making VERY good quotes based on his religion; "Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live". The ironic thing however...the first witch recorded in 'history' is the Witch of Endor. She appeared in the Old Testament and helped King Saul in his hour of need before battle. He needed to raise someone from the dead. They didn't kill her. Slightly hypocritical I think. They let one witch live when she helps them but after that it's get-the-stakes-and-kindling-out time!!
I'm not totally against Christianity...all of my godparents are in the Methodist Church (alot nicer than Catholicism I have to say) and they are the most loving people I know (apart from my Mum and folks). Christianity can sometimes bring people together in a lovely way. Hell...I should believe in it....I got healed by a Christian healer...lmao!!
I don't know if there's any solution to this aggressive annoyance with those Bible-bashing freaks out there. Is it just one of those things you have to take with a pinch of salt? I think that's what it might be.
So far I've never met any people on here that try to force Wicca down other people's throats. I don't really think that Wiccans do that. We accept the fact that other people believe in what they want.
It's great to know I'm NOT alone in this though! Thanks for cheering me up guys...I can always count on you. Hey maybe it's even been a relief for some of the wiser members of our forum to get a break from love spells! LMAO!
Take care all x x x
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sunstoneleo
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I'm not so sure about in the later days, but I know in early Roman days, Christianity was...not allowed? (Not sure if that's the right way to put that)sunstoneleo wrote:were people really forced into christianity back in the roman days? I heard they would kill you if you would not convert.
Of course, eventually it did become the main religion. I'm not positive what happened then.
This is what I had read and researched over the years.
Initially it was Christians who were severely persecuted by Roman tyranny. It was not due to worshipping their One God, but from their refusal to acknowledge other gods.
This was around the time also when Emperors began to exhault themselves as gods. (Emperor Caligula, in his insane megalomania, liked the idea of One God and thus had an image of his head placed on all the statues of the Roman gods and goddesses.) By refusing to worship the Emperor, they put their lives on the line. I forget which Emperor said this, but as the Christians were taken to the Coliseum, he would announce, "I give you the atheists" because of their refusal to acknowledge their gods.
Later on, Emperor Constantine legalized Christianity and made it the official church of Rome, but with modifications including appointing himself as a Pope. Office politics or religious politics, however you want to address it, lead to a series of church abuse and tyranny. Other religions then began to suffer persecution, even if it was worship of the same One God as seen in what happened to Protestants later on.
The invention of the printing press, followed by literacy of the common schmoe, became the tyranny's worst nightmare as now the Bible was being printed for anyone to read. When Martin Luther and his group of reformers had the Bible printed in German (instead of its traditional Latin), it put his life in extreme danger as well as anyone caught with a Bible printed in German.
Some of my resources include documentaries I've seen on the History Channel and a book titled Holy Horrors. Sorry I cannot remember all of it in detail plus I am trying to type with an infant that grows eight more arms every time she sits on my lap. Heh heh...
Initially it was Christians who were severely persecuted by Roman tyranny. It was not due to worshipping their One God, but from their refusal to acknowledge other gods.
This was around the time also when Emperors began to exhault themselves as gods. (Emperor Caligula, in his insane megalomania, liked the idea of One God and thus had an image of his head placed on all the statues of the Roman gods and goddesses.) By refusing to worship the Emperor, they put their lives on the line. I forget which Emperor said this, but as the Christians were taken to the Coliseum, he would announce, "I give you the atheists" because of their refusal to acknowledge their gods.
Later on, Emperor Constantine legalized Christianity and made it the official church of Rome, but with modifications including appointing himself as a Pope. Office politics or religious politics, however you want to address it, lead to a series of church abuse and tyranny. Other religions then began to suffer persecution, even if it was worship of the same One God as seen in what happened to Protestants later on.
The invention of the printing press, followed by literacy of the common schmoe, became the tyranny's worst nightmare as now the Bible was being printed for anyone to read. When Martin Luther and his group of reformers had the Bible printed in German (instead of its traditional Latin), it put his life in extreme danger as well as anyone caught with a Bible printed in German.
Some of my resources include documentaries I've seen on the History Channel and a book titled Holy Horrors. Sorry I cannot remember all of it in detail plus I am trying to type with an infant that grows eight more arms every time she sits on my lap. Heh heh...
It's like walking down an empty street, listening to your own footsteps. But all you have to do is knock on any door and say, "If you'll let me in, I'll live the way you want me to live. And I'll think the way you want me to think." And all the blinds will go up, and all the doors will open, and you'll never feel lonely. Ever again.
~Henry Drummond, "Inherit the Wind" (1960)
~Henry Drummond, "Inherit the Wind" (1960)
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applepolice
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I understand why Christianity takes the brunt of neo-pagan grief, I just find it a bit interesting that we often preach tolerance of other religions (Islam, for example, though I'm beginning to think many people do that to overcompensate for their guilt at fearing Muslims in this "terror"-guided world we live in), while simultaneously bashing Christians.
That aside, while you may it offensive that people bash certain beliefs of yours, in this post you mention that the Bible is not real (which pretty much offends all of Christianity and Judaism in regards to the Old Testament). There are many Christians and Jewish people who believe that the Bible is real, and while the events might not have happened as they are depicted, that they stand symbolically for how to live life. Throughout the years, the Bible has been bastardized by pretty much every translator to get his hands on it, not to mention various religious sects that change things to meet their needs. Ancient Hebrew left a lot of room for open translation, not to mention that there is no way of knowing just how words were used back then, so the translations that are available could be entirely misconstrued.
I do agree with you on the fact that blind faith is difficult to stomach, though. It can be really hard to reason with people who use their religion as a basis for every argument. Unfortunately, it is prevalent in most religions as faith is, essentially blind. It's hard to find empirical evidence for God. Of course, there are also certain Pagans who force their views on the Christian world with just as much vehemence as Christians on the Pagan world. I think it's one of those things that, sadly, we're just going to have to deal with. Religion is a very strong motivator, and it's hard to sway people from their beliefs, especially beliefs so strongly ingrained.
Then again, in a few hundred years, Christianity may have died out except in small cults. Who knows? It's certainly happened before (the Greeks, Romans, Egyptians, Babylonians, etc.). We'll just have to wait for this empire to fall.
That aside, while you may it offensive that people bash certain beliefs of yours, in this post you mention that the Bible is not real (which pretty much offends all of Christianity and Judaism in regards to the Old Testament). There are many Christians and Jewish people who believe that the Bible is real, and while the events might not have happened as they are depicted, that they stand symbolically for how to live life. Throughout the years, the Bible has been bastardized by pretty much every translator to get his hands on it, not to mention various religious sects that change things to meet their needs. Ancient Hebrew left a lot of room for open translation, not to mention that there is no way of knowing just how words were used back then, so the translations that are available could be entirely misconstrued.
I do agree with you on the fact that blind faith is difficult to stomach, though. It can be really hard to reason with people who use their religion as a basis for every argument. Unfortunately, it is prevalent in most religions as faith is, essentially blind. It's hard to find empirical evidence for God. Of course, there are also certain Pagans who force their views on the Christian world with just as much vehemence as Christians on the Pagan world. I think it's one of those things that, sadly, we're just going to have to deal with. Religion is a very strong motivator, and it's hard to sway people from their beliefs, especially beliefs so strongly ingrained.
Then again, in a few hundred years, Christianity may have died out except in small cults. Who knows? It's certainly happened before (the Greeks, Romans, Egyptians, Babylonians, etc.). We'll just have to wait for this empire to fall.
-Elizabeth
Duch chętny, lecz ciało mdłe.
Duch chętny, lecz ciało mdłe.
My personal view is that some of what pagans faced in the years around the Inquisition was just karmic rebalancing for what Roman Pagans did to Christians during the early days of Christianity. If you look at the writings from Pliny the Elder about what to do to Christians and then look at some of the writings of the Inquisition, it's pretty clear that Christians simply copied some of their torture techniques from Paganism!
Some of the greatest form of intolerance that I've seen in modern religions comes from neopagan individuals who preach tolerance for themselves on one hand and then preach intolerance toward any religion that is not the same as what they follow...in other words, intolerance toward reconstructionists, intolerance toward Christians, intolerance toward initiatory forms of Wiccan and witchcraft, intolerance toward Islam...it goes on and on. I'd much rather people come out and say "Yes, I am prejudiced against other religions and proud of it" instead of saying "I tolerate everyone" and then take verbal pot shots at anything that is outside of their personal space.
Some of the greatest form of intolerance that I've seen in modern religions comes from neopagan individuals who preach tolerance for themselves on one hand and then preach intolerance toward any religion that is not the same as what they follow...in other words, intolerance toward reconstructionists, intolerance toward Christians, intolerance toward initiatory forms of Wiccan and witchcraft, intolerance toward Islam...it goes on and on. I'd much rather people come out and say "Yes, I am prejudiced against other religions and proud of it" instead of saying "I tolerate everyone" and then take verbal pot shots at anything that is outside of their personal space.
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wiccachicken
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I do myself try to be accepting of all beliefs. I am accepting of all except extreme Christianity. I think it's because I was a Christian for such a long time and I felt so oppressed in it. Something happened in my life that made me stop believing in it. I am tolerant of the people who believe and I respect that they believe that - most of my childhood I was brought up around them and I love them to bits. I'm just angry with the bible-bashing type that think that everything is gospel!
The reason I wrote the post was because I was on Facebook (kind of like myspace) and I was replying to a post about the death penalty. This guy started quoting from the Bible, saying that any man who kills ought to be killed himself. I was trying to explain to him that the Bible is very inaccurate, so much so it might as well belong on the fiction shelf and it shouldn't be used to send people off to death!
I think everyone finds it hard to be the perfect Pagan/Wiccan, accpeting of all. I am trying to calm myself down on this subject because it's true...there will always be things like this in the world. So I'm trying to teach myself to just phase it out!
Take care all :p
The reason I wrote the post was because I was on Facebook (kind of like myspace) and I was replying to a post about the death penalty. This guy started quoting from the Bible, saying that any man who kills ought to be killed himself. I was trying to explain to him that the Bible is very inaccurate, so much so it might as well belong on the fiction shelf and it shouldn't be used to send people off to death!
I think everyone finds it hard to be the perfect Pagan/Wiccan, accpeting of all. I am trying to calm myself down on this subject because it's true...there will always be things like this in the world. So I'm trying to teach myself to just phase it out!
Take care all :p