There is something going on in churches that I don’t quite understand. I was raised as a Christian. I remember the guilt that was a part of that upbringing, the comments about thoughts that I shared being wrong or “Pagan” (which they weren’t, but it was designed to frighten me). Ironic, isn’t it, that I am a Pagan now?
I knew then that this was not to be my path. It took a long time and a lot of study to get where I am now, and I am nowhere near finished with learning and studying, with exploring which path I should take. I know, for sure, that I am headed in the right direction for me, though.
When I read posts like “I used to tell God I hated him” I can’t help but wonder what it is that people are seeing in the Bible that was leading them to take this path and for so many to follow along, sometimes blindly. Perhaps it is just what is brought up in this article (among other things) about the Magdalene laundries, that children are raised to believe that their sins are not or can not be forgiven? If they were, then surely this sort of thing wouldn’t be happening. They would repent these “sins” and go on to do better, especially the children and adults who had made terrible mistakes in the eyes of their Catholic parents, instead of sending them away to be abused indefinitely. After all, there are no children of any religion until they are old enough to choose. As Richard Dawkins puts it in the introduction to “The God Delusion” (the paperback version), there are no “Christian children,” only children of Christian parents. Parents should teach their children about their beliefs (and other’s), but they should not ever expect them to follow them all and then punish them when they can’t.
It seems impossible to me that there can be so many offenses against those of non-Christian faith based on the teachings of the Bible, but alas, look at war. I don’t even mean all the ones that have gone before in the name of Christianity, but even the current ones. Soldiers, representatives of the United States (most certainly not a Christian country-never has been), are on a mission to convert others overseas. When you read “Onward Christian Soldiers (General Order what now?)” also be sure to click that first link. They actually believe that these people want to be converted to Christianity and that they need religion. They have a religion. They are mostly Muslims. They believe that the job of the chaplains of the US military is to proselytize in other countries because the Bible tells them to “witness.” Their jobs are to support our troops and not to violate the laws of other countries by pushing their beliefs on others. It’s bad enough when that pushing happens here, but to take it there, not only violating a direct order from this country but also breaking the laws of the one they are in? How would Christians feel if Iraq or any other country invaded our country and then went about pushing Islam on us?
I know a lot of Christians, and I know that the vast majority of them here really do believe that all of our sins are already forgiven. Most of them have respect for our differences in beliefs, lifestyles and choices. It seems to me that all religions come down to taking care of each other and living a good life. Pushing one’s beliefs on another, whether it be a child or an adult, seems like a sin to me, you know, if you believe in such a thing as “sin.”
