Olympic Torch Ceremony – Vancouver 2010
Posted by: Lorena on: February 9, 2010
I went to an Olympic torch ceremony today (Feb. 7, 2010). It was lovely. We sang the national anthem. The kids screamed as the torch went by, and most people were wearing the Canadian colours: red & white.
I stood there, alone, watching everybody have a good time. I noticed that I had a grin on my face, and I couldn’t get rid of it. Then I stopped to think, what would I have been thinking when I was a Christian? Well, I wouldn’t have been there. All my free time was spent in church-related activities and praying and reading the Bible.
But, on the odd change that I had found myself there, the thoughts I would’ve had made me lose my grin. “Fools, all excited for something finite and meaningless. The Olympics will only last a couple of weeks, and then it will all be over. Instead they should be working for eternal things, saving their souls, and working on their relationship with God. They won’t be this happy when they arrive in hell.”
If you have never been a fundamentalist Christian, you have no idea how hard it is to enjoy life as a Bible thumper. Because in order to legitimize the sacrifice needed to stay “out of this world,” one must imagine that the earth is a really bad place. That attitude can make a person quite negative, always seeking for defect and rarely enjoying anything, unless of course, it is a prayer meeting or a church service.
How pathetic is that?
I shed a tear or two today. I couldn’t understand why I was so emotional. The kids looked all cute, the anthem seemed profound, the torch looked beautiful, and even the bit of rain felt pleasant.
Why was I so emotional? One could argue that having the Winter Olympics in your backyard is one in a lifetime opportunity. Sure, maybe that’s partly the reason. But the real reason, I think, is that now that I’m not busy trying to find fault, I am able to really enjoy and notice what’s happening around me—sometimes for the first time, like a child. I can see the good. People are no longer sinners. They’re good parents, loving grand parents, dedicated teachers, hard-working volunteers, good masters of ceremony, good singers, excellent pancake makers, sweet old ladies, awesome polite Canadians.
Events like the Olympics bring out the best in us. Here is a news flash, Christians: religion brings out the worst in people, other earthly situations bring out the best. We don’t need Jesus to experience one-mindedness and unity. All those folks at the ceremony looked like sinners to me. Reasonably happy sinners who go through life making mistakes, because falling short is a fact of life that should not, and does not, land anyone in hell.
I was happy to be a sinner today. And I was happy to share a morning with a bunch of less-than-perfect people who are simple and down-to-earth enough to enjoy a little Olympic torch ceremony. Who needs a messiah to die for us so we can go to heaven? Heaven is here. Wherever there is a child smiling and jumping around, that’s heaven.
I was in heaven today. It was lovely (many would argue that British Columbia is one of those places that look like paradise, anyway. I promise you is true).
Gayle Haggard in the Joy Behar Show
Posted by: Lorena on: February 4, 2010
The comedian turned show host kept Gayle, Ted Haggard’s wife, on the defensive, when they met on February 1st, 2010, on HLN. But the ex-pastor’s wife did manage to promote her book, Why I Stayed, and to talk about Jesus. I’d like to respond to some of her statements.
When Joy Behar said that Jesus wouldn’t have rejected gay people, Gayle responded that her Jesus is compassionate and forgives everyone’s sins, including her own.
That’s nice, that he forgives. But, let’s stay put here on earth for a second. You’re not called an “abomination” from the pulpit for, say, your little white lies, Gayle. Homosexuals are singled out, looked at funnily, and treated as pariahs. When was the last time you were treated like that in church for your sins, Gayle? Homosexuals are outright discriminated and called hell bound. Wasn’t your own husband removed from the church he himself founded? (And yes, he IS a homosexual.)
When asked why she was sure her husband would not relapse, she said that God had healed Ted, by leading him to talk to his counsellor about childhood sexual abuse suffered at the hands of an employee of his father.
God has healed Ted? First of all, it wasn’t God. It was the counsellor who helped. How do I know that? Non-Christians are successfully treated by psychologists everyday for all types of traumas. Your husband isn’t the only “success” story. Psychology is a continually developing science which, by the way, evangelicals look down upon. Remember the hymn, “All because we do not carry, everything to God in prayer?” Yes, Gayle, what happened to prayer? Isn’t prayer supposed to be the solution to everything?
Joy Behar then said, “Wait a minute, we don’t want viewers to believe that people turn gay because they were sexually abused. I have lots of gay friends who weren’t sexually abused.”
Gayle responded that she couldn’t speak for everyone else, that she was only familiar with their situation.
Mrs. Haggard should have said, “Our situation…so far.”
I haven’t read enough or researched enough to know whether sexual abuse causes homosexuality. But that speculation would be very hard to prove scientifically. I know, personally, too many people who’ve suffered childhood sexual abuse and who are straight. I don’t buy Gayle’s statement.
But even if the abuse caused a change in sexual orientation, the reality is that, according to what I have read, in childhood our tendencies are still being shaped, and who we become during our early years is who we will be for the rest of our days. Some minor behaviour modification can be effected, but with much continual effort and treatment. I know by experience that behaviours I learned in childhood that I wish to change will have to be struggled with for the rest of my days. There is no “healing,” Gayle Haggard. Your husband will have to struggle with his sexuality for the rest of his life, sexual abuse or not, counselling or not.
You said that the guy who exposed Ted had exaggerated a lot.
Really? What are you talking about? You either have sex with a person or you do not, and your husband fucked that man. I fail to see any room for exaggeration.
You also said on the show that your husband never spoke against any people group. Really? He did preach against homosexuality. He did explicitly single out homosexuals, shamed them, and let them know his opinion of gay people.
What your husband did was use the Bible to project his self-hatred against homosexuals. You can’t say he never did it. We all saw him on national television.
Mrs. Haggard said that early in their marriage, Ted had a homosexual encounter during a conference in another city. But he came home and confessed and she forgave him. They prayed about it, she said.
A question for you, Gayle: did you forgive your husband or did you forgive God?
The Bible says that ANYTHING we ask in Jesus name will be given unto us. That prayer of yours wasn’t heard. Your husband screwed up again, big time. So, you did forgive God for ignoring your prayer, didn’t you?
Did you also forgive the Holy Spirit for not “Leading you to all truth” (John 16:13)?
Or could it be that your husband wasn’t sincere enough, that he didn’t pray with all his heart, and therefore, The Lord couldn’t answer his prayer? In which case, who is to say that he’s being truthful now? Let’s face it, Gayle, your husband isn’t reliable. You are in Denial.
Or, you’re withholding your true reasons for staying married: (1) you’re used to a certain lifestyle that, perhaps, you can only maintain by staying with Ted; (2) you guys have five children whom you’d have a heck of a time supporting on your own; (3) you love him; (4) you believe that your “compassionate” God hates divorce and are afraid to disobey him.
Say it were me married to Ted, unbeliever that I am, would I leave him or stay with him?
It would all depend on what kind of husband and father he was, I guess.
If I were unable to financially support my children on my own, and he treated me nicely and loved the kids and were an agreeable person to hang around with, I would probably stay, just to raise the children together, to make sure we don’t starve, and to keep the family together.
If I had the potential to earn a good salary and to do without him, I would dump his ass off. Let’s face it, he is not trustworthy. If he lied in the name of God to thousands, if not millions, of people Sunday after Sunday, what’s going to stop him from lying again? God couldn’t stop him before, why would he do it now? God didn’t protect you before, Gayle, from Ted’s lies, why would he do it now? Was God dead before and now he suddenly rose up to life?
What Gayle doesn’t realize is that yes, it was Ted who lied to her. But wasn’t God supposed to be her helper? Didn’t God love her enough to stop him or to “heal” him before? Where was God then? How does she know that the Almighty will show up for her now?
Amazing how the “forgive your neighbour seventy times seventy” statement attributed to Jesus is rarely applied to humans. God is the only one Christians keep excusing beyond comprehension. Because, well, if they didn’t justify him again and again, they would have to admit that he doesn’t exist.
Yes, Gayle Haggard has excused God for not being there. Which is a shame, instead of forgiving the Invisible one, she should have concluded that he is the Non-Existing one. The one who isn’t there, a myth, a figment of her imagination.
The Progress of my de-Conversion
Posted by: Lorena on: January 31, 2010
There is a lot, a lot more, to my de-conversion than this short summary. I’ve just written a few thoughts that crossed my mind at one time or another during my Christian life.
Childhood to early teens
There is only one church that teaches the truth: my Sabbath-keeping, legalistic one. Good Christian women wear skirts below the knee and no make up. I hope I never break one of the Ten Commandments. I don’t want to end up in hell. I have hell nightmares all the time.
Teenage years
Put God in a drawer for later use. One day, I’ll go back to my one-and-only church, when I am ready to be perfect. I wouldn’t want to get baptized, be forgiven, and then sin and end up in hell.
Late teens
Back to the one-and-only church, I take it seriously. Feel very uncomfortable in the tiny box: women shouldn’t wear pants or cut their hair. All other churches are wrong, blah, blah. Notice that other Christians I met at my Baptist school were actually very good people.
Early twenties
Become a Baptist. All people who profess the name of Christ are saved, regardless of church and denomination. I can wear pants and make up, but I have to forgive. Darn!
Early thirties
I am tired of thinking that all Christians are good. Why are so many of them con artists? Are there any churchgoers at all who really practice the faith? Can I trust a believer at all? How many serial killers and child molesters go to church all dressed up on Sundays? Oh, my goodness, what kind of horrible world do I live in that even seemingly devoted followers of Jesus can be so evil? Do I have to hang out with these fake people for the rest of my life?
Mid-thirties
So God is never going to forgive me if I don’t forgive my enemies, no matter what I do. Hmmm….but to get forgiveness from God, I have to ASK. Yet I am expected to forgive everyone and sundry, even thought they haven’t asked me to, even though they continue to be jerks and hurting me. That doesn’t make any sense.
Late-Thirties
- I am going to devote myself to a life of prayer so the Lord will heal my life for good. God is only waiting for me to ask. The answer is on the way. I’ll be like Daniel, praying at least twice a day. No more wishy-washy Christianity from me. I, then, follow suit and pray for the conversion of all kinds of people, for healing of my extended family, etc
- Hmmm…how come my prayers for other people are never answered? How come the only prayers that are answered are the ones for me that require work on my part? Funny, how non-Christians get good stuff, too, and they don’t need to put up with shallow people in church Sunday after Sunday.
- What kind of horrible God would ask me to run back to my mother’s abusive arms? God can’t possibly want me to go back to my abuser for more. Don’t those church people realize that what they’re asking me to do is akin to sending a child to love and to forgive his or her molester? How can they be so cruel and insensitive? They are wrong. Christians are wrong. They’ve misunderstood God. I must find believers who aren’t so grossly mistaken. There must be some real Christians who truly understand the things of God somewhere. (Go on to spend hours and hours on line looking for some denomination that isn’t so harsh on victims of abuse—find none.)
Turn 40
- If it weren’t because of the unpardonable sin, I would leave the church. There is no point on me hanging out with people who call themselves Christians and believe so differently from me. If it weren’t because Jesus died for me, I would never put a foot inside a church ever again. But, why did he have to die for me? I didn’t ask him to. It would’ve been better if he had never done that, then I would be free. I wouldn’t have to be looking for the right church.
- I wonder if there are any believers out there that don’t make the sacrifice of Jesus into a heavy chain to carry around one’s neck. Maybe I’ll find some Christians out there who practice the goodness of Jesus without threats of hell. How can a good God send people to hell, anyway? Somebody surely made that up. Jesus must have meant something different.
- This is odd. Why am I more angry and disagreeable now that I read my Bible and pray all the time? Where is the peace of God? Why are people in church still patronizing me and treating me as if I were a new convert? Isn’t the Holy Spirit telling them that I am a true, mature Christian? Why do they treat pretty people as if they were good Christians and give them positions of authority? The church is way too human. There is nothing spiritual about the church. They’re just people like every one else.
- Using these principles (rhetoric I was learning in college), I can sell dirty water and make people believe is miraculous. This is amazing. Wait a minute! Pastors actually use all the principles: the position of authority (ethos), the charisma and the “I am as human as you” argument (pathos), the reading of out-of-context Bible verses to “prove” points (logos). The message doesn’t really have to be true. This is a glorified sales pitch. Holy smokes! How did I ever believe any of that manufactured BS?
- But Jesus died for me. Or did he? Did he really? No. He died for his own ideals, not for me. Maybe the Bible was as manufactured as the sermons. Maybe it is all stories. Sure, it’s all stories. Fiction writers pen stuff that sounds real, too. So real that sometimes one wonders if they’re telling a real account. Even if the Jesus stuff is true, I’m sure God doesn’t want me to continue torturing myself in his name. I have to find a way to leave this church for good without hurting my marriage and my relatives.
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The rest of my journey is documented on this blog.
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How about you? Did you wake up one day to see the light? Or, did it take some time? How long would you say it took you?
Movie Review: Creation
Posted by: Lorena on: January 28, 2010
This will be short, so as to minimize any spoilers.
Creation portrays the segment of Charles Darwin’s life which led to his publication of The origin of Species.
The movie started too slowly for my taste. So slowly that at one point I almost fell asleep. In an attempt to make the plot mysterious the screenwriters may have made it confusing. But it gets better. Much better.
The film portrays Darwin as a former theist in the process of de-converting. During the ordeal, he underwent all the emotions and family conflicts we, 21st-century ex-Christians, have been know to endure. In fact, according to the plot, the book’s publication was seriously hindered by his fears of disturbing those for whom faith and a Christian community were extremely important.
It was enlightening to see that I wasn’t the first ex-Christian ever to take years before reaching the conclusion that I was, in fact, an atheist. Also interesting was that, along with his scientific discoveries, Darwin faced a number of conflicts and life blows which all together led him to walk away from the church. It wasn’t his severe dislike of the pastor or the issues in his marriage or any other isolated event. As with many of us, it was the whole package that de-converted him.
But, for an unequally yoked ex-Christian like me, it was the conflict with his wife that I found most appealing. If you’re in that situation, you must watch this movie. At the very least, you’ll feel that you’re in good company.
See this movie, it’ll be good for you. But do it fast because it won’t be in theatres too long. Unfortunately, it is only out in major cities, but when it comes on DVD, be sure to get yourself a copy.
Unequal Yoke
Posted by: Lorena on: January 25, 2010
Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers ( 2 Corinthian 6:14).
Many atheists as well as non- and ex-Christians wonder why it is such a horrible thing for their fundamentalist believer spouse or prospective partner that they refuse to follow Jesus.
Having sat at countless college & career services and Bible studies from 22-to-34 years old, I can tell you why I freaked out at the thought of marrying a non-Christian. I can also tell you what the men were told on the prospect of a non-believing wife.
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* Women *
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According to Bible Paul, Jesus is the head of the husband, and the husband the head of the wife.
But I want you to understand that the head of every man is Christ, the head of a wife is her husband, and the head of Christ is God (1 Corinthians 11:3).
Jesus, through the Holy Spirit, guides the husband on all family affairs. A woman married to a Christian feels protected by the assurance that Jesus is guiding the family through her husband.
But, I was told, if Jesus isn’t guiding, Satan is. The apostate man will produce the fruit of the flesh, leading the family to destruction.
The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God (Galatians 5:19-21).
From the pulpit I heard many a time that since a non-believing husband doesn’t have to respond to Jesus for his behaviour, I could expect him to be unfaithful, to give me STD’s, to be a drunkard and, possibly, to be addicted to gambling and to porn. Jesus wasn’t going to protect me from beatings and untold abuse. I was going to be on my own, deservedly so, for having disobeyed God in marrying an unbeliever.
I also heard at least once that people who have rejected Jesus as their Lord and saviour have live-in demons which are shared via sexual intercourse with their spouse—and it wasn’t STD’s they were referring to. I think infamous Bob Larson was the bad-news bearer.
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* Men *
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I found this priceless paragraph on letgodbetrue.com, regarding “odious” women who don’t serve God.
Young man, marry wisely! Being single, frustrated and lonely, is better than marrying this cruel creature. Marry only by the fear of the Lord, for odious women can deceive men to marital ruin (Proverbs 30:21-23; 31:30). A woman that fears God knows her place (Gen 2:18), obeys her husband (Ephesians 5:22-24), reverences him (Ephesians 5:33), ravishes him (Proverbs 5:19; I Cor 7:1-5), has a meek and quiet spirit (I Peter 3:3-4), and serves him (Proverbs 31:10-27; Titus 2:3-5). If you marry foolishly, your friends will know it, because you cannot hide her (Proverbs 27:16)! Put her to the test, and multiply any weakness you see by ten to preview her as a wife!
That’s harsher than anything I ever heard in church, but it is the same idea: if a man wants a doormat, he must marry a Christian woman.
Otherwise, the unbelieving wife will neglect to listen to the Bible and will refuse to be submissive to her husband. Thus she will run the household in a way that’s contrary to the ways of the Lord, by producing the fruit of the flesh (Galatians 5:19-21).
The unbelieving wife will be disgraceful, foolish, and quarrelsome:
- A wife of noble character is her husband’s crown, but a disgraceful wife is like decay in his bones (Proverbs 12:4)
- The wise woman builds her house, but with her own hands the foolish one tears hers down (Proverbs 14:1).
- Better to live on a corner of the roof than to share a house with a quarrelsome wife (Proverbs 21:19).
Preachers often use the argument that since the unbelieving woman’s alliance isn’t with God but with the devil, she will teach the children to disobey God, and the man will be left alone and with no “help” on his work for the Lord. Because, they say, the woman’s role is to be a helper.
The LORD God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him ” (Genesis 2:18).
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I don’t know about other ex-Christian women, but based on what I was taught, I thought non-believing men were physically abusive, disrespectful, and likely to cheat on me. I pictured myself on Friday evenings waiting anxiously for my husband, knowing he was at the pub drinking our money away and wouldn’t show up until the early hours. I saw myself bailing him out of jail and dragging him out of casinos after a few days of debauchery.
Worse yet, I would be unable to divorce him. So I was condemning myself to living on my knees praying for that man’s salvation until he either miraculously came to the Lord, or one of us died. My children would follow his steps and be ungrateful, on drugs and alcohol, and would amount to nothing, since the Lord wasn’t going to help them, given that they didn’t follow him.
Marrying a non-Christian man meant condemning myself to a living hell with no right to complain, because I had brought the evil upon myself by disobeying my Lord.
Interestingly, I also heard many sermons encouraging churchgoing couples to work on the marriage, or else the devil would use any distraction to tear the relationship apart.
As a believing single woman, I never noticed that Christians are put between a rock and a hard place. You marry outside the faith, and you’re doomed to misery. Or you can marry a Christian and live permanently afraid that the devil will destroy everything. The picture was grim. Today, it’s hard for me to imagine how I could ever find any comfort in my belief system. I look back and only see terror.
I suppose pastors forget to tell young women the real horror of a Christian marriage: your born-again husband may use the Bible to treat you as less than a person. In his mind, you ought to feel lucky he married you at all, and he will demand reverence, submission, obedience, and long-suffering for his multiple personality flaws. In return, he may show no patience for your human short comings.
On the flip side, a Christian man who marries a believer may expect her to be spiritual, patient, devoted, submissive, and obedient. Many female followers of Jesus, however, being human and normal like everyone else, will fall far short from the perfect wife idea taught by fundamentalist preachers.
In short, all the teaching I heard on marrying outside the faith was false: non-Christian partners are at least as good as a believing mate, if not better, while born-again spouses can be as difficult to live with as the worst non-religious ones.
And that’s a reality. I didn’t pull that out of my sleeve. Everyone knows that the divorce rate among Christians is at least equal to that of non-believers, so all the non-sense they teach on unequal yoke is worthless blabber.
Just imagine what the Christian divorce rate would be if all the long suffering, submissive, truly spiritual women married to jerks weren’t afraid of sinning by leaving their husbands. Or if all the good, Jesus-following husbands who take garbage from their wives in the name of God gave up and walked away.
Creation Opens Friday
Posted by: Lorena on: January 20, 2010
Chappie and A Time to Rend have recently written about unequally-yoked marriages. I’ve promised I will add my two cents on my next post. So I will. For now, I would like to recommend the movie Creation.
Charles Darwin was unequally yoked, and lucky for those of us in a similar situation, some folks made a movie covering that aspect of the biologist’s life.
Let’s support this movie. I know that producers had a hard time getting North American theatres to show it. I heard a rumor that someone said it clashed with American values, or something to that effect.
I know I’m going as soon as I get the chance. Here is more info about it.
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CREATION, the true story of Charles Darwin, based on the book by Randal Keynes, Darwin ’s great-great-grandson, opens in theaters this Friday.
“His love for his wife, his observations of his children, his friendships with gardeners, schoolteachers and pigeon fanciers, his fears about death, revolution, bankruptcy, inbreeding…all these things found their way into his theory. He was the most inclusive of thinkers.” Randal Keynes, ANNIE’S BOX
Support the film! We will gladly link back to your organization from our Facebook and Twitter pages if you link to us. Help us spread the word.
Become a fan of CREATION on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/CREATION-The-Movie/39212784860
*Short URL: http://bit.ly/54Abs2
Follow CREATION on Twitter: http://twitter.com/Creation_Movie
*Short URL: http://bit.ly/8rrPlN
For theater information, check http://creationthemovie.com/
Are you realistic?
Posted by: Lorena on: January 19, 2010
I am thinking that most likely Sabio already wrote about this. But since I speculate and he researches and posts facts, I don’t think our posts will clash.
I am interested in that aspect of your personality that examines what you hear—from anyone—and reaches conclusions.
My curiosity was triggered a few days ago when I visited a Christian friend in the country, the one who is afraid of going to hell. The visit went well in many ways, but I noticed that in the 10 plus years since we were close friends, I’ve changed a lot. She seems to have remained about the same, if slightly more delusional.
I’ve confessed before that I have a hard time listening to non-sense with a straight face. But I am getting better, much better; particularly, considering that since I left the faith and decided to wear my head properly screwed on, I’m noticing much more BS around me than before. Coolness and a straight face in the midst of ridiculousness and delusion are now of the essence.
This particular friend flirts with insanity. For instance, she cooks horrible food and expects a standing ovation. Or she “decorates” her house to look like a squatter’s lodgings and expects you to ooh and ah.
Although she’s always been like that, when I was a Christian I fell for her self-confidence. I looked at the stuff and thought, “That looks terrible, but I’m sure she knows more than me about decoration.” Or, “The food must be good for Canadian standards.”
Maybe many non-believers are also as delusional. I wouldn’t know. I know that looking back, most of my Christian friends were. Worse yet, I didn’t notice. I took everything they said at face value, considering true just about anything they told me.
So this post isn’t about them. It’s about me. When I was a Christian, I was a believer, in the full sense of the word. You could’ve told me you saw the Smurfs dancing on the windowsill, and I would’ve believed it.
Going to writing school made me into a critical thinker. I was taught how to read newspaper articles with a critical eye and to differentiate between facts and legends. I was taught rhetoric, persuasion, and many other tools that helped me realize that I needed to judge what I heard or read, so I could reach factual conclusions.
I de-converted after my first year of full-time writing school. The rhetoric courses did the trick. And to think that the principles existed since Aristotle, and I never heard of them until 2005.
Anyhow, after unveiling my eyes and learning to see reality for what it is, I am learning about people. I hear what they say with a critical eye, and I’m able to notice that sometimes their perception of reality is …let’s just say highly subjective.
What about you—atheists, agnostics, and ex-Christians? Does your critical thinking stop at religious matters, or do you also take what your friends say with a grain of salt?
If you do think critically, how do you handle the obvious discrepancies between your friends’ perception and the reality you observe?
Do you ever make an effort to see yourself objectively? Would you say that you may also have elements of self-delusion in your personality?
Are your friends aware that they can’t fool you? Do they think you likely to burst their bubble?
Haiti’s Pact: I Fell for It
Posted by: Lorena on: January 17, 2010
- In: myths| other faiths| paganism
- 19 Comments
The urban legend that Haitians made a pact with the devil is quite popular in fundamentalist Christian circles. In fact, I am quite sure the evangelicals condemning Robertson don’t disagree with the statements. They disagree with his timing and with that he said it aloud.
As I have written before, during my Christian days I was a believer in the power of Satan, and such belief showed itself on all my endeavours.
For instance, when we first saw the house we bought, I noticed the owners had a Buddha effigy. We completed the purchase and, before moving in, I asked my Bible study to pray that the evil spirits the statue attracted would leave our house.
A few years later, we started the process of adopting a child, which included a home study and a number of seminars that would educate us on the realities of adoption. After becoming aware of the difficulties and issues of raising an adoptive child, we wimped out.
But when still doing the research and going through the process, we considered adopting from Haiti. The cost was reasonable and the number of children needing a home seemed high at the time. I wrote off Haiti right away, though, on the basis that the child would have evil spirits and as such he or she would be a handful and would bring destruction and pain to our lives.
I’ve forgiven myself for having been so myopic. After all, I was sincerely misguided. Nowadays, I think back to my satan-has-power days, and it seems absolutely crazy what a belief in the supernatural can do to a basically good person who is afraid of unseen, uncontrollable forces.
I had never observed first hand any evidence of the so-called devil’s work. I had only heard stories and had believed without further inquiries.
After de-converting, I started to ask questions every time I heard a spooky tale. Once, I went to a pagan Meet-Up (psychics, tarot card readers, etc). I asked the person beside me if she had had any supernatural experiences that proved to her that magic worked. “Sure,” she said. “My sister and I spoke to my Grandma.”
“How did that happen?”
“We were home in Ontario for the holidays, and the house keys kept disappearing and being found in weird places, like the fridge. We decided to ask Grandma why.”
Here, the young woman told me a wild tale about Grandma wanting to let them know that she had re-incarnated on a great grand daughter. I forget the details. Then I asked if they actually saw the lady, how it was that they could speak to her. She said that they asked questions through a pendulum.
A pendulum?
You guys know how that works? You decide that, say, left is yes and right is no. Then you lift the pendulum, ask the question, and if the pendulum goes left, then your dead relative is saying yes, and if it goes right, the person is saying no.
How do you get your grandma to say re-incarnation through yes and no’s? I don’t know. Let alone the fact that your hand holding the pendulum may bring wishful thinking into the equation.
I would have, in the past, accepted the tale as true without further inquiry, since I was sure than angels, demons, Jesus, God, and the devil all had powers that were used among us. During my Christian days, I would’ve told the young woman that it wasn’t Grandma but demons who communicated all that, but I would’ve believed.
As for Haiti, I had reasons for taking the tales as true so blindly. In my country people believe in voodoo, and as a kid, I heard all kinds of stories of witches making voodoo dolls for folks who hated someone. The hater took the doll home and every time needles were inserted, the victim would hurt on the exact same spot.
Incredibly enough, I believed the stories and never bothered to ask further questions. I wouldn’t be shocked, though, if upon further inquiry, everybody would say they were told by someone else, and I would never be able to find anyone who actually saw it or experienced it.
That is how urban legends get started, and being religious predisposes a person to believing tales, since one is sure that both God and the Devil are powerful and capable of all kinds of good and mischief.
Needless to say it is even worse when religious leaders are the ones spreading the rumours. The sheep are left with no choice but to believe and act accordingly. Unfortunately, those who are the object of defamation suffer from the religious irresponsibility and the devotees’ gullibility. Surely I’m non the only person ever who has discriminated a person or a group on the basis of religious slander and superstition, which makes it even more urgent that we promote critical thinking and intellectual inquiry. I am seriously thinking that I should go back to church to help those naïve people start using their brains, by asking questions to make them think.
Ah, that Pat Robertson!
Posted by: Lorena on: January 14, 2010
I can’t get over Pat Robertson saying that Haiti’s earthquake was due to a pact Haitians made with the devil in the 1700’s.
First, let’s notice the traditional evangelical cruelty and “impeccable” timing. The country is in shambles, lots of people are dead, hurt, or missing, and he shows up to let them know that it isn’t God’s fault, or nature’s fault, no. The people are to blame. Nice going, Robertson.
Even if it were true that the earthquake was due to the so-called pact, what kind of God is one who has NO POWER to save people from the devil’s schemes? It almost sounds like another one of the famous God-is-good-but excuses that believers manufacture to justify the inaction of their oh-so-powerful God.
But what I find most irritating is that Robertson is choosing to set aside the physical clues that scientists were aware of regarding a fault that was bound to cause the earthquake sooner or later. It was a matter of time.
More distressing yet is that millions of evangelicals listen to Robertson’s non-sense day-in and day-out and don’t bother second guessing him at all. It’s almost as if he were God: he says it, they believe it, that settles it.
How can Christians say that they have proof that what they believe in is real, when they accept as true so much stuff that’s obviously bonkers? In other words, when they trust nuts like Robertson, they lose all credibility. In my eyes, their arguments are unworthy of even being heard.
Believing the Christian message, to me, is a silly as believing that clothes bought at Walmart will make it past the third wash.
Christians have zero credibility. Bad apples seem to be the rule, not the exception.
Here is hoping that Gawd will send a letter to Pat Robertson.
**Edits**
Robertson also said on his program that people “need to pray” for the Haitians and that he’s “optimistic something good may come” out of the tragedy.
But of course, God is never wrong. If things go well, blessed he. If things go sour, let’s make lemonade by learning something and blessing him and thanking him.
Tweep by Bill Maher
u know who gets away with murder? God. No matter what shit goes down, to the least deserving, he skates on “mysterious ways”
Like Selling ShamWow?
Posted by: Lorena on: January 12, 2010
- In: morality| prayer
- 20 Comments
We, my friend, her family, and I, arrived at the small country church on Sunday morning to many handshakes and welcoming smiles. The music started, and accompanied by guitar we sang great hymns like When the roll is called up yonder and Because he lives.
I like hymns. To me they’re a piece of art, of lower quality but in the same category as the Handel’s Messiah, which religious or not, most music lovers enjoy.
Then they asked for prayer requests. One of them almost made me laugh. “Pray for sister Bernice. Her gallbladder was removed. Pray that she won’t catch an infection.”
My reaction: “Don’t we have antibiotics for that? I can’t understand why these silly people keep praying for stuff that the human race already has solutions for.”
Then came the sermon. Frankly, I ignored most of it, studiously going through the hymnbook. But I did get the gist of it.
His point was that the only way to leave a wretched life of sin is to come to Jesus. It was, in fact, the typical Christian message. That is, we are lost in our sins and without Jesus we are nothing. In other words, it is black and white. We are either saved and going to church, or we are out there wasting our lives drinking alcohol and shooting drugs, hopelessly doomed to a sad life of debauchery and pain. There wasn’t, according to the sermon, a group of people with honest, happy lives who needed no saving. It is no wonder that sincere, true Christians go around preaching the gospel with so much urgency. They truly believe that non-believers are clueless regarding all things decent and constructive.
At some point, he said he talked to a couple about the Lord during the past week, and had told them to come to Jesus and that he would change their lives, solve their problems, and give them new purpose. Then he said, “I felt as if I was selling ShamWow, offering a panacea for all problems.”
Bingo! I thought. He probably even felt stupid when he realized what he was doing. He knows well that, in reality, the Christian life isn’t a bed of roses. That Jesus doesn’t solve anyone’s problems and that, even when you’re obeying, life is just life and nothing truly miraculous happens.
He then went on to say that he wasn’t selling the “silly cloth” but offering life through Jesus Christ. Then he referred to what he called “the real issue:” non-believers have bought a terrible image of God and ignore how good he is (has he never read the Old Testament?).
I thought it amazing that he was so sure of the goodness of God, when life is so difficult and unpredictable for everyone, Christian or not.
But his point was that when you start going to church and you start behaving, that shows the goodness of God. Not only he was assuming that all non-Christians have meaningless lives full of addictions and bad habits, but also that the only way to get rid of such habits is by becoming a Christian. He obviously ignores that, even though it is difficult to change some habits, secular recovery programs do help and can offer many a success a story.
He also fails to realize that changing takes much work, and that success doesn’t prove the goodness of God, it proves that the person has put in the necessary effort.
Personally, given the choice, I would pick ShamWow over the Christian God. After all, the “silly cloth” only costs $20, and even though it may fail to perform as well as advertised, it still does something. The Christian faith, on the other hand, takes your money and your life and in return only gives you a less-than-perfect social club.
I thought it interesting that the pastor never did touch the afterlife topic. He focused on that Jesus can help you live a better life here and now. Could it be that scaring people with eternal hell has lost effectiveness and now preachers are attempting the here-and-now theme to “win” souls?
Thankfully, it was a short sermon. But there was no closing hymn. I found that disappointing.
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