I'm not trying to bash christianity, but...

J

Jadebrain_Prime

Atheist now
Registered Senior Member
I remember back when I went to church with my family every Sunday. I was happy because I was in a holy place. And I learned a few things. Do you want to know what I learned?

I learned to hate. I learned to judge. I learned to ignore other people's ideas that contradicted my own, and to unconditionally dismiss them as ridiculous. I learned how other religions were terrible, that they promoted idolatry, violence, and that all of their followers will go to hell if I didn't immediately tell them they were wrong. I learned that faith can justify belief in the Christian beliefs, and that the same amount of faith cannot justify belief in other religions. These are but few of the many lessons I learned in church.

These lessons stayed with me until late 8th grade, when I started to realize that what the church taught me was wrong. One might even say that I still have yet to let go of all of these lessons ((Q) thinks so). I have heard from other people that their experiences in church were the same. And I have seen people of all ages who have not let go of the aforementioned lessons.

Once again, I am not trying to bash Christianity; I am merely pointing out that things need to change specifically in the church, trying to take a small step in my quest to end religious intolerance. It is not the fault of Jesus, nor God, nor anyone who helped found Christianity, nor are the beliefs which Christianity was founded on. But today, Christians are taught from a very young age these lessons which I talk about.
 
Well what's the point of arguing if you're going to trip all over political correctness :)
 
Enterprise-D said:
Well what's the point of arguing if you're going to trip all over political correctness :)
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I'm not very familiar with this website's rules, but I would think that if someone were to be offended, they could tell a moderator, and the thread would be deleted.
 
Hey Rokkon!

Yes, the problem with any group like the church is it defines an "in" and an "out" group, the saved and the non-saved. In spite of all their lip service to kindness, this dichotomy will always result in distrust with the other, leading to resentment, friction, and eventually violence.
 
I learned that the grownups liked to talk about each other behind their back and play "keeping up with the jones".

I went to "sunday"school until age 6, about 2 years, when I learned God asked the champion of his people on earth to slay his son. That's when I decided I don't really want to come to sunday school anymore and told the neighbors(whom were dragging me to the baptist church) i'd rather sleep in on the weekends.
 
Yeah. Pretty much what I'm trying to do with this thread is raise awareness that christian children are being taught fundamentalism, maybe even brainstorm some ideas of what people can do to help stop religious intolerance. Nothing violent, though.

Oh, and for those of you who now think that I have some sort of split personality disorder due to that other thread that I made (the one that's still open for posts, but barely active anyway) being contradictory of this one, I don't. I'm just wierd and bad at talking (yes, there is such thing as an aspie who's wierd and bad at talking; unfortunately, not everyone thinks so *glaring at (Q)*).
 
No offense, but if you learned all of these negative things, maybe your relationship was with an institution and not Christ or God?

Personal responsibility for the win.

I was taught that there is no God in the public school, but I didn't learn that. You don't always have to accept what institutions say as truth if they go against conscience.
 
Quigly said:
No offense, but if you learned all of these negative things, maybe your relationship was with an institution and not Christ or God?

Personal responsibility for the win.

I was taught that there is no God in the public school, but I didn't learn that. You don't always have to accept what institutions say as truth if they go against conscience.
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When I was a kid, I never thought about whether or not what the church told me was right. All I thought regarding religion, philosophy, ethics, etc. was what I was told by the church, and I would never have accepted anything else. I wasn't old enough to know any better! Unfortunately, not everyone wants to question what they were told, going even beyond the age at which I felt that something wasn't quite right. That shows that teaching children how to hate as a part of what is supposedly the ultimate truth can make them intolerant for all of their life!
 
Not all churches are like the one you went to, just like not all people who say they are christians, are actually christians, just like not all muslims are terrorists. You had a bad experience with a church, It sucks, but you won't be manipulated next time, so you are better off for it. It is good that you see the injustice though, so you can instill in your kids the right heart.
 
Rokkon said:
I'm not very familiar with this website's rules, but I would think that if someone were to be offended, they could tell a moderator, and the thread would be deleted.
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You have some leeway, because potentially everything you say will offend someone on this big blue and green marble.

Rule of thumb, don't directly insult a poster and don't purposefully try to goad a group.

Eg...I can say "the bible is a fictional work"...and build from that. It WILL offend people, but it is my opinion and I'm free to express such.
 
Quigly is correct, not all churches will blatantly show their discrimination.

I differ in opinion however in that those who do NOT are the more insidious creatures, because they use the old adage "attract more flies with honey".

My own confirmation instructor was one of the most moral people I have ever met, with a (seemingly) true compassion for people of all beliefs. However, her own moral standings and habits is not enough for me to subscribe to her religious beliefs wholesale. With no exposure to other religions and being drilled in roman catholicism at the age of 7ish for first communion and 15-16 for confirmation - is called indoctrination; a method of conquest no matter the spin you put on it.
 
Rokkon said:
When I was a kid, I never thought about whether or not what the church told me was right. All I thought regarding religion, philosophy, ethics, etc. was what I was told by the church, and I would never have accepted anything else. I wasn't old enough to know any better! Unfortunately, not everyone wants to question what they were told, going even beyond the age at which I felt that something wasn't quite right. That shows that teaching children how to hate as a part of what is supposedly the ultimate truth can make them intolerant for all of their life!
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What is going on here? Am I looking into the mirror? I come from the exact same place as you. But the pathetic part is you realized at a young age that you were being manipulated. I didn't realize how off I was until I was 20. At that age I was still embarassing myself.

I'd comment more on my personal experience but really, you've already said it all.
 
Rokkon said:
I'm just wierd and bad at talking (yes, there is such thing as an aspie who's wierd and bad at talking; unfortunately, not everyone thinks so *glaring at (Q)*).
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On the contrary, your opening post was excellent, concise, clear and to the point. You expressed yourself very well, imo.

:bravo:
 
Don't worry Mbyl, some people don't realise til much later. 20 is still young. I was 17 when I began resisting.
 
Rokkon said:
Once again, I am not trying to bash Christianity; I am merely pointing out that things need to change specifically in the church, trying to take a small step in my quest to end religious intolerance.
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More, we have to rid the world of religion altogether, for wherever it exists, there will always be corruption, hatred, oppression and fear.

It is not the fault of Jesus, nor God, nor anyone who helped found Christianity, nor are the beliefs which Christianity was founded on.
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Those are mere tools of the trade, so to speak, as were the talking animals for Aesop. For the most part, they are meaningless concepts without religion.
 
(Q) said:
More, we have to rid the world of religion altogether, for wherever it exists, there will always be corruption, hatred, oppression and fear.
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The new improved Communist Manifesto?
 
Enterprise-D said:
Quigly is correct, not all churches will blatantly show their discrimination.
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I wasn't trying to say that all churches were like this. My bad for not emphasizing that. I was trying to refer to the more common kinds.

Did I say the churches had to do it blatantly? I was mostly referring to the more subtle discrimination, like when they tell those children's stories about how this one guy's life sucked, but then he became Christian and he either instantly has a better life or is more accepting of his life, or when they tell children that the only way to heaven is through Jesus, or when they constantly tell people to spread the word to the infidels about Jesus dying for our sins, or when they say that people of other religions have been lied to, or that they need money to support missionaries teaching other countries that their religions are ridiculous, or whatever else there is. Of course they don't just say "These people are wrong, let's hate them." I have had a long history with one church, shorter histories with at least two others, I have gone to at least 3 different Christian youth groups, I have personally known several other people who have had their own experiences with a church, and I have seen plenty of fundamentalists on the internet (yeah, I know, what DON'T you see there?). Most of the supervisors of the churches/groups I went to knew barely anything about the beliefs of the people they have judged (several of them thought the Big Bang theory was about two meteors that crashed together, and even more thought that Buddhists actually worship Buddha as a god). They always talked about how Muslims are all terrorists or wannabe terrorists, about how the crusades should have been a victory for the Christians, about how pagans are all satanists, or how Christians were persecuted some time ago, but never once about the Ku Klux Klan, and barely talking about the Holocaust. It is through these subtle methods that mainstream churches teach children how to hate.
 
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