The Good, the Bad, and the Pious

It's really sad, that no matter what your religious, political, sexual orientation - the wackos are the ones that get the most attention. Often its negative attention, and casts everyone of that affiliation in a bad light.

Jerry Falwell was a complete douche bag. The evangelists who shove Christianity down everyone's throats are jerks and are doing the church a disservice. Its because of these people that so many reject the modern church.

I don't feel the need to convert anyone. Frankly, it makes me incredibly uncomfortable, because I know how awful some of the assault tactics are that churches use. The first summer I worked at a camp as a mission guide, my first group wanted to go to the local high school to evangelize to the students. This was in bible belt Tennessee, so of course the school let them do it, and being their rep. from the camp, I had to go too. They would corner kids in the lunchroom and talk to them, and then give them a bible. You could argue that the kids could just walk away, but in a town like that - a town like Lake City, where Jane and Glenn felt compelled to lie and say they went to church - the amount of peer pressure would make anyone crumble and take a Bible.

Someone approached me once and said "If you died, or the world ended, whichever came first, where would you go?". I was so thrown off guard I stuttered for a minute, and they jumped in with their sermon. Eventually I was able to interrupt and say that I went to church and the like, and they left me alone. Honestly though, I don't think I have enough gall to say that I'm going to heaven. From what I've been taught, by all rights I should be, but I think its a bit audacious. Why should I presume that's my final destination?

My sister and mother both worked in a hell house. I can't even begin to express how opposed I am to scaring people into going to church. Anyways, they are both on the charismatic side of the spectrum, whereas I am much less so. We got into a conversation about demon possession once, because my sister said one of her friends had been exorcised while they were away at a conference. Unfortunately, she decided to ask me my opinion in front of my mother, and when I replied I didn't believe in it, she went off in a tirade. I made the smartass remark that no Presbyterians seemed to be possessed, and my mother replied that maybe that's because they all were.

I really like my church. It's really laid back - we're not into the going out and building an army for God thing. And they're not all psycho-conservative either. Our congregation is actually pretty 50/50, and thus can't take stands on anything as a church because of the conflict it would cause. Just check out the t-shirts they let me print (I've been dying to show them anyways):












Wicked, huh? I don't think I could get away with it in any other church.

I've gotten a little off topic, but I did want to point out in all of this - that not all Christians are psycho to convert or complete hypocrites (as hopefully anyone who knows me can attest to), and that there are some cool laid back ones out there.

Love and Forgiveness or Hate and Fear: Lessons of Christianity from the Deep South

Religious fundamentalism was a hard topic for me to write about – not because it was difficult to think of something to say, but because I had too much to say. I could probably blather on about this topic all night, but instead I’ll try to keep this to a reasonable length and stick to one aspect of religious fundamentalism.

BlogSupergroup (as well as its readership) is pretty stacked with current and former residents of Lake City, FL. However, for those of you who did not have the pleasure of growing up in the LC, let me enlighten you. Lake City is a small town in North Florida, located a little less than an hour south of the Georgia border. For those of you who aren’t personally familiar with Florida, North Florida is nothing like the stereotypical Florida you see on TV. No spring-breakers or wealthy retirees from New York there. North Florida is part of the Deep South, the Bible Belt. (If you have any stereotypes about Georgia or Alabama, they might apply better to Florida than any stereotypes you might have held about Florida itself.) Let’s sum this up by saying that Columbia County (wherein Lake City is located) had no questions about who won the 2000 election; Bush took the county by a landslide.

While I grew up in Lake City, my family was one of the few non-religious families in the area. However, my parents weren’t staunch atheists or anything; in fact, they sent me to a Methodist (I think…) preschool for three years. (Anyone else go to Mrs. Cannon’s?) Mom felt that because Christianity is such a huge part of Western culture, I should at least have a basic understanding of the Bible and Christian teachings. My parents also let me go to church with various friends to a variety of denominations whenever I wanted. They also didn’t seem to mind when I started a cult in our backyard. Unfortunately, most people in Lake City weren’t as open-minded as my parents.

I learned at a young age not to tell people that I didn’t go to church. Even when I was in elementary school, telling my compatriots that I didn’t go to church (or worse, that I didn’t believe in god) was the sort of thing that would earn me shouts of “You’re going to Hell!” (Most commonly pronounced “Yer goin’ ta Hay-ell!”) I spent years lying – giving the name of a church near my home when asked, and fervently hoping that whoever was asking wasn’t actually a member of that congregation!

Now, from what I know about the Bible, there are many good aspects of Christianity. Do unto others, love thy fellow man, learn to forgive, that sort of thing. But unfortunately, in many of the churches in Lake City (although definitely not all) the message of love has been replaced by a message of hate and fear. Hate of those who haven’t been "saved," who who reject (or simply don’t believe in) Jesus Christ. Hate of those who support a woman’s right to choose, those who vote Democratic and those who oppose the war in Iraq. Hate of homosexuals and anyone who supports them. (A little while back, Glenn wrote about his experience stopping at a gas station in Lake City while wearing a pink shirt…) And fear… it seems to me that so many local churches preached that the reason to worship Jesus wasn’t necessarily that he was a great guy, son of god and all that, but that if you didn’t, you would spend all eternity on a slow-roast in the fire and brimstone with the gnashing of teeth and such.

To me, one of the worst examples of this was the Tribulation “hell house” put on by one of the local evangelical churches, the Lake City Church of God, as a Christian alternative to Halloween. I only went to Tribulation once. That year I went to two traditional haunted houses – one located in the Lake City “mall” and one put on (I do believe…) by resident blogger Stephanie and some of her friends. Those two haunted houses (of the sort decried by the Church of God), were simply spooky, campy fun for all. In contrast, Tribulation was unpleasant. I still feel sickened thinking about it. Instead of re-telling what I saw, I’m going to quote this section of ReligiousTolerance.org, which is quite accurate (although as I went to Tribulation in 1997, the events at Columbine and 9/11 had not yet occurred):

A Hell House consists of a group of horrific scenes within a type of haunted house. The customer walks through a sequence of tableaus designed to create terror and revulsion. The last scene is different; it is typically a portrayal of heaven. The visitors are then asked to accept salvation by repenting of their sins and trusting Jesus as Lord and Savior.

Hell Houses are a relatively new evangelistic technique used by many hundreds of conservative Christian churches in North America. One intent is to proselytize the unsaved public. Another is to promote certain conservative Christian beliefs:

*that abortions kill human babies;
*that sexual orientation is a matter of choice and can be changed;
*that everyone who is not saved will go to hell when they die (perhaps sooner, if Jesus returns);
*that underground Satanic cults engage in widespread sacrifice of humans.

Some hell houses are disguised to resemble conventional secular haunted houses. The customer only realizes that they have a religious theme after they have bought their ticket and gone part of the way through the scenes.

Typical scenes are:
*A realistic reenactment of the murder of Cassie Bernall, a teenager victim at the Columbine High School in 1999-APR. She was allegedly asked whether she believed in God, answered yes, and was murdered on the spot. The incident never happened. But the story has taken on a life of its own, and is frequently referred to in conservative Christian magazines and radio programs.
*A person being sacrificed during a Satanic ritual.
*Women undergoing very bloody late-term abortions, complete with screaming, lots of blood, and particularly insensitive, uncaring health providers. This scene has been partly abandoned in recent years in favor of a portrayal of guilt and depression arising from Post Abortion Syndrome.
*Gays and lesbians being tortured in hell for all eternity because of their behavior while they were alive on earth.
*The dangers of "dabbling" in the occult and becoming demon possessed.
*Personal tragedies arising from pre-marital sex.
*Disastrous tragedies and loss of life resulting from drunk driving.
*A man has an argument with his wife and is later seduced by his secretary.
*Witches pressuring a depressed teen to murder his fellow students.
*A 9/11 ground zero scene.

The Tribulation hell house I visited in 1997 was incredibly graphic and quite disturbing, involving “sinners” of varying ilks being tortured in an incredible number of ways – and yet people were bringing their children there as a safe, Christian alternative to Halloween. Gone is the Christian ideal of forgiveness, of love for one’s fellow man. Love and forgiveness have been replaced by the need to vilify those who are different and to use fear to coerce all to follow Jesus.

I urge all of you to check out the full article on hell houses at ReligiousTolerance.org.

Religious Fundamentalism

Well, this will probably get a lot of people really angry, but I seem to do that by accident all the time anyway, so ca, m'est egal. Also, it seems we're running late for a topic this week, and this should get people talking. Today, when I read the headline that Jerry Falwell died (and I'm not really proud of this visceral reaction), I was really happy, and thought to myself "Oh, good." It's a pretty terrible reaction to have to somebody dying who has family and friends who are really hurt by this. But that's exactly how I felt. This man injected religious conservatism into American politics in a way that I believe has permanently doomed this nation on the world stage. I mean, this guy made so many Christians believe they had to staunchly oppose abortion, homosexuality, stem cell research, the separation of church and state, the ACLU, etc. He poisoned the good nature and spirit of Christianity for millions of people. I'm not religious, so I'm definitely speaking from a biased standpoint, but I really feel that Christianity isn't supposed to stand for all these hateful and crazy things Falwell (and others) have made it stand for. When I was a kid going to church in Canada (not a very religious church, but still) we were basically told be good and do good. But in America (at least in the south, where I have lived my American life), Christianity seems to be about yelling and making sure homosexuals to turn kids gay. As everybody surely remembers, right after 9/11 Falwell said it was God's revenge against America for the ACLU and homosexuals. This kind of hate mongering is reprehensible, especially when you are claiming to be a voice box for a supreme being, and especially when millions of people follow your every word. And Falwell's twisting of Christianity into political jingoism, something that I believe is now inextricable from the American political theater, has doomed America on the world stage. I feel like there's no coming back from the heat of religious fervor this country has, and when national decisions are made based on flimsy interpretations of a magic book it really seems like progress is impossible.

Money - It's a Gas

I used to champion a cause very near and dear to my heart, but it has, in the last few years, fallen by the wayside. I'm talking about FLAG (not to be confused with PFLAG - Parents and Families (Friends?) of Gays and Lesbians). FLAG stands for the Foundation for the Literacy of Activity Guides. These poor college students couldn't read their schedules, and had to ask their boss all the time what they were doing. I started the foundation to help educate them. Ok - not a real charity, and I'm not sure that any amount of education would get them to actually read their schedules. These were the river guides and rappelling guides, who never bothered to look at what was posted, rather drove my friend Java insane by walking past the schedule to ask her. Odds are they were just being annoying.

I'm ashamed to say that I don't really donate money to anything. I don't make a lot of money, and am often broke pretty much days after being paid.

I used to live in VA, and as a result, went to the Smithsonian tons of times when I was younger. My mother really liked the African and Chinese art museums, so I ended up frequenting those by default. It's a shame though, because I don't think I ever went into the Art and Industries building. I was 12 though when I moved to FL, so I don't really remember a lot, except that I had been to several.

It's interesting that you brought this up. When I was in NYC, Laurie commented on having to pay to get into all the museums, whereas the SI was free. Obviously the Smithsonian needs a little help - maybe do like the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and not tell everyone the charge is optional.

That reminds me - did anyone else look at our stats the other day? Someone from the SI was checking out our blog.

Though I don't have money, I do donate a lot of time to my church. While that may not seem like a worthy cause to everyone, I really like my church and the people in it. Also local theaters, but since I get something out of it, I don't really consider it charity of any sort.

I suppose if I were to hypothetically donate, one would be the save the music campaigns - to protect music programs in schools. Almost everyone I'm friends with was either in band or chorus, and it's something near and dear to my heart.

I'm voting for Barack Obama, but can he win?

Even though it’s not yet 2008, politicians have begun to announce their respective candidacies for the presidency. It’s still quite early in the race; at this point we have no way of knowing who will join the race, who will bow out, what skeletons will emerge from which closets… and we certainly have no way of knowing just who the Democratic nominee will be. However, ever since the 2004 Democratic Convention, when I watched Barack Obama’s keynote speech (and found myself wishing that he – not Kerry – were the Democratic nominee), I’ve been hoping that he’d run in 2008. With Obama’s recent announcement that he is indeed throwing his hat into the ring for 2008, I’ve decided to support him.

Now, as much as I was blown away by his keynote speech at the convention (you can watch it here, or you can download it for free from i-tunes), I’m not going to back a candidate solely on the basis of his oratory skill. (If nothing else, Reagan was an exceptional speaker, and we all know that I never would have voted for the man. You know, had I not been all of two and six when he was running.) I did some research into the Democratic Big 3: Obama, Hillary and John Edwards. They all have very similar records/views when it comes to the issues I care about, specifically things like Roe v. Wade, contraception, stem cell research, etc. HOWEVER: Both Edwards and Hillary both gave into Bush’s obviously bullshit request to authorize the invasion of Iraq. That makes Obama the only candidate of the three who is untainted by the choice to send our troops into the desert. Granted, Obama wasn’t a Senator at the time, although he says that he wouldn’t have voted to authorize the use of force in Iraq. Of course, he has the benefit of making this statement after the fact, knowing what we know now. I was vehemently opposed to the invasion of Iraq back before this whole mess began, and I would like to think that there’s a politician or two out there who share my views. I would like to believe that Obama would be one of them.

Another thing I like about Obama is his Christianity and his willingness to court the Christian vote is an asset. Now, coming from me, this probably sounds mighty strange, as I am not religious whatsoever. However, as much as I would love it if the world would suddenly decide to share my point of view in this matter, I acknowledge that will never happen. Americans are a pretty religious bunch. Too long have the Republicans courted the religious vote, portraying the Democratic Party as a bunch of godless heathens, hell bent on destroying America. I think it’s about time the Democrats stopped shying away from religion; doing so simply allows Karl Rove, et al, to swoop in and snag Republican votes. (Somebody PLEASE remind the Religious Right that “turning the other cheek” is really not the same as bombing the shit out of one’s enemies.) However, even though Obama is a committed Christian, he also believes strongly in the separation of Church and State. Best of both worlds.

So those are some of the reasons why I’m supporting Barack Obama. But can he win? I don’t know. I hope so, but I just don’t know. I wonder if America is ready for a “black” candidate. (I put that in quotes because, as my father pointed out, if his mother is white and his father is black, isn’t he just as much a “white” candidate as a black one? But let’s face it, most people are going to take one look at this fellow’s skin color and label him “black.”) I myself am not so sure that America is ready for Obama, just as I’m not too sure that America is ready for Hillary either. Strategically, a vote for Edwards would be safer, but I very much prefer Obama over Edwards. I’ve talked about this electability issue with Nick before. His idea is that as long as the Democrats don’t waste too much time and money campaigning in the South, and instead focus on more “winnable” states, both Obama and Hillary stand a chance. I am not so sure either that the Democrats would essentially give up the South, or that the rest of America contains fewer bigots than the South.

This week’s discussion: What are your thoughts on Obama, Hillary and Edwards? Obama’s Christianity? The likelihood of a female or a person of color being elected President of the United States?

I don't roll on Shabbos

I have had a rough week; I got sick, work has been horrible, my iPod keeps crashing but I don't want to spend money to get a new one (now that I actually have some money in my savings); etc. I just sat down after a long day and long week, so I'm not going to take long to post. I will say that I can't think of too much that I am afraid of, at least things that would be interesting to post. Other people here, they have strange phobias or interesting fears, or at least interesting stories about their fears and phobias.

The thing that I am probably most scared of is death; but not in any abnormal sense, I don't think. And I think I'm more scared of what comes after (I haven't decided whether I like the idea of a heaven/afterlife/eternity or not- not that it matters) and of the way that it will happen. Related to that, I'm also scared of losing my mind; meaning, getting a disease that involves dementia, or loss of memories. That scares me pretty bad; mostly that stuff happening when I am young (when I'm old, I can just kill myself).

As far as everyday stuff, I am afraid of heights; mostly, I'm scared of flying. I have never been on a plane, and I'm pretty terrified to get on one. Whenever I'm up very high looking over a rail or something, I am flustered at first; like when I went to a football game at Dolphin Stadium, and we were quite high up, when I looked down it took me a few minutes to get used to it. But I got over it pretty quickly. So I think that I will probably get over it whenever I get on a plane. I don't like spiders, but I am not scared of them; I will kill them, as opposed to what I usually do with bugs (I take them outside). But that's because some spiders bite, and I don't know which ones do and which ones don't. Can't think of any real strange fears or phobias really.

When I was little, I was obsessively afraid of the Christian version of the end of the world. Growing up in Lake City, everyone went to church, except (it seemed) my family (which I am now in retrospect very thankful for), so I wasn't exposed to the fire and brimstone shit, nor was I exposed to the wonderful little gems in the Book of Revelations. I remember staying at a friends house, who was very Christian and whose family went to Church every Sunday (and who also had pornography in the house and swore like a sailor- I didn't see the irony in that situation at the time), and they were very into the end times; I ended up watching one of these "news" shows with the Hal Lindsey-esque end of the world prophesy watch, and descriptions of how the end of the world would be and the fact that with all of the crap happening in the world (this was probably like 1990 or something) we were on the cusp of the rapture. Then there is this movie that I saw some of, called Thief in the Night if I remember correctly, and it scared me shitless. And then I remember having nightmares for quite a while about the end of the world. Now, I find it very interesting, and completely ridiculous, and I join the Christians in waiting for the end to happen; I'd like to see if they are right. Better to find out that way than after I die, right?

With that, I'm off to rest.