Childfree + Religion Rant.
Pop quiz, wankas. What do you get when you combine bigotry, childfree, and Religious Right fundamentalism in one tidy package consisting of a single individual?

If you guessed this wank, you're right. Since I know many of you like ragging on the Childfree and the Religious Right, this might be worth a laugh.

(I'm doing this amid a break in massive housecleaning for a move, so forgive typos, I'm exhausted)

I'm about to leave a mailing list after spending a few hours trying to develop eBitchslap skills and only giving myself a headache, and getting all sticky from wank. The ML in question is for Childfree Christians. Now, initially, I was quite thrilled to find this and by and large, it's a good group, and I've made a few friends off of it. But there's one individual in question who's active on the list who just... well... you be the judge. I'm going to post what I said in full as well. It's on I_Wank. Yes, I know I'm wanking and being a bitch here.

This is the beginning of the end, taken in full from my post to WoundedWarriors.

Our players:
1. We'll call the ML founder "L" for leader, and his replies are marked by 2 brackets.

2. "B", for... well... ^_^ *ahem* but he's a neo-Conservative, hardcore, and a very active, vocal, passive-aggressive argumentive little s-- *ahem* person. His replies are marked by one bracket, although there's one part where L singled out a previous email from B, and his part there is marked off by three brackets. You can also tell when he's talking because of his insistence at using netspeak. In fact, his insistence at using netspeak has spawned arguments on the list before between him and other people. And this is a grown man. Aren't we proud of him? :D

3. Me. No brackets. And this reply never hit the list. Why? Because L, B, and I are all moderators on it. Guess who processed the ML submission and rejected my email?? If your answer isn't L, you get a cookie and a gold star.

I'm extremely intolerant of intolerance, and B's bigotry and hate has driven me off participation from the list for the most part because he's a passive-aggressive little s-- person who likes correcting people's tolerance and non-hatred. :D So I just kinda went into "...I'm gonna havta choke a bitch, I see. :D I KEEL J00! Let's see you throw a saving roll for this one, n00b!" mode when I saw B's reply to L over how those dirty lefties are destroying our pweshus holiday season. Oops. I said the 'h' word. Bad me. D: But then, I'm a dirty, stinking commie leftie. D:



> > Are you seriously ready to stand before Jesus and tell *him*, turning the
> > other cheek isn't working??
>
> There are times u do the above and there are times u stay and defend
> yourself. Sureley Jesus didnt whimper from anything and everything and
> expect everyone else to do the same.

...You seriously did not just say that. Look, if we were talking about
people selling PEZ candy dispenser crucifixes in Churches on Easter Sunday,
I'd be all for knocking tables over and stuff, but you're talking about the
defense of -traditions- like the Christmas Tree which have nothing to do
with Christ and have pagan roots.

> > >  I suggested using theirs b/c its working since they're winning
> > > despite being severely outnumbered.
> >
> > *They're* severely outnumbered??
>
> Yes. God's followers make up over 3/4 of the population where atheists are
> under 10%. That's nearly 10 to 1 and the 1 is winning in this case.

I got a really novel idea. How's about instead of bean-counting the
numbers, just hush up and focus on God, and let HIM worry about which hearts
are His? This isn't a popularity contest. Last time I checked, call me
crazy, but see, I had this idea that we followed Christ because we love Him
and believe in Him, and we're supposed to keep our eyes focused on what HE
wants. I'm afraid I missed the commandment which said, "Thou shalt point
fingers at other beliefs' share of the pie and whine that it's bigger than
yours." Which translation does that appear in?

> > Jesus said, we follow a narrow way. You may think there are people on the
> > other way who help swell our numbers; I know that much of the American South
> > (for instance) is heavily into *appearing* Christian. And so are many of
> > its politicians. But I suggest that appearances don't count here. Only the
> > hearts of humans do. And God alone is the judge of these... So I think the
> > real numbers are still like Jesus said.
>
>  U bet there's a load of ppl who keep up good appearances. I know someone
>  who can wear a clean white shirt, an well-ironed tie, thump a really mean
>  bible but is as selfish as can be. for beginners, he fully believes in the
>  Scrooge and Regan philosophy in running a business and screwing over the
>  workers. These so-called do-gooders arent trying to set up a happy little
>  place where nobody's offended (clearly they're offending a larger part of
>  the population) but only looking out for themselves...their <10% portion.

And to be quite honest, these people are more a threat to our faith than a
freakin' matter of semantics over what to call a dying piece of pine! Their
coldness, their hate, their bigotry and superiorism is exactly what turns
people away from the faith before they even see God. In fact, I have friends
who follows Jesus, but -refuses- to call themselves Christian because the
name has become so incredibly tarnished -- NOT by these so-called "heathen
enemies" who give a piece of pine an all-inclusive name, but by the
neo-conservative dominionists who are turning their faith into a full-out
no-holds-barred *WAR*.

This is NOT what it means to be a soldier for Christ, for cryin' out loud!
Ephesians 6:12 - "For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against
principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this
world, against spiritual wickedness in high places."

That doesn't mean go out and make a jackass over trivial things. That means
get on your knees and PRAY. If the Holiday Tree bothers you THIS much, why
are raising such a stink? Get to your knees and start praying. This isn't a
"fight" to be "won" by political agendas. If you really cared about what God
wants, you'd pray and let HIM do His thing. Maybe He's not doing anything
because He's fed up with stuff too and tired of Christianity being treated
like some sooper sekrit speshul exclusive club which you can only join if
you're "just right" by human standards.

> >  But that thing in our shopping malls *is* a Holiday Tree. It's already
> > become so secularized, I'm prepared to share it. And unlike the Menorah,
> > the December Pine Tree has nothing to do with Biblical religious practice.
> > Jesus never had a pine tree, so I don't feel I have to fight to preserve one
> > for him. If you have your own pine tree for the glory of God... more power
> > to you, but that's no more a *required* part of Christianity than children
> > are.
>
> If you're willing to call it that, call it that but a Xmas tree is still a
> Xmas tree. That was only 1 example of what the intolerant lefties are up
> to. They're also trying to remove all references to God or Jesus in any way
> they can. They're slick and working it one thing at a time. If they get
> that anti-Xian ball rolling really fast and succeed in totally stripping
> references to Xmas, God, Jesus, and anything else Xian, then what next? As
> long as there's nothing stopping them, they'll just keep right on rolling
> and gain power. As Xians we should do what we can to stop Satan's will.

...intolerant lefties? Are you even listening to yourself? Am I watching
Monty Python here? "Help! Help! I'm being oppressed!" The tree was never
Christian to begin with. And I thought the holiday was supposed to be about
love and family and peace on earth, goodwill to men. Not about petty
schoolyard squabbles.

> > Religious *practice* is highly negotiable to me. But I won't consider our
> > *beliefs* under attack until the enemies of God actually try to enforce that
> > people not *believe* them.
>
> Negotiate to what extent? If u let these lefty fools push u around,
> you'll end up w/ a lot of churches underground and Xian philosophies thrown
> out the window in regards to making laws to govern our land (remember many
> of our founders were Xian which guided them to how laws and the Constitution
> were written).

... BWAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. I'm sorry. L? You hit the nail on the head.
B? I'm not saying it's not impossible. Hell, lookit China. But
considering how many of my friends have come under attack - and I mean
PHYSICAL attack including property damage and vandalism - this last year for
not being Christian... sorry, try another one. Considering the way the
Religous Right Neo-Conservatives have been running with the ball, I'm not
believing a damn word about the "lefty fools pushing us around". If
anything, it's the neo-conservative Dominionists who've become downright
terrifying. I'm more afraid of them stripping away my rights PERIOD than I
am of the "lefty fools".

> > Taking down the Ten Commandments from Town Hall is not; it's an attack on
> > our practices. And the Christian church has been open to compromising on
> > practice, all the way back to the book of Acts.
>
> I believe i compromise myself but too often your common left-winged
> radical is not up to compromise which leaves them pushing and pushing until
> they're way is met 100%. How much compromise is fair? I think a lot has
> been compromised yet these anti-God lefties arent at all happy nor do they
> see any compromise. I think the compromises have been made and stretched
> and its time we stand strong against these anti-God bigots and retain our
> beliefs and rights. In my opinion, these ppl are driven and influenced by
> Satan.

When people start trying to tell us we have NO RIGHT at ALL to be
Christian, that's when we draw the line. But all people are wanting is the
right they have set forth by the founding fathers to practice their own
beliefs too - Freedom OF religion, folks.

> > Welcome to the Internet. It has a high proportion of intolerant people
> > who hate lots of things. Did Jesus tell us to hate them back?
>
> I would never propose hating them back...that does no good.

Don't look now, but your entire reply is -reeking- of an incredible amount
of hatred and bigotry, from where *I* sit.

> > The more we fight to change thise thhings which Jesus pronounced, the more
> > likely we are to hurt someone. And Jesus did not hurt people. And we are
> > to be like Jesus.
>
> We're fighting to keep things the same, not change. We dont want to hurt
> anyone but to what extent should Xians be the doormat? I dont want to hurt
> or kill anyone but if someone threatens me or those I care for, I'm sorry, I
> will defend them and myself. God expects that of us.

If you're fighting to keep things the same, then you're in for one rude
awakening. The ONLY constants are change, death, taxes, and God. If you'd
rather risk wounding souls and hardening hearts beyond the point of
salvation just to cling to your little traditions, then pardon me but as we
say over on FandomWank... "Get off my side, you're making my side look
stupid."

==================================

I'm also leaving the list. I'll repost in another post here what all I said in my departure email. I'm not even sure L will let it through but L has a good head on his shoulders and I do like the guy.

Edit: I should also mention that after this, L removed both mine and B's mod rights. Since I know why he appointed us both - two complete polar opposites - it was to avoid any partisan appearance. But now I'm honestly wondering how many replies might have hit the list to B that he rejected. The list was more active before a huge flamewar between tolerance and neo-Conserative stances erupted a while back that made modding the group necessary. I wonder how many people other people were soured into being silent like I was lest B try to pick a fight.



After a day or so of wanting to chew this guy's face off, it occured to me that I'm hardly the only one who's ever been angered or hurt by such hateful doctrine disguising itself as Christianity. I founded a new comm, and so began the next chapter...

I post my departure letter to the comm, WoundedWarriors. And knowing that there's quite likely others on the CF ML who've possibly been stung by this guy, I wanted to post it, I wanted to leave, and I wanted to keep the potential for drama down and not seem like I was singling out too much here, so I combined it with a bunch of other links.

The subject line of my email was 'Luke 11:39:52'

For several reasons, I believe it's time for me part ways. But this
isn't a dramallama door-slamming "I'm taking my toys and going home"
rant either. The reason why I'm doing this is to provide links to
other places someone may find to be beneficial and healing. I'm not
encouraging anyone to leave, but rather, these links are intended as
supplements.

I've been quiet here for a while because for a reason I won't get into
as far as detail goes, I have not been comfortable for a long time now
with saying a single thing faith-related on here, as I'm extremely
weary of attending a church and being pulled away from worship of God
by the other attendees who wish to argue with me. I've left plenty of
churches RL due to similar reasons. I go to Church to worship Jesus,
not to debate the legality of things with Pharisees. One reason why
I'm withdrawing from this church is that too many of my friends, as
well as myself, have endured too much abuse by neo-Conservatives for
me to be capable of exercising the slightest bit of tolerance toward
intolerance. When you have broken down crying numerous times because
you've been convinced by legal-oriented Christians and the Religious
Right that Jesus despises you no matter how much you love him and
you'll never be good enough for him unless you're someone else
entirely, when you've attended funerals for friends who've been driven
into such deep depression by these people that they've killed
themselves, one tends to be aggressive against hateful doctrines.

A major reason is that I've found Christian fellowship and support in
another community where I am more comfortable - not CF, but they
accept that part of me without question. On top of that, I've
discovered a church locally to where I live, and they also accept me
as I am, without question, and do not question my right to serve God
or my salvation with petty reasons and man-made rationale that so many
neo-Conservatives do. In fact, we're a rather diverse lot. As long as
you love the Lord Jesus Christ, you're welcome with open arms, and
politics are left at the door. From left to right, the thing we
believe the most is that only God has the right to determine a
person's salvation and judge them, and that "God is still speaking."
If you have a United Church of Christ in your area, it's worth
checking out. I feel at peace among other Christians and not on my
guard being someone else they might deem "acceptable" for the first
time at mine.

To understand a little more about me and why I'm sharing these links,
here's a bit about my religious background.

I'm a recovered former Pentecostal who's spent most of the last three
years more or less estranged from God. Not from my beliefs, per se,
but angry at him for John 3:16 yet apparently finding me worthless no
matter how earnest and honest my seeking of him was. Of course, I was
gauging his response to me in a Pentecostal mindset and what I'd been
told repeated. If this or that didn't happen or I didn't feel that or
this, then I wasn't holy enough for God, that I was too sinful and
wicked for him, that I needed to 'get right' first and get fixed up
before he'd accept me, and combine all that with a naturally
perfectionist mentality, and you have a recipe for disaster. No matter
how much I tried to change, no matter what I did, regardless of all my
efforts to be perfect enough to be accepted by Him, I couldn't. But
I'd look at other Pentecostals and by all appearances, they could.
There was a period of years where I was virtually a brainwashed robot
and still wasn't perfect enough. And while I believed in Him, I came
to realize that if this were on human terms, this would be one hell of
an incredibly emotionally abusive relationship and I got angry.

And yet I kept trying. And it finally all broke and fell down when -I-
was completely broken after a very vicious backstabbing, and I needed
that loving Father everyone keeps talking about, and I tried again -
it wasn't possible to be even a smidge more sincere than I was that
night... and instead... when I turned for help, all I got was a
figurative smack across the face by another Christian and ignored. And
I'd been numb in my faith for the longest time, still seeking answers
and help and trying to figure out how to be good enough. When I got
told by a Pentecostal that my hurt feelings and anger were my fault
and *I* needed to apologize to God for feeling broken and lost, I
snapped and went on a spiral that had me renounce a faith I didn't
just believe in, I knew was true - I just didn't care anymore. I was
tired of being emotionally and spiritually abused by God.

It wasn't until someone posted a link on a community I read to a
forum that looked interesting that I realized... it wasn't God who had
been emotionally abusive. It was the brainwashing and conditioning I'd
received from Pentecostals that did the trick. For the first time,
I've been able to start truly recovering from that and rediscovering
the joy of Christ.

I'm leaving for my own reasons, and I made an LJ community because of
one of these reasons. But I'm posting these links not to encourage
anyone to depart here but to encourage those of you who may need the
support and healing I've been fortunate to find to discover these
places in supplement to the support of this cyberchurch. Most of
these are livejournal communities. Making a journal and joining them
isn't difficult, but be aware that many places, especially those that
moderate membership, are wary of new/empty journals because of trolls.
If you do make a new journal and want to join a comm, I'd suggest
making at least one public post explaining the newness of your journal
and your purpose for making it.

Offline:
http://www.stillspeaking.com/ - United Church of Christ.

Websites and Forums:
http://ex-pentecostals.org/
http://www.crossleft.org/ - Progressive Christianity. I recommend
their links area for more resources.
http://www.religioustolerance.org/ - not solely for Christianity,
promoting tolerance for all.

Livejournal Communities:

General/useful:
http://www.livejournal.com/userinfo.bml?user=dark_christian - geared
toward uncovering the lies of Dominionism.
http://www.livejournal.com/userinfo.bml?user=backtobeginning - A place
for "heretic" Christians
http://www.livejournal.com/userinfo.bml?user=cf_christians - Childfree
Christians
http://www.livejournal.com/userinfo.bml?user=woundedwarriors - a place
for recovery from spiritual abuse and hate doctrines (moderated
membership; read rules)
http://www.livejournal.com/userinfo.bml?user=jesusliberation -
progressive Christianity (moderated membership)
http://www.livejournal.com/userinfo.bml?user=christianleft -
Politically left Christians
http://www.livejournal.com/userinfo.bml?user=lgbtx and
http://www.livejournal.com/userinfo.bml?user=glbt_christians - GLBT Christians

I'll terminate my membership here within a few days to allow for any
response or questions, although I recommend those be directed to me
privately offline as to not bog down the list. If you wish to email me
berate and yell at me and tell me what a horrible faithless heathen I
am, bring it on. I'll merely post my response somewhere public so
other people can join in on the fun of heckling bigotry and hatred.
Just a fair warning. ::shrug::

If even one of these links helps even just one other person here find
healing and/or peace for whatever reason, then this departing email is
worth it.



My reason for waiting a few days before termination is to give a fair chance for response because it isn't my intention to throw an eDrama hissyfit and stomp off. I do want to leave because it's an unhealthy list for me as long as B is there.

And I had to include that last bit, because I knew B wouldn't be able to resist responding somehow or other, and I figured it's only fair to warn a guy, y'know?



I'll merely post my response somewhere public so
> other people can join in on the fun of heckling bigotry and hatred.
> Just a fair warning. ::shrug::
>>


I dont wish to argue w/ u (as I proven when I rejected your post) but
do u realize you're the pot calling the kettle black? I'm not trying
to start a fight byt you're truly the most intolerant and
bigoted "Christian" I've ever seen.



... I'll admit I'm being a very wanky bitch who's not very tolerant of his intolerance but... what?

Considering the source, I think I should feel complimented by that insult.