I need some help... Badly

[Starwitch]

wicca is not a religion

the only real religions are ( Christianity, Jew and Islam)
and all parties know that the Jew are wrong and will go to hell

"You can safely assume that you’ve created God in your own image when it turns out that God hates all the same people you do."
~ Anne Lamott

In other words, please try to keep your father's opinions to yourself on this board. We are tolerant people. Please read the rules before you post anymore. You have already broken them several times. Jews, as a people, are fine by me. I have no reason to dislike them. Though I do have a problem with their bible, the Old Testament. But I have a problem with all patriarchal religions including the Christians who wrote the New Testament and the Muslims and their Koran. All of those books are a disgrace to the female gender and I'm certain that the Goddess is not happy that these male-centric religions that have dominated through wars, hatred, and intolerance.

Here is a beautiful page for Goddess worshippers to visit.
http://www.crystalinks.com/bluegoddess.html

Bright Blessings,

[)(Apollo the Good)(]

I totally agree with you

We all need to absolutely tolerate every individual and their beliefs. Christians, Muslims, Buddhists, Jews, Pagans....EVERYONE has their path. I hold my own beliefs, mostly Wiccan, however who am I to judge someone with differing ideals? Those practicing any religion believe just as strongly that theirs is the "right" one. Therefore I welcome diversity and differences.

Who are we to say they all do not lead to the same place? We all just have our own way of getting there, perhaps.

The deepest rooted beliefs I hold are love, compassion, & empathy. The whole idea of respecting every individual and what they hold sacred.

I am sure many of you have heard of Fred Phelps. I am a gay man and I live in the same town where Westboro Baptist Church is (he is just a few blocks away). I see them all of the time just spreading their HATE and SPITE throughout the world. Talk about a FEELING the negativity they send off. Seriously, I just get sick to my stomach when I see them, not because their message is against what I believe; it's just disheartening that they do it through sending out all this negative energy against anyone who opposes their beliefs. I used to hate them back...and then I realized that if I do that how am I any better than them? Therefore, I have learned to respect them for having a strong belief and just forging ahead with it even in times of high persecution. (Surely that is something we all understand). Anyway:)

My pt is that we should all approach the forum with a passion for learning: with perfect love and perfect trust. There are SO many differing opinions and beliefs and I enjoy it so much. I love you all deeply and respect you just as much. May we all show empathy for each other...even when disagreements surface.

Blessings to you all!!

[Starwitch]

I sure wish I could feel the same way and be as full of love and compassion as you are. I am absolutely FED UP with the patriarchy and stupid Bible bullshit. They can suck it, as far as I'm concerned. They hate women. They hate gay people. They hate witches. They even hate shellfish! How can I love someone who is projecting so much hate? Not only do I despise them but I want to tell the world about it! (I go through phases of accepting them and then hating them again, lol.) At any rate, you are a kind and tolerant person to be able to live that close to such narrow-minded fools and not throw rotten eggs at them when you drive by. (Hey, there's an idea!)

Bright Blessings,

[[ShadowPhoenix]]

I'm with you, . After countless arguements with people like that and even Fred Phelps personally, I just want to get rid of people who have that mentality, and I know exactly how I'd do it to...the thought even makes me shiver. Apollo, if I were ever to visit ya up there, and that evil place were to mysteriously burn to the ground with everyone inside...I didn't do it I wouldn't do that really...it's against my religion

[HonorRose]

Please don't assume that all Christians are as bad as all that. My parents are devout but liberal Catholics. My father has been arrested for protesting war, nearly been arrested for aiding illegal immigrants, was taken in for questioning after defending a Muslim woman (someone called the cops on her because they saw her driving into a church parking lot while wearing a berka; she was a family friend) and both my parents have long been supporters of gay rights and all sorts of religious freedoms. I also have many friends who are devout Christians but who believe that above all else you should love a person as they are and not try to change them or judge them.

Basically, not all Christians believe the bible word for word. I personally do believe that the bible, excluding the parts about Jesus (he was a wonderful person) is full of crap, but there are other Christians who believe much the same.

Many Christians do comply to the negative stereotypes *coughcoughevangelicalsgag* but even they can be kind people when you give them the chance. Those negative types are misguided, not bad. Their actions positively scream fear, and anyone who allows their life to so thoroughly be dominated by something so negative deserves nothing but pity and compassion.

Look, I get so sick of being judged by Christians for wearing black and pentacles that I just can't stand to see it coming from people on 'my side' either. People just don't learn from standoffs where both sides just yell 'You're wrong! No, you're wrong!' No one will ever listen to you unless you respect them first. I think that we need to set the example for those negative stereotypes by first showing respect and willingness to listen. If we can do that they might learn to do the same.

Please, try as hard as you can to be understanding! They're not all bad, and the ones who are are in desperate need of help!

[Moon_Stone]

Wow, this topic certainly turned a strange direction.
On the subject of intolerance, I must say that I think it's awful, but it is also a part of life. Conflict is an essential element of human existence, and each person certainly has a right to make their opinions known. Granted, a person who is here simply to bash us for our chosen belief system is not a person who will remain welcome here... though thankfully we don't get much of that.

With all that said, it is true that many religions teach hatred; whether it's hatred of a certain other type of person, a respectable hatred for one's own self, a certain belief system someone else holds, or a little shell-fishy for just being a shellfishy. What's worse here, is that these religions teach each individual to willfully and happily become mindless, following drones. But without that, the individual might think for themselves- and that just can't be allowed, right? So, religions pray on their insecurities, dooming them to a Hell of burning fire if they don't follow God's law. Ok, so for the Sheeple who are choosing to believe this, that's fine for them. For the others who are choosing to explore other ways of being, that's fine for them as well.

So far as those who scream their message louder than the rest (Phelps is a great example), #1 you do realize that this type of asinine behavior actually helps our case to a certain extent- "what a fanatical fruitcake!" ... and #2, what they desperately want is recognition, praise and to be either revered or protested (or both!!) -- all the while attaining that fame that is at the heart of their obsessive need. The very best thing in my opinion to do with these types is to ignore them. Make your own voice heard just as loudly, but never give them the satisfaction of knowing that their words make you angry.... that's exactly what they want- to get to us and ruffle our feathers.

There are those that yell, those that scream, and those who smile to themselves, laughing at all of this going on around them. Personally, I'm aiming for the latter.

*M

[HallowHim]

you should choose the religion that your parents are in.....

[confused]

dont judge christians that way i used to be christian for 15 years of my life they rnt all that bad my parents are stricktly conservative and they despise othr religions but that doesnt mean anything as someone else said they r misguided not bad if u got to know them they would come to like u and u would like them they r nice people u know

[confused]

NO u should choose ur own religion regardless of ur parents :!: NEVER choose a religion because ur parents r it NEVER :!:

[HallowHim]

dont judge christians that way i used to be christian for 15 years of my life they rnt all that bad my parents are stricktly conservative and they despise othr religions but that doesnt mean anything as someone else said they r misguided not bad if u got to know them they would come to like u and u would like them they r nice people u know

i agree with you...

[HallowHim]

NO u should choose ur own religion regardless of ur parents :!: NEVER choose a religion because ur parents r it NEVER :!:

it depends on what kind of parents you have......

[Release.the.bats]

I'd say it depends on the religion.
Not necessarily your parents, if you CHOOSE to follow the religious path of your parents.
That's dandy.
But it's just as dandy to follow a separate path.
As long as it's your own path, it dosen't really matter.

[confused]

thank u

[[ShadowPhoenix]]

you should choose the religion that your parents are in.....

No, everyone is their own individual, not a mindless drone. IF it feels right then go for it but don't believe in something simply because someone else does.

[HallowHim]

you should choose the religion that your parents are in.....

No, everyone is their own individual, not a mindless drone. IF it feels right then go for it but don't believe in something simply because someone else does.

no you don't understand me what i'm trying to say? parents always means the beast for they're children..