You and I already had a brief exchange on the church of Christ vs. the church of Paul, but I'm interested in other aspect as well. At some level, I may also be looking for a post-Pentacostal support group, though I don't have high expectations that this would be it. I'm just having a hard time finding a forum where I can talk about spirituality/religion where I can actually talk for three minutes without being called either a heretical sinner or a hateful bigot.
I would also prefer it to be in a neutral community space. Being in someone's home, particularly someone you don't know that well, has an entirely different vibe. "I am a guest here." It can clamp down on the free flow of opinion.
I'm not as interested in the ritual side of things. While I can claim to have an open mind to it, a couple of bad experiences in my Pentecostal childhood have me pretty badly burned on the whole notion of rituals.
If anyone called you either a heretical sinner or a hateful bigot, it would be in jest. But more than likely no one would even think to. You never really know what will come of them. I hope you get what you need from them. I hope we can have them at the dojo, I think I'm just gonna have to call Sensei strange, cause he didn't reply to the lj comment.
It would be nice. My top three responses when I try to talk about this are:
1. (from Christians) "That's a common heresy. You haven't thought of anything new here, and the church addressed this in the third century. You're just grasping for excuses to lead a sinful life." 2. (from non-Christians, especially atheists) "Your entire worldview is based on a patriarchal structure bent on oppressing women, homosexuals, and minorities. You're just too rich, white, and male to know the difference, so shut up and stop trying to turn America into a fundamentalist theocracy." 3. (from others) "Are you done talking now? Good."
Hoping for something better than that doesn't seem like hoping for much, but I've been frequently disappointed.
Comments 17
You and I already had a brief exchange on the church of Christ vs. the church of Paul, but I'm interested in other aspect as well. At some level, I may also be looking for a post-Pentacostal support group, though I don't have high expectations that this would be it. I'm just having a hard time finding a forum where I can talk about spirituality/religion where I can actually talk for three minutes without being called either a heretical sinner or a hateful bigot.
I would also prefer it to be in a neutral community space. Being in someone's home, particularly someone you don't know that well, has an entirely different vibe. "I am a guest here." It can clamp down on the free flow of opinion.
I'm not as interested in the ritual side of things. While I can claim to have an open mind to it, a couple of bad experiences in my Pentecostal childhood have me pretty badly burned on the whole notion of rituals.
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But more than likely no one would even think to.
You never really know what will come of them.
I hope you get what you need from them.
I hope we can have them at the dojo, I think I'm just gonna have to call Sensei strange, cause he didn't reply to the lj comment.
Reply
1. (from Christians) "That's a common heresy. You haven't thought of anything new here, and the church addressed this in the third century. You're just grasping for excuses to lead a sinful life."
2. (from non-Christians, especially atheists) "Your entire worldview is based on a patriarchal structure bent on oppressing women, homosexuals, and minorities. You're just too rich, white, and male to know the difference, so shut up and stop trying to turn America into a fundamentalist theocracy."
3. (from others) "Are you done talking now? Good."
Hoping for something better than that doesn't seem like hoping for much, but I've been frequently disappointed.
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