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Good comments
Oct. 7th, 2006 02:16 pmhttp://ginmar.livejournal.com/902424.html
Yeah, I think some have forgotten. It doesn't matter what the actual organized religion is, be it Christianity, Islam, Wicca, etc... I really wonder if people know what they do when they condemn another person for being different or who doesn't believe in their particular faith. Nobody is perfect. Yes, I am angry at organized religion for becoming something that has sold out and where hardly anyone practices what they preach anymore. But I still believe in the basics. No, I don't believe in God. I believe in something else. I wish people would accept that and leave me alone. Like the other day, which I did not talk about: An old woman in Starbucks interrupted me reading my book, drinking my coffee; to ask me if I had been saved. When I said no, we started talking. I told her honestly that I was pagan, I told her what I believed in. She said to my face, "You are a sinner and a blasphemer. You are a devil worshipper. You will go to hell if you do not accept Jesus." When I explained myself further, saying that yes, I was a witch, but no I did not believe in Satan, she flinched and her eyes widened and I thought for a second that she might hit me. I said, "Didn't Jesus teach you Christians to love your fellow people, not condemn them?" She said, "I am trying to save you, you ungrateful witch!" I asked her if she really cared about what a stranger believed, since it didn't affect her. She said she was meant to spread the word of God and try to save others. Keep in mind that this was in a corner of the store, and we were speaking in low voices. She wasn't causing a scene. And I realized, suddenly, that she was just doing what she believed. She was doing what her faith asked her to do. I could not snap at her. I could not talk back or get angry, because what would that prove? She truly believes this. Who am I to be angry for that? If she had tried to hurt me in anyway, push me, hinder me, then I would have called the store manager to get her away from me. But I only gently stepped aside, bid her good day, and left. I was not about to start an argument with a Christian who was doing what Christians in her particular secr believe they are supposed to do. That's the point of having varying belief systems. She wanted to antagonize me; I didn't feel like giving her what she wanted, not in a public place. She could yell and rant at me all she wanted. It wasn't going to make me convert. And I think that's what people need to realize. I think I've gotten better. All I want is for the hatred and prejudice to stop -- on all sides. Pagans are just as guilty, just in different ways.
Anyway.
I spent some time with an Amish community during a high school trip. They really are extraordinary people.
Yeah, I think some have forgotten. It doesn't matter what the actual organized religion is, be it Christianity, Islam, Wicca, etc... I really wonder if people know what they do when they condemn another person for being different or who doesn't believe in their particular faith. Nobody is perfect. Yes, I am angry at organized religion for becoming something that has sold out and where hardly anyone practices what they preach anymore. But I still believe in the basics. No, I don't believe in God. I believe in something else. I wish people would accept that and leave me alone. Like the other day, which I did not talk about: An old woman in Starbucks interrupted me reading my book, drinking my coffee; to ask me if I had been saved. When I said no, we started talking. I told her honestly that I was pagan, I told her what I believed in. She said to my face, "You are a sinner and a blasphemer. You are a devil worshipper. You will go to hell if you do not accept Jesus." When I explained myself further, saying that yes, I was a witch, but no I did not believe in Satan, she flinched and her eyes widened and I thought for a second that she might hit me. I said, "Didn't Jesus teach you Christians to love your fellow people, not condemn them?" She said, "I am trying to save you, you ungrateful witch!" I asked her if she really cared about what a stranger believed, since it didn't affect her. She said she was meant to spread the word of God and try to save others. Keep in mind that this was in a corner of the store, and we were speaking in low voices. She wasn't causing a scene. And I realized, suddenly, that she was just doing what she believed. She was doing what her faith asked her to do. I could not snap at her. I could not talk back or get angry, because what would that prove? She truly believes this. Who am I to be angry for that? If she had tried to hurt me in anyway, push me, hinder me, then I would have called the store manager to get her away from me. But I only gently stepped aside, bid her good day, and left. I was not about to start an argument with a Christian who was doing what Christians in her particular secr believe they are supposed to do. That's the point of having varying belief systems. She wanted to antagonize me; I didn't feel like giving her what she wanted, not in a public place. She could yell and rant at me all she wanted. It wasn't going to make me convert. And I think that's what people need to realize. I think I've gotten better. All I want is for the hatred and prejudice to stop -- on all sides. Pagans are just as guilty, just in different ways.
Anyway.
I spent some time with an Amish community during a high school trip. They really are extraordinary people.
