(No subject)

[Guest guest]

hey ned, glad to know you're a liberal christian. i'm not being hostile or

attacking you, (the 'invasion') was half a joke cos i didn't know if you

were a right wing evangelical or not. you can't blame me or others for being

suspicious about christians, as the vast majority have a shitty track record

on lots of things, including homophobia. that's not bigotry on my part, just

self-preservation based on hard-earned experience.

 

if you are from the uk, you may remember the nasty stuff about section 28

that was whipped up by scottish christians a couple of years ago, including

that git who owns 'stagecoach' bus company & also the late non-lamented

cardinal whinning, scourge of the gay community. the real result of that was

that the incidence of violent attacks on gays rose like a rocket - so much

for whinning & co's christian values. and that's just one small example from

recent history. so please don't attack me either!! as for me, i wasn't the

victim of a physical attack, but the climate at schools at the time was

pretty shocking & i walked out of my job cos kids were harrassing me &

management were too frightened to do anything cos of the aforementioned

section 28. hence my wariness.

 

if you are from the states, just remember people like anita bryant & other

gay bashers. christians who were full of hate. scary people. i hope that the

above examples have put our minor angers into perspective.

 

but you are obviously not like that - good! i do think i have the right to

ask as i want to be sure that i can trust people on this list to a certain

degree.

 

i find it interesting that you chose to 'big up' your christianity but not

your taoism - why's that, out of curiosity? you say you believe in 'god' -

not sure what that means personally - if it's a conscious guiding force,

then it don't make sense to me. if it's just a recognition of the energy

that breathes us & makes us part of the universe, then yeah. but i don't

think the latter would sit down & write down a book of rules.

 

for me, the trouble with the major religions is that they take the essential

experience of oneness/life force (that people have experienced thru being in

nature , meditation, drugs or whatever), then try to market into a tool of

social control. i guess that's why i like buddhism & paganism.

 

despite going to a church of england junior primary school, christianity

never stuck. i always found it totally alien, the idea of a dead guy stuck

on a bit of wood. just so morbid & non-life affirming. and then, messiahs

were ten a penny during jesus's time. everyone is looking for a saviour when

their country is overrun by imperialist forces, aren't they?

 

but i guess you have a totally different take on the above, which is fine.

whatever gets you thru.

 

btw, i don't think people on this list are trying to hound any newcomers out

& i don't think they are full of hate. suspicion, yes - for the above

reasons and others. and also anger, cos of the abuses on animals and human

beings. it's hard to stay loving when you see a big bully government bombing

somewhere like iraq or afghanistan, or know that there are people being paid

to torture animals, for whatever 'scientific' justification.

 

like i say, people are just a mass of contradictions...

 

keep writing, stay on the list

 

j