PTSD sufferer
Platinum Member
Hi Perfectly Flawed,
I can relate to how the church community has treated you. We have to remember that some individuals choose religion purely to elevate their own moral sense of worth, whilst they act imorrally. They are not superior people just because they go to church and believe in something they cannot see, or because they choose to only reference one single book as a source of all morality - they are not historians of the middle east in the time of Jesus, Moses, Abraham or Muhammad, they are not academics of pyshology or moral philosophy. They are not superior and lack any expertise on what they choose as a job title (pastor) or by choosing to be part if a group/community made and run by mere men (a church). People from all walks of life don't understand social and cognitive psychology of humans, they certainly don't have the psychological maturity people like us have.
I was raise in a Christan environment and spent time with friends if many faiths- of which has only surred a level of abuse as to my morality and a fight for my spurit. The majority of what I have seen is poorly trained people who try to play the morality card by focusing on social consequence and the fixing of people when they lack a basic understanding and sound knowledge of all academic thought, let alone the one book they choose to read. One of the ten commandments - treat others as you wish to be treated, originated from Confusionism, long before the Bible came about, yet Christans will claim otherwise. There are many claims without full understand of fact, culture, and history. When a pastor swing that incense bowl down the aile people claim it is a cleansing of sins, historically this was done to subdue the stench of the peasants who sat at the front of the church and the lords and ladies who sat at the back. A rutual that has no spiritual basis what so ever, just a facet of the time.
Perhaps, if such devotees, and literally take the bible on it word, these people feel they should be treated as they have treated you (without empathy), and they should be victimised because if their persecution as you have - they will probably take issue with that I imagine as you have. Perhaps they should have stones thrown at them because they sinned first by treating you without love, compassion and rather blame and judgement? Ist God the only one who can judge? Would that not be the ten commandments in action and thus make you a good Christian? Well the answer in my mind is no, and they are not good Christans themselves because of what they choose to DO. This is because what we believe does not matter, it is what we DO that counts.
Some people choose to elevate pastors and religious people above all others, and when they use fear of hell, I see that as control. They are mere men and they are flawed. These are their insecurities and lack of intelligence at play, and thus their problem and not yours. We just need to look at the number of failings of religious leaders in the news to see the logic that man has screwed up religion many, many times and behaved immorally (and sometimes more than people who do not have a religious job title).
It is my view that, if I was to believe in God, then based on his wisdom, knowledge and love, he would not have to ask me 'what sort of life I lived or what good deads I did for others' he would automatically know my suffering, understand my actions, and embrace me regardless of the persecution of society. I strongly believe that, if God existed, he/she will treat you like this too.
Kant (a philosopher) once said that only those who have endured immorality, know what true morality really is. I can tell you know what morality is and these morons do not. You were once a victim, you don't need others to make you a victim now (just as they persecuted Jesus and later regretted it), because you are now a survivor.
PS xxoo
