Christianity/christians

[BradyLady]

I too have had the basics of Christianity warped beyond their original intent, and misapplied on me. What I believe now probably doesn't line up with any one church or denomination, but of course religion is personal anyway. I don't take for truth anything that comes from the pulpit, just because a preacher said it.

I can understand why the topic is triggering when people have used religious principles as weapons to make other people feel inferior. It shouldn't be done that way. My job as a Christian is not to *make* others become one, or act like one. I don't decide what other people get to do.

Many of us have been damaged by wrongly used religion. To talk about healing from the wound, we have to talk about the cause of it. I hope there is room on this forum for believers of all kinds, as well as non-believers, because people in every category have the right to exist, and to heal.

 

[lostforgottensoul]

hope there is room on this forum for believers of all kinds, as well as non-believers, because people in every category have the right to exist, and to heal.

Of course there is!

Im right there with you (trauma circled around a warped religous cult). I get it. :hug:

 

[scout86]

@She Cat, sorry about your experiences with those "representatives" of the Catholic church. (A friend of mine would have told you it's a cult, but that might be a topic best avoided.) Sadly god, whatever version you go for, doesn't seem willing to control those who choose to claim they are acting in his name. My best guess is sometimes he's appalled and those would have been 2 of those times.

 

[RussH]

Maybe the ones posting about religion should go post on a religious forum.

We are all entitled to post our opinion, or beliefs here on this forum. The one thing we should all do is be respectful of each persons right to express their opinion and their faith especially as it relates to PTSD

 

[Thizette]

Stop spilling your guts to them about your PTSD.

I sort of disagree. I think we should be able to disclose PTSD as it's relevant. Disclosing is different than telling everything about it, but I find that you can drop it into a relevant conversation without it being a big deal. When I'm startled more than is normal by something, I will often explain it by disclosing PTSD. Most people just say, "Oh," and leave it at that. I think it's important that we're able to do this, particularly in intimate spaces, which a church should be. If we can't acknowledge the truth about ourselves to others, they shouldn't be our religious family.

 

[sedna]

The religious comments or references didn't really bother me here, I reacted strongly to somebody who I thought was using it to express their own problems relating to other people in general and felt the need to give an immediate slap down response over it.

I had to reflect on that later to understand why I felt that way, normally other peoples religious ideas dont bother me. I was raised in a weird 70's religious cult and dont have the confusion of mixed feelings a lot of people have over traditional churches, because I was never a part of it.

I think the main irritant with Christian stuff is that the deliverer of the message takes the tone that they are in possession of rock solid facts, and that you, the listener, are just being foolish to resist an absolute truth. The same guy that pissed me off wouldnt have...if that the attitude of smug righteousness hadnt been so blatant.

Thats not really about God, or religion. That same style of communication would have pissed me off in a different topic.

Maybe we should all take a moment to remind ourselves that not one human being on the planet actually knows anything about God. Whatever they believe is called faith and not knowledge.

Anybody that tells you they know what God is and how you should be handling the God thing yourself has a personality problem. Their personality problem isn't a spiritual crisis for you. Don't let them convince you it is.

 

[BradyLady]

I've got to say, this is the most civil disagreement about religious matters I've ever seen discussed on the internet. It could be that we're all sensitive to other people's PTSD and don't want to be a trigger? For whatever reason, it sure is a relief.

 

[Deleted member 34424]

You could always believe in God and then just read passages of Jesus and that be your thing.

 

[TinkerG]

In my experience a lot of Christians do not understand PTSD and they are not willing to especially outside the confines of the Bible. It's like once they learn you have been wronged they push you to forgive before you are ready. They push you to do this, they push you to do that and most of the time I'm not ready and I need to go at my own pace. And then they think God can make it all better. I am a firm believer but I don't believe God will heal me instantly. I believe he will heal me over time with me putting in effort because I believe the mind is fragile and he created it to need time. Most christians cannot understand that and expect a quick fix. It infuriates me! And then they emphasize and focus on everything they cannot do for me because apparently I am too needy and I should just turn to Jesus. what do I do? I love Jesus but I really dislike the church.

There is a difference between Faith, Religion, Church and Christianity. I have faith, I am a christian, I belong to a religion and I attend a church. I was raised to have faith but I did not attend a church or belong to a religion as a child. When I did attend church with friends as a teenager, I found that most of the churches I went to were extremely judgmental and false. I did not go back for more than 30 years but I did not lose my faith. Later, after being diagnosed with PTSD I met a person who was not concerned with discussing his faith or beliefs or convincing me that I needed to follow his though he was a devout christian. I've been a member of that church ever since. Not every member is exactly the same, not every member is as far on their path as the next....but I've found by and large that I am accepted as I am, as imperfect as I am, whether or not I disclose my illnesses or problems. The people are there to be of service to God and to help others and to learn to be a better person. I never needed a church or religion, I still don't. But I like the fellowship, the ideals and belief that I can be a better person if I work at it and how we work together toward that end. Nothing can be done overnight and that includes forgiveness - if someone tells you otherwise or expects you to be or do more than you are ready for, you can always just walk away.

 

[lostforgottensoul]

this is the most civil disagreement about religious matters I've ever seen discussed on the internet.

Respect!

 

[EveHarrington]

I sort of disagree. I think we should be able to disclose PTSD as it's relevant. Disclosing is differe...

I hate to point out the obvious but you're not disagreeing with me at all.

Re-read my statement in a LITERAL sense and you'll see that what you say and what I say aren't at odds. You chose to initially interpret my statement differently than I said it. (I really cannot be more straightforward in what I said-------really.)

 

[lostforgottensoul]

@Thizette, I think the biggest part of Eve's post is:

it's best to keep it private until you know someone is trustworthy.

And I agree. No one really should know until they have proven their trust to you. And in big ways. Trust to not hurt you, trust to keep it to themselves, trust of no judgement. Theres a lot there but those are some of the biggest for me that comes to mind.