Spiritual intolerance

[flexibeast]

One of the joys of having one's trans status as part of one's Yahoo! ID is drawing the ire of God's Defenders of the Righteousness of Heteronormativity. i was told earlier today that i'm "sick" for being both male and female. Further, and in apparent contradiction to my existence, i was told that "its wrong b/c god doesn't make people like you". A large argument then ensued, in which i argued with a number of Christians and tried to work out where they're coming from. i was told by one person that s/he was "confused by what [I] believe". i think this person was confused for a couple of reasons:

* Firstly, i noted that i believe in the existence of their God as one aspect of the Divine - i wasn't trying to deny the existence of their God, even as they tried to deny the existence of mine;

* Secondly, this individual was spending far more time telling me about how Christianity is The Truth than trying to understand my beliefs. When i noted this, the person concerned said "why would i be interested in learning something i know is false?" :-P

There was also some consternation as a result of my revealing that my personal Deity (Baphomet) is often considered to be the Devil and/or Satan by Christians. This led to a discussion about how the Devil tricks people into thinking that their relationship with him is a relationship with the Divine. Way to dismiss my spiritual experiences as invalid.

Overall, it was a very tiring experience. i wish there were more Christians whose preferred way of being a Christian involved giving material assistance to the impoverished, instead of trying to save people's souls from eternal damnation by badgering them and telling them that there is only One True Religion.

Comments

[astarrymist.livejournal.com]

Hmm yes there is much too much of that crap out there. Thankfully (after a LOT of searching) I have found a few Christians who are capable of having respectful conversations (including listening-wow!) about eachother's beliefs. Granted, I still cringe over a few things they say but I'm glad to see they are open to talking. As far as the rest of the lot goes, its better to avoid dealing with them if you can. They can be persistent and rude regarding your own beliefs, and they might even feel the need to wage a spiritual warfare type battle with you ::rolls eyes:: Even if your deity was er...more fluffy, they would say the same thing. Even if you were straight and fully the gender your body was born as, they would pick at you. In other words, if you are not Christian they'll pick at you. I love that line you quoted "Why would I want to learn about anything I already know is false?" The statement itself reveals a lack of logic. You can't know everything else is wrong if you don't understand it. If I happen to find myself involved in a discussion with one of these types then I really try to push that concept on them. Surely it can't be sinful to at least study and understand other belief systems? And if it is, that seems like your God might be afraid you'll find something better. Couldn't understanding the way others believe help you solidify your own beliefs? Why not look for the beauty in other belief systems instead of classifying them as evil? It's very rare that I ever get into a conversation of that nature....Rare but precious when it happens.

[flexibeast.livejournal.com]

*nod* Indeed.