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

[naked-wrat.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I was there for this argument. I found it all quite offensive. I couldn't get my fingers to type fast enough - on the right keys! I was challenging one of these people who, as hierodule mentioned, believes that the Bible is 'complete truth'. This person refused to answer my questions! This person asked what my beliefs are and I said what they were and he was so busy pushing his own beliefs on everyone else that he claimed that I didn't say what I believed! People like this make me so angry! I believe what I believe after much self reflection and questioning and I don't push my beliefs on others - I discuss what I believe but at the end of the day I do not believe that what I believe is right for everyone. Somehow these people believe that I should believe what they believe and push it on me and others! *growls angrily*

[merrywitch.livejournal.com]

You have to be joking - there are rreally people out there with nothing better to do than trawl through Yahoo accounts to find people to criticise? Goddess help them.

Send a few my way hon; I love putting idiots back in their place.

Hugs .............. Merry

[flexibeast.livejournal.com]

Oh no! They weren't trawling through Yahoo! accounts; this lamer came into a Linux chat room i was in and asked for information on how to 'hack' (in the mass media sense of 'break into computers without permission'). Since i don't approve of such activity, a brief exchange ensued which resulted in her basically telling me that she didn't care what i thought because i am "sick" . . . . and it went from there. :-/

Thanks for the hugs. :-) *returns hugs*

[merrywitch.livejournal.com]

What a sad life some of these peanuts live. It's almost a shame to shoot them down; its a little like beating a three year old at Chess. They obviously don't have enough brain cells to do anything more complex than breathe.

Hugs always .......... Merry

[choke-me-hard.livejournal.com]

I think you're an amazing person...You're obviously very intelligent and it doesn't matter w/the bible thumpers say...Anyway doesn't the bible teach ppl that they are supposed to love all of God's creatures? And I'm sorry but there are ppl who are born w/both male and female parts...Ever heard of a HERMAPHRODITE...It's not very common but it does happen...What do these ppl call them? Are the demons trying to take over...Please God does create them so :-P

[flexibeast.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the compliment. :-)

Thankfully, i've read a variety of Christian responses to non-heteronormativity, and a number of them do take a more humble "Well, this is how God created this person . . . . " approach, which is nice to see. :-)

[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.