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Brunch with Ness, Scary Laura, Eileen, and Eileen's Mom, all fresh from that creepy little evangelical church they go to. So we get onto this topic of how Mrs. Eileen's Mom went to West Virginia Wesleyen College and how the chapel was the center of campus even if you weren't religious (yeah, I'm sure). And she says that she hasn't seen the rest of the Intervarsity Fellowship kids around, like, are they supposed to be wearing giant crosses, lady? And how she didn't get an idea that there was one uniform religious feeling on campus (me, in my head: you're damn right, and thank fuck for it). And Scary Laura is all "that's because there isn't one, the campus is anti-God, the religion is atheism." And I wanted to say "bite my agnostic ass, bitch," only I didn't. And the mom starts talking about how she's a high school guidance counselor and thus not allowed to talk to kids about God (no, no you sure aren't). A general consensus over how people are so empty without God in their hearts, and what a shame it was that she had ACTUALLY talked to children who had NEVER BEEN TO CHURCH once in their lives, was reached. Minus me. I was busying shredding my cake into little bits and trying not to puke. People are so IGNORANT. And you know what? Not my fucking job to enlighten them. I'm officially going to stop fretting about it now that I've gotten it out of my system.
Also, learned that Scary Laura's parents are indeed missionaries in the Gambia. The concept of missionaries freaks me out. They must be more culturally aware than their past counterparts these days, but still. Historically many missionaries have done as much damage as good. Can't you go out into the world and want to help people without converting them, in this day and age?
Dala's in a bad mood now. Time for pirateporn and lieutenantlurve.
Also, learned that Scary Laura's parents are indeed missionaries in the Gambia. The concept of missionaries freaks me out. They must be more culturally aware than their past counterparts these days, but still. Historically many missionaries have done as much damage as good. Can't you go out into the world and want to help people without converting them, in this day and age?
Dala's in a bad mood now. Time for pirateporn and lieutenantlurve.
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I feel for you. Spent four years of my life going to a Southern Baptist Sunday School, and all the people were really nice. Lovely people, and generous to a fault within their beliefs. But--not my deal. I never liked the bit that my vaguely Taoist-Buddhist relatives were heathens condemned to hell.
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Except .... again, that religious people and their organizations are treated as though they should be included in major portions of deciding public policy and laws. That superstition can run such a goodly portion of our lives that should be decided by logic and education in this stage of our development as a species is beyond my comprehension.
The next time this sort of conversation comes up, I wonder if you could maintain enough decorum and calm to think to ask if the person speaking feels similarly about Allah being discussed freely in American schools, or Buddha, or even Wiccan figures. Chances are she'll either say "sure" and look uncomfortable, or start preaching about how Jesus is the One Way and the rest of them are just wrong. You can get out of being preached at for this by looking truly innocent and claiming you're playing devil's advocate. (I have a friend who rarely discusses religion with me anymore, because I pointed out to her during one of her arguments that there is a woman her age somewhere on the other side of the planet who is *convinced* beyond all reasoning that the deity she worships - who is not Jesus - is The Way to peace and post-death salvation, and that she's living her life working for a better reincarnation, just as my friend lives hers working for a good afterlife. I then added that not even a majority of Earth's population are Christians and that Christians actually make up quite a minority in the scheme of worldwide religious adherency. You'd want to research and get numbers on this, of course.)
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Thank you for listening :)
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On the other hand, if it inspires an outpouring of pirateporn from you, it will have been so worth it.
::Hugs::
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