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Yesterday, I got a call from Jason's mother, who just wanted to know my and Adam's last name (so she could send us a present) and to thank me again for taking her son in and loving him so much with our friendship. She was almost crying, she was so grateful. Jason has had a hard life -- drug addiction, homelessness, etc. But he's one of our dearest friends, and now he's got a room, and people who love him, and she is just so thankful. She told me that God was looking out for all of us, that he loved us -- I remember I said, "Yep, great guy." After we hung up, I thought about that. I wonder what she and her husband would say if I explained my own beliefs?
Since I became pagan, I have told several monotheists about it, and I would say that seventy percent of the time, I was met with doubt, worry, disbelief, and once or twice, fear. Sometimes I feel like I need to hide, or pretend, just to be accepted. And that is ridiculous. It really is kind of stupid of me to think that. But exposure and experience have shown me that not everyone is so accepting.
Luckily, Jason has said that his parents are sort of "hippie Christians," that they are extremely accepting of other faiths and would never try to push their own faith. If it ever comes up that I am a polytheist, an animist/pantheist, a witch... I think it will be fine.
I have enough respect for the God of monotheism to agree when someone tells me how much he loves me, etc. It doesn't mean I believe in him, or that anyone should assume I do. I think people of different faiths need to be able to sit and understand and talk without arguing too much. Is that possible?
The word "religion" comes from the word "rely" and was originally used to describe a community of people who share the same beliefs with sets of rules, who come together to help one another -- not to gather to hurt or bash other faiths that disagree with them. Unfortunately I wonder if it has become more of that than the other.
This is why I am not religious, I do not belong to a religion. I don't follow anyone's rules or dogmas but my own. I wonder if some people are actually frightened by that.
Since I became pagan, I have told several monotheists about it, and I would say that seventy percent of the time, I was met with doubt, worry, disbelief, and once or twice, fear. Sometimes I feel like I need to hide, or pretend, just to be accepted. And that is ridiculous. It really is kind of stupid of me to think that. But exposure and experience have shown me that not everyone is so accepting.
Luckily, Jason has said that his parents are sort of "hippie Christians," that they are extremely accepting of other faiths and would never try to push their own faith. If it ever comes up that I am a polytheist, an animist/pantheist, a witch... I think it will be fine.
I have enough respect for the God of monotheism to agree when someone tells me how much he loves me, etc. It doesn't mean I believe in him, or that anyone should assume I do. I think people of different faiths need to be able to sit and understand and talk without arguing too much. Is that possible?
The word "religion" comes from the word "rely" and was originally used to describe a community of people who share the same beliefs with sets of rules, who come together to help one another -- not to gather to hurt or bash other faiths that disagree with them. Unfortunately I wonder if it has become more of that than the other.
This is why I am not religious, I do not belong to a religion. I don't follow anyone's rules or dogmas but my own. I wonder if some people are actually frightened by that.
no subject
Date: 2007-02-25 10:42 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-02-25 11:02 pm (UTC)(And, oh, I know how aggravating some people can be. There were a few people on the street corners yesterday in (the apparently Godless)downtown Grass Valley, carrying huge signs graphically illustrating Heaven and Hell, and foretlling of the coming Apocalypse and so on. Really frightening- looking, realistic art work. The kind of stuff you wouldn't want small children to see. These people come up every month or so from a town west of here which is an absolute cesspool of drugs and poverty to "save" Grass Valley. I think they think they are doing some kind of missionary work. My gut level impulse was to drive by and flip them off. Heh. I just drove on by and kept my hands on the steering wheel.... It was easier on me that way.)