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[theweaselking]

Last Hallowe'en, a woman from a psycho cult made a blog post about her 5yo son wanting to dress up as Daphne from Scooby Doo for Hallowe'en, making fun of the various smallminded idiotic things her fellow cult members had said and defending, absolutely, her son's right to innocently act any way he wants to.

She's been "excommunicated" from her cult, for "bearing false witness" (truthfully reporting, without names, places, or other identifying details, the accurate and complete statements of others) and "violating the teachings of Matthew 18" (not beating, torturing, or murdering her five-year-old son for daring to, without understanding, do something that might possibly be considered "kinda gay-ish")

She says: "this is not a manifesto against organized religion, church, Christianity, its various denominations, etc."

Well, actually, yes it IS a perfectly compelling manifesto against all of those things. You just don't see it that way, yet.

Comments

[atothek.livejournal.com]

Fucking fuck fuckers.

Yeah, I had 15 years of Catholic school and this is the same shit that I had to deal with growing up. It is why I am no longer Catholic. Or Christian. Or anything.

[lightinchains.livejournal.com]

I think ceasing to exist is a bit of an over-reaction.

[chaosrah.livejournal.com]

Elders, brochures, not being able to transfer churches in good standing? Is she a Jehovah's Witness? I don't know if there are other religions that have these terms, that's just the only religion I've been exposed to that relates to these things.

[theweaselking.livejournal.com]

Mormons use the same terms, but are less likely to have cited their objections in purely Biblical references, and are generally better about not being *completely* tone-deaf about the internet.

I'd say Jehovah's Witless, except that she uses a computer and the pastor appears to know what a "blog" is.

[chaosrah.livejournal.com]

I dated a JW for two years. He's in IT, actually. And he plays video games. And all sorts of things normal people do- and that was BEFORE I met him. Only things that were really huge restrictions were obviously sex, being alone with a woman you weren't married to, cursing, no drugs or getting drunk, anything to do with magic/occult (sometimes video games fall into this category, but weren't that strict about it). He didn't get into Facebook until after he met me, but he knew what a blog was, certainly. And definitely used/still uses a computer.

Still, their lifestyle is fucking crazy, and sounds like a cult- and what she's describing TOTALLY sounds like something my ex's church/elders/pastor would have done. And sounds similar to the disillusionment he felt when his elders didn't seem to give a fuck about his well-being (if you do something wrong, they cast you out, and don't really offer up any help to you emotionally until you decide that their way is right, and you would like to ask forgiveness)

Does that remove the whole using computer stipulation? Back to two options?

[scixual.livejournal.com]

I was thinking Catholic, because they're the excommunicating type, and receiving the sacrament was mentioned, but reading this, I realize I could easily be wrong.

"Pastor" instead of "priest" should have been a dead giveaway.

[ardys-the-ghoul.livejournal.com]

Definitely not Catholic. Nobody gets excommunicated any more, not in my neck of the woods anyway. Even divorcees are allowed to take Communion now, from what I've heard.

[falconwarrior.livejournal.com]

I think you've heard wrong; my sister is Catholic and is not allowed to take communion on account of marrying her husband outside of the Church.

[ardys-the-ghoul.livejournal.com]

No, it's just that who's allowed to take communion is often left to the decision of the individual priest, rather than the church overall.

Obviously, these things may be done differently in different parts of the world, but around here, that's how it works.

My mother has a friend who was divorced, and although the church hadn't sanctioned it, the priest allowed her to take communion because her former husband had been abusive.

[maelorin]

several happy clappy groups use the term 'excommunication' for ejecting, rejecting and cutting off people. some go all the way, and like scientologists, physically refuse to have any association with the rejected person.

excommunication in catholicism is very, very rare - since it requires a lot of bureaucracy. it requires evidence, a trial, and the involvement of senior bishops and on up.

this sounds more like one of the franchise-style churches ...

[juliansinger.livejournal.com]

Yeah, with Catholics it's "Father," not "Pastor."

I don't think it's Mormon, either, since it's generally Elders and not specifically a Pastor.

So, I think it's basically some Evangelical Protestant sect. Shock.

[theweaselking.livejournal.com]

Except that Witlesses are prohibited from thinking or learning, and are taught that non-Bible books are anathema.

The concept of one trying to use a computer is perfectly possible, but the idea of one being *good enough* to make a living? Necessarily involves heresy.

And no, that's not "back to two options". Mormons use the terms, but would have other warning signs. JWs use the terms, but non-heretical ones would not understand "blog" or "posting" or "internet".

[whisperkit.livejournal.com]

This strikes me as "But why do Christians eat shrimp?" logic. Which isn't to say it's wrong, but that you're acting like hypocracy in one religion is a shiny new thing.

People do heretical things to their own religion all the time. They're stupid like that.

[chaosrah.livejournal.com]

Actually, his mother made him go into IT. She made him go to vocational school after high school. It still wasn't his choice, but he is very good at it, and makes a good living. The rest of his family, and his friends that I was actually introduced to (they were allowed to communicate with me, but not him after he was disfellowed), all use the internet, and all (minus my ex, of course) are in good standing with their congregation.

[wherever.livejournal.com]

I know Witnesses that use the internet, have blogs, etc. There's nothing about JW that prohibits that. And JW's are big on the whole excommunication thing. They love to throw people out if they don't obey, and tend to hold it over the heads of their adherents. I'm thinking chaosrah has it.

[ardys-the-ghoul.livejournal.com]

This is...really, really weird.

I went to school with a girl who was a Jehovah's Witness. She wasn't crazy, just extremely naive. And she was allowed to wear jeans.

I don't think these people are Jehovah's Witnesses, though--they sound even crazier.

[mcpino.livejournal.com]

"God told me to skin you alive..."

[pope-guilty.livejournal.com]

Can't wait for yours!

[sparkindarkness.livejournal.com]

When the biggest, richest, most powerful denominations of Christianity with overwhelmly the most members are all united in their homophobia... then Christianity has a homophobia problem

It doesn't mean that all Christians or all churches are homophobic - but there is a major problem there and denying it and apologism (both of which are so common) makes me leery of Christianity

[pope-guilty.livejournal.com]

There's a Christian ska band (well, there was) called Five Iron Frenzy. I saw 'em at a Christian festival in.. oh, probably '97 and again in '99. Anyway, I remember at the '99 show, the singer gave a short speech in front of 20,000 Christians about how homophobia is a sin and must be destroyed, before launching into a song about confronting one's homophobia.

I still have a lot of respect for that.

[sparkindarkness.livejournal.com]

I have a lot of respect for the individual Christians who combat bigotry. I just wish they were the norm, the majority and the leaders and that they didn't tolerate such evil standing over them