theos
The Living Force
Hi everyone,
I just completed an 8-day seminar to become a certified natural health professional as a prelude to obtaining a doctorate in naturopathy. One of the lecturers informed us that it would be worth considering to become a minister in order to have practitioner-client confidentiality just as there is doctor-patient confidentialy as with MD's. This would be helpful in case you had to appear in court for whatever reason. I was hanging out with my mother last night when I just mentioned casually that I became an ordained minister over the internet. I could barely get the reason why out of my mouth before she was questioning me about what type of church it was and then the big question of "Are you saved?" came out.
I could've just said, "Yes, I am. You were there both times, remember?" Instead I said, "What do you mean by saved?" She asked me if I believed that Jesus was the son of God and that he died on the cross to save me from my sins. Now, I should have been thinking --and practicing -- strategic enclosure, Strategic Enclosure, STRATEGIC ENCLOSURE! and remembering that Anart said that her family thinks that she believes the same thing they do. (I only remembered that after the cat was out of the bag). Instead I said that I believed in Jesus but I'm not too comfortable with the whole dying-on-the-cross-to-save-me-from-my-sins bit. So, a conversation ensued.
She said that it was "terrible" that I didn't believe. She acknowlegded that she is a big ball of feelings and emotions (she was even crying at one point) but she believed that her beliefs were true because she has such a strong feeling for it and feels solace and comfort in it. I posed some questions such as: What kind of choice is it to believe when the alternative is to roast in hell? Why would God damn the majority of the world's population who are not Christians? Would you have me killed to redeem the sins of the people in your neighborhood? Does believing really strongly and feeling very emotional over something make it true? Have you ever deeply examined the Bible, your beliefs, or any material that analyzes the Bible even? (All useless questions I know. I had crossed the border into Sacred Cowville.) She did say that a lot of the Bible doesn't make sense and has some things in it she questions. She went on to say that she's heard the argument that Christianity was only pushed on us to make us more pacified and content with our sorry lot in life (even I can say amen to that one) but she still believes it because she feels so deeply that it is true. She added that I was too smart for my own good (I really beg to differ) and that there are some things you just shouldn't know. I said, in a nutshell, that knowlegde protects and keeps you from being a taken advantage of or getting into situations that are harmful and that "salvation" requires work and no one can do it for you.
I told her that I'd been reading about religion and I wonder what Jesus really meant when he said "the Kingdom of Heaven is within", what did the parables really mean, what did Jesus believe, what was ancient Christianity but it was hard to know with all the myth built up. In my family I've had a bit of a reputation for marching to the beat of my own drummer -- even before I came across the material here-- but I think this took the proverbial cake. It turns out that my brother talked to her about whether I was "saved" or not prior to this conversation because I'd asked him why there had to be a blood sacrifice for anything. (This was before I knew about strategic enclosure --not to be confused with the current situation of knowing strategic enclosure and stupidly forgetting to practice it.) So, she's had her suspicions but never said anything til now.
The conversation probably didn't last more than 10-15 minutes total and it ended by me asking her if she hated me and thought I was going to burn in hell. She said that she loved me and didn't think I would burn -- a contradiction in her beliefs, I know-- but she would pray that I would change my mind.
The conversation was not contentious but I feel as if the hounds may have been unleashed and I've done myself a great disservice by letting this part of me out. What the heck is all this love and light she's gonna send my way do to me? Could I have even done my mother a disservice as well? Could this push her even further into her fundamentalist beliefs because now she has a heathen daughter she has to work to save? A while ago she asked me to make SOTT her home page when we were discussing where to get reliable information about current events and occasionally she's read an article here and there. I fear that what I have done may turn her off as she might think that all this reading (all that craaazy book-learnin'!) led me into my heathen-dom.
I'm generally quiet and private but I think I put my foot in it this time. What the smurf did I do? (If there are any old fans of The Smurfs out there...I sometimes use "smurf" in place of a curse word). I must say I'm a bit worried about this and couldn't sleep.
Oddysey
****formerly known as Chachachick*****
Mods: I know that this topic has been covered in many places before so merge it if need be.
I just completed an 8-day seminar to become a certified natural health professional as a prelude to obtaining a doctorate in naturopathy. One of the lecturers informed us that it would be worth considering to become a minister in order to have practitioner-client confidentiality just as there is doctor-patient confidentialy as with MD's. This would be helpful in case you had to appear in court for whatever reason. I was hanging out with my mother last night when I just mentioned casually that I became an ordained minister over the internet. I could barely get the reason why out of my mouth before she was questioning me about what type of church it was and then the big question of "Are you saved?" came out.
I could've just said, "Yes, I am. You were there both times, remember?" Instead I said, "What do you mean by saved?" She asked me if I believed that Jesus was the son of God and that he died on the cross to save me from my sins. Now, I should have been thinking --and practicing -- strategic enclosure, Strategic Enclosure, STRATEGIC ENCLOSURE! and remembering that Anart said that her family thinks that she believes the same thing they do. (I only remembered that after the cat was out of the bag). Instead I said that I believed in Jesus but I'm not too comfortable with the whole dying-on-the-cross-to-save-me-from-my-sins bit. So, a conversation ensued.
She said that it was "terrible" that I didn't believe. She acknowlegded that she is a big ball of feelings and emotions (she was even crying at one point) but she believed that her beliefs were true because she has such a strong feeling for it and feels solace and comfort in it. I posed some questions such as: What kind of choice is it to believe when the alternative is to roast in hell? Why would God damn the majority of the world's population who are not Christians? Would you have me killed to redeem the sins of the people in your neighborhood? Does believing really strongly and feeling very emotional over something make it true? Have you ever deeply examined the Bible, your beliefs, or any material that analyzes the Bible even? (All useless questions I know. I had crossed the border into Sacred Cowville.) She did say that a lot of the Bible doesn't make sense and has some things in it she questions. She went on to say that she's heard the argument that Christianity was only pushed on us to make us more pacified and content with our sorry lot in life (even I can say amen to that one) but she still believes it because she feels so deeply that it is true. She added that I was too smart for my own good (I really beg to differ) and that there are some things you just shouldn't know. I said, in a nutshell, that knowlegde protects and keeps you from being a taken advantage of or getting into situations that are harmful and that "salvation" requires work and no one can do it for you.
I told her that I'd been reading about religion and I wonder what Jesus really meant when he said "the Kingdom of Heaven is within", what did the parables really mean, what did Jesus believe, what was ancient Christianity but it was hard to know with all the myth built up. In my family I've had a bit of a reputation for marching to the beat of my own drummer -- even before I came across the material here-- but I think this took the proverbial cake. It turns out that my brother talked to her about whether I was "saved" or not prior to this conversation because I'd asked him why there had to be a blood sacrifice for anything. (This was before I knew about strategic enclosure --not to be confused with the current situation of knowing strategic enclosure and stupidly forgetting to practice it.) So, she's had her suspicions but never said anything til now.
The conversation probably didn't last more than 10-15 minutes total and it ended by me asking her if she hated me and thought I was going to burn in hell. She said that she loved me and didn't think I would burn -- a contradiction in her beliefs, I know-- but she would pray that I would change my mind.
The conversation was not contentious but I feel as if the hounds may have been unleashed and I've done myself a great disservice by letting this part of me out. What the heck is all this love and light she's gonna send my way do to me? Could I have even done my mother a disservice as well? Could this push her even further into her fundamentalist beliefs because now she has a heathen daughter she has to work to save? A while ago she asked me to make SOTT her home page when we were discussing where to get reliable information about current events and occasionally she's read an article here and there. I fear that what I have done may turn her off as she might think that all this reading (all that craaazy book-learnin'!) led me into my heathen-dom.
I'm generally quiet and private but I think I put my foot in it this time. What the smurf did I do? (If there are any old fans of The Smurfs out there...I sometimes use "smurf" in place of a curse word). I must say I'm a bit worried about this and couldn't sleep.
Oddysey
****formerly known as Chachachick*****
Mods: I know that this topic has been covered in many places before so merge it if need be.