angelic-shadow

[angelic-shadow]

you can't be anti-religion and then claim to love muslims and jews.

[angelic-shadow]

Im sorry not sorry but genuinely

If you believe all of Christianity is a cult, you are not inclusive. Any religion can become a cult. People who hate Christianity/catholicism always use the same 3 excuses.

"its transphobic"( has nothing about being trans in it. that is the way SOME use it to excuse)

"its homophobic, man shall not lie with man as he does woman" WROOOOOONG its man shall not lie with BOY and again, same as before

or just using the bad parts of its actions.

You all constantly voice positivity for other queers apart Abrahamic religions, but when its Christians you exclude us to hell and back.

It's so frustrating. Im so fucking sick of it. so, my name is Alamo. Im a 16 year old trans boy, i am polyam and gay with 2 partners, i am mixed rroma and mexican with my patron saint being saint sara-la-kâli. I see ny religion being intertwined with ny queerness and my race.

l'm so tired of seeing things IN THE CHRISTIANITY TAG like " all Christians should die" and " Christianity is a cult" For gods sake you cannot claim to be inclusive of all good-faith queers if you excluded us.

[angelic-shadow]

everyone always says "Praise God" or "Find God", but nobody ever asks "How's God"

[angelic-shadow]

evangelicals will see fire, the color red and anything involving blood, and immediately jump to it being "satanic"

[angelic-shadow]

christ on a cracker (the last supper, oil on saltine)

[angelic-shadow]

getting the hang of this praying thing. grabbed an ibuprofen for menstural cramps, held it out, and said "Oh God, bless this ibuprofen and all the pain it shall erase".

[angelic-shadow]

challenge: i want jews, muslims, christians, pagans, hindus and buddhists to say something nice about each other (faith, culture, etc). athiests and agnostics also welcome to participate if they so wish.

[angelic-shadow]

okay i should probably make an actual introduction now hehe... anyways hi! I'm Shadow! I'm Protestant, particularly Presbyterian. Although I do also consider myself a bit more Christo-Pagan, since I believe that alongside God, there is or was also a Goddess at some point.

I'm trying to reconnect with my faith and get closer to God, after the COVID pandemic slightly shook my faith up a bit (I do not consider myself a revert since I haven't given up Christianity). I'm also in the midst of deconstructing as well, making this a bit of a messy process as well. As such, I will criticize religion at times, including Christianity. If you can't handle that, maybe take the time to think about why and then come back in the future. While this blog is Christian-centric (With some paganism mixed in), this blog is welcome to all religions and religious beliefs. And while I am Protestant, other denominations can interact. Yes, even Catholics (In fact I actually encourage you guys to interact! I'd love to learn more about Catholicism). Athiests and agnostics are also welcome if they wish. The only rule is that you remain respectful. And lastly, *this blog is 100% queer friendly* (AND queer owned!). And if you don't like that, simply turn the other cheek. No DNI, however queerphobes, racists, misogynists, antisemites, Islamophobes, anti-nonchristians, anti-atheist, anti-theists, ableists, fascists, zionists and Trump supporters will be blocked immediately. Additionally, since this is a heavily religion-based blog, I advise that those with religious trauma interact with caution.

[angelic-shadow]

[angelic-shadow]

Okay I need to rant. honestly it feels like social media is just... awful when it comes to religion, especially on twitter and instagram. i know some Christians can be nasty in real life, but it feels like on social media the 'religious wars' (as i like to call them) are even worse. i have seen: -Protestants and Catholics hating each other. -Straight up Islamophobia and Antisemitism. -A Queer Catholic posting about her praying so she doesn't get a panic attack- the comments were FULL of homophobes, and very few actual positive comments. -People mocking atheists. -Christians mocking drug users, queer folks, alt people, sex workers, sometimes other Christians for some reason??? -Someone mocking a Catholic for turning to god for her health issues (...underneath a lighthearted reel by the way) Not to mention discussion of religious trauma is mocked constantly, people calling religion a "mental illness", and some people can't even LOOK at pagans without throwing a temper tantrum.

Oh and if you're a new member of a religion (either convert, revert or simply a newbie), deconstructing, queer, drug user (Current or in the process of recovering) or anything that's looked down upon (especially by Christians), than you're either "not doing it right" or you're "not actually a part of that religion" according to some folks. And that's not even getting into the misogyny (Especially towards Muslim women). Like... seriously can we just... stop? Please? Seriously there is no need to fight with one another. We're all people, just with different beliefs. I know religion in general (Christianity especially) has issues, but that is no excuse to insult one another, gatekeep one another or even straight up harass one another. I can't force you guys to like each other but fighting and insulting each other over which beliefs are correct and which ones aren't, the right way to be religious, etc, does *nothing* and is straight up childish! There's no right or wrong way to be religious! Being bigoted does nothing. If you want people to join religion you need to stop calling random people "sinners" or "heretics" or accusing them of "following satan" or telling them to "repent" or basically anything that instills fear and shame.

And lastly, ..i think some of my fellow Christians could use these verses: 2 Timothy 2:23-24 (NIV) 23 Don’t have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments, because you know they produce quarrels. 24 And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful. Galatians 5:14 (NIV): 14 For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” John 7:24 (NIV) 24 Stop judging by mere appearances, but instead judge correctly.”

Proverbs 3:30 (NIV) 30 Do not accuse anyone for no reason—when they have done you no harm.

[angelic-shadow]

Trying to experiment with something here.

Queer Christians or Ex-Christians, how welcome do you feel within the queer community?

feel free to elaborate in the tags if you wish. **Queerphobia will be blocked immediately, so don't bother**

[angelic-shadow]

everyone be normal about christian queers immediately challenge

[angelic-shadow]

Just in general and mostly from a neutral standpoint. Nothing about how religion is good or bad (In my opinion, religion and the belief in god or even lack thereof, is all inheritly neutral, however that's a discussion I'll save for later). Just... learning about religion in general. That's not to say there *won't* be bad things discussed though. I do still want people to learn about the bad side of religion (cults, genocides, abuse, etc), whilist also acknowledging that those bad sides don't make every person in that religion bad. I feel like by teaching people about the bad side of religion it can also teach them to hold others accountable, whilist unlearning their own prejudice in the process. I think religion is something that should especially be discussed with nuance, and something that shouldn't be entirely discussed with bias (Which admitted can also be difficult especially with religious trauma, which is why I think that discussing religious trauma is important too!)

I see where people are coming from when they say "they won't teach about x subject yet they'll reach religion?" or "they shouldn't be talking about religion in schools" but it still kinda misses the point. The problem isn't that they're teaching about religion in schools at all. the issue is that they only teach about one religion (Christianity) and they talk about it as if it's the only religion or the only good religion, and depending on which school you go to they may force those who aren't Christian to partake in Christian activities. The solution isn't to stop talking about religion in schools. The solution is to talk about all religions, to talk about athiesm and agnosticism, to talk about religious trauma, to talk about the history of religion, to talk about cults, to talk about bigotry that some religious groups (especially jews and muslims) face and to give *all* religious people a choice to practice.

I don't want schools to stop teaching about religion. I want schools to stop telling kids that there's only one religion to follow, I want schools to teach about all religions, all beliefs, and to allow non-christians to have to freedom to practice their own and to not force them to partake in christian practices.

[angelic-shadow]

I see where people are coming from when they say "they won't teach about x subject yet they'll reach religion?" or "they shouldn't be talking about religion in schools" but it still kinda misses the point. The problem isn't that they're teaching about religion in schools at all. the issue is that they only teach about one religion (Christianity) and they talk about it as if it's the only religion or the only good religion, and depending on which school you go to they may force those who aren't Christian to partake in Christian activities. The solution isn't to stop talking about religion in schools. The solution is to talk about all religions, to talk about athiesm and agnosticism, to talk about religious trauma, to talk about the history of religion, to talk about cults, to talk about bigotry that some religious groups (especially jews and muslims) face and to give *all* religious people a choice to practice.

I don't want schools to stop teaching about religion. I want schools to stop telling kids that there's only one religion to follow, I want schools to teach about all religions, all beliefs, and to allow non-christians to have to freedom to practice their own and to not force them to partake in christian practices.

[angelic-shadow]

"why is everyone so quick to criticize christianity, but not other religions" Buddy, we *do* point out the flaws of other religions. Pointing out the issues with Christians (and Christianity in general) doesn't negate the flaws of other religions.

The thing is, it seems like you guys only point out the flaws of other religions whenever Christianity is criticized. Wonder why... 🤔

[angelic-shadow]

So a friend of yours opens up about religious trauma and abuse: Dos and Donts

(PT: So a friend of yours opens up about religious trauma and abuse: Dos and Donts) ...because apparently we need this post. *Disclaimer: This is mostly targeted to Christians, however keep in mind that any religion has troubles that cause religious trauma. Most of the Dos and Donts can also apply to any religion*

So, your friend (of any faith) comes up to you and opens up about abuse they experienced in the church and the religious trauma they endured. A lot of emotions are going through your mind, I can imagine. And you're not quite sure what to say or do. Well, this post is for you! DO:

-Hear them out and listen to them. -Try to comfort them and help them, and try to validate their emotions (Think Romans 12:15 here!) -If the abusive individual is from your church, hold that individual accountable. -Listen and respect their triggers if they share them. DON'T: -Offer religious-based advise or prayers, or make any religious based comments (Unless they ask, of course). While this might *sound* helpful, in reality this might trigger them and remind them of the trauma they endured. (And if this individual is a former Christian, don't try to "re-convert" them. The abuse is probably *why* they stopped being a Christian in the first place. It's up to them to decide if they want to return to Christianity). -Downplay the abuse by saying "not all christians are like that!". You're right, now all Christians are like that! But statements like this... aren't really relevant and can be even more unhelpful. -Tell them to simply "find a different church/pastor/priest". Unfortunately a lot of the churches... are kind of awful. -Just don't be a jerk. Please? .... It's nice to see the conversations about religious trauma. However it feels like we as Christians... don't quite know how to respond. It seems simple enough, just tell them that God loves them and forgives them, right? In reality though... it's not as simple as that. The trauma probably left them hating God or Jesus or maybe Christianity entirely. (And besides, not every individual with religious trauma will leave that religion, something I think everyone needs to understand because when we think religious trauma we think 'ex-insert religion here'. However that's a discussion for another day!) Everyone with trauma will respond differently though. Some are okay with prayers. Others not so much! It's a spectrum and it's important that we as Christians respect those boundaries either way.