Thursday, February 13, 2020

Marie Thearose on Evangelical Christianity


"A eulogy of sorts. Others have work they must do to combat this blight, and I support it. But it is not my work to do. I've been leaving behind in layers since 2006 and now I am finally free in the moonlight. All future poetry will cover other topics, though I have plans to compile my past poems.
#poetry #exvangelical
"


This won't be my last word. I have been involved to combat the blight. I am involved in the exvangelical and deconversion community online, trying to help others who have left too. There's been a flood of people coming out, we have too much information available now for people to be stuck in religions that lie about reality and have expectations that do not match the real world. It's like the online ACON community, how many of us were freed when we found out about no contact and how it works? The same goes for religion. With the internet, there's people to turn to. I have served as one of them in a small capacity. Part of this includes reaching out to others who have experienced spiritual abuse.

I deconverted three years ago which was one of the best decisions I ever made for my life. I am going to be writing a sermon about God or different versions of divinity and how the picture of God in evangelical Christianity is both a dark and limited one for my UU church. I plan to explore the better visions of God or higher powers, where humans have dared to think thoughts about "better Gods or Goddesses".  I will share it here, when I am done with it. As I have written here before while I am atheist friendly, I do ponder the possibilities of a higher power or what form it could take.

The Christian god was a curse to me as well. It's threats of hell and narcissism were unending. It's coldness and indifference and lies about reality harmed me on many levels. Christianity turned me into a doormat, and told me to be silent, about abuse, about myself, about my thoughts it deemed sinful.

While there are people who seek after light and goodness in every religion or non-religion, sometimes I have thoughts about how an atheist who cares about social justice, is closer to the light then a Christian committed to Trump standing by endorsing the harm being done to so many.

She's got the gaslighting right...that's it exactly. I wrote about the gaslighting in evangelical Christianity on this blog. 

If you think about it the gospel, is about being condemned for just existing. I can't love a God that made billions knowing the vast majority would end up in eternal torture. That God was formed out of human darkness.

3 comments:

  1. Sometimes you hit the nail on the head so hard it hurts

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  2. The evangelical Christian messages are not good news messages for many poor, oppressed, and marginalized groups of people. The ones who found good news in Christian God and giving up your life to the Lord tend to be from the money. People who could afford to give up their lives to the Lord would do so.

    Asking poor and oppressed people to give up their lives and live a life as a house slave is a lot to ask of people who have nothing. Many people left Christianity because they realized that Christian churches in the United States and some countries are built for the comfort of white, upper-class families and business owners. Historically, the churches in the Southern United States functioned to assist the slaveholders and business owners in the South who did not want to pay labor expenses (poor whites, non-Black immigrants, and former slaves).

    Christian churches abused many poor people and marginalized groups that those who left got fed up and tired of being abused. The problem with false Christianity began since slaves, and poor whites rebelled against greedy planters during a rebellion in the 17th century.

    The system of white supremacy was created to prevent poor whites from teaming up with African Americans and non-Black people of color. Majority of evangelical Christian churches support the system of white supremacy and malignant narcissism, as these churches historically supported those who historically give more to the church. Narcs and business owners usually make more money and could afford to give more. I left Christian churches knowing that they do not represent or support poor and oppressed people.

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    1. I see modern Christian evangelicalism [conservative churches] totally tied to privilege today. One cannot afford that white picket fence life with having dozens of children and doing the homeschooling without one partner usually the male having a very good job to haul in the lower middle class to middle class plus money to support he life style. Evangelicalism threw it's lot in with the Republican party and the likes of David Ramsey. I do know some poor people get lured in, I did with the false promises, but it is a system of false promises and carrots on the stick that get snatched away. Poor and disabled people become "pets" and are patronized in these religious circles where classism and ableism and full racism are at full bore. You are right that these churches were built for the power of white upper class people and business owners. This is why church people,or evangelicals vote for the power of the wealthy to be expanded and why they became Trumpsters. I believe toxic religion is used to keep the masters in control as a whole, shaming, gaslighting, telling people it is their lot to suffer in this life, keeps them happily filling their bags of money while social justice dies on the vine.

      The Christian [conservative and evangelicalism] are still advancing racism today for the powers that be and they advance racist messages,against immigrants and minorities in the cause of white nationalismin America, basically Trump's whole movement. I was watching C-span where some white nationalist type called in, complaining about how America went from a dominantly "white" nation to where now whites are only 56% of the population, he was outraged, and angry.

      I left Christianity seeing it as a religion of oppression. I got tired of being shamed for being poor. I got tired of the false promises and lies and people holding to cruel authoritarianism. Christianity in America is definitely a force for fascism.

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