As you all well know, I'm not very sociable and tend to be much of a recluse except when I go out to shop or something. My home is my haven, my sanctuary and besides that, it's very small. So today a woman from my old fundie church dropped by for a visit right around the time Tom was leaving for work. She didn't call first, just showed up. I suppose if we were close, it wouldn't be a big deal to just drop in on me, but I haven't seen her in over 4 years and then it was at the store.
She's a minister (her "degree" obtained through a correspondence course by Ken Copeland, I believe) involved in prison ministry and wanted me to be a part of her group. Much to my surprise I told her I no longer believed and that I couldn't be party to something I didn't believe in. She was far less judgmental than I assumed she would be although she did tell me how sorry she was. I told her not to be, that I was much happier and less stressed out now than I ever was as a Christian.
Then we got into the reasons we both left that church. She left because of the blatant lectures from the pulpit on who we should vote for and after confronting the pastor's wife about it, who told her it was the church's place to tell people how to vote, she left the church. We left for many reasons, but that was the straw that broke the camel's back. It was all over the Gay Marriage Amendment that I had no intentions of voting for, but apparently S did in spite of not liking them telling her to vote for it. I let her know how I felt about gays being allowed to marry and she let me know that her daughter is involved in that evil "lifestyle." Now, Zach was in his bedroom, able to hear this whole conversation. I firmly told her it wasn't a lifestyle, that people were born gay and there was scientific evidence to support that, that gays shouldn't be forbidden the very basic needs we all have: to love, have affection and family. She muttered something about science not trumping the Bible, but all in all it wasn't a bad conversation. No one was angry and no one got in anyone's face.
Although Zach was gritting his teeth and clenching his fists in his room.
I didn't tell her I was Pagan. I had closed off my "bedroom" with the curtains because I didn't want to explain it to her so I suppose she's going to assume I'm an atheist at this stage. I don't really care. I don't feel like I need to justify or explain anything about my life to anyone else. But at least she didn't preach to me. Although she kept making the assumption that I believed in the bible like she did. Old habits dying hard, I guess.
I'm just glad it's over and I hope I don't have to run into her again for a long time. It was pleasant but stressful. Especially on Zach's account.
Also I stopped counting after a while, the number of times she used "Lord" or "God" in her conversation. I lost count after 50.
BB
She's a minister (her "degree" obtained through a correspondence course by Ken Copeland, I believe) involved in prison ministry and wanted me to be a part of her group. Much to my surprise I told her I no longer believed and that I couldn't be party to something I didn't believe in. She was far less judgmental than I assumed she would be although she did tell me how sorry she was. I told her not to be, that I was much happier and less stressed out now than I ever was as a Christian.
Then we got into the reasons we both left that church. She left because of the blatant lectures from the pulpit on who we should vote for and after confronting the pastor's wife about it, who told her it was the church's place to tell people how to vote, she left the church. We left for many reasons, but that was the straw that broke the camel's back. It was all over the Gay Marriage Amendment that I had no intentions of voting for, but apparently S did in spite of not liking them telling her to vote for it. I let her know how I felt about gays being allowed to marry and she let me know that her daughter is involved in that evil "lifestyle." Now, Zach was in his bedroom, able to hear this whole conversation. I firmly told her it wasn't a lifestyle, that people were born gay and there was scientific evidence to support that, that gays shouldn't be forbidden the very basic needs we all have: to love, have affection and family. She muttered something about science not trumping the Bible, but all in all it wasn't a bad conversation. No one was angry and no one got in anyone's face.
Although Zach was gritting his teeth and clenching his fists in his room.
I didn't tell her I was Pagan. I had closed off my "bedroom" with the curtains because I didn't want to explain it to her so I suppose she's going to assume I'm an atheist at this stage. I don't really care. I don't feel like I need to justify or explain anything about my life to anyone else. But at least she didn't preach to me. Although she kept making the assumption that I believed in the bible like she did. Old habits dying hard, I guess.
I'm just glad it's over and I hope I don't have to run into her again for a long time. It was pleasant but stressful. Especially on Zach's account.
Also I stopped counting after a while, the number of times she used "Lord" or "God" in her conversation. I lost count after 50.
BB
Good for you for telling her your opinions on things! Let's hope, for her daughter's sake, that some of what you said will sink into her and soften her heart.
ReplyDeleteThanks! I hope I planted some seeds but she's in her 70s and unlikely to change her opinion on it, but I stood up for the truth made me feel good about myself. And I don't mean the "truth" in an arrogant way, but that science backs me up whereas superstition and patriarchal dogma is all she has.
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