#religious manipulation

[grandpa-spooks]

One of the breaking points for me with Christianity was realizing how much I had to contort the truth to make it look good. A few VERY common refrains from Christians are the whole "don't let the actions of one bad Christian keep you from God" or "broken people do not accurately reflect God's heart", all ways of saying that religious trauma is not actually Christianity's fault— I'm sure you've heard it before. But I reached this point where I couldn't stop myself from asking "how much longer do I have to make excuses for you?" The amount of fuzzing the corners and rephrasing of things I had to do in order to present Christianity as Good Actually was exhausting. The mental gymnastics I had going on were so extensive that at some point I had to just accept I was lying for and repackaging an inherently abusive program.

"How much longer do I have to make excuses for you?", I screamed at the sky

[marzipanandminutiae]

Hey, I’m just reaching out to people on Tumblr. You’ve probably heard of Jesus and God, but have you ever reached out to Jesus for problems in your life? Big or small. Not to make you uncomfortable, but did you know sin (in your life and other people’s lives) can really hurt you, it can make it feel like there is a void that is never satisfied. That void could be called a “God sized hole.” Sin sucks and not just in a cookie cutter way, but in a way that it feels like there is a decay within a person. That can be a lot to take in, but I hope it is good food for thought. I hope you’re having an awesome day!! 💕

you know, if you talked about a romantic partner like this- needing them to fill a void in your life, to fix "decay within you" -that relationship would be rightly termed codependent and abusive

I was raised Christian, in a progressive church, and I was taught that Jesus loves you even if you're a whole person without him. that you don't have to need him to be complete. that you don't have to prostrate yourself and say "I am nothing without you" to receive his love and grace, because he is an omni-benevolent god and therefore great enough to love the creation he gave free will and independent personhood

I am not Christian anymore, but because of how I was raised, I worship my gods not because I need them to be complete- I worship them as an independent being, whole in myself, because I want to have them and my religion in my life. I have leaned on them in times of distress and hardship, and been comforted, but they don't fill a void- they add to the full life I already have

and if you have to manipulate other people who are at their lowest points to get them to join your version of your religion, that's a pretty scummy and predatory spirituality you're peddling

hope that's good food for thought <3 <3

[alethianightsong]

Christians use hyperbole to manipulate the fuck out of people. They call it a "sex addiction" when it's a healthy amount of masturbation for someone of that age range. Imagine if we applied that logic to eating. "I am a glutton" (ate 3 meals today instead of 2). "I am a gluttonous sinner with no self-control" (ate a snack cuz they felt peckish). It sounds silly but sexual urges and hunger are basic feelings. Instead of processing them in healthy ways, the church wants you to break down in tears of self-hatred every time you satisfy them so they can "absolve" you of the "sin" they created.

[heyftinally]

chewing glass would be less painful, methinks

[leviathanvon]

Mental slavery with extra steps

[religion-is-a-mental-illness]

Who do you have faith in?

Did you learn of God's existence from God or from humans?

If from humans, you don't have faith in God, you have faith that fallible humans told you the truth.

How can you be sure?

-- Bill Flavell

You don’t have faith in your god. Your faith is in the humans who told you it was true, and the book humans wrote to convince you. Even though they only think it’s true because they had faith in the humans who told them it was true.

If you were honest with yourself, you’d admit that you’ve never experienced, encountered or heard from your god ever. You’ve only experienced normal human feelings which other humans have told you to attribute to a god.

[ghiblifolklore]

there’s something so bittersweet about watching people close to you become stronger in their religious faith or completely convert from atheist to religious when you go through the exact opposite in your life like...i would’ve done anything growing up to have that connection to an almighty being, i used to beat myself up every sunday for not being able to feel any mystical presence at church, for feeling like my prayer’s were worthless and inadequate if i didn’t recite them perfectly from memory, for not being able to “speak to god”. not to refrence a comedian but taylor tomlinson’s bit about god being like a manipulative ex all your friends want to date is so painfully truthful in all it’s satirical glory. 

[ladyrevealedofcloak]

I wish people would stop preaching about heaven and hell in some misguided, self serving attempt to “save our souls”. I don’t care if you’ve been “called to spread the gospel”. If we didn’t ask for your brand of help, shut the fuck up and leave us alone. It’s really not that hard.