The God-forsakin' Blog

  Evangelicalism told us there was a devil, and then promised to save us from him. But it turns out Evangelicalism IS the devil. Like the devil, it started out with good intentions and a desire to praise and serve. Like the devil, it became corrupted by pride and lust for power. Like the devil, as it fell it strove to take down as many others with it as possible. Like the devil, it still wears the appearance of an angel of light but is a monster underneath. Like the devil, it promises to bring wisdom and nobility, but instead brings destruction and suffering. Like the devil, it promises material well-being, supernatural power, and political power, if only we will bow and submit to it. Like the devil, it is a liar, and will not keep its end of the deal, but will always make sure that its victims pay. Like the devil, it can lie so convincingly that even those who KNOW it’s lying can be deceived. Like the devil, it is convinced that it should reign supreme and all ...

  I’m sometimes infuriated, and sometimes saddened, by the many things that my religious upbringing stole from me. It stole my peace of mind, even as it claimed to give me peace of mind. It made me fear imaginary things like demons and antichrists and Hell during the years that should have been as free of anxiety as possible. It stole my fun. I couldn’t enjoy good music, couldn’t enjoy any movie or show or game that involved magic, couldn’t play with He-Man or Star Wars toys for fuck’s sake, and waited WAY longer than necessary to start having consenting and safe sex… all because my religion told me I was bad if I enjoyed those things (or even let my thoughts dwell on WANTING sex). It stole my money. I mean, that goes without saying – any money I gave to a church was money stolen from all the ways I could have put it to better use for myself or for other people. But ALSO, it pushed me into a super expensive private Christian college to learn more Jesus stuff, so I ended up wo...

  Pretty much everyone in the Western world knows the story of the boy who cried wolf, and the lesson: If you lie often enough, no one will believe you even when you start telling the truth.   And that was my experience with Evangelical Christianity, and then with theism. I kept trying to give the lying little bastard the benefit of the doubt, and he kept lying his ass off and laughing about it, until I finally just threw my hands in the air and decided that nothing he has to say can ever be believed. So going forward, even if he does manage to say something true, I won’t be listening.   First, I started to notice the lies that people on the fringe of the fringe of Christianity were selling: Listening to music that isn’t about Jesus opens you up to demon possession. Playing RPGs opens you up to demon possession. The Rapture is gonna happen on this specific date. Even other Evangelicals were willing to point to that stuff and call bullshit, so I figured “Okay, it’s...

  It really is impressive, the degree to which conservative propaganda has worked in this country.   We really do have people who believe that the Democrats are the “radical leftist socialist” party.   The Democrats aren’t radical. They aren’t socialist. They aren’t even leftist. They’re just less hard-right than the Republicans. There’s nothing radical about any of the things that Democrats want us to work on. Other countries figured all this shit out decades ago and have left us far behind. Other countries already figured out how to make sure everyone gets health care, every kid gets a decent education, every family can afford quality daycare, everyone who wants to go to college or trade school can. They already figured out how to keep bad guys from getting guns while still allowing good guys to hunt and to keep themselves and their families safe. They already figured out that criminalizing drugs doesn’t work but offering treatment for addiction does work. T...

  One of the things that I’ve realized, as I’ve tried to process the harm that my Evangelical upbringing caused me, is how similar it is to the harm that abusive, neglectful, or otherwise dysfunctional parents cause their children.   Consider the god of the Old Testament. By turns, he beats the hell out of his kids, and even kills them, for disobedience or questioning his authority; or leaves them to fend for themselves for years at a time. His rages are unpredictable, and he always blames his powerless victims for provoking his wrath. And then he turns around and tells them how much he loves them, and how he promises never to flood the earth again, and how he will take them back as long as they’re really sorry for making him mad. If Old Testament god was incarnate, he’d be exactly like an alcoholic father.   New Testament god looks at first to be an improvement, but is really not. If Old Testament god is a physically abusive/ neglectful father, New Testament ...

Today, I passed by a group of flag-waving Proud Boys who were gathered across the street from a school and holding signs to protest against CRT.* And it struck me that the people who are the loudest in declaring their patriotism are the furthest from holding the ideals this country is supposed to stand for. Whenever I see a large group gathered waving big American flags, I just KNOW those people stand against liberty and justice for all, but don’t have the balls to admit it.   In the same way, the people who are the loudest in declaring their Christianity are the furthest from holding the ideals that followers of Christ are supposed to stand for. Whenever I see a large group of people gathered who are wearing or holding big crosses, raising their hands and singing some insipid praise chorus, I just KNOW those people stand against loving their neighbor (unless their neighbor is just like them), but don’t have the balls to admit it. *Never mind that if they understood CRT even ...