Tumgik
#you cannot be persecuted when your religion is the majority
shivology · 7 months
Text
RE my last repost ... the reason why white liberals tend to romanticize islam and judaism comes down to two things methinks
a. STILL not seeing muslim and jewish communities as human beings. making sweeping assumptions about a group of people is always stupid even if these sweeping assumptions are "positive". like, we are human beings lol. sometimes we are shitty! respecting someone's inherent personhood doesn't mean they're always good people. and it's still dehumanizing, it's just dehumanizingly making you feel like you're doing something lol. it also allows shitty muslims and shitty jewish people to get away with shitty things. overcorrecting because you don't want to seem like a bigot is fucking... stupid, lmao. motherfuckers will say shit like "omg u guys we can't ask muslims to not hate gay people, its disrespectful to them :/" like, what, are we so stupid and barbaric that we cannot possibly be asked to adhere to your Regular People moral code? do you think you have to hold my hand into not hatecriming a dude? boo fucking hooooo. also no offense (full offense) if someone believes their religion allows them to oppress other people, like, if THIS is what they take away from their holy text, then maybe... they are simply just a shitty person? they are a shitty person who also shouldn't live in fear of some fucking white supremacist cunt yanking their hijab off their head like???
b. inherent misunderstanding of power dynamics and how they function in society. muslims and jewish people in europe and the us/canada are a religious minority and often though not always are racialized -> ie they're an oppressed group. people have used religion to oppress minorities since like ever since they created the concept of religion lol. this is neither new nor special. but as it so happens, antisemitism and islamophobia is deeply rooted in western society in a way that affects the lives of jewish ppl and muslims every day. However! in muslim majority countries, for example, muslims are the oppressor. in ways identical to how christians are the oppressor in the west lol. like, in egypt, for example, like 15% of the population is christian. every one else is Presumed to be muslim. (egyptian jews are SO badly persecuted that they have to say they're muslim or christian on their ID because they might actually get fucking hatecrimed OR KILLED for being jewish !! and if you say you're atheist you may literally get fucking killed lol 🤩) and you'll find this shit in nearly every muslim majority country just as you find it in fuckass islamphobic racist america! does this mean ALL muslims are antisemitic bigoted pieces of shit? No but SOME sure fucking are! it just so happens, that in this specific region, the people who are in power, the people who have the resources and social power to oppress others, are muslim. it is so insanely eurocentric to think that muslims are always uwu victims uwu. and you know what's fucking funny? christian minorities in the SWANA region are nothing like, i don't know, catholics in france. diaspora muslims are nothing like the fucking taliban. you don't tend to see verses about christian supremacy in SWANA christians, just as you don't tend to see bigoted verses repeated by diaspora muslims. religion tends to manifest in peaceful "wholesome" ways when you're disenfranchised as a survival tactic because you gotta be on your best behavior baby you can't oppress people here! you cannot afford to alienate (looks at scrambled writing on hand) women or gay people. people have and will use religion as a tool and weapon to be relevant and stay in power but context is fucking keyyyyyy
17 notes · View notes
ainomica · 3 months
Note
[African American anon] Wait India was a socialist country? Actually that explains why a lot of Indian immigrants in the west are often Brahmins and why there was such a massive influx of them in the 70’s
Also like your country massive changes in the 21st century.
Strange that was left out in stuff, actually as an American, as you know America is considered Britain’s unruly child. Going off what you and shadow said about Britain being India’s abusive ex (Is the Mughal empire the abusive stepfather?)
So say, India was being described to America as a crazy girlfriend that Britain got after we left the Anglo house. But now years later to me at least I’m getting the other side of the story
Right? The metaphor fits so well its kind of insane. But yeah , see our country was basically handed over to INC and INC was defactor run by Nehru /Gandhi duo and Gandhi believed in what is basically a revamped idea of Benevolent noblese largesse where the rich will do good for "their people" and India will run in grass-root level village economy of "self sustenance". There is "no need" to think about economic growth to make up for poverty faster, There is no need to focus on massive defense, we all will just survive ( especially the middle and lower class if we even have it) on two meals a day and make a bunch of "peace" treaties and Non alignment idea and survive on Utopian BULLSHIT.
That of course blew off on their faces in LITERAL sense when Godse, bless his heart, assassinated Gandhi and Nehru's Panchsheel Agreement went kaput after China breached our borders and waged war on us.
Post Nehru dying after handling the ONLY major crisis of his life like the weak lil b/tch that he is ( tangent can I just say how infuriating it is for me to read about grown old men trampling on people for power and then cannot even handle ONE war!? My dad had suffer through multiple crisis at their age and their audacity to die on us over ONE WAR) Congress struggled to maintain one party hegemony which led to rise of local political system ( unlike America we are INDEED MULTIPARTY system especially statewise) and then when India was finally on verge of backruptcy Manmohan Singh and the rest took initiative to open up our economy in the 90s, which was still 30 years behind the rest of the major economy in Asia now.
The Brahmin immigration was result of this late economic revival + Reservation being implemented for college and government jobs which prioritizes minorities like Scheduled caste /Scheduled Tribe/Minority religion /Women + Some states having HIGHLY hostile anti Brahmin attitude thanks to the aforementioned rise of local political scene which INCLUDED rise of Marxist political parties in states like Tamil Nadu and West Bengal. West Bengal was still fine( ish...WB is now the state of extremist appeasement and political MURDER. The only reason they haven't touched religion that much because WB tourism is Durga Puja tourism and Bengali religious Renaissance leader tourism like Swami Vivekananda 's work, Rani Rashmoni etc . They cannot piss off the people who have less anti Brahmin and Zamindar prejudice since Kolkata and other many public upliftment work is done by landed Zamindars and Thakurdars to begin with)
...but TN got the worst of it where the persecution against Brahmin is SO BAD that some of them to this day try to talk with another accent to hide their ancestry since the CPI(M) and DMK and other such state politicians stirred the crowd into thinking their suffering exists because of Brahmins ALONE and not because of overall lack of money around, Other caste discriminating against them too etc But as we know Marxists political ideology is just religious extremism with Government as God, and it loves to invent scapegoats for social ills that has complicated factors for its rise. Just so they can convince the masses their only savior is them and nobody else.
Frankly its only NOW aka since 2014 that I think we are reaping the maximum potential benefit of opening up thanks to the new non Congress, BJ/P led government which is very pro capitalist and wants to privatize lot of money draining Government sector like Railways and Post Office and such. Before that the interim period of 2000s-2010s was just one big stretch of Congress grasping power via Coalition government of equally corrupt and tribalistic assholes and scamming public out of its due funds like the famous Rafael scam, and Commonwealth Games scam etc
2 notes · View notes
naturalrights-retard · 11 months
Text
Any company that is adopting WOKE should be out of business for what they are really doing is dividing the country and completing what our computer has forecast – the breakup of the United States. The WOKE Agenda is attacking the religious beliefs of many and that historically always leads to division, discrimination, and often outright war.
When a company endorses what they think is some political agenda, it will lose the business from the opposition. This whole thing about transgender is out of control. Instead of eliminating discrimination, they are creating it. People will then blame the transgender movement for all sorts of things as they have done to Jews, Catholics, Muslims, and Protestants. There is no solution here. By endorsing WOKE, they are undermining the religious beliefs of others. You end up creating disunity – not unity.
Companies should NEVER take sides in politics especially when they attack religious beliefs. It is one thing to lobby for your business against some regulation. But endorsing this WOKE agenda is part of the Great Divide that is clearly a major factor contributing to the demise of the United States by dividing the people between blue and red. Abortion already offends many religious beliefs. Then there is taxation and war. This WOKE Agenda will be one of the factors historians will look back on for breaking up the United States.
During the Hard Times that followed the Panic of 1837, there was discrimination against the Irish Catholics for taking jobs when they migrated to the States. That led to even gun battles on the street. Just as Germany singled out the Jews, any time you single out any group, you divide your society, undermining the state’s foundation.
We are all equal or we are not. When we are, great civilizations are formed. When Philadelphia was founded by William Penn, a Quaker, it was on the principle of religious freedom. The first Catholic Church was erected there along with the first churches of just about every denomination. The whole slavery issue and the Civil War also involved religion.
This WOKE Agenda is extremely dangerous because it attacks the religious beliefs of many. Besides the American Civil War with its roots in religion, the same was true of the English Civil War which was Protestant v Catholic. India & Pakistan separated over religion – Buddhist v Islam. The Protestant Revolution was actually funded by Catholic bankers who wanted to compete with the Jews but could not get into the trade since lending money for interest was the Sin of Usury.
Arnaud Amalric (died 1225) was a very prominent abbot in the Albigensian Crusade (1209–1229), also known as the Cathar Crusade. They were persecuted because they believed in two Gods or philosophies, with the first one being good and the second being evil. It was during this religious war, which was covertly really for French political gain, that the monk Amalric is best remembered for allegedly advising a soldier who was worried about killing orthodox Catholics in the process of killing declared Cathar heretics. He said:
 “NovitenimDominusquisunteius.” (“Kill them. For the Lord knows those that are His own.”)
The historical list goes on and on. The number of wars and civil uprisings that offended religious beliefs are countless. This WOKE Agenda is NOT about discrimination, it is an agenda that undermines the state and will lead to the breakup of the United States precisely as our computer has forecast.
This WOKE Agenda has prompted more than just a boycott of BUD. It has produced Woke Free American Beer. I’m not a beer drinker, I prefer Scotch. So I cannot speak to how it compares to Bud. But you can try it yourself to make that decision at Ultrarightbeer.com.
This is what I mean. This is not really an economic right-wing thing, it has its roots in religious beliefs. A friend from Europe came and we went down to Key West which is a major hangout for the Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender crowd (LGBT/LGBQT). We saw a guy who could have been a linebacker in high heels with a black mini-skirt standing on the corner and people were taking pictures with him. He was obviously making serious cash. He was certainly not very feminine looking and with the heels, he stood over 7ft. Nobody was insulting him, they were lining up to have their photo taken with him.
youtube
This Woke Free American Beer commercial starts with Seth Weathers standing outside of a women’s bathroom and saying, “America has been drinking beer from a company that doesn’t even know which restroom to use.”
5 notes · View notes
allpreciousjewel · 4 months
Text
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
Don’t be Afraid
Frances Taylor
Many people stay away from the Book of Revelation because they find the symbolism frightening confusing, or both! But the Book of Revelation was meant to be a book of comfort to those caught up in the persecution at the end of the first century. Christians in Rome had been blamed by Nero for the first that destroyed much of the city. They were often called "cannibals" because of their Eucharistic celebrations where they shared the "body and blood of Christ." Domitian was another emperor who persecuted the Christians at the end of the century; and was most likely the emperor who earned the designation"666." You notice the number seven very often in this book; a number that symbolizes completion and when in three's, God. Domitian was considered to be Satan, who claimed to be God and fell short. For the Christian, the greater danger was the loss of eternal life in heaven, not the earthly death. And so, this book was written to give them courage and hope. I cannot imagine facing some of the tortures inflicted upon the early Christians. But then, I don't get violence against another human being. I am also relieved that I do not face the violence that Christians in other parts of the world have to face. Considering that the three major religions worship the same God, I don't understand the hatred that seems to exist between radicals of all three. The Romans were not Christian, nor Jewish, and had a different idea of a god; they had claimed that the emperor himself was a god and therefore needed to be worshipped and that he could do anything he wanted to do. I pray for all those who are in difficult situations where living one's faith puts one in danger. May all of you who are reading this stay safe, and keep vigilant to not suffer at the hands of another the earthly death, and to not suffer the second death because of being unfaithful to God.
Prayer: Mighty God, there are times when we do terrible things to others in your name. May we be faithful to you as loving, rejecting hate and violence toward others. Amen.
0 notes
cant-be-thamed · 2 years
Text
Reflection 5
After a week and a half, I feel really confident about my navigation through the city (though that may be due to my constant reliance on iPhone GPS) , as well as my monetary skills, despite the majority of purchases being card only. So.. maybe I’m not doing too hot. But nonetheless, my severe anxiety about being abroad has seemed to steady, so for that I’m grateful.
I obviously am doing things a lot different here than at home, just due to the different circumstances - mainly suburb vs. city life. I am very comfortable in my suburban life, I feel less anxious in the country, knowing I’ve got space to roam or drive. I suppose things take less time here, being in such close proximity to so much, but part of me feels like my life back home is actually faster - knowing I can hop in my car and get somewhere in less than 20 minutes. I think that notion is also encouraged by my lack of enthusiasm for walking.
We walk everywhere here. What’s silly is that is sometimes my biggest source of anxiety..? I am not sure why, but transportation brings me a lot of stress, so coping with that is actually harder than some other aspects of being here.
If I were to imagine all the circumstances here to be more extreme - bringing in a language barrier or religious persecution, or even both - I would probably be a goner. When I went to Germany this past weekend, I was already struggling with the language barrier. Funny enough, I mostly dealt with not being able to read menus, which is such a minor inconvenience, but it still is impactful and represents bigger struggles I would face living there.
I also believe English-speakers are incredibly fortunate that almost everywhere you go in the world, you will be able to find someone who speaks some English. Speaking a universal language is such a privilege, and that is something I graciously can recognize.
In relation to religious persecution, I grew up in a church with a heavy missions focus, and while there is religious freedom here and in the US, I am very aware of places in the world where religious freedom is completely illegal. I have known missionaries who have to engage under false names, cannot disclose their locations, and have to be extremely cautious with correspondence, and require deletion of all emails, etc. when they are able to communicate. It is very dangerous, and I have never seriously considered doing something that risky, but I cannot imagine living in or visiting a place like that - what I would do or how I would feel. Fear is the main thing that drives religious persecution, and as a fearful person myself, being bold in those areas (to share your faith or even to just live your faith for yourself openly) would paralyze me I fear. I am grateful I do not have to experience that where I live and here in the UK, but it is important to think about, especially with religions that may be secretly persecuted, governmentally or socially, in places I’ve been and/or live.
1 note · View note
luverofsupernatural · 2 years
Text
My coworker was rightfully upset yesterday when one of our ignorant coworkers started disgusting how people don't deserve a living wage. And now, my mind is racing, thinking about all I've learned about how fucked up our country is. I can't remember everything (and may misremember, but here's a list
*disclaimer, I started this at 4am, was doing it from memory, and probably got a few things mixed up
The pilgrims, who we laud for escaping religious persecution, were actually hella strict and possibly trying to force their religion on others
Washington hated the idea of a two party system, but that's what happened anyway
The constitution was made to be amended, and the founding fathers expected it to be shredded every 10-20 years
Laws written, even in the constitution, can/are racist
13th amendment, free from slavery amendment, had an exception for criminals. So what happened? White folks started making all these bullshit laws and reasons why a black person could be arrested (runaway slave, they look dangerous and like they could rape, loitering)
Regulations are written in blood. Why can't lead paint be stored in the same place as workers? Because someone did, and people got seriously ill/dead because of it
De-regulation causes a race to the bottom
Corporations are not people, they do not have morals. They will squeeze you dry, as a worker or as a buyer
The patent for insulin was sold for $1 under the pretense that it could be sold and affordable to all who needed it. It is criminal the price gouging that is happening
We have so many more oligopolies in this country than you realize. And collusion is becoming far easier to raise prices/price gouge
Segregation laws “separate but equal” still had effects after they were abolished. The Black family looking to move to a better neighborhood was prevented from doing so (housing association, racist homeowners) or they couldn't get a loan because they had insufficient collateral.
You cannot expect to build wealth when most of your income goes towards just surviving and you cannot get a job because the hiring committee makes the assumption (or sees) your black and says you aren't a good fit for our culture (translate, not white) or not qualified enough (they are, you lying)
A question I thought up, does a child not deserve the chance at getting a better education for herself? (In notion to Ruby, the famous black girl who was bussed to a white school district and was severely protested.)
Why the fuck do some people not deserve the right to earn enough to live? What possible reason do you have? Criminal? System will throw them in jail for anything
Also, on that, mandatory minimums are predatory and the war on drugs became a way on people of color and drugs because no one arrested the rich white boy or white CEO for doing cocaine
Also, jail is like a scarlet A. So you can't get a good job most of the time to get savings to live a decent life
Also, cops are not your friend. They will lie and focus more on arrests or playing cowboy/John wick, or just getting someone arrested than do they do about catching the criminal.
Laws cops follow can be/are racist. Loitering? You are literally just existing. The cop assumes you are doing something illegal. Traffic stops? "You looked like you were gonna speed". Or use those as a cause to find any reason to arrest/fine you.
ICE cares more about deporting than who/why they are deporting. A majority of illegal immigrants are people who over stay their visas, not border hoppers.
And now I'm thinking about how the word refugee is used. In the media right now,. Ukrainians are refugees, but a few years ago (or recently, maybe), Syrians fleeing their country weren't deemed refugees (they were) and there was a "migrant crisis" and they were "illegal immigrants". You see how language is misused?
The Republican party has moved so far right and is blatantly racist and misogynist and stands for hate. Full stop.
Back to why the fuck don't people deserve the right to live.
Disabled people are severely limited with that $2000 month limit. You cannot build wealth or have savings because what? We need you to be dependent on the government? We don't want you in a better loving situation? Big government is afraid you'll hoard money????
And back to medical pricing. Demand is inelastic. You need this shit to survive. Whatever price the drug company can charge, they will, because you pay it or your die, and you don't want to die, so you are forced to line their pockets (who's really hoarding?)
Back to why the fuck don't people deserve the right to live? Your status shouldn't be determined by who you were born to, but that's kinda the case now. There are institutional structures keeping people from working their way out of poverty ("pull up by the bootstraps" myth).
Why the fuck can't some be paid a living wage? Because some jobs are beneath you and therefore the people in them should be beneath you? What made you do special to be better than the cashier who deals with far more crap than you every do and has much more patience and restraint?
What the fuck gives you the right to deem someone as lesser than you? You don't like a person, fine, your choice. But they are still a fucking human being. You lucked out on the lottery or ableness and corporate get a job.
Oh yeah, people who hate the disabled or think they are inconvenient, go fuck yourselves. You got lucky so far. People do not intentionally make themselves disabled, you monster.
Back to living wage. Actually no, the myth of the American Dream. You know why we have so immigration? Because people believe that life here is better than in their country. But now, as we've said, this country is racist towards immigrants depending on where you came from (Europe or somewhere else) or how you got here (cross the border illegally or over stay a visa). But if a boss knows you're and illegal immigrants, it's that race to the bottom (of job roles and pay) because they can lord ICE over you.
Now, some people are nice and understanding, but this post is about structural decay and rot in a festering system
Actually, the American Dream was dead the moment wages stopped rising with the incredible myth of Reagan’s “trickle down economics". Companies are amoral. Their sole purpose is to make profit. If they can keep labor costs low, they will. And they will charge you more for it
Your father in the 50s worked one job and supported his family. But you can't do the same. Why again do we not need a liveable wage?
Why do you want people in constant debt or homeless?
Are you better than them?
Or did you luck out?
And had money behind you?
And don't have predatory student loans?
Or didn't grow in a neighborhood whose social injustices were met with jail time and housing prices kept low or housing controlled by landlords to prevent ownership?
And did you not have to worry about your safety and life every day for simply existing?
And did you not have to worry about medical debt?
Or being torn away from your parents?
You were able to pass the social test of an interview to get a decent job. Good for you.
Not everyone is deemed worthy, and unjustly so.
Oh yeah, having a bachelor's degree for some jobs is pointless and a barrier to entry for people who don't have enough to get a college degree or don't want massive debt to get a college degree
Okay, i think I'm done. I probably said some wrong stuff in there, or mischarcterized, and I'm sorry about that. It's nearly 5 am, I'm doing this from memory, and why the fuck do I need to be accurate to argue that it is immoral to treat someone loving in less hospitable/unlivable conditions than you as someone who is unworthy of living? Corporations are amoral. You shouldn't be.
0 notes
beloved-not-broken · 3 years
Text
Tumblr media
Getting real tired of Christians claiming persecution when they're really experiencing accountability.
[Image description: The Inigo Montoya Inconceivable meme. The top caption says, "Christians getting called out for their toxic theology: 'I'm being persecuted!'" The bottom caption says: "The rest of us," leading into Inigo Montoya's iconic line: "You keep using that word. I don't think it means what you think it means." End description.]
2 notes · View notes
reginarubie · 2 years
Text
Open letter to the antis
I must admit I've been blissfully left alone by this particular type of cyberbullying as of late, yet I've seen enough of it - and suffered enough of it by anons and not under my fics - to actually know what I am talking about.
So here we go.
Dear antis,
(whether you have the backbone to actually write with your own nickname or anonymously),
I think you have mistaken the Jonsa fandom for your personal, moral and metaphorical punchbag, just like outside of fandom the pack attacks either physically or morally (and yeah I mean even through the net) some people outside of their group, mistaking them for their punchbags thinking (wrongly) that they cannot persecuted, and feeling brave because they are behind a keyboard.
And just to make it clear, spell it out for you so that you don't come back at me: this goes for every occurrence during which people are bullied because of their difference in opinion. Whether over fictional character, political stances, religions, sexual orientation or the colour of one's skin.
Which, btw, that in the third millennium A.D., we still are here discussing about why attacking people because of our differences instead of take joy and pride in our differences because they are what has made humankind great, is wrong, there is something seriously wrong with us. In Italy we do have the saying il mondo è bello perché è vario (the world is beautiful because it's various/composed by differences)
In Italy we have a name for you, besides odiatori (which means haters); we call you leoni da tastiera (keyboard's lions) meaning those people who makes themselves strong because they are hiding behind an alias online and behind a device and a keyboard to write their hate, to bully and to generally disrespect other people.
Now, I cannot speak for other countries save for my own - though I did read this really amazing post which pointed out that in the US you can actually (and will) be persecuted for your cyberbullying - but I want to recount to you something that has been said on this matter during the Sanremo Festival, because I feel it is very compelling and should really be taken into consideration even when speaking to people of another country.
This is the post I refer to, about the illegality of anon and internet hate
https://reginarubie.tumblr.com/post/674694971611381760/bullying-and-cyberbullying-laws-across-america
Returning to what I meant to share with you all, Italy is quite young as a Republic, just think that up until the end of WWII we were still a kingdom (pretty young in that regard as well, because Italy unification didn't happen until 1861, but I'm digressing), so the works to write the constitution of our Repubblica didn't happen well after WWII was done with. We are speaking of times extremely difficult and during which the differences - in races (races do not exist btw), religion and sexual orientation - were actually pretty big deals, big enough that a whole world was characterised by the hate of the different.
While we may be, as a society, a bit behind on some of the American trends (like social networks and such) and cyberbullying may have been a thing years ago in the US, in Italy we have just recently started to actually think about it legally especially because our younger generations (as well as younger generations in the whole world) are paying the price of a misuse of the extremely helpful tool that the net can be.
Well, we might be forever behind on your trends (like this one of cyberbullying and cyber-harassing people) but at least in something we are way ahead than what I had originally thought.
Now, for those of you who don't know it, the Sanremo Festival is the Italian version of the Euro-song contest festival and it has being going on for over 72years and it's an event that is pretty much followed by the majority (we are talking of a five-days long song contest which happens from Tuesday to Saturday and goes on well into the little hours of the night, yet it still has the 65% and more of share) and other than listening to the songs there are also comical relief moments (which are usually more profound that one would assume) and very intense moments of discussion of the problems that our society is incurring with.
I have not been able to follow the entire nights of the festival this year since I had the late shift, but some of the in-between moments this year spoke of transphobia (I'll just resume it with a typical fairytale story about poor girl becoming a princess after a ball, only this time the poor girl was actually a trans girl; which ended up with the singer who was recounting it commenting on how "I might not be, in your opinion, neither male nor female, but you’re a jerk as whole"), racial hate (against one co-host of colour) always online and the matter of the online hater, the leoni da tastiera.
And it's this last matter confronted that I want to share with you. The intervention was made by an extremely young actor (already won prizes btw) and a renown Italian singer. They started by reading the kind of comments that, I despair, have become the standard and norm instead of being the exception to be used as a negative example to teach future generations how not to act.
The same kind of comments many receive on this platform like many others; the same kind of hate comments many of us gets because we ship a couple instead of another and we create content for it (which, you do realise how ridiculous and pathetic that is, don't you?); the same kind of hate people keep receiving because they express their opinion which doesn't align with the bully's.
Then, they just let our own constitution speak for us.
Article 21, of the Italian constitution goes like this:
Tutti hanno diritto di manifestare liberamente il proprio pensiero con la parola, lo scritto e ogni altro mezzo di diffusione.
La stampa non può essere soggetta ad autorizzazioni o censure.
(...)
Sono vietate le pubblicazioni a stampa, gli spettacoli e tutte le altre manifestazioni contrarie al buon costume. La legge stabilisce provvedimenti adeguati a prevenire e a reprimere le violazioni.
translation: Everyone has the right/is entitled to freely express their own thought/opinion with word, written text and with any other tool of diffusion (meaning the net as well, even if back in those time it didn't even exist).
Which would seem to point in the direction of "I can say whatever the hell I want". Wrong.
And the article goes on saying: the press(/whatever tool of diffusion of one opinion) cannot be censured or subjected to authorisations.
So, no censure in Italy. Thank you. Which is why I advocate so strongly the freedom of speech as long as people keep being polite, while I kept being polite if firm against those who insulted me.
Then on we go: The publications (of press/whatever tool of diffusion/shows) against morality and politeness are forbidden and the law establishes adeguate measures to prevent and repress this kind of violations.
Now, this last piece connects with the next article I'm going to show to you (like they showed to us at the Festival), which goes.
Article 3, Italian constitution
Tutti i cittadini hanno pari dignità sociale e sono eguali davanti alla legge, senza distinzione di sesso, di razza, di lingua, di religione, di opinioni politiche, di condizioni personali e sociali.
Translation: All citizens have equal social dignity and are equal before the law, with no differences based on gender, race read skin color, language, religion, political opinion, personal and social conditions.
Each and every aspect recalled to here (gender, race read skin color, language, religion, political opinion, personal and social conditions) are protected and discipled by articles ad hoc in the constitution in which the Italian "founders" set the fundaments of our society which is meant to be inclusive and tolerant toward each other to take the best from our differences (and by this I don't mean there are no social actual differences due incomprehension between people coming from different backgrounds, but that's neither here nor there, because we are speaking to ethics; that would be purely utopian).
A note: all citizen are equal before the law, but the law is not equal before every citizen, because in virtue of our differences the law adapts to give each and everyone of us the best outcome we deserve (so a disabled person is protected twice over than one who isn't for example)
The point I am reaching at, is that yes ethically you have the right to say all you want (not whatever the hell you want), but there are limits and those limits come into play when your opinion (or better the way you express it) damages the dignity of others especially when based on our differences.
And look;
If a bunch of people (non me ne vogliano i nostri constituenti) born in different times, with different backgrounds than ours and mindsets than ours (they were less cosmopolitan than we are), more wary of people different from them especially after a war where the different colour of one's uniform meant either killing or be killed, can understand and put into paper, as the fundamental law of the nation they want to build, the simple principle that having the freedom of speaking means also knowing where the limits lay and not cross them, avoiding damaging other people's dignity as we would not want our own be stepped over, why can't you?, people born after the war, people who (mis)use such a wonderful tool like the net that should bring us all together to enjoy our differences instead of hating on each other because of those?
Why do you keep insisting on hating, cyberharrassing and cyberbullying (only because you feel protected by the anonymity that the net platforms provide and thus entitled to say whatever the hell you want) when you could simply do the easiest, more wonderful thing in the world?
Why do you have this need to bring others down and tear 'em down to raise yourself up on a pedestal?
Why can't you just enjoy what you like and let others enjoy what they like, without being scornful, hateful or harassing of them for their opinions?
Are you really that insecure, to become so toxic?
News flash: there is no pedestal on which to rise yourself up after having shoved down those you perceive as on the top, and also.. what kind of joy do you find in shoving people down to sit yourself in the one you perceive to be their place?
Fondly,
~Giulia.
11 notes · View notes
teachingtales · 3 years
Text
I’ve had to answer this a couple times already so I want to share it with you to help make some sense of the Capitol Hill Attack. In bold are the questions/comments from someone else and then my response follows. 
I don't know what these people expected by doing this. We must first remember that these are not the "average person". These are people who firmly believe in an underlying persecution. I grew up in such a cult, where we were taught that everyone is persecuting us, secretly or overtly. To account for the fact that we were part of a religious majority in the US, we were taught that the "other Christians" were not "true" Christians. They were liars who pretended to believe in God hoping for eternal life, but would vote for "worldly and Satanic" ideas like gay marriage or abortion.
These people genuinely believe that the entire political system of the United States is a Satanic cult that sacrifices children. They are told not to donate blood because the Satanic Leaders (politicians and celebrities) steal this blood in order to use it for youth (by putting it on their skin or ingesting it or both). In some cases, young Christian children are stolen and drained of blood for this purpose. They believe that Trump, and only Trump, was fighting a secret battle against the Powers That Be. They believed that Trump's lack of presidential activity/effects was due to him being far too busy fighting the secret Satanists. In other words, the fact he was ineffective (in public) meant he was effective (in private).
So, to your question: what did they expect by doing this? Any or all of the following:
die a glorious death for the man hand-selected by Jesus, thus gaining access to Heaven
they believed they would find the "hidden votes", exposing the Satanic Politicians and showing the world they were really right this whole time
force another recount, which would finally prove that Trump actually won
The election was fair, there's no damning evidence of election fraud and Trump's legal bullshit is baseless and a desperate attempt to cheat the system.
True. But these are not reasonable people we are dealing with. In their minds, the lack of evidence is the evidence, that cheating the system was done so well that they made sure to really cover their tracks. Oddly, they also believe that it was done so sloppily that they do have evidence in the form of a video that Trump referenced multiple times in his Georgia Phone Call. It doesn't matter that the actual, unedited footage wholly disagrees with Trump's accusations; remember, he was hand-selected by Jesus, and the people in possession of the unedited footage are hand-selected by Satan. This, then, means Trump's video and Trump's claims are automatically correct, while anyone else is a liar and holds forgeries. After all, Lucifer is "the Father of Lies", so his agents (politicians) surely can lie effectively.
Again, we are left with this problem: the lack of evidence is the evidence.
Storming the Capitol was a shitty idea, what was going to change? People are dead because of this "overthrow". The government wasn't going to be affected by this.
In addition to what I mentioned earlier, they have a very small view of the world. These are people who typically believe the Earth is only 6000 years old and evolution cannot happen because they cannot fathom the long periods of time it takes. These are people who believe that those of us outside of the US are all collectively lying about the SARS-CoV-2 virus so we can hurt President Trump's reputation. They cannot understand scale. They are the people who watch movies like “Independence Day”, where a single person who has no knowledge of alien computers can take down the entire fleet. They don't understand how complex things really are. Thus, they genuinely think a "last stand" type of attack on a building will bring on the glorious end to this troubled tale.
Trump repeatedly bashed people who protested for BLM and said it was violent, unnecessary, etc. But when people riot and kill in his name he's just like "well they didn't do anything wrong".
This is unfortunately an easy one to answer: if they're against me, they are wrong...but if they are for me, they are right.
This is a classic "in-group/out-group" type of thinking. In-Group: the group you belong to Out-Group: the group you do not belong to (often with directly opposing views) In this type of thinking, you stereotype the Out-Group by their worst actors but your worst actors in your In-Group are different. We can see this in the media in the form of the following examples:
Example A: foreigners who attack something on national soil are "terrorists", but domestic attackers are "troubled individuals"
Example B: if the majority is white, a 17 year-old black male who shoots some people is written about in the news as a "violent man" or "man opened fire on innocent victims". If the shooter is a 17 year-old white male, the news is characterizes him as a "troubled teen" or "boy open fires at school, family wonders where they went wrong"
Example C: if the minority religion has a passage in their holy book that says "Women are less than men", it's because that religion is clearly false and laughably erroneous; if the majority religion has a passage in their holy book that says "Women are less than men", it's not sexist and just needs to be understood in cultural context
The subconscious reasoning for this type of thinking is very tribal but also ego-preserving...that we each believe we are always making the most correct and most reasonable/logical choices, so if someone makes a different choice, that person and choice are unreasonable and illogical.
None of this excuses the behavior, but I hope it helps shed some light on this type of extreme thought process. 
83 notes · View notes
asklepiean · 3 years
Note
hey! i was wondering - how do you balance out polytheistic religion with monotheistic worship? im in a weird place where i'm trying to balance it out myself. would you mind talking about your relationship between catholicism and graeco-roman practices?
I don't balance it because I don't have a mixed faith. I'm a cultor, and the majority of my devotion is for the Roman Gods. I started taking interest in Christianity recently after years of uncensored hatred.
I was raised catholic and I thought it was nonsense, and later I completely rejected it. I mostly did it because when you shift to paganism this is the default approach that both the community and your personal experience demand. The average pagan book or practitioner tells you that it's Christians' fault if our Gods were forgotten and if they're shitty enough they're pleased to remember you that "pagans persecuted the Christians and it was the right thing to do". This (and many, many other bad takes on the topic) is bullshit, but knowing it requires the will to read about late antiquity history. The amount of shit you find online about this topic is embarrassing. But let's just say that I did like pretty much everyone else.
What made me change my mind was a history of Christianity class that I attended last year. The first thing the prof said was "my class will have one of these effects on you: you will hate it because you'll keep thinking like many people (and modern culture) that Christianity is shit, or maybe you will find it hard to rethink your beliefs. The other option is that you'll like it, because you will see things from a different perspective, and you will understand how things evolved and how people changed it". It was a history class and faith was not required. I loved what I learned, and I'm still convinced that if someone helped me understand Christianity I would've probably still been a catholic (or someone aligned with eastern Christianity beliefs). Oh, and I also started hating emperor Julian.
Another thing that made me appreciate more Christianity was (and I swear I'm not joking) Warhammer 40k and its stupid God-Emperor of Mankind. I liked the aesthetic, I started thinking about historical references and boom: sci-fi Catholicism, battle nuns, and dying gods. Absolutely beautiful. It also helped me rethink my personal devotion, but that's another story.
Regarding my personal practice, Asclepius is the closest thing to Christianity that I have. I already wrote about this, but his cult was hated by the Church Fathers (he was the true enemy of Christ) and he remained popular because people saw him and Jesus and thought "mmm they're pretty damn close uh". I'm a recon and I focus on late antiquity and during that time there were many Christian influences in polytheistic religions and vice versa. Those who kept lamenting about it were higher-status intellectuals who had nothing else to do other than writing speeches.
I like folk Catholicism and its many small cults, charms, beliefs and I love how much of the oral culture was saved by it. I want to learn more about folklore and I cannot ignore the value of Christianity. I like the God(s): I love the Theotokos, the Mother of God, and the importance Jesus had in the history of mankind (it doesn't matter if he was real or a metaphor: the historian doesn't care), how fucked up the Trinity is and how people tried to understand its mysteries. I love the history of monasticism, medieval mystics, the inspiration you get whenever you read about people who changed the world for good because they believed that God walked among them. I love how people shared the news that Christ resurrected - that he was truly the last sacrifice. I collect charms, rosaries, prayer cards, and such because I like them and because they're still useful on a practical level (they're always protections). I love all of this, but I don't love the fandom around it.
I can't tell you how to build your practice because I'm not a Christian, but maybe you should listen to your need and try to build from scratch. Keeping everything isn't always good for us, and divination is a tool that you must use. Mixed faith was a reality in the past, with a little research and help from the Gods I'm sure you'll find a solution that will suit you the best.
11 notes · View notes
church-history · 3 years
Text
Iniquis Afflictisque:
Papal Encyclical On the Persecution of the Church in Mexico
Pope Pius XI - 1926
To the Venerable Brethren, the Patriarchs, Primates, Archbishops, Bishops, and other Ordinaries in Peace and Communion with the Apostolic See.
In speaking to the Sacred College of Cardinals at the Consistory of last December, We pointed out that there existed no hope or possibility of relief from the sad and unjust conditions under which the Catholic religion exists today in Mexico except it be by a “special act of Divine Mercy.” You, Venerable Brothers, did not delay to make your own and approve Our convictions and Our wishes in this regard, made known to you on so many occasions, for by every means within your power you urged all the faithful committed to your pastoral care to implore by instant prayers the Divine Founder of the Church that He bring some relief from the heavy burden of these great evils.
2. We designedly use the words “the heavy burden of these great evils” for certain of Our children, deserters from the army of Jesus Christ and enemies of the Common Father of all, have ordered and are continuing up to the present hour a cruel persecution against their own brethren, Our most beloved children of Mexico. If in the first centuries of our era and at other periods in history Christians were treated in a more barbarous fashion than now, certainly in no place or at no time has it happened before that a small group of men has so outraged the rights of God and of the Church as they are now doing in Mexico, and this without the slightest regard for the past glories of their country, with no feelings of pity for their fellow-citizens. They have also done away with the liberties of the majority and in such a clever way that they have been able to clothe their lawless actions with the semblance of legality.
3. Naturally, We do not wish that either you or the faithful should fail to receive from Us a solemn testimonial of Our gratitude for the prayers which, according to Our intention were poured forth in private and at public functions. It is most important, too, that these prayers which have been so powerful an aid to Us should be continued, and even increased, with renewed fervor. It is assuredly not in the power of man to control the course of events or of history, nor can he direct them as he may desire to the welfare of society by changing either the minds or hearts of his fellow-men. Such action, however, is well within the power of God, for He without doubt can put an end, if He so desires, to persecutions of this kind. Nor must you conclude, Venerable Brothers, that all your prayers have been in vain simply because the Mexican Government, impelled by its fanatical hatred of religion, continued to enforce more harshly and violently from day to day its unjust laws. The truth is that the clergy and the great majority of the faithful have been so strengthened in their longsuffering resistance to these laws by such an abundant shower of divine grace that they have been enabled thereby to give a glorious example of heroism. They have justly merited, too, that We, in a solemn document executed by Our Apostolic authority, should make known this fortitude to the whole Catholic world.
4. Last month on the occasion of the beatification of many martyrs of the French Revolution, spontaneously the Catholics of Mexico came to Our thoughts, for they, like those martyrs, have remained firm in their resolution to resist in all patience the unreasonable behests and commands of their persecutors rather than cut themselves off from the unity of the Church or refuse obedience to this Apostolic See. Marvelous indeed is the glory of the Divine Spouse of Christ who, through the course of the centuries, can depend, without fail, upon a brave and generous offspring ever ready to suffer prisons, stripes, and even death itself for the holy liberty of the Church!
5. It is scarcely necessary, Venerable Brothers, to go back very far in order to narrate the sad calamities which have fallen upon the Church of Mexico. It is sufficient to recall that the frequent revolutions of modern times have ended in the majority of cases in trials for the Church and persecutions of religion. Both in 1914 and in 1915 men who seemed veritably inspired by the barbarism of former days persecuted the clergy, both secular and regular, and the sisters. They rose up against holy places and every object used in divine worship and so ferocious were they that no injury, no ignominy, no violence was too great to satisfy their persecuting mania.
6. Referring now to certain notorious facts concerning which We have already raised Our voice in solemn protest and which even the daily press recorded at great length, there is no need to take up much space in telling you of certain deplorable events which occurred even in the very recent past with reference to Our Apostolic Delegates to Mexico. Without the slightest regard for justice, for solemn promises given, or for humanity itself, one of these Apostolic Delegates was driven out of the country; another, who because of illness had left the Republic for a short time, was forbidden to return, and the third was also treated in a most unfriendly manner and forced to leave. Surely there is no one who cannot understand that such acts as these, committed against illustrious personages who were both ready and willing to bring about peace, must be construed as a great affront to their dignity as Archbishops, to the high office which they filled, and particularly to Our authority which they represented.
7. Unquestionably the events just cited are grave and deplorable. But the examples of despotic power which We will now pass in review, Venerable Brothers, are beyond all compare, contrary to the rights of the Church, and most injurious as well to the Catholics of Mexico.
8. In the first place, let us examine the law of 1917, known as the “Political Constitution” of the federated republic of Mexico. For our present purposes it is sufficient to point out that after declaring the separation of Church and State the Constitution refuses to recognize in the Church, as if she were an individual devoid of any civil status, all her existing rights and interdicts to her the ac quisition of any rights whatsoever in the future. The civil authority is given the right to interfere in matters of divine worship and in the external discipline of the Church. Priests are put on the level of professional men and of laborers but with this important difference, that they must be not only Mexicans by birth and cannot exceed a certain number specified by law, but are at the same time deprived of all civil and political rights. They are thus placed in the same class with criminals and the insane. Moreover, priests not only must inform the civil authorities but also a commission of ten citizens whenever they take possession of a church or are transferred to another mission. The vows of religious, religious orders, and religious congregations are outlawed in Mexico. Public divine worship is forbidden unless it take place within the confines of a church and is carried on under the watchful eye of the Government. All church buildings have been declared the property of the state. Episcopal residences, diocesan offices, seminaries, religious houses, hospitals, and all charitable institutions have been taken away from the Church and handed over to the state. As a matter of fact, the Church can no longer own property of any kind. Everything that it possessed at the period when this law was passed has now become the property of the state. Every citizen, moreover, has the right to denounce before the law any person whom he thinks is holding in his own name property for the Church. All that is required in order to make such action legal is a mere presumption of guilt. Priests are not allowed by law to inherit property of any kind except it be from persons closely related to them by blood. With reference to marriage, the power of the Church is not recognized. Every marriage between Catholics is considered valid if contracted validly according to the prescriptions of the civil code.
9. Education has been declared free, but with these important restrictions: both priests and religious are forbidden to open or to conduct elementary schools. It is not permitted to teach children their religion even in a private school. Diplomas or degrees conferred by private schools under control of the Church possess no legal value and are not recognized by the state. Certainly, Venerable Brothers, the men who originated, approved, and gave their sanction to such a law either are totally ignorant of what rights pertain jure divino to the Church as a perfect society, established as the ordinary means of salvation for mankind by Jesus Christ, Our Redeemer and King, to which He gave the full liberty of fulfilling her mission on earth (such ignorance seems incredible today after twenty centuries of Christianity and especially in a Catholic nation and among men who have been baptized, unless in their pride and foolishness they believe themselves able to undermine and destroy the “House of the Lord which has been solidly constructed and strongly built on the living rock”) or they have been motivated by an insane hatred to attempt anything within their power in order to harm the Church. How was it possible for the Archbishops and Bishops of Mexico to remain silent in the face of such odious laws?
10. Immediately after their publication the hierarchy of Mexico protested in kind but firm terms against these laws, protests which Our Immediate Predecessor ratified, which were approved as well by the whole hierarchies of other countries, as well as by a great majority of individual bishops from all over the world, and which finally were confimed even by Us in a letter of consolation of the date of the second of February, 1926, which We addressed to the Bishops of Mexico. The Bishops hoped that those in charge of the Government, after the first outburst of hatred, would have appreciated the damage and danger which would accrue to the vast majority of the people from the enforcement of those articles of the Constitution restrictive of the liberty of the Church and that, therefore, out of a desire to preserve peace they would not insist on enforcing these articles to the letter, or would enforce them only up to a certain point, thus leaving open the possibility of a modus vivendi, at least for the time being.
11. In spite of the extreme patience exhibited in these circumstances by both the clergy and laity, an attitude which was the result of the Bishops’ exhorting them to moderation in all things, every hope of a return to peace and tranquillity was dissipated, and this as a direct result of the law promulgated by the President of the Republic on the second of July, 1926, by virtue of which practically no liberty at all was left the Church. As a matter of fact, the Church was barely allowed to exist. The exercise of the sacred ministry was hedged about by the severest penalties as if it were a crime worthy of capital punishment. It is difficult, Venerable Brothers, to express in language how such perversion of civil authority grieves Us. For whosoever reveres, as all must, God the Creator and Our Beloved Redeemer, whosoever will obey the laws of Holy Mother Church, such a man, We repeat, such a man is looked on as a malefactor, as guilty of a crime; such a man is considered fit only to be deprived of all civil rights; such a man can be thrown into prison along with other criminals. With what justice can We apply to the authors of these enormities the words which Jesus Christ spoke to the leaders of the Jews: “This is your hour, and the power of darkness.” (Luke xxii, 53)
12. The most recent law which has been promulgated as merely an interpretation of the Constitution is as a matter of fact much worse than the original law itself and makes the enforcement of the Constitution much more severe, if not almost intolerable. The President of the Republic and the members of his ministry have insisted with such ferocity on the enforcement of these laws that they do not permit the governors of the different states of the Confederation, the civil authorities, or the military commanders to mitigate in the least the rigors of the persecution of the Catholic Church. Insult, too, is added to persecution. Wicked men have tried to place the Church in a bad light before the people; some, for example, uttering the most brazen lies in public assemblies. But when a Catholic tries to answer them, he is prevented from speaking by catcalls and personal insults hurled at his head. Others use hostile newspapers in order to obscure the truth and to malign “Catholic Action.”
13. If, at the beginning of the persecution, Catholics were able to make a defense of their religion in the public press by means of articles which made clear the truth and answered the lies and errors of their enemies, it is now no longer permitted these citizens, who love their country just as much as other citizens do, to raise their voices in protest. As a matter of fact, they are not even allowed to express their sorrow over the injuries done to the Faith of their fathers and to the liberty of divine worship. We, however, moved profoundly as We are by the consciousness of the duties imposed upon Us by our Apostolic office, will cry out to heaven, Venerable Brothers, so that the whole Catholic world may hear from the lips of the Common Father of all the story of the insane tyranny of the enemies of the Church, on the one hand, and on the other that of the heroic virtue and constancy of the bishops, priests, religious congregations, and laity ot Mexico.
14. All foreign priests and religious men have been expelled from the country. Schools for the religious education of boys and girls have been closed, either because they are known publicly under a religious name or because they happen to possess a statue or some other religious object. Many seminaries likewise, schools, insane asylums, convents, institutions connected with churches have been closed. In practically all the states of the Republic the number of priests who may exercise the sacred ministry has been limited and fixed at the barest minimum. Even these latter are not allowed to exercise their sacred office unless they have beforehand registered with the civil authorities and have obtained permission from them so to function. In certain sections of the country restrictions have been placed on the ministry of priests which, if they were not so sad, would be laughable in the extreme. For example, certain regulations demand that priests must be of an age fixed by law, that they must be civilly married, and they are not allowed to baptize except with flowing water. In one of the states of the Confederation it has been decreed that only one bishop is permitted to live within the territory of said state, by reason of which law two other bishops were constrained to exile themselves from their dioceses. Moreover, because of circumstances imposed upon them by law, some bishops have had to leave their diocese, others have been forced to appear before the courts, several were arrested, and practically all the others live from day to day in imminent danger of being arrested.
15. Again, every Mexican citizen who is engaged in the education of children or of youth, or holds any public office whatsoever, has been ordered to make known publicly whether he accepts the policies of the President and approves of the war which is now being waged on the Catholic Church. The majority of these same individuals were forced, under threat of losing their positions, to take part, together with the army and laboring men, in a parade sponsored by the Regional Confederation of the Workingmen of Mexico, a socialist organization. This parade took place in Mexico City and in other towns of the Republic on the same day. It was followed by impious speeches to the populace. The whole procedure was organized to obtain, by means of these public outcries and the applause of those who took part in it, and by heaping all kinds of abuse on the Church, popular approval of the acts of the President.
16. But the cruel exercise of arbitrary power on the part of the enemies of the Church has not stopped at these acts. Both men and women who defended the rights of the Church and the cause of religion, either in speeches or by distributing leaflets and pamphlets, were hurried before the courts and sent to prison. Again, whole colleges of canons were rushed off to jail, the aged being carried there in their beds. Priests and laymen have been cruelly put to death in the very streets or in the public squares which front the churches. May God grant that the responsible authors of so many grave crimes return soon to their better selves and throw themselves in sorrow and with true contrition on the divine mercy; We are convinced that this is the noble revenge on their murderers which Our children who have been so unjustly put to death are now asking from God.
17. We think it well at this point, Venerable Brothers, to review for you in a few words how the bishops, priests, and faithful of Mexico have organized resistance and “set up a wall for the House of Israel, to stand in battle.” (Ezech. xiii, 5)
18. There cannot be the slightest doubt of the fact that the Mexican hierarchy have unitedly used every means within their power to defend the liberty and good name of the Church. In the first place, they indited a joint pastoral letter to their people in which they proved beyond cavil that the clergy had always acted toward the rulers of the Republic motivated by a love for peace, with prudence and in all patience; that they had even suffered, in a spirit of almost too much tolerance, laws which were unjust; they admonished the faithful, outlining the divine constitution of the Church, that they, too, must always persevere in their religion, in such a way that they shall “obey God rather than men” (Acts v, 19) on every occasion when anyone tries to impose on them laws which are no less contrary to the very idea of law and do not merit the name of law, as they are inimical to the constitution and existence itself of the Church.
19. When the President of the Republic had promulgated his untimely and unjust decree of interpretation of the Constitution, by means of another joint pastoral letter the Bishops protested and pointed out that to accept such a law was nothing less than to desert the Church and hand her over a slave to the civil authorities. Even if this had been done, it was apparent to all that such an act would neither satisfy her persecutors nor stop them in the pursuit of their nefarious intentions. The Bishops in such circumstances preferred to put an end to public religious functions. Therefore, they ordered the complete suspension of every act of public worship which cannot take place without the presence of the clergy, in all the churches of their diocese, beginning the last day of July, on which day the law in question went into effect. Moreover, since the civil authorities had ordered that all the churches must be turned over to the care of laymen, chosen by the mayors of the different municipalities, and could not be held in any manner whatsoever by those who were named or designated for such an office by the bishops or priests, which act transferred the possessions of the churches from the ecclesiastical authority to that of the state, the Bishops practically everywhere interdicted the faithful from accepting a place on such committees bestowed on them by the Government and even from entering a church which was no longer under the control of the Church. In some dioceses, due to difference of time and place, other arrangements were made.
20. In spite of all this, do not think, Venerable Brothers, that the Mexican hierarchy lost any opportunity or occasion by means of which they might do their part in calming popular feelings and bringing about concord despite the fact that they distrusted, or it would be better perhaps to say despaired of, a happy outcome to all these troubles. It is sufficient to recall in this context that the Bishops of Mexico City, who act in the capacity of procurators for their colleagues, wrote a very courteous and respectful letter to the President of the Republic in the interests of the Bishops of Huejutla, who had been arrested in a most outrageous manner and with a great display of armed force, and had been ordered taken to the city of Pachuca. The President replied to this letter by means of a hateful angry screed, a fact now become notorious. Again, when it happened that certain personages, lovers of peace, had spontaneously intervened so as to bring about a conversation between the President and the Archbishop of Morelia and the Bishop of Tabasco, the parties in question talked together for a long time and on many subjects, but with no results. Again, the Bishops debated whether they should ask the House of Representatives for the abrogation of those laws which were against the rights of the Church or if they should continue, as before, their so-called passive resistance to these laws. As a matter of fact, there existed many good reasons which seemed to them to render useless the presentation of such a petition to Congress. However, they did present the petition, which was written by Catholics quite capable of doing so because of their knowledge of law, every word of which was, moreover, weighed by the Bishops themselves with the utmost care. To this petition of the hierarchy there was added, due to the zealous efforts of the members of the Federation for the Defense of Religious Liberty, about which organization We shall have something to say later on in this letter, a great number of signatures of citizens, both men and women.
21. The Bishops had not been wrong in their anticipations of what would take place. Congress rejected the proposed petition almost unanimously, only one voting in favor of it, and the reason they alleged for this act was that the Bishops had been deprived of juridical personality, since they had already appealed in this matter to the Pope and therefore they had proven themselves unwilling to acknowledge the laws of Mexico. Such being the facts, what remained for the Bishops to do if not to decide that, until these unjust laws had been repealed, neither they nor the faithful would change in the slightest the policy which they had adopted? The civil authorities of Mexico, abusing both their power and the really remarkable patience of the people, are now in a position to menace the clergy and the Mexican people with even more severe punishments than those already inflicted. But how are we to overcome and conquer men of this type who are committed to the use of every type of infamy, unless we are willing, as they insist, to conclude an agreement with them which cannot but injure the sacred cause of the liberty of the Church?
22. The clergy have imitated the truly wonderful example of constancy given them by the Bishops and have themselves in turn given no less brilliant an example of fortitude through all the tedious changes of the great conflict. This example of extraordinary virtue on their part has been a great comfort to Us. We have made it known to the whole Catholic world and We praise them because “they are worthy.” (Apoc. iii, 4) And in this special context, when We recall that every imaginable artifice was employed, that all the power and vexatious tactics of our adversaries had but one purpose, to alienate both the clergy and people from their allegiance to the hierarchy and to this Apostolic See, and that despite all this only one or two priests, from among the four thousand, betrayed in a shameful manner their holy office, it certainly seems to Us that there is nothing which We cannot hope for from the Mexican clergy.
23. As a matter of fact, We behold these priests standing shoulder to shoulder, obedient and respectful to the commands of their prelates despite the fact that to obey means in the majority of cases serious dangers for themselves, for they must live from their holy office, and since they are poor and do not themselves possess anything and the Church cannot support them, they are obliged to live bravely in poverty and in misery; they must say Mass in private; they must do all within their power to provide for the spiritual needs of their flocks, to keep alive and increase the flame of piety in those round about them; moreover, by their example, counsels and exhortations, they must lift the thoughts of their fellow citizens to the highest ideals and strengthen their wills so that they, too, will persevere in their passive resistance. Is it any wonder, then, that the wrath and blind hatred of our enemies are directed principally and before all else against the priesthood? The clergy, on their side, have not hesitated to go to prison when ordered, and even to face death itself with serenity and courage. We have heard recently of something which surpasses anything as yet perpetrated under the guise of these wicked laws, and which, as a matter of fact, sounds the very depths of wickedness, for We have learned that certain priests were suddenly set upon while celebrating Mass in their own homes or in the homes of friends, that the Blessed Eucharist was outraged in the basest manner, and the priests themselves carried off to prison.
24. Nor can We praise enough the courageous faithful of Mexico who have understood only too well how important it is for them that a Catholic nation in matters so serious and holy as the worship of God, the liberty of the Church, and the eternal salvation of souls should not depend upon the arbitrary will and audacious acts of a few men, but should be governed under the mercy of God only by laws which are just, which are conformable to natural, divine, and ecclesiastical law.
25. A word of very special praise is due those Catholic organizations, which during all these trying times have stood like soldiers side to side with the clergy. The members of these organiza tions, to the limit of their power, not only have made provisions to maintain and assist their clergy financially, they also watch over and take care of the churches, teach catechism to the children, and like sentinels stand guard to warn the clergy when their ministrations are needed so that no one may be deprived of the help of the priest. What We have just written is true of all these organizations. We wish, however, to say a word in particular about the principal organizations, so that each may know that it is highly ap proved and even praised by the Vicar of Jesus Christ.
26. First of all We mention the Knights of Columbus, an organization which is found in all the states of the Republic and which fortunately is made up of active and industrious members who, because of their practical lives and open profession of the Faith, as well as by their zeal in assisting the Church, have brought great honor upon themselves. This organization promotes two types of activites which are needed now more than ever. In the first place, the National Sodality of Fathers of Families, the program of which is to give a Catholic education to their own children, to protect the rights of Christian parents with regard to education, and in cases where children attend the public schools to provide for them a sound and complete training in their religion. Secondly, the Federation for the Defense of Religious Liberty, which was recently organized when it became clear as the noonday sun that the Church was menaced by a veritable ocean of troubles. This Federation soon spread to all parts of the Republic. Its members attempted, working in harmony and with assiduity, to organize and instruct Catholics so that they would be able to present a united invincible front to the enemy.
27. No less deserving of the Church and the fatherland as the Knights of Columbus have been and still are, We mention two other organizations, each of which has, following its own program, a special relation to what is known as “Catholic Social Action.” One is the Catholic Society of Mexican Youth, and the other, the Union of Catholic Women of Mexico. These two sodalities, over and above the work which is special to each of them, promote and do all they can to have others promote the activities of the above-mentioned Federation for the Defense of Religious Liberty. Without going into details about their work, with pleasure We desire to call to your attention, Venerable Brothers, but a single fact, namely, that all the members of these organizations, both men and women, are so brave that, instead of fleeing danger, they go out in search of it, and even rejoice when it falls to their share to suffer persecution from the enemies of the Church. What a beautiful spectacle this, that is thus given to the world, to angels, and to men! How worthy of eternal praise are such deeds! As a matter of fact, as We have pointed out above, many individuals, members either of the Knights of Columbus, or officers of the Federation, of the Union of Catholic Women of Mexico, or of the Society of Mexican Youth, have been taken to prison handcuffed, through the public streets, surrounded by armed soldiers, locked up in foul jails, harshly treated, and punished with prison sentences or fines. Moreover, Venerable Brothers, and in narrating this We can scarcely keep back Our tears, some of these young men and boys have gladly met death, the rosary in their hands and the name of Christ King on their lips. Young girls, too, who were imprisoned, were criminally outraged, and these acts were deliberately made public in order to intimidate other young women and to cause them the more easily to fail in their duty toward the Church.
28. No one, surely, Venerable Brothers, can hazard a prediction or foresee in imagination the hour when the good God will bring to an end such calamities. We do know this much: The day will come when the Church of Mexico will have respite from this veritable tempest of hatred, for the reason that, according to the words of God “there is no wisdom, there is no prudence, there is no counsel against the Lord” (Prov. xxi, 30) and “the gates of hell shall not prevail” (Matt. xvi, 18) against the Spotless Bride of Christ.
29. The Church which, from the day of Pentecost, has been destined here below to a never-ending life, which went forth from the upper chamber into the world endowed with the gifts and inspirations of the Holy Spirit, what has been her mission during the last twenty centuries and in every country of the world if not, after the example of her Divine Founder, “to go about doing good”? (Acts x, 38) Certainly this work of the Church should have gained for her the love of all men; unfortunately the very contrary has happend as her Divine Master Himself predicted (Matt. x, 17, 25) would be the case. At times the bark of Peter, favored by the winds, goes happily forward; at other times it appears to be swallowed up by the waves and on the point of being lost. Has not this ship always aboard the Divine Pilot who knows when to calm the angry waves and the winds? And who is it but Christ Himself Who alone is all-powerful, who brings it about that every persecution which is launched against the faithful should react to the lasting benefit of the Church? As St. Hilary writes, “it is a prerogative of the Church that she is the vanquisher when she is persecuted, that she captures our intellects when her doctrines are questioned, that she conquers all at the very moment when she is abandoned by all.” (St. Hilary of Poitiers De Trinitate, Bk. VII, No. 4)
30. If those men who now in Mexico persecute their brothers and fellowcitizens for no other reason than that these latter are guilty of keeping the laws of God, would only recall to memory and consider dispassionately the vicissitudes of their country as history reveals them to us, they must recognize and publicly confess that whatever there is of progress, of civilization, of the good and the beautiful, in their country is due solely to the Catholic Church. In fact every man knows that after the introduction of Christianity into Mexico, the priests and religious especially, who are now being persecuted with such cruelty by an ungrateful government, worked without rest and despite all the obstacles placed in their way, on the one hand by the colonists who were moved by greed for gold and on the other by the natives who were still barbarians, to promote greatly in those vast regions both the splendor of the worship of God and the benefits of the Catholic religion, works and institutions of charity, schools and colleges for the education of the people and their instruction in letters, the sciences, both sacred and profane, in the arts and the crafts.
31. One thing more remains for Us to do, Venerable Brothers, namely, to pray and implore Our Lady of Guadalupe, heavenly patroness of the Mexican people, that she pardon all these injuries and especially those which have been committed against her, that she ask of God that peace and concord may return to her people. And if, in the hidden designs of God that day which We so greatly desire is far distant, may she in the meantime console her faithful children of Mexico and strengthen them in their resolve to maintain their liberty by the profession of their Faith.
32. In the meanwhile, as an augury of the grace of God and as proof of Our fatherly love, We bestow from Our heart on you, Venerable Brothers, and especially on those bishops who rule the Church of Mexico, on all your clergy and your people, the Apostolic Blessing.
Given at Rome, at St. Peter’s, on the eighteenth day of November, in the year 1926, the fifth of Our Pontificate.
5 notes · View notes
arcticdementor · 3 years
Link
I spoke to two Ugandan women at an event I attended this weekend. After we finished talking, I asked them if I could relay their comments on my blog as long as I didn’t identify them. They said yes.
The women talked about the West’s LGBT ideology as deeply offensive to Africans. The first woman said, “We are at the point where you cannot get development aid, water aid, or any kind of aid from NGOs unless you affirm LGBT. What kind of message do you think that sends to us about what the West cares about?”
The second woman said, “China is making lots of inroads in Africa. We can see it all the time. The Chinese come and build things, and give us things, and they never tell us we have to change to suit their ideology. The Americans and the Europeans demand that we do. The Chinese leave us alone.”
I was reminded of something a semi-retired professor in Budapest told me this past summer, when I was there. I asked him if he wasn’t worried by the Orban government’s plans to allow the Chinese to build a campus of Fudan University there? Not at all, he said. He has spent most of his career teaching in Western universities, and have seen them take a totalitarian turn with wokeness. He said he would be much more worried if a prestigious Western university tried to open a campus in Hungary.
“Fudan University is a great university,” he said. “And the Chinese will respect Hungarian culture. They won’t force us to be woke.”
Incidentally, I had to take a journey from this exurban town into central Rome yesterday to give a speech. I had a taxi driver who was an Arab Christian immigrant from Syria. I asked him how he came to Europe. That got him going.
“Do you think Christians love the Assad government?” he said. “No! But we support Assad because he is the only thing preventing us all from being murdered by Muslims.”
As I listened to the Syrian Christian speak, I was reminded of the conversations I had with emigres to the West from Communist countries, lamenting how little Westerners wanted to hear them talk about their own life experiences, vis-à-vis things going on in the West today. These people told me, over and over, that Westerners preferred to keep their minds untroubled about threats facing them, rather than listen to people who have lived experience testifying otherwise. We in the West are so confident in our view of the world that we simply refuse to imagine that we might be wrong.
The Syrian told me he is very pessimistic about Europe’s future. “I hope it doesn’t come to your country,” he said, as we parted.
I thought about what he said. I strongly believe that we Christians (and all men and women of good will) should stand with Muslims when we can, especially (in the US) when they are persecuted for exercising their constitutionally guaranteed freedom of religion. But the Syrian Christian said, emphatically, that everything will be fine in terms of interreligious harmony until Muslims gain numerical majority. Then the mask comes off. “We have seen this many times,” he said.
Is he wrong about this? I have heard some version of this from other Middle Eastern Christians over the years. I resist it not out of liberal sentimentality, heaven knows, but because I have known good Muslims with whom I wish to stand in solidarity. Yet it is impossible to dismiss the steady testimony of these Arab Christians, who have lived a different reality than I have lived. Indeed, I have been hearing a version of this since 1999, when I began attending a Lebanese (Maronite) Catholic church in Brooklyn.
I think that there is a clear connection between this and our American bungling in thinking that we could impose liberal democracy on the Middle East. It comes from a universalist self-deception. My time with the Syrian taxi driver was relatively short, but I remember that he kept saying how frustrated he was by Westerners who refuse to recognize that there are substantial differences between religions (in this case, between Islam and Christianity). What he was getting at, I think, is that Westerners naively think that all religious people, whatever their confession, want the same thing. He said that the image of man — the human person — in the Bible, and the image of man in the Quran, are incompatible.
2 notes · View notes
giftofshewbread · 3 years
Text
That Time is Here
By Dennis Huebshman   Published on: August 21, 2021
From 2 Timothy 4:3-4; “For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears, they will accumulate teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.” (all emphasis mine)
“Religion” is thriving, and some mega-churches are filled to capacity during regular “services.” The biggest issue is that true Bible teaching is getting hard to find. For some of these churches, the Sunday after the Rapture will not see any change in attendance. They’ll still be putting on light shows, have heart-thumping music, and be giving “ear-tickling” messages for those itching ears. However, Jesus will be conveniently left out. The newer generation doesn’t want to be told they are sinners in need of a Savior but that their earthly lifestyle is just fine.
The one to three hours a week “Christians” are content to be present and support their organized evangelical churches; just don’t expect anything else the rest of the week. Besides, all religions worship the same god, and Jesus was a good person, but not really necessary for us to go to heaven – right? The need here is to read John 14:6.
While true believers’ numbers are declining in America, the places that are seeing increases are in countries that persecute and martyr Christians. Iran, China, North Korea, parts of Africa and other Middle East nations are a few that seek out anyone who calls on Jesus to be their Savior. There have been reports of people being given a chance to renounce Jesus and turn back to the religion of that area, yet many choose death rather than change.
Several countries around the world today are making it a crime for anyone to speak out against lifestyles that God calls abominations. Canada is one of these countries where there are pastors and educators facing prison for calling the “alphabet” lifestyles sinful. Cases of arrests are also being reported in Europe and Scandinavia, and America is just a breath away from this same action.
Luke 21:16:17; “You will be delivered up, even by parents and brothers and relatives and friends, and some of you they will put to death. You will be hated by all for My name’s sake.”
Matthew 24:10-13; “And then many will fall away and betray one another, and hate one another. And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.”
Next, Paul’s prophecy about the end of this age in 2 Timothy 3:1-5: “But understand this, that in the last days will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people.”
The last line is good advice, but how is one to avoid such people when they are all around and growing daily in number?
In 2 Peter 2:1-3, “But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction. And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them, the way of truth will be blasphemed. And in their greed, they will exploit you with their false words. Their condemnation from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.”
Going to 1 John 2:15-17, “Do not love the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world – the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and the pride of life – is not from the Father, but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires; but whoever does the will of God abides forever.”
Continuing to 1 John 2:18-19, “Children, it is the last hour, and as you have heard that the antichrist is coming, so now many antichrists have come. Therefore, we know that it is the last hour. They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out that it might become plain they all are not of us.”
The antichrists and false prophets that have been around since the time of John’s writings are not the ultimate evil ones of Daniel and Revelation. All that have come, and all that are here now, are a prelude to the era of the 7-year Wrath/Tribulation.
The ultimate antichrist and false prophet most likely are alive today. They may or may not know the role that they are about to play, but they are in Satan’s grip. However, 2 Thessalonians 2:6-7 explains why the beast hasn’t come forth yet. “And you know what is restraining him now, so that he may be revealed in his time. For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work. Only He who now restrains it will do so until He is out of the way.”
All true believers are indwelt by the Holy Spirit. For the antichrist to appear, that influence will be removed; and in doing so, the Rapture has to occur first to keep God’s promise to keep us from that coming wrath (1 Thessalonians 1:10; 1 Thessalonians 5:9-10; Revelation 3:10).
Anyone who truly focuses on the world today should be able to see that all the signs are here right now. There have always been evil people and unspeakable, horrible deeds that have been done, but the sheer magnitude today of satanic activity is overwhelming.
Our government, along with the liberal faux news media, are “programming” people to follow whatever they say without question, and sadly, they are gaining a majority of followers. The new world order is rapidly coming together, and eventually, there will be a one-world government just as God said there would be. Prior to this, there will be a coalition that will attack Israel (Ezekiel 38), believing that they will be able to plunder the wealth which that small nation has.
Jesus said there would be wars and rumors of wars near the end of the age. We are seeing a lot of “saber-rattling” from the coalition of Russia, Iran and Turkey that formed just within the last decade. Ezekiel 38:4 states that God will “put hooks into your jaws” and convince them to attack Israel. The “hook” would be the massive gas and oil deposits that Israel has, as all three members of the coalition are financially strapped.
Nothing that is taking place today surprises our Heavenly Father. All prophecy leading up to these times has been fulfilled with 100% accuracy. Why would anyone think this would be any different?
Knowing what the Bible says about end-time events, one might think this would be warning enough to possibly change the outcome. However, 1 Corinthians 1:18 says, “For the word of the Cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved, it is the power of God.”
Also, 2 Thessalonians 2:11, “Therefore, God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false.” I believe that delusion has already started.
The best scenario of all this is Luke 21:28, where Jesus tells us to look up when all this starts to take place because our redemption is near. All who have truly received and accepted Jesus as their Savior will not be here for the worst 7-year period of time this world has ever seen.
The mechanics (ABCs) of redemption are found in Romans 10:9-13, which ends by saying that “All who call on the name of the Lord will be saved.” God will force no one to accept His Son, but He will not turn anyone away who truly calls on Jesus. The event known as the Rapture could take place at any moment of any day now.
No one has sinned so greatly that they cannot be forgiven. The absolute unforgivable sin is to take your last breath on this earth without having Jesus as your Savior. All He asks is that you acknowledge you have sinned and ask His forgiveness; He has already paid in full the price God requires – a pure, sinless blood sacrifice. Then, have the faith that God raised Him from the dead to conquer sin and death for us. When you call on Him, the Holy Spirit will come and reside in you until you are with Jesus, either by death or by Rapture.
Call on Him today, right now, and you will be assured of an eternal home with Him in paradise. It will be the best decision you will have ever made.
Maranatha – Come, Lord Jesus!
2 notes · View notes
Text
Unbinding the Hair: In Defense of Magic in the Hellenic Polytheist Tradition
“Shall I write about things not to be spoken of? 
 divulge what ought not to be divulged? 
shall I utter the unutterable?”
Julian, Oration 5, Hymn to the Mother of the Gods
To be a hellenic polytheist is to advocate for the glory of the Gods; reach your arms out to embrace their warmth and lower your head in respect of their unimaginable power. It is generally believed that if one has trust in the Theoi then one has all they need. Among my fellow polytheists who follow a strictly reconstructional, or even revivalist, religious structure it is common belief that it is up to the Gods to take our wants, needs and desires into favor; and any personal dabbling in fate, especially in the form of magic or witchcraft, is hubris - an insult to the Gods. Many of our official religious organizations (Hellenion, Neokoroi, and YSEE to name a few.) are openly against the use of magic in conjunction with traditional hellenismos. 
If I am going to dismantle and combat this belief, it’s important for me to shed some light on the foundation for many HP Recons disdain for magic and explain its place in antiquity. In the major city-states of Greece, particularly Athens, witchcraft (specifically baneful magic was titled as such; curses, love spells, etc.) was outlawed and practitioners were persecuted. Not only was it feared, it was described as impiety and profane. If we are going to base our religion around the common state cultus of Athens then we should also note other religious requirements, perhaps about how we shouldn’t mention, or even utter the name of mighty Haides, also note that there are sources citing that Attic peoples did not worship Ares. Yet, interestingly, many of these formal Hellenismos organizations list their own ordained Priests and Priestesses, some of which are devoted to both Haides and Ares. Blasphemous! Unheard of in the old Greek way of life and faith!
...Or is it?
To have a religious practice that is only using sources from the common state cultus of major Greek cities is to turn a blind eye to the undeniable fact that one’s practice would be... rather sparse and open-ended without any of the seasoning that other minor city-state and mystery cult adds; particularly that relating to the natural world, various Theoi, the afterlife, and rites pertaining to such. Despite the fear of Haides’ name, there were temples erected in his honor. There were temples and festivals dedicated to Ares. Many examples of sacred symbols, rites and ways of devotion actually stem from preserved citations of religious behavior branching out from the common cult. I think it is also worthy to note that while much of Greece outlawed the practice of necromancy, it’s hard to ignore the relevance of the Necromanteion of Acheron; a temple for necromancy. Should we exclude these because they weren’t always honored by the major city’s common Priest? 
Many of us understand that our religious praxis will not mirror that of our polytheist peers and it’s important to understand this rings true for the ancient people as well. Ancient household worship was not temple worship and temple worship was not private cult worship yet someone could indulge in all of these to fatten and enrich their praxis.
I mention this because the sources we have detailing ancient Greek magic and witchcraft (particularly that of the PGM) are written and passed down from initiates of various private cults - especially that of the mysteries. If we take a look at the initiation rituals explained in the papyri, we won’t see your typical temple worship however the nature of the spells has one believing it’s still a Greek commoner (a spell for a failing business, an unwanted relationship, unrequited love, the victim of thievery, a slave with abusive masters, etc.) It’s generally believed that magic was taught to these mystai from various Gods. A good example of this is in the rather simple spell PGM IV 1265-74 where a secret name of Aphrodite "that becomes known to no one quickly” is used. To me, this implies a rather strong and long-term relationship must be met with the Goddess before one can learn this spell. It’s also not uncommon to find myths detailing various “priests” of a God as a practitioner of magic (see Medea or Kirke, priestesses of Hekate.) It would be very hard for me to believe that the Theoi would teach their devotees impious behavior. 
When we pick apart the complaint that magic is hubris, we find the idea that magic is actually someone trying to command, or even force, the hand of the Theoi. Ancient Greek magic was not only initiatory, it weaved animism throughout its formula. You can find this in the term “dynamis.” The Greek’s term for the magical consciousness within nature and the practitioner. If there is "dynamis," or magical power in everything around us then it is divine in some way. I believe that the dynamis of plants, rocks and water are specific daimons that connect back to the Gods through planetary correspondence. One cannot perform a spell if they don't work with the right daimons, or dynamis in question. You can also ruin the dynamis of the material you're working with or even simply not be granted its assistance. For instance, ritual harvesting of plants is very important and the Greeks would only use bronze blades to cut or dig (iron is said to kill or remove power from spirits or lesser daimons) and would do certain ritual acts (singing, using a specific hand, etc.) before pouring an offering to the ground where the plant was harvested. This was a thank you, a small act of worship. The forces within Greek magic, may they be plant daimons or Gods, are respected. They're feared. They're adored. 
To me, this is far from hubris.
I also can’t look away and ignore some of the... magical inclination of certain Hellenic practices. Firstly, there are ancient home remedies such as having your daughter wear a small moon amulet to ward sickness, or placing basil on top of a door to bring in wealth to the home, maybe even sending your son to his exams with a necklace of rosemary. Some may consider this an old beginning to folk magic. However, a more commonly known practice for both antiquity and today would be the Kathiskos. The Kathiskos is a small jar containing olive oil, water and various food from ones home, made every Noumenia (first day of the lunar month) then dumped every Deipnon (last day of the lunar month) and dedicated to Zeus Ktesios. This jar, being stored away in the pantry, has apotropaic tendencies where it will protect one’s food supply. It’s almost hauntingly similar to a very popular spell jar practice that will evolve much later in 17th century Europe; the witch jar. Here, someone will create and bury a jar filled with various items to counteract witchcraft (specifically curses and love spells) and dismantle negative influence from entering their home. 
I don’t find the kathiskos to be rather impious, however.
My last, but most important point, is that the Gods encourage us to practice arete; personal excellence. The Gods will assist us and offer their hand to enrich and bless our lives with good luck and prosperity, of course. But this hand is not extended to those who do not try for themselves. I’d like to mention an antique joke here that was used to teach against being lazy and expecting divine influence to fix every problem we may have; 
 There was a man traveling down the road with a wagon, yet it drifted off the path and became stuck into a sinking in the earth. The man reached his hands to the sky and shook them with dismay, crying out to Hermes. “O’ Gracious God, will you please help my wagon back onto the road?” There was no answer, the wagon did not budge. The man’s desperate prayers continued from that morning until sunset, where his cries stopped once he began to believe Hermes had abandoned him. It wasn’t until late that night in his sleep that the God appeared to him. Angry, the man asked “O’ Lord, why did you not remove my wagon from the hole?” to which Hermes replied, “I would have, if you pushed it!”
This also ties into the delphic maxim “the Gods help those who help themselves.” From the sources I’ve found claiming the mystics being taught magic through divine initiation as well as considering my own personal accounts, I’ve come to believe that magic is a tool for mortals to learn, practice and perfect in order to better their lives. To help themselves.
The Gods have weaved magic into our backyards, it is not hubris to go find it. 
42 notes · View notes
some-jw-things · 4 years
Note
So I’m not all that familiar with this religion, but after seeing it explained isn’t there some legal course you could take to try and get it dismantled? Or at the very least make it easier to escape for those who want to?
I don’t think having the Society legally dismantled would help anything. Jehovah’s Witnesses are already outright or functionally banned in like a half dozen countries. In countries with mandatory military service, they go straight to jail. In countries imposing a temporary draft, they go straight to jail. This really only makes things worse
The most famous ongoing case is the situation with Russia. Jehovah’s Witnesses are classified as extremist and under ban there. Imo from reading about it, it wasn’t actually about them being a doomsday cult. Jehovah’s Witnesses don’t vote and it sounds like Putin realized he had a population of thousands of people in his country where not a single one of them had voted for him. And the result of the ban has been the European Court of Human Rights going to bat in favor of JWs, all members of the Org going underground and into hiding, and some really shitty treatment of members.
That narrative has been used to further JWs’ persecution complex. If they’re being mistreated by “the world,” then that means they truly are God’s people and all the prophesies are right. It means everyone in the world is cruel and hateful. It means that only Jehovah’s Witnesses have love among themselves and you can only find happiness within the Org. A religious ban validates every single thing the Org tells its members and also actually fulfills several specific details of their doomsday prophecies. Also— being in hiding, only able to trust other cult members, unable to speak about the religion casually and hearing about pillars of your community be held by the state and tortured— is a really great way to make sure you don’t criticize the group you’re part of. Jehovah’s Witnesses already forbid members from listening to ex-members’ criticisms, and saying something negative about the Org is called apostasy— arguably the biggest sin they have. All serious sins are punished with disfellowshipping, aka shunning. I have to imagine that in that situation, most JWs are on way higher alert than normal to look out for apostates or potential false Witnesses
Religious bans hurt a lot of people, help no one, and make active members leaving a whole lot harder. Also in places like China where preaching/missionary work is banned.... they just find a way around it. They’re extremely careful and get visas to “teach English” and keep the fact that they are JWs secret
Legally, the only thing I want done about Jehovah’s Witnesses is governments actually fucking investigating their sex abuse database and also judges to stop letting kids be killed for their parents’ religion. A minor cannot freely consent to give up their life when every adult in their life (who they are dependent on) is pressuring them to, especially given that they wouldn’t have much of a life left if they refused. That’s not a free choice. Free acceptance of a blood transfusion isn’t safe and would be life-ruining, but refusal leads to immediate death. I know if I had been in that situation at 17, I would have chosen to die for my family’s sake, even though I no longer believed in the religion and desperately wanted out. Plus a ban on child marriage, which isn’t directly a JW issue, but it’s not disconnected either
Though on making it easier to leave: there was a bit of discussion like a few years ago about the idea of ex-cult safe houses. It wasn’t really a serious discussion, due to everyone participating being broke traumatized teenagers, but in an ideal world, I’d like to see that happen. It would be infinitely easier to leave a cult if you had somewhere to leave to.
Cults isolate their members. JWs forbid members from socializing with anyone not in the cult, with the only exception being for preaching. Most JWs are only close with other cult members and have no social safety net beyond that. There is no one who’s house you could crash at, even temporarily. Some have managed to get put in foster care, but with me, I didn’t even realize that was an option until I was over eighteen. That leaves homelessness or shelters as the only remaining options. When I first cut ties, I figured a homeless shelter would be a worse situation than the one I was already in, and I was uncomfortable with the idea of taking a spot at a battered women’s shelter. My situation isn’t exactly the sort of thing those places are meant for
But if there were even just a few ex-cult safe houses in like major hubs, then there would be somewhere to go to. I think there would be a real benefit in that for a lot of people.
There’s also been a few documentaries made about JWs in recent years, some of them focusing mainly on the sex abuse cover up. That’s great for awareness, but in an ideal world, more awareness would go with outreach. This is mainly a mental health reform thing, especially in schools, but there need to be other spaces that offer that too, esp children’s spaces. More JW kids are homeschooled than not. There should be ways to reach out for help, confidentially and for free
40 notes · View notes
niceallocockbro · 3 years
Text
realized that cishet aces/aros (and cis aroaces) who think they’re lgbt remind me a lot of christian-raised athiests (in modern day western culture) who think that they’re part of an oppressed religion
like how they use purely anecdotal “evidence” aka stories about stuff like their families kicking them out or being made fun of at school, neglecting to account for the fact that unlike ppl in non-christian religions, the ONLY way for them to be visible as atheist is if they tell people. which it might be annoying to keep secret if it ever becomes relevant, but they’re not actually being Repressed From Living Their Truth by simply omitting some of it. there’s no Atheist Lifestyle that they’re being discouraged from living. it’s just assumed that they believe in god, and that question is unlikely to be outright asked of them unless they refuse to participate in christian activities that aren’t even that much effort to do. it would really be plain stupid to come out to a devout christian family as an atheist if you thought there were going to be real consequences because you gain absolutely nothing. you Not Believing In God is not a core part of your identity that affects how you live your life in general. if you don’t genuinely need to explain, say, why you’ve stopped attending church as an adult, there’s simply no point.
there’s also how anything they DO face has nothing to do with people actively specifically hating atheists and is instead just a result of a larger issue - christian abuse - which is going to equally harm their devout family members.
and it’s specifically due to their privileged status as being christian-raised in a christian-dominant society that they’ll be ignorant to the fact that there are just entirely different concepts applied to non-christian religions. which they prove with how they’ll deride ALL organized religion as inherently bad. they don’t recognize that most other religions are essentially indigenous to where their largest populations are (or where their ethnic origins are) and have far more culture tied to them. they usually don’t even KNOW that atheists raised in other religions not only have a completely different attitude toward their atheism, but often don’t reject the religion they grew up with because you simply can’t separate the spiritual traditions from the secular ones.
atheism isn’t a religion. nor is it mutually exclusive with all religions. it doesn’t imply any set of morals, any traditions, any culture, etc. it simply means you don’t believe in the existence of any deities. ultimately, whether or not one believes there’s a god just... doesn’t matter that much. it’s internal and very personal. there’s SO much more to spirituality. which is why almost any atheist who was raised in a non-christian religion will classify themself as that religion alongside the qualifier that they are atheist. meanwhile christian-raised atheists very rarely do so.
and listen, this isn’t a perfect parallel. many sects of christianity are extremely abusive and it makes sense to want to separate yourself from that. but you can’t deny that you’ll never ever get away from christian values. they're not just in the house you grew up in. they’re in your WHOLE society.
christianity is so pervasive that it overlaps with the supposedly “secular.” ppl will say they’re completely divorced from christianity just because they don’t believe in god anymore, but they’ll still celebrate christmas and easter. they’ll still hold beliefs that they learned through christian teachings whether they realize it or not. and they’ll use the fact that their family doesn’t approve of their lack of belief in god to justify being a dick to people of other religions. because they’re convinced that they’re ALL like christianity when they’re in fact victims of christianity.
while yes, christians are all about the Thought Crimes, they don’t care nearly as much about beliefs that you lack as they do about Wrong Beliefs that you HAVE. even moreso, being open about having those Wrong Beliefs. believing in the “wrong god” and doing “rituals” that aren’t allowed, and whatnot. hell, bouts of “lacking faith” are even EXPECTED. the vast majority of the time, if a christian finds out that a fellow christian has stopped believing in god, they react with pity and a desire to help. meanwhile discovering that someone has a different religion entirely is often met with conversion attempts or outright persecution.
say a handful of ppl of different religions - jewish, muslim, sikh, hindu - were all talking about their experiences with discrimination relating to religion. even if none of these people wear identifying religious symbols or scarves or other clothing, chances are they don’t need to in order to be recognized as from a culture that’s largely non-christian.
now, you’d obviously say that it’s extremely inappropriate for a christian-raised atheist to try to JOIN this conversation, right? like, yall understand that the absolute worst thing the christian atheist could describe would most certainly be an isolated incident, meanwhile all of these visibly non-christian people are talking about very regular experiences. they would have to outright lie about their origins in order to avoid discrimination (and that still might not even work), meanwhile there’s absolutely nothing that would make an atheist get “clocked” as one. one of those original people might even also be atheist themself, but they don’t feel the need to talk about it because it’s NOT their specific lack of belief in a god that gets them persecuted; it’s the fact that they are part of a culture with non-christian values and follow non-christian traditions.
the atheist does not belong in this group - not because they’re an atheist, but because they were raised christian, and therefore cannot relate or even benefit from the conversation other than to make it about them and likely make everyone else uncomfortable at best. they could, however, certainly benefit from a conversation with other atheists who are talking specifically about their atheism.
all this to say that once again it’s not a PERFECT parallel and i’m NOT trying to make any direct comparisons between other aspects of religion, but lmao doesn’t all that sound familiar?
12 notes · View notes