I get to be the first poster.

christianity is always about sex, isnt it? I guess we got that from judaism.

Just a little story that you all might find amusing. I grew up in this goofy little church, you know the ones that look like pre-fab garages? No windows; they dont even look like they have doors. They always have "apostolic" or "tabernacle" in their names.

I am trying one morning to tell this pastor that it isnt working for me. I am not happy; I am not fulfilled; I am not getting this "joy of the lord" that they keep talking about. I feel stunted; I feel retarded; my life is empty.

I go on like this for 20 or 30 minutes, and then the little SOB says "You've gotten in bed with the devil". That was the meanest thing I ever heard in my life. If he had slapped me across the mouth, I could not have been more shocked.

I walked out of that little hellhole. I felt better immediately. My mom boo-hooed but I did not care. But Saturday afternoon, about 5 or so, the little creep calls me up and invites me to church and says they are going to miss me. I told him what I thought of him, and his church, and his religion, and his god. Then I slammed the phone down so hard it hurt my wrist.

So I call myself shedevil. If I am the devil's own, so be it.

Good for you, shedevil!! yes, I loved your story. I am very proud of you, "HUG". One of the beauties of being in the "real" world is knowing there isn't a devil. Sure, he would like you to come back so he could try to get in bed with you. Glad to see you here and looking foreword to more posts from you...Freethinker

free thinker, it was really nice of you to respond that way. One or two people have noticed my posts and I feel welcome. Thanks everybody.

And HUGS to you too.

I couldn't resist it, I went to this church's website and went to the section on doctrine. Among other things, they believe in the total depravity of man. Well, I'd say a 40-year-old man doing the
horizontal bop with a teenager
is pretty depraved! It's nice to
know they practice what they preach!

I've wondered before just how much
the sexual repression and guilt about human sexuality so common among fundamentalists will eventually affect them. I know it affected me; during my high school years I never asked a girl out because I was convinced dating was some kind of "wild" behavior.

And shedevil, I like your posts,
especially this one. Frankly, I
wish you would have smacked that
Bible-toting jackass right across the mouth.

Hello to ace. I must say that I am pleased to have found this place. I do not need to fake anything--everybody seems to get what I am saying.

Thanks all.

Hi Shedevil.

Thanks for posting and welcome to this forum. You did right to tell that son-of-bitch off.
You are absolutely right about all these christian fuckers obsession with sexual repression.

While I was with one of these types of groups they imposed rules on dating that made things very difficult. For example, we had to make a public declaration of our intent to date. The idea was to keep us accountable but looking back on it the whole situation was designed to instill fear. Why? Because no human can be trusted to maintain boundaries and the primal will take over (oops, I mean the devil).

Anyway, it wasn't until I left and cleared up my own head that I was able to develop a healthy mindset toward human sexuality and being.

This pastor is just another example of how the fundies worldview sets them up to fail. He believes that he is a depraved, sex starved individual so eventually his willpower breaks down and he will give in. What is sad about this is that instead of taking individual responsibility for his action and owning his natural human desires he will probably blame the devil for his problems.

In my opinion most christians could use some good existential therapy in order to accept the natural world they live in. Ahh, wishful thinking.

But Shedevil you are anything but a devil or anything evil for that matter. You are just like the rest of us a human being with a wide range of perfectly natural human characterstics.

Enjoy being human and welcome.

My god, nobody in any church has ever lavished this kind of attention on me. I am just glowing. I was never praised for anything--I was told that it made you proud. I wasn't supposed to feel like "somebody".

psychman (are you a psychologist? sometimes I think I need one) That church I was in.......guys would leer at me. The teen-age boys would smile and be nice but the older guys would give me the once-over and make my skin crawl. And then sit there and sing hymns about the love of jesus. Gag.

I gotta git outa this house. Mom is being a drama queen and blubbering into her handerchief about I have turned my back on the lord and all this horse manure.

Back to sex: yeah, what you said does happen. You do a quickie when you have the house to yourself and then blame the devil. You cant take the responsibility; oh no; I aint horny; the devil made me do it. Crap.

There is a new post about Einstein that I want to look at. And that's another thing: I was set apart because of my brains. Brains and faith dont mix. I was told I was too smart for my own good. god, freedom feels great.

Shedevil,

You are right that brains and faith do NOT mix. Couple of problems:

1. Anyone with brains will refuse to stop using them, just to please the preacher;

2. Anyone who refuses to stop using their brains is OBVIOUSLY in league with the devil.

And so the priestly classes maintain their power over you. If they were really doing God's work there would be no need for a faithful congregation to fork out their money into the collection box/plate as the priest would find a plate of manna on his doorstep every morning, courtesy of the god for whom he is working.
Keep up the self-esteem; love your mum. To rework and old Xian saying "Hate the belief, love the believer." Someone has to, as god obviously doesn't!

glebealyth, intelligence is like the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. I just could not keep my hands off the forbidden fruit. I started doing serious reading when I was fifteen; the sort of thing christian girls shouldn't touch. I was the wierd girl in church.

Are you from the UK? You say "mum". That is delightful. Oh, and I love British TV. Faulty Towers and the
Vicar of Dibley are my favorites.

Shedevil,

Yes, from the UK, specifically Scotland.

I am delighted to make your acquaintance, chris. And you can call me she, or devil. Both fit.

I think the Declaration of Arbroath is the most exciting thing ever written

"So long as but a hundred of us are left alive, we shall not upon any conditions be brought under English rule".

Hehe shedevil. Did all of this happen this week? Today?

In any case, congratulations. :) You are so right - freedom is amazing, isn't it? I fell out of Christianity (specifically Catholicism) about half a year ago, and I am much, much happier now. Why?
Because I'm free. =)

Natalie, hi. This has been going on like the last 30 days. It has been in the making for maybe 2 years, and then it all just come together with a bang. Freedom feels great, but I still have some social troubles. I am shy but I am getting over it. Got myself a new hair-do. Make-up. Goin' to the movies. Even listening to (gasp) rock music!!

If anyone knows anything better than freedom, I am prepared to listen. But now, the world is mine.

Bye Natalie. There is a new post I want to check out. This is so much fun.

Natalie, I tried to answer you earlier this morning but my post didn't "take". I am trying again, although this might result in a double-posting.

Anyway, my rebellion is about 30 days old but has been in the making for 2 years, and then it just happened fast. Freedom feels great but I have some social problems. I am shy but getting over it. Got a new hair-do; make-up; goin' to the movies, and even (gasp)listening to rock music !!

If anyone knows something better than freedom, let me know. But for now, the world is mine.