hymnsofheresy:

hymnsofheresy:

hymnsofheresy:

ok the shittiest part about christmastime is the fact people keep skipping over the forth verse of “we three kings” like… we get it. y’all are white protestants who can’t even think about mortality for one single second.

also people who skip the third verse of “o holy night” are reactionary cowards

ok but these lyrics are so powerful and amazing. im so pissed.

We Three Kings (4):

Myrrh is mine, its bitter perfume
Breathes a life of gathering gloom;
Sorrowing, sighing, bleeding, dying,
Sealed in the stone cold tomb.

O Holy Night (3):

Truly He taught us to love one another,
His law is love and His gospel is peace.
Chains he shall break, for the slave is our brother.
And in his name all oppression shall cease.
Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we,
With all our hearts we praise His holy name.
Christ is the Lord! Then ever, ever praise we,
His power and glory ever more proclaim!
His power and glory ever more proclaim!

Important context on O Holy Night: The English lyrics by John Sullivan Dwight are from 1855, a full decade before the abolition of slavery in the United States. In fact, abolition was still a VERY fringe position. Pro-slavery advocates, meanwhile, were arguing that slavery was God’s gift to white civilization. In that year, six years before the Civil War began, Americans were already shooting each other over whether slavery should expand out in Kansas.

Dwight–unsurprisingly, a Unitarian minister–put the most inflammatory possible political statement of the day into his Christmas carol.

What’s religious trauma? I have a hard time defining experiences I’ve had (sexual, emotional, and religious) as trauma but I feel like knowing the definition might help. I dunno

queerchristianaffirmations:

heya! here is a useful spreadsheet about religious trauma and here is another really good post about it

according to google:

Religious Trauma Syndrome (RTS) is a function of both the chronic abuses of harmful religion and the impact of severing one’s connection with one’s faith and faith community. … It is a huge shock to the system, and one that needs to be recognized as trauma.

here are some things i recognize as symptoms of religious trauma

anxiety about sinning, upsetting god, or growing further from him

deep shame related to natural parts of yourself, such as gender, sexuality, ect.

extreme self denial, such as fasting too much never skipping church under any circumstances, abandoning healthy relationships ect.

these are just some common signs of religious trauma. You may also experience religious compulsions, an identified symptom of ocd. if you find yourself compelled to a certain action consistently by an overwhelming fear of a diety, please consult a doctor.

Like I said, these are just some signs and examples, by no means a comprehensive diagnosis guide. I am not by any means a doctor, and if i’ve said something misleading please alert me so I can rectify the situation.

I hope this helped. lemme know if you have any more questions!

Things that are spiritually abusive

entanglingbriars:

Telling people that if God isn’t answering they’re prayers it’s because they aren’t praying properly

Forcing people to conform to gender roles for their eternal benefit

Saying that one living person has all the answers to spiritual/religious questions and must be obeyed

Telling people that God will eternally punish them if they don’t do/believe what you tell them to

Telling people that God will eternally punish other people and that you are responsible for that if you don’t evangelize to them

Hell in general, really, but those two forms are the most toxic

Expecting people to fast to the point where it threatens their lives

Teaching people that they must reject science in order to believe in God

gay-son-of-a-pastor:

littlesoldierbucky:

sagansense:

feelcompassion:

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Dont forget the child in the manger had to flee with his unwed mother and her boyfriend to another country. As a refugee.

unitedinpride:

Edmonton region Affirming United Churches welcome you.

nejire-vs-villains:

artbymoga:

Throwback to all these Jesus comics I drew in 2012…

Good post OP

tchaikovskaya:

christian thought in its original form is about defending and sympathizing with the most powerless members of our society and i think its one of the greatest tragedies in human history that something like that was so thoroughly corrupted and weaponized by the very people it was supposed to fight against

ftmconfessional:

tatiana-and-the-diamonds:

boys-and-suicide:

gaywrites:

Meet the faces of the “I’m Sorry” campaign, a group of Christians who go to Chicago’s pride celebrations every year to apologize for their past hateful actions against LGBT people. The group started in 2010 and has since moved to other cities across the world. This is what love looks like. (via the Advocate)

I know it’s color but this needed to be shared

Amazing

A reminder that everyone can change, and that there are truly wonderful and supportive people out there.

asexualchristian:

No prayer is “silly” or “stupid”. No prayer is too small.

God wants to hear you. He wants to listen to what you have to say.

Worried? Upset about something someone said? Misplaced something? Writer’s block? Illness? Depressed? God wants to hear it all. Bring it to him.

God exists outside of time. You cannot waste His time. And He wouldn’t see you as a waste of time anyway. He loves you and cares about you. Every prayer is important.