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.
[Image description – Images of the rainbow, asexual, aromantic, bi, trans, lesbian, pan, ply, agender and nonbinary pride flags with the text: God loves you. End description.]
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!
i just found this site, which (admittedly, using older terminology) has a bunch of positive reinforcement for trans orthodox people! it covers a lot of questions about whether you’re allowed to be trans (yes) and get surgery (yes) and what gender a trans person is (whichever one you are, naturally). personally this is super cool to see as an orthodox nb person!
please spread around for your trans jewish friends
♡
Just skimmed over this article and bookmarked it for later! A super important read for ALL Jews, especially LGBT+ and Orthodox Jews. Many thanks to Rabbi Dr. Zev Farber for writing this.
willowfoot 