W(h)or(e)Ship (Page 2 of 3)

That's so funny...as a kid it was the exact opposite for me.  My parents were disgruntled Catholics and so I didn't have any religious conditioning (which is a good thing) but I must have had some strong past life holdovers or something, because I nagged at them a few times when I was little about why we weren't going to church.  I also remember being in the car as a little kid, no older than 4, and passing by a church and excitedly saying "Turch!  Turch!"  And then I remember about age 4 seeing that old Clint Eastwood movie on TV "Two Mules For Sister Sarah" with Shirley Maclaine in her nun garb, and I told my parents "I want to be a NUN!"    They just looked at each other like,   yeah, okay kid, whatever.  haha   Later my mom finally did make me and my brother go to church when I was 15 (catholic) but I have to say, there was nothing negative about it at all.  The priest was this guy named Father Chuck who was really super nice and cool, nothing at all like the nightmare pervy homosexual priest stereotypes that are so prevailant.  I liked the songs they'd sing, liked the way the church looked with the stained glass windows.  The whole vibe of that particular church was quite pleasant and nice, and the ritualistic aspect of the mass was very appealing, since my life was negative and crazy at that point.  It was a nice, calm moment of...calmness and sameness and ritual, even if I didn't like being there with my mom of all people.  The rest of it was nice though.  I needed that at that point. And quite unexpectedly I found that within 10 minutes of taking the wafer I'd feel elevated, very calm, positive. The first few times it was like, Huh....interesting!  I mean, I totally wasn't expecting that, I just thought it was like this cracker thing, no big deal.  I wasn't "into" it at all, I was just there because I was told to go.  But yeah, there was definitely something to that whole wafer thing.  I think it must have something to do with the intentions of who's cooking it and blessing it. If the people involved have good intentions and aren't malovent wolves in sheeps clothing (which is so rampant with many so-called "Christians") then yeah, it makes sense that the wafers seemed to be infused with such high end positive vibes. 

Anyway, I'm not trying to argue for organized religion and W(h)or(e)Ship because as those who've read my posts know I'm not for that at all (in this life anyway.....haha)  Just tossing in random 2 cent anecdotes.  Synchronistically I'm re-reading David Icke's "Children of the Matrix" right now as I type this, the book is in front of me here at work, and I'm at the chapters where he exposes Christianity/Catholicism for the Pagan religion in disguise that it is.  All the stuff about Jesus/Balder, Mary/El/Semiramis, and a million other things, since Icke crams like 5000 things into each paragraph. 

........or maybe that's exactly why I'm such a "free spirit."  Because I was oppressed and/or willingly putting myself into what turned out to be oppressive situations.  Maybe this is the life where I go crazy as a rebellious result.    You have to keep in mind that the personalities we have on a soul level didn't arrive at that point out of thin air.  It's through a series of lessons learned.  You don't just start out automatically being one way and then stay that way lifetime after lifetime. (for those of us who believe in multiple lifetimes, based on our own personal proof.)  It's a topic for another thread though really.

Southern Baptist here Lono. It's the worst of the worst. My mom is so....gone. My dad, brother and I are questioners.

Guess my brief foray into "going to church" was the exception or something.  Seems most people on NR only know **THE CHURCH OF THE DAMNED!!!!!!!!!!!! MMMMMWAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA**   hehe  Seriously, I feel kind of lucky now or something.  !

Treehugger, that wasn't directed at you specifically, it was just said in general after reading the various posts on both pages of this thread, as well as thinking back to other threads on NR in the past where people lamented their very negative experiences at church.  I just felt like, Wow!  I'm lucky!  No "church of the damned!!!  mmmmmwaaaahahahahaha!" for me!       But churches definitely can be "Last stop....OP Land" no doubt.  For instance....an ex-boyfriend of mine has a completely crazy Catholic mother.  But this woman is nuts, MAJOR energy feeder. She's emotionally unbalanced for starters, just off in her own little world.  Talks way too much, keeping up a steady stream of nonstop chatter and interrogation questions, question after question after question, with her big eyes and crazy smile fixed on you.   Has a real bad habit of suddenly blurting out inappropriate foot-in-mouth comments, gossips like there's no tomorrow, backstabs and two faces, and creates drama and mayhem. When she isn't getting her way or needs to manipulate she can turn the waterworks on and off like a switch. Normally talks in a sort of easy breezy happy 1950's wife sort of way, but can just suddenly turn and snap and be mean....then go back to being breezy and smiley and happy.   !   Then we get into the religious stuff.   She believed she could speak in tongues, ("charismatic movement"?  I don't know much about it....) and the family would always tell the stories (when she wasn't around) about the time she just started.....babbling in tongues.  Eyes got all crazy and she was walking towards family members babbling all crazy like that.  To her this was a good thing of course, it meant she was special and chosen and was able to speak the language of whatever that is they believe they're speaking.   She had the exorcism kit on hand as well - a cross shaped case that holds holy water and other assorted things.  Her daughter was a Pagan (ever notice how many Pagans come from crazy religious families? Connection there?  Rebellion?  )  and who had a son (the grandson) of course wasn't baptized.  So, this woman baptized her grandson in her kitchen sink when the mom wasn't around.  So that was another one of those stand-by stories the family could always tell with amusement.  She was highly involved in her church as well, meaning, so many of the devoted church people who are highly involved in their church community are what seem to be "OPs" and other crazy types.  Churches are a MAGNET for these people.  Anyway, it got to the point where during the time I was dating this guy, I simultaneously came across St. John's Wort herb which is supposed to make you feel reeeeaaallly good.  So I started popping St. John's Wort when we'd go and visit his parents.   One time I took four at once, (you're supposed to take like, one or two) and so I remember sitting there at their dining room table eating Thanksgiving dinner with them in this totally pleasant herbed-out daze while his mom fixated on me with her crazy eyes and big smile, chattering nonstop, talking about who knows what.  It carried me through discussion about such important issues as to whether we should all be *gasp!* OFFENDED that Bill and Hillary Clinton dared to take the eucharist during a recent church visit when they're not even Catholic.   

Let's hear it for St. John's Wort! 

When I was about 12 years old my grandmother insisted that
Mother and Daddy take us to her Baptist church for a membership
drive and revival.  We lived way across town and Daddy, who could
never say no to his mother dutifully took us there that Sunday.
Well, I'd never heard a Fire And Brimstone Sermon.  And this fanatical evangelist was really pouring it on.  I was just biding my
time waiting to get through the damn thing.  At the end he told
everyone to shut their eyes and raise their hands of they were
"saved."  Well, I peeked out of the corner of my eyes and noticed
my aging grandmother had her hand raised.  Meanwhile the jerko
evangelist was taking note of who the sinners were.  My hand wasn't
raised, because I wasn't buying any of this show.  Then the evangelisto told everyone who WANTED to be saved to come down
to the front of the altar and be...whatever.
I was so glad to get out of that place. 
And grandma, I hope you're enjoying your theocratic band of
suckers with "Brother Ramsey." 
Yuck.

Lyra, I swear, every time you talk about your ex-boyfriend's mother, I think you must know my mother-in-law!  Except replace "Catholic" with "Presbyterian."  Other than that, it's dead on.

My mother-in-law is terrified of silence, and chatters non-stop about the most inane things you can imagine.  I guess she's afraid if she shuts up for one second, she'll have to face herself, and we can't have that!   She has a running commentary of everything she sees, hears, or thinks about, and if there's absolutely nothing to say (which is rare), she just starts clapping her hands and singing -- out of the blue.

She also can't sit still, always has to be busy.  If she's not at a church-related function, she's exercising.  As you well know, people like this are very difficult to be around.  I'll have to take your St. John's Wort suggestion next time I visit.