Christianity pushed on you....

[LeBlanc]

Thank you all for your help!  

[VwolfV]

I have definintely heard of worse. My Wife reminded me of it. My friend Mikey was married to this woman, right, and she was crazy. She actually took a hammer and threw it "with the power of Thor himself" (not my words) into the television, because it was "the devil's window into the world!".


As for my kids though, my wife wants them baptized and raised Christian. I want them to be raised open to religions and take them to Pagan festivals and stuff.

Suffice to say there is still more discussion to be had.

Fox
(VwolfV)  

[darkviewoflife13]

my parents have forced christianity on me, they have gone so far as to accuse wiccanism of being a cult. i still have to go to church on the holidays but even the jewish side of my family comes. its a more of a family thing then a religous thing. dont be mad, be glad that you can spend time with your family and you dont have to sneak around trying desperately to find out about your religon.  

[Jasta]

I was very lucky, my birth parents being pagan... I lived with a foster mother though until about 8 months ago, and she was your preachy evangelical born-again baptist Christian... I couldn't even light candles without her making remarks about setting the house on fire, and before I left, she made a few rather unwelcome comments about how she would like to burn most of my books. I also had a Catholic best friend all through high school. She came to understand eventually that my path and faith was not one of evil satanic worship, and eventually came to resent the Catholic faith herself, because of it's close-minded perspectives.

It was absolute hell not being able to practise my religion properly. crying I felt like a bird who'd lost a wing. I was still able to work in secret, silent rituals without any props, but it was a far cry from the joyous, loud rituals I was used to. Things like my athame, and my cauldron, I kept out of sight all the time, just cuz it wasn't worth the hassle of having to defend myself.

However, you do have to remember that these people are only trying to protect you - they genuinely think that witchcraft is evil, and unless they open themselves up to re-education, they probably always will. Christians and Catholics really, genuinely believe in a Hell, and are trying to save you. Their methods may suck, but at the end of the day, they re just trying to help...

As for Christmas - I always attend the Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve. This has become a small ritual of my own; when I was small, my mum used to take me. the church is lit entirely by candles, and looks so beautiful. It reminds me that even among the Christians, beauty is real, faith is real, and God is really there with them too. As much as I get angry with them during the year, going to this service every December just reminds me, they are just humans trying to find their path through life too.  

[TeaDidikai]

darkviewoflife13

my parents have forced christianity on me, they have gone so far as to accuse wiccanism of being a cult.

It's Wicca, not Wiccanism, and it is a cult. Not all people who call themselves Wiccans are good people.  

[TheDisreputableDog]

Unitarian born and raised. I went to church and Sunday school all the time when I was a kid, and I loved it. When I got to be a teenager I went to the youth group every Sunday instead--it was awesome. The only trouble I had was waking up (I'm pretty lazy when it comes to waking up, sad to say) but it was worth it every time. Even when I went away to boarding school I would go to youth group when I was home. Now I'm in college and I have no idea whether there is a Unitarian church in the area and even if I did I wouldn't have a way to attend services. I hope my family will go to the Christmas services this year because we haven't always made it recently.

Now, I wasn't raised Christian. Nor did I chose my faith at the moment of my birth or conception or whatever. Nobody does. Faith is just one of the things your parents have that they want to share with you. It's part of your family heritage whether you like it or not. Now, I would not recommend you embrace Nazi practices if members of your family had been involved on that side, but it would still be part of your family and you would have to make your peace with it. Respect for other faiths doesn't just have to come from Christians.

As Tea said, Wiccans aren't always awesome and right just because they're Wiccans--nor are they always evil and wrong. It's the same with Christians. It's the same with most groups of people. If you're hoping for some respect from your family for the path you've chosen, you need to have some respect for theirs. Learn something instead of just complaining and you'll be richer in spirit instead of bored and angry.