When Have You, Personally, Ever Been Persecuted or Oppressed by a Christian?

Hate, oppression, bigotry? Let me try to sum this up for you:

• Abiding Truth Ministries,
  
• American Family Association
  
• American Vision
  
• Americans for Truth About Homosexuality
  
• ATLAH World Missionary Church
  
• Catholic Family and Human Rights Institute (C-FAM)
  
• Chalcedon Foundation
  
• Christ the King Church (Larkspur, Colorado)
  
• Faithful Word Baptist Church
  
• Family Research Council
  
• Family Research Institute
  
• Family Watch International
  
• Generations With Vision
  
• Help Rescue Our Children
  
• Heterosexuals Organized for a Moral Environment (H.O.M.E.)
  
• Illinois Family Institute
  
• Liberty Counsel
  
• MassResistance
  
• Mission: America
  
• Pacific Justice Institute
  
• Parents Action League
  
• Pass the Salt Ministries
  
• Pilgrims Covenant Church
  
• The Pray in Jesus Name Project
  
• Probe Ministries
  
• Providence Road Baptist Church
  
• Public Advocate of the United States (see Eugene Delgaudio)
  
• Ruth Institute
  
• SaveCalifornia.com
  
• Steadfast Baptist Church
  
• Sons of Thundr (Faith Baptist Church)
  
• TC Family (Traverse City Family)
  
• Tom Brown Ministries
  
• Traditional Values Coalition
  
• True Light Pentecost Church
  
• Truth In Action Ministries
  
• United Families International
  
• Westboro Baptist Church
  
• Windsor Hills Baptist Church
  
• World Congress of Families/Howard Center for Family, Religion and Society
  
• You Can Run But You Cannot Hide International
  

And these are only the ones listed as "anti-LGBT". For a more comprehensive view, have a look at the List of organizations designated by the Southern Poverty Law Center as hate groups. It isn't hard to figure out which ones are "Christian".

What about oppression is news?

Religious. Sectarian. ...any number of excuses are used as "reasons".

Personally, I've not experienced anything I would term oppression. Bullying? Yes. When I was a kid...I'm not that kid anymore. But being picked on on the playground isn't, or rather doesn't fit my definition of oppression. Feel free to disagree with me. It's not right, in fact, few things set me off quicker than witnessing an act of bullying/harassment/oppression.

That it exists, and is carried out by any number of groups, against other groups, is without question.

a reply to: Freija

Have any of those organizations persecuted you?

originally posted by: NthOther
a reply to: AshOnMyTomatoes

Having problems with the religion, its theology and culture, is not the same as being oppressed by it. It's ok to not like Catholicism because of the actions of their sexually oppressed priesthood. I get that part. And if you're the victim there's no question of the validity of your objections or opposition.

But how has any of that oppressed YOU?

You don't get to define what persecution, oppression, and offense is for others. That's like telling a woman she wasn't really sexually assaulted because the guy only groped and fondled her without her permission, he didn't actually physically harm her, so it wasn't assault.

I, and MANY others have been personally affected by Christian influence and oppression in the last 2000 years. Everything from murder and violence, to the influence of government so as to form a privileged class of citizens, has been used by Christianity to oppress and control those inside AND outside of the cult of Christianity. We are affected every day by your need to assimilate individuals and whole cultures into your collective by any means necessary.

I would say my entire people. The Christians, along with Catholic attempts to "kill the Indian", so yeah.

originally posted by: Klassified

I, and MANY others have been personally affected by Christian influence and oppression in the last 2000 years. Everything from murder and violence, to the influence of government so as to form a privileged class of citizens, has been used by Christianity to oppress and control those inside AND outside of the cult of Christianity. We are affected every day by your need to assimilate individuals and whole cultures into your collective by any means necessary.

So tell us a story then. That's all I'm asking for.

How does Christianity oppress you, personally, today?

originally posted by: NthOther

originally posted by: Klassified

I, and MANY others have been personally affected by Christian influence and oppression in the last 2000 years. Everything from murder and violence, to the influence of government so as to form a privileged class of citizens, has been used by Christianity to oppress and control those inside AND outside of the cult of Christianity. We are affected every day by your need to assimilate individuals and whole cultures into your collective by any means necessary.

So tell us a story then. That's all I'm asking for.

How does Christianity oppress you, personally, today?

I won't play your game like others. Sure, I can list several instances since I went from being a devout Christian to atheism, but I won't. This game can be played in reverse too, but I won't stoop to the same level.

Enough said.

originally posted by: NthOther
a reply to: Freija

Have any of those organizations persecuted you?

How desperate your Faithless need for validation!

When my brother and I were 12/13 my mother decided we should go to "youth group" at the local Baptist church. Other kids in the area were going. And there were free snacks!

Our family wasn't religious, I had decided long before that it was silly to me personally.

Things at the youth group got progressively weirder, we begged our mother not to make us go. At first, we would sing songs, play games, etc. As the weeks went by, game playing turned into...making lists of people who we thought might be "sinners" and then praying intensely for them; watching weird documentaries about things that might possess you, like yoga, Ouija boards, or certain music; and, listening to guests speak about the upcoming apocalypse (1999 baby).

We told our mother that it was getting really weird, but she was going through some things at the time, and these were her two hours, so she called the church with her concerns and they assured her we were exaggerating.

They last night we went, a special guest was brought in to teach us about humans living with dinosaurs. My brother and I laughed, and when we were admonished, we were honest and said it just seemed silly to us. We were told to be quiet and listen. After the guest speaker left, we split up into girls and boys groups to pray for people, sinners and sick people, etc.

When the group leader asked around for who we should pray for, she added on the end of her statement, "And we'll need to pray for B, because she is a sinner." She and the other girls then laid their hands on me in an attempt to cast out whatever presence kept me from being brainwashed. It was terrifying.

In an adjacent room, my brother was locked in a small closet so he could "feel what the descent to hell would be like and repent."

Mom was livid and made a big fuss and the youth group leaders went on to greener pastures I guess.

Try brother and I were pretty unaffected by it all, and we laugh about it sometimes; but I think it counts as being persecuted or oppressed by a Christian.

Not that all Christians would behave this way, of course. These were a special kind of nutty, and hopped up on the end of the world.

originally posted by: NthOther
a reply to: Freija

Have any of those organizations persecuted you?

Until recently, sodomy was illegal in most of the country, because of religion.

Religion is constantly attempting to end the right to abortion.

Until recently, homosexuals could not marry in this country (and still have trouble doing so, in spite of a Supreme Court ruling).

Religion was used to justify slavery.

Bible-belt activists try to worm creationism into schools.

Heaven help you if you're not a Christian and want to do simple grocery shopping during Christmas season. You're blasted with Christmas items, Christmas music, Christmas advertisements, and Christmas decorations, and for the love of all that is holy don't say "Happy Holidays" in front of the wrong person.

Religion resulted in the persecution of people who played D&D in the 1980s.

The extremely-nonsecular media, and their similarly demagogue political mouthpieces, try their damnedest to force me to hate Muslim people because they don't worship the same god as Christian America.

Shall I go on?

You may ask me "sure, but how many of those things affected YOU?" To which I will reply "none of your goddamn business." The fact that any and all of those things DID and DO occur is enough to prove my point.

a reply to: Klassified

Really? I figured you guys would be chomping at the bit to unload on us all the times you've been downtrodden and brutalized by these nasty, horrible people. I gave you an open invitation.

I guess I was wrong.

That, or you just don't have any experiences to relay. Which would mean that it doesn't really happen all that often, because few people are actually sharing in spite of what you'd expect if the phenomenon were rampant.

originally posted by: NthOther

That, or you just don't have any experiences to relay. Which would mean that it doesn't really happen all that often.

Sentence two does not follow logically from sentence one. Your premise is flawed, and you should feel bad about yourself.

I had some Mormons not let me use a phone to call my parents.

There is a park across the street from the Mormon church in my hometown. They throw a festival and fireworks show every 4th of July. My friends and I were at this little party one year...

The Mormons always throw their "own" little separatist party on the lawn of their church, in full view of everyone else.

Anyway, for some reason or another (this is before every 12 year old had a cell phone, maybe 1998) -- I needed to call my parents and let them know I was OK and was getting a ride home with a friend.

Well, one of the guys I was with was Mormon, but not going to the little mini-Mormon party. He says, "Hey, there's a phone inside the lobby at my church, we can go use that"

So we walk across the street and before my friend can lead me inside some big fat guy blocks our path and demands of my friend to know who I am and what is going on. He explains that I need to use the phone to call my parents.

The guy flat out lies and says, "We don't have a phone".

I could see the pay phone (yes, a real pay phone!) through the glass in the front door.

The guy also had one of those old Motorolla Star Tac cell phones on his hip.

I speak up, a little ticked off that he's lying and ask as respectfully as I can manage, "Is there a phone anywhere around here I can use? Does anyone have a cell phone?"

The guy firmly says no, and that *I* need to leave and should go back across the street. He wasn't overly rude, but that "smug superiority" rude.

We had a VERY high percentage of Mormons in my town. Probably about 10% or more of the population.

a reply to: MystikMushroom

And how is some jerk not letting you use his phone persecution?

There are plenty of reasons to dislike plenty of religions.

Few valid contemporary claims of persecution though, it seems.

And that's kinda the point that's being made here.

originally posted by: NthOther
a reply to: MystikMushroom

And how is some jerk not letting you use his phone persecution?

There are plenty of reasons to dislike plenty of religions.

Few valid contemporary claims of persecution though, it seems.

And that's kinda the point that's being made here.

How about you give us an example of persecution then? Give us a magical checklist we can go over and tick off whether that has happened to us or not? Since it seems you are the only person in the world that knows what persecution is and whether someone has experienced it.

Or I suppose you could continue to stick your fingers in your ears and pretend everything is peachy in the world of Christianity.

a reply to: NthOther

It certainly wasn't very "Christian" of him to not help a 12 year old kid who needed to call his parents.

EDIT: And it wasn't just the cell phone, there was a perfectly serviceable payphone IN SIGHT -- and he flat out LIED to me about it not being there.

originally posted by: NthOther
a reply to: Klassified

Really? I figured you guys would be chomping at the bit to unload on us all the times you've been downtrodden and brutalized by these nasty, horrible people. I gave you an open invitation.

I guess I was wrong.

That, or you just don't have any experiences to relay. Which would mean that it doesn't really happen all that often, because few people are actually sharing in spite of what you'd expect if the phenomenon were rampant.

You can't expect people to tell you anything when you have set the parameters they are allowed to measure the legitimacy of their experiences by. If you really wanted to know, you wouldn't have defined what you deem acceptable. But I do understand why you did it. And so do you.

originally posted by: AshOnMyTomatoes

How about you give us an example of persecution then? Give us a magical checklist we can go over and tick off whether that has happened to us or not?

I started one in the OP (go back and read it), and indicated that it was by no means exhaustive.

How does Christianity restrict your inalienable rights today, personally? Tell us.

originally posted by: Klassified

originally posted by: NthOther

originally posted by: Klassified

I, and MANY others have been personally affected by Christian influence and oppression in the last 2000 years. Everything from murder and violence, to the influence of government so as to form a privileged class of citizens, has been used by Christianity to oppress and control those inside AND outside of the cult of Christianity. We are affected every day by your need to assimilate individuals and whole cultures into your collective by any means necessary.

So tell us a story then. That's all I'm asking for.

How does Christianity oppress you, personally, today?

I won't play your game like others. Sure, I can list several instances since I went from being a devout Christian to atheism, but I won't. This game can be played in reverse too, but I won't stoop to the same level.

Enough said.

You're playing his (her?) "game" alright. Otherwise, you wouldn't be posting anything in this thread.

Why won't you list those instances? NthOther hasn't belittled others for expressing their personal experiences. I'm sure he'd respond to yours in a fair manner like he did with annee earlier.

This "game" sure can be "played" the other way around, but it isn't much of a stoop. It's a legitimate question that can be used to communicate and understand each other's perceived plights in an effort to resolve our grievances against one another in a diplomatic fashion. There's no reason to be indignant.