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Politics : Sharks in the Septic Tank -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Lane3 who wrote (10119)	3/30/2001 4:03:48 PM
From: Greg or e	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 82486

Scary is in the eye of the beholder to a certain extent. Tolerance has also taken on a new meaning, tolerance used to mean that everyone was entitled to hold their own beliefs, even though you might disagree with them. now it has somehow come to mean that we must embrace and even celebrate the practices and beliefs of others even when they are diametrically opposed to our own. Homosexual practices are just one example of this, although the to me the real battleground today is going to be fought over the issue of Pedophilia. today's pervert, is tomorrow's upstanding citizen. Frankly I think people who are truly intolerant of others in an evil way don't need to be exposed they manifest their hatred for all to see. People who stand around with signs that say "God hates Fags" hardly need to come with warning labels. It must be said however that hatred is not limited to the heterosexual population. Pendulums of hatred swing to both extremes. What bothers me is that we seem to be in a situation where we have eliminated any standard by which to judge any action to be "wrong". We are going to continue reaping the rewards of that kind of thinking. The USA is not immune to the Judgement of God, but I prefer to leave that judgement in His hands. All Laws are the legislation of some moral principal, but we have climbed out on a limb and proceeded to saw off the branch we're sitting on. PS No reason for not capitalizing the word bible some times I do, sometimes I don't. Should I? My rules of grammar are shaky since I got stoned and missed most of the seventies, at least that's what I was told. :0) Greg

To: Lane3 who wrote (10119)	3/30/2001 5:28:55 PM
From: Patricia Trinchero	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 82486

Karen, Having just been through an experience with a religion that I found scary, let me tell you what raised red flags in my head. Greg can read my post and agree or disagree as he has had more experience then I. 1. The Pastor claimed repeatedly that one must give ten percent of their earnings to the church with a free and open heart. If you were feeling greedy and did not lovingly give your 10% ( before taxes ) then they claimed that God would take out his wrath on your children!! 2. The Pastor's family was extremely materialistic. They shopped at the most expensive stores and loved expensive items. They also ate out all the time. Alone, this would not raise a red flag, but coupled with their belief that God rewarded you when you were in his favor gave me the the feeling that they wanted people to think that God gave them material things because they obeyed him. They would preach that God will reward you when you ask for something merely because you wanted it........that is if you are obeying his word. 3. They preached that everyone in the congregation should take their questions or concerns about the church to the Pastor. Whatever the Pastor said about the problem would have to be excepted by the individual. If the individual did not take his advice seriously he would be automatically condemned to Hell. The preached words were, " You will burn for all eternity". They also would threaten you with the "burn for eternity" if you spoke unkindly of the Pastor .When he opened his mouth it was God talking so you had to be careful when talking about the Pastor in a negative light. 4. They constantly stressed that everyone should only socialize with people who believed as the Pentacostals. If you branched out and socialized with others of a different faith then you would risk being influenced to dispute some of your faith and end up getting condemned to " burn for all eternity". 5. The financial records of the church were never disclosed and made public. 6. The Pastor's wife had spies in the congregation who reported various things about people back to her. Some people were driven from the church when they realized this spying was happening. ANyone who had been driven from the church or left of their own intelligence was blackballed as inappropriate company for anyone who remained in the church. These are only a few of the red flags and I admit they are rather severe and after rereading this post I can't believe I stayed as long as I did . I only stayed in the church because I have a close family member married into the Pastor's family. Because I left that religion I am now on the "black list" of the Pastor's family. Unfortunately, my family member is still involved so the situation is delicate. I hope this post may keep someone else from associating with a force as negative as the church I described above.