Thanks for the validation!
I have to say, not all Christians are bad. (Technically, I am one). Neither are all Satanists, for that matter. IMO, you see the worst from people who are a) militant and/or b) ignorant about their religion, whatever it is. Worse than that are those who act "religious" when they can pass judgment on you, but forget religion completely when it comes to something they want.
Your experience was... just plain wrong. I wish I had been there, 'cause I'd have promptly AND firmly *kicked* the idiot who said such a ridiculous thing.
I have 2 major experiences that made me leave organized social-club religion behind, the worst being this:
When i was 17, I went to to a small Southern Baptist church. The entire congregation of ~300 was one big family reunion. Everyone was either related (not inbred, in case you wondered :) ) or close friends with everyone else. Even the 20 or 30 single adult members had *some* type of relative there. Everyone except me. I was by myself. One day, this 10yr old black kid (I'll call him Jamie) inexplicably started coming by himself. The church was abuzz, partly because he was the only non-white person there, and partly because he was also by himself. His parents wouldnt' come, they just dropped him off or stayed in their car to pick him up when whatever event was finished.
Since he and I both had no family there, we started hanging out. He was a genuinely cool and nice kid. I thought of him as my adopted little brother.
One day, during the sermon, the pastor decided to tell a joke. I forget the exact wording, but it was something about the Shadrach, Meschach and Abendigo story. Anyway, the punch line was something where someone mistakes the names and thinks they are "Shadrach, Meschach, and A bad negro"
...
The oblivious congregation roared with laughter for a good 15 seconds, and I tried not to fall off my pew. I looked next to me at Jamie, and even at 10, he was so shocked, he was about to cry. I leaned over and looked at him, and he said "I wanna leave, but My mom's not here yet". So I said "C'mon, let's get out of here. I'll take you home."
So, as the pastor continued with his sermon, Jamie and I got up, walked out (Naturally, everyone looked at us. A few people finally got it, but more than a few gave us dirty looks.) "How Shameful! Walking out of a perfectly good sermon!"
We left and I took him out for lunch. They made that super-nice kid cry, which pissed me off so much, I never went back.
I *did*, however, later call the pastor to make sure he understood that what he said was *WAY* inappropriate having a black kid present (and nervous enough) by himself, and *WAAAAAY* inappropriate to be said by a freakin' pastor in church! He was really a good guy, and he was genuinely mortified when he realized what he'd done, (from me, no one else complained..) and I don't think he meant any harm by it. I heard he later moved to a new church, specifically because he was ashamed at his action, and even more ashamed no one else in the congregation was offended enough to say anything. *shrug* Go figure.
So, yeah. I'd like to see anyone in that congregation who laughed, then 10 minutes later was praying for wisdom, or singing a hymn, kicked firmly in the ass.
-K
Me - IMDB http://imdb.com/name/nm1485711/
--------[fear the resume]-------
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