I don't have a problem with you keeping things from your kids. I don't have a problem with religion or the religious, I have a problem with people's intolerance for certain things regarding religion. As if being an athiest is the worst sin in the world... it's just back to the same thought that if someone does not worship God then they are amoral. I don't think it's right.

Two girls in the church I was going to asked to meet me at Pizza Hut, I did and they layed out a long story before telling me that I was a wolf among the flock or sheep or whatever. It didn't bother me, because I wasn't all that into the church anyway. I just thought it was strange that they had automatically assumed that I couldn't be saved just because I didn't read the bible after they had tried 20 or so times to get me to read it, but I swear, it just didn't hold my interest. Reading it is like pulling teeth. I think what upset them is that I was friendly and nice and promised to read it but then I just never did. Maybe they thought I was a con or something.

First, Out of curisosity, why did you attend?

Second, did these simpltons think all they had to do was preach to  believers? Whats the good in that?

Thirdly, if you can not talk to your kids about a fictional movie and discuss the differences between it, your beliefs and the world in general then I don't think I really waNT YOU advertizing thT YOU are a christian, you give us a bad repuatation.

Who was that third point to?  Where did anyone make the point you are refuting?

I'm not sure, I was trying out churches with friends from school, as in, I would go to a church of a friend to see what it was like. But, I don't think I ever really 'fit in' to any one I went to. This one had a lot of youth and the two girls I'm talking about that were supposed to be my mentors or whatever they were were pretty young, late teens or early twenties. I don't think they were simpletons, we were always pleasant and nice to each other, which is why their meeting and speech didn't make sense to me. But it wasn't all bad, I was glad to be done with that church at the time.

Some churches are weird about things. Growing up, the church I went to had a very major split over the idea of original sin. My  Mom and Grandparents, along with about a third of the church split off to form their own church. In the space of about six months that church split apart over what is basically puritanism. Some of the members liked to have a glass of wine or a beer every now and then, some thought this was a sin against the temple of god. So, after that split, a third church, which met in a model home started. Soon, us and two other families split off (I had already stopped keeping track of why) from my grandparents and their friends in the church, joining up with a fundamentalist "non-denominational" church, where they happily roasted marshmallows while burning NIV and NKJ Bibles (and any other book that challenged their very narrow world-view). KJV was the word of the day. The level of restriction against women was just below that of Islam, and the level of propaganda control and spin would have made Stalin weep tears of joy.

In their defense though, they did speak out against bigotry and abortion clinic bombing. They were radical, but not violent or hateful. Racism and violence were openly condemned at the church and the pastor's message about hate against gays was that god would judge the gays alongside the bigots, and that it was contrary to the teachings of Christ for us to judge others.

TBH, 2112, I do remember hearing a lot of accusatory statements through all of the church splits. I heard the term "wolf amongst the sheep" many times. I think a lot of the people that look at things like this, and go on witch hunts to purge "unholy" or "evil" influences in their church are just drama queens. Some people just don't feel right without some sort of conflict brewing. I always got the impression that all the drama (the church splits and the shit-talking) had very little to do with Christianity, and much more to do with people acting foolish.

You were right not to sweat it though. Those women don't sound like they're very fun to hang out with. Overall, what I learned from those experiences, was that it's not little dogmatic beliefs that are important, it's how people treat each other.

JIMP, I would be more interested to hear the other side at 26 than I was at 17.

Illy, great story.

Those Christians better keep their kids from seeing this movie. They might realize how ridiculous Christianity is. We wouldn't want all that brainwashing to go down the drain.

Christianity is a virus and intentionally spreading it to young minds is child abuse.

Its interesting that more and more young Christians are growing up to reject it or at least not buy into the fundi crap. And how do the fundies combat this problem? By home schooling their kids in record numbers.