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New York, 6:34 AM
Sun Nov 22
23 posts in the last 24 hours
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08/10/09
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I freak out when I hear about people getting married crazy early, because they have no time to get away from their family, from their old hometown, from their old hang-ups and go out and find themselves. When one gets into a relationship that early, they a deep risk that I've seen come to fruition far too often where their own self-worth is tied up in direct relationships with one other person, and it creeps me fuck out.
But, it is the nature of fundamentalist churches to not want critical thought or self-awareness, they want you to be one with their message of "the Bible is the absolute and 100% true word of God Himself, and nothing in it is other than what it literally says". So if you gain some semblance of self-worth, you might just question the teachings of the church and they might lose more members, and that would be bad for their business.
08/10/09
08/10/09
1. Which of the ten commandments bans fornication?
2. Describe the shunning Mary endured because she got pregnant while engaged.
Answers:
1. Um, none of them.
2. Um, she didn't.
08/10/09
1. There are many rules/sins outlined in the bible apart from the 10 commandments.
2. Shame isn't a part of real Christianity.
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It seems like coopting the term to give credence to values espoused by only a small number of Protestants.
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While I do think that they all have very healthy/stable relationships and are not being UNwise in marrying their SO's, it has been indicated to me by a few of the girls that they would have preferred to delay the marriage until each were more financially stable, but that "my fiance didn't think he could wait another year to have sex."
I can't even imagine being ready to get married at 23, even though i am gainfully employed and have no debt. It's very strange, but it is different for each relationship I suppose. As a more liberal-leaning person of faith, I prefer to make sexual desire NOT a deciding factor in getting married. But don't tell my mom that.
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And you raise a great point that many people don't need to decide to go to college right after high school, if ever. My only hesitation with that is that it often seems that if young couples get married before they go to college, it's often the wife's potential education that suffers.
08/09/09
One of my friends said to me "well, if they know that they want to be together for the rest of their lives, why not?". But if you know you want to be with someone for the rest of your life can't you wait until you get a diploma, a job and pay down some of your loans? I'm just imagining the freecreditreport.com ad where they have to live in her parents' basement because someone's credit was bad.
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08/09/09
Another way to look at it is that fundamentalism is about the believer's relationship to the sacred text, and evangelism is about the believer's relationship with the world outside their faith community.
What gets my goat is that all Christians end up tainted by the really outspoken ultra-right-wingers and nutjobs. There are plenty of Christian churches actively working toward peace, social justice, hunger relief, and women's and LGBT rights. But they rarely make the news.
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08/09/09
I almost want to shake her, say 'YOU SHOULD HAVE JUST HAD THE PREMARITAL SEX AND GOT MARRIED LATER'. She's not stupid, she would have used protection, so there is no reason to get married just to have sex!
In the words of Nike, Just Do It.
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A lot of Christian people will see through the crap and have premarital sex anyway. Some, like me, will become scared of their own sexuality, because the church sent the message, implicit or otherwise, that I should be until I was properly wed.
08/09/09