London Posted March 4, 2012 Share Posted March 4, 2012 I find that the more religious someone is, the less happy they are. No laughing, joy, fun, pleasure. It's all rules & regulations. All happiness is squashed like a bug. It's almost like chronic, clinic depression had been administered with a hypo needle. And happiness was drained like a boil. And the people who go around all chipper and cheery get angry really really fast. Like satan just shot up their ass and took over their body. I much prefer people who can be calm in crisis. Bad situations can be stressful and not fun, but there is no reason to pull out the whip and start snapping at people. Why draw blood when you should be dealing with the unhappiness. Sadly, I know the answer to that for xians is to put it in gods hands. For those of us in the know, we know god is a lazy bitch who does not care. Then again god would have to exist to care... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SairB Posted March 4, 2012 Share Posted March 4, 2012 ~ Don't worry about the world coming to an end today. It is already tomorrow in Australia. ~Charles Schulz As an Australian, I love this a lot 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Onyx Posted March 4, 2012 Share Posted March 4, 2012 I try to be seriously humourous. So I write satires. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SairB Posted March 4, 2012 Share Posted March 4, 2012 I have always been an extremely serious person. I was the 4-year old with the deadpan face, taking it all in, staring. I was a great observer but a poor interpreter--and with the fundy stuff mixed in there (to which I gravitated) I was screwed up early on. I had to learn to find humor. Now, people find me funny, but under that thin facade, I am as serious as ever and I have to force myself to have fun, but at least now I make a conscious effort to do so. I did find that the less faith I had the more levity I felt. When I was a Christian I was so worried about what God was thinking, about feeling God's pain, and feeling distraught about how the world is going to hell in a handbasket and how there are demons (!!) everywhere. Now, I realize that yes, the world is in peril, but I am one person and I act locally and I am going to enjoy the life I have. I gave myself a "get out of jail free" card when it comes to saving the world. I think age life experience chills people out too! Wow. I can relate so much to this - I was brought up as a serious Catholic (not a fundy Christian, and interestingly enough, they claim that Catholics are not "real" Christians), taking life seriously - along with the religious teachings in regard to the sanctity of [human] life, and of every moral decision we make within that life. Seriousness, for me, was conforming to the teachings of the church in every respect, keeping a "respectful" demeanour during mass, even regularly confessing every sexually-orientated thought I ever had, because I thought it must be sinful and that it really had an effect on my spiritual well-being. Obviously I could not trust my own flawed human judgement! Trusting my own judgement is something with which I still struggle, psychologically, but I am gradually coming to see that I am capable of making sound decisions... I can scarcely describe how liberating it was to discover that the majority of people (at least, in my experience) really don't think in terms of religious teachings dictating their every moral decision, but conduct their lives as if every day presents a new possibility. As if they actually have a say in what is good for them, and what is not. I really, really don't understand anyone who claims it is better or easier to have a set of black-and-white moral norms to follow, because life just doesn't work like that. Nature is continually full of surprises, and we need all of our innate flexibility and creativity to deal with those surprises. For the time being, I have to say that I subscribe to Oscar Wilde's comment (inscribed, by the way, upon Federation Square in Melbourne) that, "Life is too important to be taken seriously". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deva Posted March 4, 2012 Author Share Posted March 4, 2012 I can relate so much to the posters here who understand how difficult it is to have a fundamentalist religious background and be able to let loose and have fun. Everything was very serious business with me. The whole idea that Jesus could come back at any minute and catch you in whatever you are doing is tailor made for making a young person into a humorless neurotic. I had at least two years of sermons pounded into my head on this idea. I never saw the rapture as some positive event. I thought my parents were going but I would not. I just wasn't repentant enough or good enough. It twists up your thinking in so many ways. The emphasis in Christianity is always on yourself, although its supposed to be "love your neighbor". There is very little in it about the neighbor and a whole lot about the state of your own eternal soul. It still seems very strange when someone is really happy, or appears to be. I wonder what's wrong with them or that they must be hiding something. I remember around 1990 a teacher asking me about fun. I thought "fun" what's that? I was in a depressed state after my divorce at the time (the three years prior were hell) and at the time I did not even have an idea of what it was to have fun. What a sad way to live. One reason I started studying Tibetan Buddhism is that it is philosophically so opposite. The Dalai Lama said "the purpose of life is to be happy." I need it to counteract the incredible negativity of the Christian world view. While the world view was rejected years ago, the effects linger in subtle ways. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spectrox Posted March 4, 2012 Share Posted March 4, 2012 The more deeply I embraced Christianity, the more serious I became - until I just snapped. I am much less serious now although there is a time to be serious - and a time to be frivolous too. Occasionally I find myself coming out in a Christian rash now and again and I doubt myself and my decision to leave Christianity. I sometimes ask myself, was it really all that bad? Is God calling me again? Giving me a second chance perhaps? This is easily cured by re-reading various passages in the Bible. I find that some of the Bible is even worse than I remembered it. The imaginary voice in my head then disappears for a few months. And I feel a bit stupid for doubting myself. It's just a form of post-viral infection or mild PTSD. Easily cured by a dose of honesty and common sense. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Positivist Posted March 5, 2012 Share Posted March 5, 2012 I said stuff. ...I was brought up as a serious Catholic (not a fundy Christian, and interestingly enough, they claim that Catholics are not "real" Christians), taking life seriously - along with the religious teachings in regard to the sanctity of [human] life, and of every moral decision we make within that life. Seriousness, for me, was conforming to the teachings of the church in every respect, keeping a "respectful" demeanour during mass... ~|~|~|~ I really, really don't understand anyone who claims it is better or easier to have a set of black-and-white moral norms to follow, because life just doesn't work like that. Hi SairB! I want to apologize to all Ex-Catholics (and Catholics) out there for all the years I spent as a lunatic fundy believing Catholics were not "real ChristiansTM". OMexG, I was such an ass! You and I are a lot alike in how we desperately tried to conform to the teachings of the church. The guilt! The shame! My husband tells me I'd make a great Catholic because I've got the guilt thing down pat. (And I love requiems!) There is so much freedom in realizing the world is, in fact, full of grey, not the black and white we believed in. Now if I can just change how my brain works to not immediately characterize all things as either black or white, we'll be in business! PS It seems we are both dog people, yes? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Positivist Posted March 5, 2012 Share Posted March 5, 2012 I can relate so much to the posters here who understand how difficult it is to have a fundamentalist religious background and be able to let loose and have fun. Everything was very serious business with me. The whole idea that Jesus could come back at any minute and catch you in whatever you are doing is tailor made for making a young person into a humorless neurotic. The Dalai Lama said "the purpose of life is to be happy." Deva I could really relate to this!! I am one of the most un-fun and serious people I know. I slap on humor so I don't seem psychiatric and I have to make a conscious choice for levity instead of dreariness and intensity. I too was in constant turmoil, laboring under the burden of "unsaved souls" and how the world is going to hell in a handbasket. The work of the Lord was never ending I felt that intensely. I also feel the pain of others intensely. I am just learning how how to have a "light" conversation without digging deep into people's inner sanctuaries. I'll never forget this one special worship event that our charismatic church put on. The music bands were excellent and I was asked to join a different band to help out the females there because I could sing higher. They sang that damn Happy Song by Delirious? and I had be jumping up and down like I was happy! LOL! Sooooooo not me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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