Religion and Spirituality

I am not able to express religion even in my own time now because of my “dad” guilt tripping me for it. Like it’s ok for him to be as religious as he wants but if I want to be religious or show more interest then it’s wrong because I’m stealing “his thing”! Plus he doesn’t even believe in life after death so I think what’s the point in claiming religion to be his thing if he doesn’t believe in heaven and hell? Am I missing something? Are there religions that don’t believe in afterlife? Sorry I’m new to all this I admit. He claims to be a catholic so I thought they were believers in heaven and hell. 

Faith is a personal thing. We should all be able to have one if we want. A personal relationship with the faith makes all the difference in my faith. Your dad doesn't seem to understand things properly. It is not his thing to have a monopoly or interest of a faith. Jesus said to people to follow him and he wants more people to. He asked them to seek and knock and find him and that applies to everyone if they are ready to. He also said that people need to believe in him for eternal afterlife.

I would say ignore if interested and perhaps listen to something like an mp3 Bible on your own and take it from there. Faith Comes by Hearing may be a good place to look. I use one downloaded from there, non dramatised version.

If this continues with your father and remember you don’t have to discuss your faith with him if you don't want to, but secrecy can be hard at home to. Could you look into alternate housing to get away from this, It's not good.

About end of life, some Saints are in Heaven, but we are now waiting for the 2nd Resurrection with Christ to return and then will go to New Jerusalem or Heaven itself and only God determines that in my faith and I am a Christian, but I am a non demontioal, but was baptised as a Catholic. There is something called the Cennacle charismatic and I am not young and don' go, but I have seen it. They support people with social media to so may be that might be something to look at as well. Good luck

Good grief Elfis, what planet does your "dad" live on? By the way why do you always put him in "thingy" marks?

i think it is sheer ignorance to think that left handed people are somehow bad, I think it comes from the Latin Dexter-right and Sinister=left, sinister came to take on more negative connotations somewhere along the line, possibly from shield walls in warfare where you hold your shield with your left arm and your sword or spear in your right. A shield wall is a line of interlocking shields protecting not just your own body, but that of the person to the side of you, swords or spears and then jabbed or slashed over or under the shields, if someone's domminant hand is the left and they naturally want to hold a shield in their right hand and a sword with thier left it would leave a gap in a shield wall that would make it vulnerable in what is basically a pushing match.

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Almond, I would like to see the church and state seperated too, but it dosent' gaurantee a state not dominated by religious thought and beliefs, America has no state religion, but it's politics seem to be very much dominated by Christianity and seems to be becoming more so.

Good grief Elfis, what planet does your "dad" live on? By the way why do you always put him in "thingy" marks?

i think it is sheer ignorance to think that left handed people are somehow bad, I think it comes from the Latin Dexter-right and Sinister=left, sinister came to take on more negative connotations somewhere along the line, possibly from shield walls in warfare where you hold your shield with your left arm and your sword or spear in your right. A shield wall is a line of interlocking shields protecting not just your own body, but that of the person to the side of you, swords or spears and then jabbed or slashed over or under the shields, if someone's domminant hand is the left and they naturally want to hold a shield in their right hand and a sword with thier left it would leave a gap in a shield wall that would make it vulnerable in what is basically a pushing match.

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Almond, I would like to see the church and state seperated too, but it dosent' gaurantee a state not dominated by religious thought and beliefs, America has no state religion, but it's politics seem to be very much dominated by Christianity and seems to be becoming more so.

Ahh ok thank you! I have a better understanding now and the link Iain had sent me in your polytheism post was very helpful too. Though I would probably say I’m more monotheistic, I am definitely not against polytheism and say I have prayed to many Gods and Goddesses in the past. 

I actually believe I have a Goddess as a guardian angel and as you say it’s like making a friend and them building you and looking after you! 

Polytheism is a belief that there are many Gods and Goddesses, all equally valid, some come in families like the Greek deities, some are more loosly connected. For me interactions with the divine are a bit like making a friend in this world, you meet one and get on and they guide you and work with you, challenging, comforting and loving.

Hiya Iain, don’t you worry I wasn’t talking about you or anyone on the forum, I was meaning about all the bullies I have encountered but I do admit I was quite vague in my post. I’ve been scared since I was little but I remember having terrible panic attacks back in 2015, 2018 and 2023 so it was before I joined the forum. But I’ve been able to connect with Christianity as well as other religions and I do feel that have helped me overcome the fear. I also find hearing of other peoples experiences with the afterlife interesting and reassuring but all we can do is either believe them or not. 

I must admit I can’t say I’ve seen all of your posts but I was not offended in anyway and I can completely understand and respect your views. I’m very grateful for your kind response as well and I’m so sorry if I have offended yourself or anyone in any way at all. I think it is very good you have been able to put your views across as well as everyone else here and I feel very reassured and happy to have participated in this discussion. Thank you for being so kind though I am very grateful! 

I apologise for the vagueness of my responses. I’m currently feeling sick and vertigo and haven’t got much to do.

Elfilis said:

I have had the exact same issues with atheists! I mean if they don’t believe in God or afterlife then why don’t they just make the most of what they have instead of making us all scared

If my posts caused you to be scared then I apologise. This was not the intent.

What I was trying to do is promote critical thinking rather than blind belief as the religions that push their set of "rules" are often untrustworthy and many have very dubious historical credentials.

I think that faith is a great thing, just not organised religion.

For the record I am somewhere between athiest and agnostic - I don't believe there is a god but I remain open to the concept if proof of one is forthcoming.

Aww mate I am so sorry to hear about that, I’m sure your toes were and still are fine but how can people just be so cruel. It might seem silly to them but to us and others that can be very hurtful! I started getting bullied in year 3 because of a horrible teacher and the students I was in class with at the time. It was then when I started showing more signs of autism as I was more lonely and if I was made to give an answer which I didn’t know I’d get bullied and then I’d cry then get shouted at and bullied for crying. I’m glad to hear that some primary schools are trying to accept the NDs of this world, I mean we don’t ask for a lot, just to be kind more than anything as it’s harder to just shake the horrible things off. They also need to be kinds in nurseries too as I can even remember being bullied there as well by kids and the staff were rude as well. My mum managed to get me out of them in the end.

I have had the exact same issues with atheists! I mean if they don’t believe in God or afterlife then why don’t they just make the most of what they have instead of making us all scared. I will admit they are the reason why I have had such awful panic attacks about death and I also get upset about how people say your belief is that only a belief. I would honestly hate to have a life like that if I’m honest as well, I suppose in a way I feel blessed that I have a religion calling to me and I have the ability to accept it. But I also love the Greek and Egyptian Gods and Goddesses as I find them really fascinating too! Also like Roman Gods and Goddesses as well as many others, there’s a lot of choice! I must admit those of other religions never bullied me, if anything they were the ones who stuck up for me. But I’m very sorry you have also been a victim of bullying especially religion related.

I am embarrassed to ask this but what exactly is polytheism? I noticed your other post and I wanted to participate but I can’t really get any answers from Google or AI lol!

As for the left handed thing, yeah I had to pay for my own set of left handed scissors and the ironic thing was I was allowed to bring them into school as I said I was left handed but I actually got them banned in the tuition centre as I was thought to be some baddie or something. I mean they were like blunt but I don’t know. I did feel embarrassed being the bad example though. I’ve noticed they mark up the prices on left handed stuff as well, I think that naughty I mean just because there aren’t as many of us doesn’t mean to say we need to pay extra does it? I honestly don’t know how handedness works, I assumed it was genetic but who knows. I might do a post of handedness at some point! 

TheCatWoman said:

I think some people are just bullies and it dosent' matter what faith or none they adhere to, they just look for differences to point out and try and make you feel bad about yourself.

I agree with that. Those sort of people actively look for a difference they can use as an excuse for their vileness. 

Hi Cat woman, I was sorry to hear that you've been bullied by atheists and people of other faiths. I do not have a faith and so would be classed as atheist, although I prefer the term post theist, but I cannot imagine why anyone would feel the need to bully someone about their personal faith. 

I have worked or studied with people of different faiths and respected them. I was particularly interested in the Pagan and Hindu ones, and also learning about the Jewish festivals and customs. I also like the stories of the Roman and Greek Gods.

I agree that there are a minority who just want to bully people because of differences. But whether you follow a religion/faith or not, I believe that there is no excuse for bullying or rudeness. 

Thank you Elfilis . What you say is interesting and worth thinking about.

In at least some primary schools where I live, lessons incorporate learning to be kind to those who are different, and they talk about left handed children, those who are tall, short etc, and those with disabilities. I hope that this is making a difference to how children consider one another.

Children can be very mean when they see anybody a bit different in any way at all. When I was about 6 years of age, a girl laughed at my toes, because they were quite long back then, although they look more average sized to me today. She called me ‘spade toes’. Now this seems such a ridiculous thing to be upset about, but back then, I felt awful. 

I've had atheists try and bully me too, as well as those from other faiths, on the whole I refuse to engage with them, with atheiests I've often asked them why its so important to them that I and everyone else believe as they do and aren't they in danger of becoming the very things they say they despise about those with faith. I've never had an answer, just anger and more aggressive attempts at bullying. One thing I've noticed with atheists is that most of thier arguments only really apply to monotheism, they can't seem to cope with polytheism and people who don't have a "book" to live by.

My son is left handed and has trouble with things like scissors, there are plenty of manufacturers that do things for left haned people, but they do tend to be expensive, probably because left handers are about 10% of the population. I'm fairly ambidextrous and have problems with things like muscial instruments because I want my left hand to dominate. I have a similar problem with sewing machines, I often want to use them left handed and don't see why they should be handed? 

I think some people are just bullies and it dosent' matter what faith or none they adhere to, they just look for differences to point out and try and make you feel bad about yourself. I don't think the opinions of people like that are really worth bothering about, just think of what it must be like to have to live in heads like that? All that seething insecurity, self loathing and most of all fear, they fear everything and to make themselves feel less afraid they try and push their fears onto others.

I’m not too sure about active discrimination today but when I was getting bullied in secondary school (which wasn’t religious) I always had to sit on the left end of the table because if I wasn’t and the person to the left of me was right handed, well they would tend to purposely knock or push my arm to ruin my work and then I’d get the blame for being a snitch. I also got bullied because they all knew I was Christian despite me keeping it to myself but they knew because of kids who went to my primary school and then I’d get the “why do you believe in God? If He loved you then you wouldn’t be left handed.” excuses and then I wouldn’t be able to answer. Non of these people were religious but I do find people who claim to be religious can bully left handers because they believe they are a sign from the devil. I don’t know if I’ve gone off topic but that was my experience anyway. 

I don’t know if people bully for religions or not now but I did get bullied by a lot of atheists and they literally made me question my faith and why I believe and they wouldn’t leave me alone until I just gave in and cried! 

As for products, like simple things that are easy for right handers can be bothersome for left handers. I mean I didn’t notice how hard it was to cut with right handed scissors using my left hand and it was something simple with the blades being the other way around. Also when I write I tend to smudge my writing and get half the ink on my hand as when I’m writing then my hand goes over the writing haha. 

Sorry if this isn’t helpful by the way 

 Elfilis  and TheCatWoman 

May I barge into the conversation here? I am not left handed so I don’t have first hand experience of discrimination, but I had a left handed family member and I have a LH friend, so I have some awareness. 

I do agree that there was much discrimination of LH people through how they used to be treated at school, in church and in other aspects of daily life. Manufacturers produced goods that favoured right handed people.

The production of goods aimed at a right handed market continues to be seen today in our writing systems, kitchen implements, gardening tools, musical instruments and so on. That is discrimination through inaction.

But is active discrimination in the form of targeting a person in the name of religion a reality in the UK and the rest of Europe these days? 

I think some people might use the now debunked argument of ‘sitting at the right hand of God’, and they may quote the Latin ‘sinister’ in a malicious way. That is because they are mean and nasty people. I can’t accept that they really believe that of a LH person today. I think it is just another lie that is used to target a person, rather than a true reflection of Christian faith.

TheCatWoman said:

Everything is set up for right handers and I think the prejudice against them is similar to that faced by us as ND's.

Being an autistic left hander I can totally agree with that. I just hope one day all this discrimination and stuff will come to a complete stop one day but that’s wishful thinking. 

People did used to be "made" to write with thier right hands and did sometimes have thier left hand immobilised, it wasn't just in religious schools but all schools.. Everything is set up for right handers and I think the prejudice against them is similar to that faced by us as ND's.

Ahh I’ve been putting these “thingy” marks around lately because our relationship is that like broken and distant that it doesn’t feel like calling him dad is right. I know I sound harsh but as I said he hasn’t been there for me and when other people have said that he just snaps and tells me to stop seeing professionals when they are telling the truth that he can’t handle. And well my holiday from hell was like the last straw, he busted me last week and still won’t accept he’s in the wrong and moaned at me for my messy flat despite the fact I was unwell from med withdrawal and jet lag. Even my mum seems to be pushed away from him. I think the planet he lives on is aeroplane planet, all he is interested in is a C130 or a boing 777 or something 

As for the left handed thing, I think it’s because lucifer the devil is meant to be left handed and also Jesus sits at the right hand side of God. I remember my mum, her brother and younger sister (all left handed) said that they were forced to write and do like everything right handed and they didn’t even go to a religious school or anything. I have also heard something that if a left handed person went to a religious school then they would be punished badly and have their left hands tied behind their back or something. I could be wrong or getting confused with the Simpsons though. Speaking of the Simpsons I want to mention Ned Flanders who is also a fellow left hander and it’s safe to say he is the most religious character in the show. Though I have seen him do things right handed too but hey cartoons are inconsistent ha!