Re: Extremely Important Obsenity Case MUST READ !!!
Ryan...when I was baptized, the couple in front of my parents got tossed out by the priest because they wanted to name the infant "Cynthia." (Not a saint's name, and therefore not on the "approved list," for those of you who just went "Huh????")
Yes, the Catholic Church will punish the infant because of what they view as "the sins of the mother." Interesting religion, isn't it?
I know what you're fighting against...and putting this as gently as possible, it's called "brainwashing." If you're raised Catholic, you are brainwashed with a severity that puts the Nazis and Communists to absolute shame. To this DAY, I can't "first name" "The Blessed Virgin." That causes some lumpy conversations with both Protestants and other pagans. I get blank looks, then explain "I was raised Catholic," and everyone - no matter what their religion - goes "Ahhh...I get it."
The baptism thing made me physically ill for a long time. I, too, had the painful, gut urge to have my children baptized, because they had sufficiently terrorized me into believing "something bad" would happen if I didn't. One of my children was baptized in the Catholic church for one reason only: it made her great-grandmother so damned happy. When we went to talk to the priest beforehand, my husband kept a death grip on my wrist to prevent me from lunging across the desk at the pompous asshole.
I feel for you so much, Ryan. Right now, you're trying to shove a square peg (you) into a round hole (the Church) and it's going to be painful.
Personal theology is something you work on your whole life. In a way, it's like ordering from the menu at a Chinese restaurant. "One from column A, two from colum B...let's skip over the shit in colum C, it sucks...and an eggroll."
In Wiccas, infants have a "wiccaning," but you can't dedicate yourself to the Goddess until you're an adult. A wiccaning is more of a family celebration of the new life and a promise to give it their absolutely best shot in raising said child.
No fear, no threats of eternal damnation, just love. The Goddess loves you because you exist. All you had to do to earn the love of the Goddess was show up. If you "sin," well, the sun will come up tomorrow and you take another shot at life. (That's the short version. The only sin we have, really, is hurting another person or youself on purpose.)
It isn't as easy as it sounds. Being nice and being careful with people and the planet all the time is a real bitch when you put it in practice 24/7.
And for those who might be wondering, I'm not proselitizing. I'm just talking. I know the pain Ryan is going through because I went through it myself.
The Methodists have rocking cool commercials on television here. They might be worth a shot. They do baptisms, too.
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