CW: CSA mention, Christianity
In my last post, I said I would describe my religious beliefs and how they've evolved since I first became pagan.
Sex:
Then
I'm very sex-positive, while also affirming asexuals and believing that asexuality should be more respected. I've never had sex and don't intend to any time soon - I want to put school first and don't have time for dating. But I hate, hate, hate slut-shaming and SWERF. The choice of whether or not to have sex should be a very personal thing, and that choice - made maturely and responsibly, with proper sex education backing up the decision - should be respected regardless of what it is. I also support sex work, believe that all people should have sexual autonomy, and that sexual autonomy should be respected. I'm very firm and inflexible on consent, and unless someone freely, enthusiastically, and maturely consents to sex, you don't ever even touch them in a sexual way, and the minute that consent is taken away, you back off. It doesn't matter if you were "just playing around" or some such BS. It doesn't matter if someone was drinking or had on a short dress or they're your romantic partner. Unless consent is freely, enthusiastically, and maturely given, you leave them alone - and if you don't, it's not their fault. It's yours, and you should suffer the same consequences as any other rapist.
Now
Okay, so there was my MOGAI phase...but besides that, my beliefs on sex and sexuality haven't actually changed a lot much. I'm a lot more kink-critical now, and as an Aphrodite devotee I see sex as more holy than I used to, but not in the same way as I did when I was Christian.
That is, I see sex as holy - a lot of Aphrodite devotees have sex or masturbate as a devotional act - but I don't think having sex tarnishes it. Why do we need some arbitrary, human-made ceremony in order to partake in a gift from an entity beyond human comprehension? Sex is a beautiful, intimate, spiritual, and pleasurable way to connect to our bodies, our gods (if we have them), the earth, and our partners. And for many marginalized people, it can be a way of radically loving and reclaiming our bodies and ourselves even while sexuality is used against us.
Marriage:
Then
Everyone should have the right to get married and to have it be called marriage, but no one is entitled to get married if not everyone has that option. I also think that no one should be forced to get married and I don't agree with arranged marriage. Unless you're the one actually getting married, you don't get to decide who is getting married to whom. I believe in divorce; what good would forcing people who don't love each other to stay married do? I believe in polygamy, but not only that men should be allowed to have more than one wife. I believe that women should be allowed to have more than one husband, that women should be allowed to have more than one wife, that men should be allowed to have more than one husband, and so on and so forth (there needs to be a better gender-neutral word for 'spouse'). I believe that marriages should be equal partnerships and that there needs to be more centers for domestic abuse, whether or not that abuse takes place within a marriage. Celibacy isn't a bad thing, but no one should be made to feel like they have to be celibate (except for priests and nuns, but that's different - it's part of their job) or shamed for their personal choice of whether or not to be celibate. For myself, I see no real reason to get married but I believe that I should have the right to do so. What's the point, besides things like tax deductions? Being married doesn't make my love for my partner more valid, only legally recognized.
Now
It's pretty similar, but I do have something to say on arranged marriage:
Yes, it's an important part of some marginalized cultures and religions, especially Islam and Hasidic Judaism. And it was, and is, something that I'm ignorant about. Which is why I, as a white person who isn't part of a religion that practices arranged marriage, am going to stay quiet and in my lane about it until I'm better informed. I'm sorry for any harmful stereotypes I perpetuated.
I do actually kind of want to get married, though. Preferably to a woman. I would want to have an outdoor handfasting ceremony and maybe use Ruth 1:16-17 as my vows.
God:
Then
God is the Universe itself and the source of all life and love - God is love. God is completely gender-neutral, having no gender and at the same time all genders. They love everyone equally and infinitely and doesn't (I'm using the singular they here) discriminate based on religion, race, sexual orientation, gender, sex, body size, socioeconomic class, nationality, citizenship status, age, or disability but when someone senselessly harms another or feels threatened by what they don't understand, they distance themselves from God. I believe that God can be found in love and brought closer to humans through love, nature, sex, meditation, prayer, art, or friendship.
Now
Again, sort of similar. God, capital G God, the Holy Spirit, whatever, is a living, sentient, fluid spirit existing in and connecting everything. God is the universe itself.
Then there are the other gods. Aphrodite, Brigid, Osiris, Thor...they're powerful entities, doing their own thing and sometimes interfering in human affairs. You can pray to them, communicate with them, honor them, even worship them...but you don't have to. You don't even have to believe in them, what do they care?
LGBT:
Take a wild guess.
The Afterlife:
Then
I believe in an afterlife. I believe in ghosts, and in angels. I do not believe in hell - not the fire-and-brimstone variety; that was purely Dantean and I'm not even sure why so many Christians believe in that. I do believe that if there is a hell, it's simply the absence of God. As for Heaven, Heaven is like pure light and pure love, engulfed in the love of the God who loves us so much more than we could ever comprehend but seeks to expand us and not limit us. I also think reincarnation exists and that it's completely possible to remember past lives.
In my last post, I said I would describe my religious beliefs and how they've evolved since I first became pagan.
Sex:
Then
I'm very sex-positive, while also affirming asexuals and believing that asexuality should be more respected. I've never had sex and don't intend to any time soon - I want to put school first and don't have time for dating. But I hate, hate, hate slut-shaming and SWERF. The choice of whether or not to have sex should be a very personal thing, and that choice - made maturely and responsibly, with proper sex education backing up the decision - should be respected regardless of what it is. I also support sex work, believe that all people should have sexual autonomy, and that sexual autonomy should be respected. I'm very firm and inflexible on consent, and unless someone freely, enthusiastically, and maturely consents to sex, you don't ever even touch them in a sexual way, and the minute that consent is taken away, you back off. It doesn't matter if you were "just playing around" or some such BS. It doesn't matter if someone was drinking or had on a short dress or they're your romantic partner. Unless consent is freely, enthusiastically, and maturely given, you leave them alone - and if you don't, it's not their fault. It's yours, and you should suffer the same consequences as any other rapist.
Now
Okay, so there was my MOGAI phase...but besides that, my beliefs on sex and sexuality haven't actually changed a lot much. I'm a lot more kink-critical now, and as an Aphrodite devotee I see sex as more holy than I used to, but not in the same way as I did when I was Christian.
That is, I see sex as holy - a lot of Aphrodite devotees have sex or masturbate as a devotional act - but I don't think having sex tarnishes it. Why do we need some arbitrary, human-made ceremony in order to partake in a gift from an entity beyond human comprehension? Sex is a beautiful, intimate, spiritual, and pleasurable way to connect to our bodies, our gods (if we have them), the earth, and our partners. And for many marginalized people, it can be a way of radically loving and reclaiming our bodies and ourselves even while sexuality is used against us.
Marriage:
Then
Everyone should have the right to get married and to have it be called marriage, but no one is entitled to get married if not everyone has that option. I also think that no one should be forced to get married and I don't agree with arranged marriage. Unless you're the one actually getting married, you don't get to decide who is getting married to whom. I believe in divorce; what good would forcing people who don't love each other to stay married do? I believe in polygamy, but not only that men should be allowed to have more than one wife. I believe that women should be allowed to have more than one husband, that women should be allowed to have more than one wife, that men should be allowed to have more than one husband, and so on and so forth (there needs to be a better gender-neutral word for 'spouse'). I believe that marriages should be equal partnerships and that there needs to be more centers for domestic abuse, whether or not that abuse takes place within a marriage. Celibacy isn't a bad thing, but no one should be made to feel like they have to be celibate (except for priests and nuns, but that's different - it's part of their job) or shamed for their personal choice of whether or not to be celibate. For myself, I see no real reason to get married but I believe that I should have the right to do so. What's the point, besides things like tax deductions? Being married doesn't make my love for my partner more valid, only legally recognized.
Now
It's pretty similar, but I do have something to say on arranged marriage:
Yes, it's an important part of some marginalized cultures and religions, especially Islam and Hasidic Judaism. And it was, and is, something that I'm ignorant about. Which is why I, as a white person who isn't part of a religion that practices arranged marriage, am going to stay quiet and in my lane about it until I'm better informed. I'm sorry for any harmful stereotypes I perpetuated.
I do actually kind of want to get married, though. Preferably to a woman. I would want to have an outdoor handfasting ceremony and maybe use Ruth 1:16-17 as my vows.
God:
Then
God is the Universe itself and the source of all life and love - God is love. God is completely gender-neutral, having no gender and at the same time all genders. They love everyone equally and infinitely and doesn't (I'm using the singular they here) discriminate based on religion, race, sexual orientation, gender, sex, body size, socioeconomic class, nationality, citizenship status, age, or disability but when someone senselessly harms another or feels threatened by what they don't understand, they distance themselves from God. I believe that God can be found in love and brought closer to humans through love, nature, sex, meditation, prayer, art, or friendship.
Now
Again, sort of similar. God, capital G God, the Holy Spirit, whatever, is a living, sentient, fluid spirit existing in and connecting everything. God is the universe itself.
Then there are the other gods. Aphrodite, Brigid, Osiris, Thor...they're powerful entities, doing their own thing and sometimes interfering in human affairs. You can pray to them, communicate with them, honor them, even worship them...but you don't have to. You don't even have to believe in them, what do they care?
LGBT:
Take a wild guess.
The Afterlife:
Then
I believe in an afterlife. I believe in ghosts, and in angels. I do not believe in hell - not the fire-and-brimstone variety; that was purely Dantean and I'm not even sure why so many Christians believe in that. I do believe that if there is a hell, it's simply the absence of God. As for Heaven, Heaven is like pure light and pure love, engulfed in the love of the God who loves us so much more than we could ever comprehend but seeks to expand us and not limit us. I also think reincarnation exists and that it's completely possible to remember past lives.
Now
I'm not entirely sure anymore. Like...the concept of the Christian devil is definitely just fearmongering bullshit intended to make decent people think they're doing something wrong (i.e. by rebelling against injustice, having an abortion, having gay sex, not being Christian, etc.) and to give people who are actually sinful a separate entity to blame their actions on, as in "I didn't mean to rape that child, I was just being influenced by the devil and now you can't hate me because I repented for my actions in Jesus' name! :) :)"
But beyond that? I mean...ghosts and spirits, yeah, they're out there somewhere. But like...maybe they're just what happens when a spirit still has shit to do on earth. Then once that's resolved, they just move on. Their energy returns to nature or they get reincarnated.
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