Forum Thread: "How To Prevent Being "Under Fire""

I found a really good article on how to handle a situation in which you either want to come out of the "broom closet" or are some how outed. It's well written.

It can be found here: "How to Prevent Being "Under Fire""

Now, there's one issue a member of this forum raises. An assumption made by fellow co-workers that an individual is not Christian because they failed to participate in daily prayers (one, it shouldn't be made mandatory because unless it's a religious organization, religion should remain out of the work place), and an attempt at conversion. How does one deal with this situation.

Well, it's fairly simple. First (in a professional manner, not ranting and raving) you inform the employer that it's against the law to force your employees to participate in religious actions. Second, inform them that attempts at conversion is considered harassment and they can be put up on charges should it continue.

This isn't a case where the victim is to blame. This is a situation in which the victim needs to stand firm on their rights under the Constitution or Charter and KNOW their rights and enact them. While you may fear repercussions for filing a complaint, what's worse...being continually harassed to the point in which you need to quit your job (and the employer wins their harassment), or stopping the problem in it's tracks and preventing a similar issue being done to someone else.

If it's illegal for an employer to ask you your religion in an interview, it's illegal for them to harass you for lack of conformity to the popular religious belief in the work place during the course of your employment.

If you have an issue like this...research your rights under the Constitution or Charter of Rights and Freedoms, research the laws, and make copies to give to your employer. Make a report, and keep a copy, and if it continues, bring up with the employer the possibility of charges being made.

You can't bow down and conform if you're really true to your beliefs. If it really bothers you, do something about it. Don't complain!

Catholic Pope and Acknowledgements of Modern Topics

I'm thoroughly impressed with this latest Pope in the Vatican. While I remain faithful to the idea that the Vatican shouldn't be this gold filled place where the pope lives, dressed in his Godly-finery...the most recent Pope sheds new light and gives me new hope for the faith of Catholicism.

Now, I'm in no way considering re-joining the religion...I find too many hypocrites, and disjointed beliefs among the followers. However, in light of recent events, this Pope has made tremendous strides to gain back the trust of the pubic. For example...one of the latest announcements he made is his acceptance of homosexuals as God's creatures. While the bible may have an excerpt that says it's sinful to have a "man lay with another man", you cannot deny the fact that people DO live this way and are just as deserving of God's love as anyone else. No one is above another; no one is more Godlier than another. We all forget that Jesus hung around with the undesirables. Who are seen as undesirable these days more than Homosexuals (and unfairly so).

Another recent announcement is the acceptance of Evolution!! Whoa! That's an enormous step for the Catholic religion! Being Christian in nature, they tend to believe in Creationism (at least that's how my grand-in-law's believe). But evolution need not be in contrast to the Christian belief in how we all got here. The bible more or less says that humans **poofed** into creation: "So God created mankind in his own image..." --Genesis 1:27. It doesn't say that they started out in a puddle of goo and grew from there. In fact, the whole chapter and subsequent chapters since dont' say anything about HOW they formed other than God formed man from dirt.

Could this now be interpreted that we came from the ground...from the formation of the earth, evolved from sand, microbes, or even goo, to amphibious animals, to mammals, to a subspecies, to cro-magnon, to neanderthal, to what we are today??

My dear, ignorant neighbor believes that evolution says we all **poofed** into existence (clearly she didn't pay attention to science class when she was in school...no where does "evolution" teach that we all **poofed** into existence). She also is the type to teach her children that the sky is blue and the grass is green, all because "God wanted it that way", not because blue is the dominant color that breaks through the atmosphere when the sunlight hits it, and that the grass is green because of chlorophyll. She's against this Pope's ideas that evolution could be true...and chooses to misinterpret the bible in her own way (which is not surprising to me (She's also Christian-Reform,not Catholic)).

It's an enormous leap into the 21st century for the church to acknowledge these basic ideas. Naturally there are those who are rebelling against these ideas (even within the Vatican itself). Perhaps God is TRULY speaking through this man trying to get humanity to understand that we are NOT as bad as misinterpreting people have made us out to be, and is trying to get us to see that we are meant to be the way we are, and using the Pope to get that message through. And just like the Jewish priests in Jesus' time who rebelled against the idea of Jesus, the bishops oppose this Pope's ideas too.

It's been a while since I truly admired a leader of a religious group (that I am not a part of). I hope he continues with his crusade of halting the hate because we are all different, and denying basic common sense. I hope he doesn't let the nay-sayers push him around into retracting anything he's said, and remains faithful to these ideas.

"Holy Love" and the Problem With This World

I frequently receive emails from a family member of my husband's from a site called "Holy Love", in which messages are sent in the guise of either Mary, Jesus or varied Saints. Each one is...interesting in its subject matter, to say the least...for the most part (at least lately), it discusses the corruption of today's world leaders and how we all must "submit to the will of God" (insert finger down throat and commence gagging).

But the latest email I received (cuz I skim through them in case I might find something interesting I can blog about) made a point in my head (and not in favor of the message).

The message (and it can be found here) talks about how religion is no longer used for spiritual satisfaction, but as a tool of terrorism, and how going back to the "will of God" is the way to dispel this terrorism. Now, the point made in my head is...this is EXACTLY what messages like these are doing to the world, albeit in a calmer manner than say ISIL or Al Qaeda.

Making claims like "Our way is the only TRUE way" or "the only RIGHT way" makes them as bad as the groups you condemn. Christianity has ALWAYS maintained that they are the right and only way, and the only true religion following the true God. ISIL and other extremists make the EXACT same claim, only they are doing it in a more terroristic fashion. Look at what the leader of ISIL (cuz I won't call them ISIS, lest I get a tongue lashing from Isis followers, ugh) said. The latest "message" I heard from the extremist leader was to "kill" all "unbelievers", and they're using those poor journalists as an example (my sincere condolences to the families).

Christianity is no better. An excerpt from "Holy Love" states:

          "Dear Children, these days, you are seeking human solutions to spiritual problems. Whole nations worship false gods 
          [something these religions also say about Christianity's God] and make violence into a religion".

First of all, this "Holy Love" site fails to recognize their own religions history, as they made their own religion about violence in the first hundred years of its beginnings...look at the inquisitions and trials they've participated in and started against "unbelievers". People were executed for heresy if they didn't believe in the Christian God, now they condemn those who are doing exactly the same thing. If there's a bigger example of hypocrisy, I haven't seen it.

          "You can convert the hearts of those who believe and obey corrupt leadership"

Forced conversion through prayer. Pot, this is Kettle. Kettle, this is Pot.

          "unless you pick up your rosaries and engage Satan in battle, grave consequences await you"

Sigh. Trade one religion with delusions of grandeur with another. The only way our world will EVER be a better place is when these religions STOP trying to make everyone believe in and practice their religion. This religious tug-of-war is getting exhausting and has been going on for centuries. Christianity is the right religion...for CHRISTIANS. Islam is the right religion...for MUSLIMS. Paganism is the right system...for PAGANS.

Everyone believes differently. That's what makes this world diverse. Our individuality and our ability to trust what's in our hearts. Telling everyone what they need to do and who they need to believe in destroys that diversity and the uniqueness that is human. If there was only one God, then we would all be worshipping it right now. There would only BE one religion in the world and we would all be it. The reason there are THOUSANDS of religions in the world (some popular, some completely unknown) is because there isn't ONE God.

Please, for the sake of humanity, stop being so VAIN and let the worlds population be as they are. Stop converting people, stop condemning people, stop judging everyone because the judgement will come back to visit you one day, and you're not going to like it. You have the freedom to believe in who and what you want. Don't take that freedom away from others just because you don't agree with them or what they believe.

Freedom of religion and spiritual belief is for everyone...not just certain religions!!



"Holy Love"
http://www.holylove.org/welcome.php