Now I see why they call it "Ritual Child Abuse" - its not about laying a hand on the kid...

http://onlinejournal.com/artman/publish/article_717.shtml

That link has an article that tweaked my brain into seeing the horror I never could see, even though it happened to me. I knew it hit the nail on the head when 'my face got' wet without sobbing or even knowing I was crying.

It was that damn little 3-D plastic carving framed and hung on our wall in the living room that horrified me so much as a child.

QUOTES from link above:
"Depictions of psychological trauma and scenes of physical pain and suffering, gory torture and mutilation are primary in Christian iconography, as well as a “divine” masochistic “blessing’ in the flesh."

" Richard Dawkins accurately noted that “St Paul’s nasty, sado-masochistic doctrine of atonement for original sin” is, essentially, psychological and emotional child abuse: “Innocent children are being saddled with demonstrable falsehoods. . . . It’s time to question the abuse of childhood innocence with superstitious ideas of hellfire and damnation.” "

Thats only part of it, but its a lot. Jesus hanging from a cross with nails thru his flesh and blood dripping from the throny crown is the primary image of my childhood. I saw that particular image more consitently than any other "negative image" in my childhood, and we were not even Catholic.

Some now say that this could damge children. I know it scared me, since it was all wrapped un in the 10 commandments, which is all morality issues that I knew anyhow - right and wrong are obvious to all children from an early age, no teaching of it is needed in most cases. When it is "taught" we think we had it wrong, that we are evil and not to trust our instincts of what is right and wrong. Jesus, this tortured holy guy, will teach them to me instead.And we know where that will lead - to a cross and that halo of pain.

Whereas I had it right on my own, it is now forever screwed up by religion and the jesus message. This was ubiquitous in my little part of the world, all us kids were subjected to it and therefore could not relate it to our friends, and so it was re-inforced and even that much more unavoidable.

What I might have come away from my christian upbringing with was this: doing good will get you the cross, but I don't even know what is good. I don't know anything, not now, not since my most obvious personal sence of morality is not valid or validated. And OTHERS will tell me what to do and think, I cannot be trusted, and I cannot even trust myself.

Okay, so I am still somewhat confused about the manipulations in my childhood.
And that in itself is abusive.
And that is the christian tradition.
No wonder so many of us turned out to be warmongers - I wonder why I managed to find my morality and they didn't?

These images of the Passion, when show to kids, are nothing short of abuse. Adults have the option to avoid it, children didn't and don't. It doesn't take a movie by Mel Gibson to have the effect, a simple picture of Jesus on the cross will do, esp when backed up by a whole day dedicated to it every week.

Now, nobody here will agrue it, but putting this up on the christian forums won't be in good taste, and it will create conflict and hard feelings. I want a world with LESS of that. Religion is the primary cource of conflict, and it is time we got a real life.

So, anyone, feel free to copy this and put it to some christians to answer to it. I can't, I have no appetite for conflict today.

Karlin



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