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#not to knock down any christians im happy for people who can find comfort and safety inside their religion
charmspoint · 2 years
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The older I get the more complex the relationship between me and god and religion becomes.
I was raised christian but my parents were never overly religious, my dad doesn't seem to care one way or another and my mom mostly seems to care in terms of 'we should be doing this' rather than 'i want us to do this'. I did all the religious kids things I was supposed to do until i was done with them in high school and then i only went to church twice a year when my mom insisted we should go, after covid started not even that. And I grew up like, a street away from the church, with nuns as my neighbors, playing on their grounds on the regular. They were all normal people so existence of extreme christianity did catch me a bit off guard, like how some people believe that evolution doesn't exist. I remember asking one of the nuns 'How come God created the earth if big bang happened' and she was like 'well the God created the big bang' n i was like 'oh yes makes sense amen.'
It was so easy to take as a kid and so hard as an adult.
Someone else once compared the relationship christians have with god as the one a child has with an abusive parent and the more i think about it the more i think thats correct. Why else would you say god would hate you if you did this or that? Why else would you yell he will send you to hell if you did that or this? If you create a child are you not tasked to love it, are you not tasked with letting it come back home even if it has done wrong? If I don't love and worship god in the exact way he orders me to, he won't love me. If I don't go to church each sunday, if i don't confess my sins, if i dont pray to his name he will cast me away as something unlovable.
So, why should I love something that can't love me unless i submit to it?
Why should I respect something and guards tenderness behind gates of rituals and worship?
Why should I earn to be loved instead of just being loved?
I think of my actual parents and I think how they always said that they might not understand every choice i make or the life i choose, but they will always support be in the pursuit of my own happiness anyway.
And that is love.
Love doesn't ask for worship before giving care.
I don't know if i believe in god anymore. I know I don't really believe in life after death. As scary as it is, I believe that once you are gone you're just gone. I don't believe in heaven or hell but I believe in love and memory. After I die I hope people will read my stories and find love and sorrow in them all over again. I know my family will remember me, I believe imprints of me will be left everywhere I go, with anyone I touch. And when everyone who remembers me dies and my stories are no longer read that won't hurt because I will not be there to hurt.
I feel like there is so much emphasis on rituals and the outside in the christianity. What does it mean to live in a god honoring way? Is the lady i see praying in front of an 'pray against abortion' sign living in a god honoring way. Is living in a god honoring way going to church and following the bible and saying all the right words and then turning around and telling children they will go to hell because they love someone of the same gender. Is tell someone they are unlovable by god living in a god honoring way? Is it not more appropriate to live kindly? To take care of those around you, to help where you can, to be kind to animals and respect nature. Is that not closer to honoring god then showing up every sunday and praying to god to change something about your loved one because you do not know how to love them in the way they deserve.
I don't know. I don't feel like I believe in god enough to want to honor him anyway. I believe in love tho and it saddens me that the religion that promises to be so full of it cannot persuade me to stay because it weaves love in such a toxic way.
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youtuberswithalex · 4 years
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hold on i found all of my old Christian music and im emotional, the nostalgia, so im just gonna do a react post--
first song was Hope is Coming by Nate Deezy and oh boy. oh boy. i met the dude and knowing how he talks and listening to his music. oh boy, he was kind of mimicking AAVE and it’s. not great to listen to now. the song is a bop music wise but. yikes
Overcomer by Mandisa. I used to BOP to this song and you know what? I still do. I saw her in concert and she was AMAZING
The The Earth Is Yours came on, which already was one of my favorites, and it was the cover by Gungor (or their original? I can’t remember) and I almost started crying because. Gungor’s music always made me feel really close to God, like He was my best friend. and now I kind of feel like I’ve lost a friend in stopping being Christian, and though I know I can still pray and stuff while still not being Like That, it just... hurts too much because it was so weaponized against me. I miss relying on Him for everything though.
Pause to get lunch
Good Morning by Mandisa and TobyMac. Hearing “top of the morning to ya” set off a visceral reaction to high five the air. also hearing them interact at the end is adorable
COME ALIVE BY CROWDER OHHH IT’S A BOP!!! 
YOUR LOVE!!! 
IS A LEMONADE
call me out by gungor?!?! how could i have forgotten this one!!!!! OH MY GOD AND I JUST REALIZED??? HOW RELEVANT THIS IS????? IF YOU TAKE OUT THE CHRISTIAN STUFF THIS IS STILL HOW I FEEL?????? CALL ME OUT WHEN I DO THINGS WRONG PLEASE
could i......... do a sanders sides animatic to this
WHITE MAN BY THE MICHAEL GUNGOR BAND. THE SAME BAND BUT A DIFFERENT NAME. THIS SONG NEEDS TO BE PLAYED TO EVERY CHRISTIAN WHITE SUPREMECIST. GOD IS NOT A MAN. GOD IS NOT A WHITE MAN. GOD IS NOT A WHITE MAN SITTING ON A CLOUD. GOD IS LOVE AND HE LOVES EVERYONE.
i just copied and pasted a link to the song on facebook jfkdlsjf pray for me (no pun intented)
Beautiful Day by Jamie Grace... I’m pretty sure I first heard this song on Veggietales? or maybe i freaked out when I saw it on Veggietales bc I already loved this song lmao. But it is still... you guessed it... a bop
i also just realized how much more diverse my music was back then versus now... out of the four artists I’ve listened to, half (if not 3 of them? i don’t remember what Gungor looks like) are POC. bruh current alex, I know all you listen to now is the RWBY soundtrack, but like. Diversify my dude
OHH HEAVEN BY GUNGOR??? THE CHILLEST CHRISTIAN SONG I ADORED
YOU ARE!!!!!!!!! CROWDER AGAIN
oh my god. oh my god jesus freak by newsboys. this song is fucking WILD to see in concert. the drummer goes up on a platform that goes sideways and starts SPINNING. while he’s going H A R D. also this song totally matches up with what i listen to now, style wise??
oh my god im getting dizzy from jamming to this one
R E S T A R T WE’RE GETTING ALL THE NEWSBOYS JAMS SUDDENLY
if anyone’s wondering what im doing as i listen to these, i’m currently checking out these artists’ twitters to see if they’re like... White Supremacist christians. Michael Gungor has made me happiest by blatantly retweeting and talking about the BLM protests, along with a tweet stating firmly that he accepts LGBTQ+ people. I knew I could trust this guy. I followed him. Crowder didn’t have anything blatantly for or against but he did make one post about not hating people using that one Dr Suess book, so like. he can slide for now but im not following him
DO LIFE BIIIIG!!!! JAMIE GRACE!!!!! THIS WAS THE ONE ON VEGGIETALES... WAS IT??? IT WAS AT THE END OF THE STAR TREK KNOCK OFF, I THINK???
OH BABY, FISHERS OF MEN BY NEWSBOYS
GO-O-O-O, GO-O-O-O-O
please be my strength by Gugnor? I don’t remember thohhhhh my heart i remember now
i used to harmonize to this all the time. it was one of the first ones i did that with :(
Steal My Show!! it’s pretty alright still. TobyMac didn’t really Get Me Worshipping like he did with a lot of other people, but I respect him at least-- wait let me check his twitter
alright i can respect him, he’s alright
Ah. Oceans by Hillsong United, AKA the song that every church-goer in 2015 hated because everyone played it every week. good reason to-- it’s really good still. are people still sick of it?? I remember holding my hands up to this a few times. and harmonizing many more
.......but oh man is it long. i do remember that now. eight minutes.......... why....... i definitely cried my eyes out and calmed down at conference one time during the length of this song
just realized that Jesus is a Friend of Mine isn’t on this playlist. Wow, Alex. Wow. What a waste of a Christian playlist.
THAT’S HOW YOU CHANGE THE WORLD
it’s so unfair that so many Christian artist put out That Kind of christian music, while Newsboys just. stole all of the talent. like come on guys spread it a bit. not EVERY song has to be a bop, you know /j
Speak Life by tobyMac. i... think im gonna skip this one jfkdlsj im just so not in the mood for this. He is definitely that That Kind of Christian Music style
LORD YOU ARE GOOD AND YOUR MERCY ENDURES FOREVERRR OH HOW WE JAMMED TO THIS AT CONFERENCEoh god it’s a live version and you can hear the Presbyterian Clap in the crowd
OH MY GOD MUSCLE MEMORY JUST BROUGHT BACK THE DANCE THAT WE HAD AT CONFERENCE OH MY GOD I COMPLETELY FOR GOT ABOUT THIS
i wish it brought back more than just the bridge before the chorus lmfao
alright skipping the rest of this because oh boy is it repetitive
STRONGER BY MANDISAAAA i forgot about this one omg. i loved this one, it used to be my Uplifting Song
Got another tobyMac and just skipped it jfkdsl
OH GOD’S NOT DEAD BY NEWSBOYS the movie was a lot of christians-are-oppressed propaganda but the song is pretty good still, i catch myself singing it sometimes still tbh
TRADING MY SORROWS?!?!?!?!? TRADING MY SHAME???!!!!! LAYING THEM DOWN FOR THE JOY OF THE LORD?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!? A BOOOOP
this was another one we had a dance for!!!! i remember this one more bc it was so much easier lmfao
HAPPY DAY!!!!!! THIS WAS MY FAVORITE ONE TO SING AT THE BIG MORNING AND EVENING MEETINGS AT CONFERENCE!!!!!! but this version is so slooooow but i couldn’t find any other version
....You Have Me. The song I always said that, when I die and go to Heaven, I’m going to find God and dance with Them to this song. Maybe, if They’re up there, we still will. This song gave me so much comfort in a time when I felt so alone.
I hope They aren’t mad at me for abandoning them. I hope They understand why I stopped going to church and listening to my parents about Them. That I remember who They truly are supposed to be, and that it’s not Them I left, but the church, and I struggled to disconnect the two. If They’re real... I hope they know that. And I hope They aren’t upset with me. I hope They know I’m sorry.
Fuck. I’m crying.
They DO still me. They DO still have my heart. But it’s the people that pretend to know Them that ruined me. I need to find a way to sever the connection. I want my best friend back. I miss Them. I miss being able to talk to Them about things and trust that They’ll take care of things and take care of *me* because They love me, no matter what my parents say, and They know who I am and They don’t love me despite that, but because of it.
THAT’S what I was taught. THAT’S the God I worshipped. Not the fake one the White Supremacists have taken hold of and ruined. The God that gave up Their only son to prove to us that They love us.
I don’t understand a lot about religion anymore. But I miss Them. I miss that comfort and love.
Fuck. Maybe that’s a good place to end this. If you made it this far, congrats! Thanks for coming on this journey with me. It was a long one. You’ve seen a piece of my heart that I’ll probably stamp back into the closet within a couple of hours lol
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mysmedrabbles · 5 years
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RFA Reacting to a Muslim MC
requested: twice by the same anon :P
a/n: note that I am not a muslim nor am i a hijabi, so if i get a detail wrong, im super sorry and please pLEAse let me know so it can be fixed!! :D this was really interesting to write, enjoy!! 
would you like to support this Muslim MC? want more specific WoC MC’s? buy me a coffee to support my dangerous coffee addiction so i can do em for ya!
warnings: n/a
-hyped mod alex
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Jumin
-his strong faith in Christianity was admirable, his ideals set in stone as he abided by them; but of course there was the smallest bit of apprehension in getting to know him, how would he react to someone with ideals different than his?
-he was never one to announce his faith publicly, he still isn’t, however he likes taking with you about your respective religions, sitting on the balcony of his penthouse taking in the cool night air,,, wine for him and Aryana’s Halal Cola shipped all the way from Montreal for you
-orders you the finest hijabs for you to wear, most of them custom made exactly the way you love them, elegant and refined. he also learns the level of modesty you tend to wear your clothes, buying you occasional stunning gala outfit that he knows you’ll both love and feel comfortable with
-you own the most stunning abayas
-absolutely takes you with him on his trips to the middle east. he’s an avid believer in learning about your own roots, and especially if you have family there, he’ll more than certainly take you, going together to see all the sights, take private tours of museums and enjoy life
-makes Chef learn specific halal recipes, and is more than willing to import any food you want from other countries that you cant get in Korea
-learns Arabic in about a year flat,, of course his Korean accent hits heavily, but its so sweet hearing him carefully pronounce sentences to your parents and or relatives
-on eid al-adha he’s aware of the old tradition to sacrifice animals and share with the poor, needy and family; so as a compromise he decides to donate 300 lbs of meat to various homeless shelters and soup kitchens. both you and him going down to help with transport, hand every box to the people, a sort of community service combined with observing a time old tradition.
-comes down with you to the night prayer at the mosque during ramadan, and even though he stays near the entrance and the garden out front, hearing the prayers coming from the inside and seeing all the people that you know and love around you, smiling and having a good time, it makes him happy
Jaehee
-she grew up catholic, lives catholic; but this isn’t to say she’s close-minded to other religions,, she always loves learning more, especially if its about you, who she loves with all her heart
-when youre cuddling, she likes fiddling with the edge of your hijab, just feeling the material and knowing you’re there makes any day of hers better, no matter how hard it may have been
-you being muslim doesn’t have much of an impact, she’s respectful to your beliefs, and even puts in halal foods in the cafe
-this is, of course, after months of her experimenting with different recipes, often finding her in the kitchen at midnight, flour on her face and apron dirtied, sleeves rolled up in a frenzy as she mutters under her breath 
-shes so proud to finally present the finished deserts and foods to you!!
-one time you used one of her woven silk scarves as a makeshift hijab when all of yours were in the wash and she almost cries seeing how pretty you are in her stuff (the scarf is yours now)
-always interested in your religion, and she likes learning the differences between the traditions she was raised with and the ones you were
-during Ramadan, the two of you keep the shop open later for anyone wanting to eat after the sun has set, figuring that no one had to break their fast alone if they didn’t want to
-she gets up very early to prepare Suhoor for you in the morning, a simple oatmeal with dates, blueberries, grapes, almonds and honey
-likes to read her own books aside you while you read the Quran and do your morning prayer, its often the most peaceful part of your day, just having a clean and quiet space as you both enjoy each others company while also doing your own morning routines
Yoosung
-sweet boy, he knows very little of,, well any religion to be honest, and outside of 10th grade history, his knowledge on Islam as a whole is quite limited
-always asking questions about your traditions
-he reads the Quran at some point, wanting to understand you better,, and even though it takes him a long time (mostly due to having to re-read the passages over and over again to understand what was going on), but he’s devoted to learning about your culture
-he drives/walks you to the mosque, but doesn’t leave,, he’s not sure if he can go in, so instead he opts to walk around the area, enjoying the park and waiting for you to come back out so you can walk/drive back together
-he learns so many recipes specifically for you everything from mawmenye, harira, and moroccan krsa to berber bread
-he loves spending time with your family, he loves the sense of community and the celebrations that take place in your household, specifically during religious holidays
-he legitimately cries when you eventually decide to go to Mecca, leaving for hajj, because he knows he cant be with you for around a week and a half,, he can’t help it, he’s so sad he won't be able to see you for more than a week
-he’s so used to stopping all gaming and quieting down devices during salah, that even when you’re not around he still stops for five minutes at the designated times, mostly out of habit, but it also serves as a break from working, studying or gaming
-Lisa,, lisa loves your prayer mat, always trying to knock it down from its rolled up position next to the couch and sleep on it, so instead yoosung buys her a smaller prayer rug to lay on and its the cutest thing you've ever seen
Seven
-although he’s always been the one to mention his own faith in Catholicism, he’s also the one to be most curious about other faiths.
-he likes hearing you talk about the way you grew up, specifically hearing you talk about Islam and asking questions about traditions and practices you have to do
- “wait y/n!!,,, are honey buddha chips halal???”
-if theyre not, he opts to buy pringles in bulk instead. hes going to binge eat chips and damnit he wants you to join him!!! 
-when it comes time for you to perform Salah, he makes sure that you have total peace, even stopping his typing for the duration, letting you connect fully with Allah and your spirit
-since theres little to no sunlight that appears in the bunker, he makes a simple little app that alerts you when the times of prayer come, pre-dawn, noon, afternoon, sunset, and night, using the bells that are primarily heard in mosques as the ringtone for the app
-if anyone dares to mess with you or insult you in any way, Defender of Justice 707 will send a nasty virus their way, because theres no way anyone is getting away with hurting his angel
-its canon that he knows Arabic, and often times, when you can’t go to sleep he’ll sing to you in the language, and although his singing isn't the best, focusing on the strength and passion in his words, the almost comforting way he sings, it sends you calmly to sleep
Zen
-incredibly respectful of your religion and the fact that you’re Muslim
-he sets himself to learn everything he can about your faith and things he might have to change or alter in his own life to be respectful of the way you live yours
-he cuts down on alcohol. a lot.
-this isn’t to say he stops drinking altogether but he certainly cuts down, only having a beer or two in the fridge for emergencies
-bursts in one day, phone in hand as he wheezes, leaning on the couch for support, “y/n ArE wE hALaL dATiNg Or?”
-if you believe that sex should be saved to be only after marriage, he respects that, if not,, well he respects that too
-WILL spend extra money on an abaya from serenity scarves as a gift, just for you being you
-his only goal is to make you as comfortable as you can be, and he Will Not Stand for islamophobic comments directed towards you, but in most cases he won't even let them reach you, cutting off interviewers before they can say anything with a stream of gushing about how perfect you are, and smoothly taking you to the other side of the room if he thinks someone is looking at you, shooting them a mean glare before looking back at you and smiling, whispering something to make you laugh as you guys walk away hand in hand
-respect is this mans middle name, he’ll meet your family the second you start officially dating, making sure to make a good first impression, the second, and third, and fourth impressions
-likes going shopping with you, and is constantly in awe of how stunning you can make anything look, going to the little middle eastern kiosk in the mall to buy food
-he’s such a shameless fan of those cute matching couples outfits, and his heart bursts everytime your hijab matches the colour or pattern of his shirt or jacket
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