(October 12, 2015 at 9:32 am)robvalue Wrote: That's absolutely disgusting, I'm so sorry to hear that
What came first do you think, in her case? Was the book the rationalization for her bigotry, or did the religion turn her into a bigot?
She was raised very, very poor - - Tennessee peanut and cotton farm, barely scrapin' by - - her father was illiterate, violent, and liked his booze. Her Mother took the kids to church, where (I think) she found a way to think she was superior to others, instead of poor white trash. So the mindset was, from an early age, "if I just pray hard enough, read the Bible, and avoid all evil, I will go to heaven and the rest of these scumbags will go to hell". She never let go of that. It tore her family apart, but getting to heaven "pure" was the ONLY thing.
She never saw the "love your neighbor" and "do not judge" parts of Christianity. One of her favorite parts of the Bible is the Rapture. Then, in Revelation, where god is going to slaughter all of the non-believers, and she'll be there at his side, able to watch the blood rise up to the horses' bridles . . . oh won't it be glorious? (heavy sigh)
The scary part is that she's not unusual. The US Bible Belt and the South are full of people just like her.
"The family that prays together...is brainwashing their children."- Albert Einstein
