Abuse. Trauma. Healing via Nature and the Old Gods

christianity

The Truth Apostolic Church in Madisonville, KY is having a very bad week. Not only did their pastor, Michael Orten, hire a convicted child rapist and put him on the “outreach team” where he (among other things) runs the Bus Ministry (which gives children a ride to Sunday School) he doubled down […]

UPC Pastor Defends Child Rapist: “It Takes Two To Tango”

April 17, 2016 in The Christian Cult tagged apostolic / christianity / christians / dishonesty / hypocrisy / oneness / preachers / United Pentecostal Church / UPC by admin

I was minding my own business this morning when this popped up in my Facebook feed: First off, I can’t believe anyone actually could believe that there is a “planned human sacrifice of our children” in this day and age. But not only does the original poster (a relative of […]

Christians Have Discovered Beltane

April 11, 2016 in The Christian Cult tagged batshit crazy / Beltane / celtic / christianity / christians / paganism / ritual / spring by admin

In the spring of 1970, a 17 year old girl in rural North Carolina discovered she was pregnant. She was terrified. The daughter of a church deacon, she knew there was no way her parents would allow her to keep the baby. And there was no way she could, even […]

Little Sisters of the Poor, Reproductive Rights and Donald Trump

April 1, 2016 in Recovering Right Winger tagged abortion / birth control / christianity / contraception / donald trump / little sisters of the poor / scotus / supreme court by admin

I have to say, I like Trevor Noah. No, he’s not Jon Stewart – nobody ever will be. But I’ve quite fallen for Trevor’s cool accent and innocent enthusiasm. The Daily Show is different, but that’s not necessarily bad. That being said… I was rather disappointed as I began catching up […]

Not Just Christianity: Oppression of the Hijab

January 21, 2016 in The Christian Cult tagged christianity / feminism / islam / legalism / oppression / power / sexuality by admin

So I haven’t darkened the door of my local UPC in over two years. There’s no way I’ll ever go back. Yet for some reason, at least half of the people on my Facebook friends list were church people. They’ve been dropping off steadily over the past few months, especially since […]

Finally Cutting Ties With My Former Churchmates

July 19, 2015 in My Pagan Path / My UPC Experience tagged batshit crazy / christianity / christians / hypocrisy / intolerance / United Pentecostal Church / UPC by admin

It was a beautiful night last night. The sun had just gone down and I was enjoying the silvery light of the moon, just reaching the first quarter of her waxing phase. Untill… (in your head imagine the sound of a needle being drug across a record) My phone buzzes. […]

Threatening With The Wrath Of God Is Still Bullying

June 24, 2015 in The Christian Cult tagged apostolic / batshit crazy / bullying / christianity / christians / intolerance / Lee Stoneking / preachers / Rev. Lee Stoneking / threats / United Pentecostal Church / UPC by admin

A couple sit anxiously in the ER, where their only child is being frantically attended to. As they fall to their knees in desperate prayer, the husband pulls out what he believes to be his biggest bargaining chip with God: “Heal our child, Lord. Work a miracle. My wife, this […]

Holy Magic Hair: How Fundamentalist Christianity Gets Women To Subjugate ...

June 17, 2015 in My UPC Experience / The Christian Cult / Trauma and Recovery tagged apostolic / christianity / clothing / feminism / hair / Holiness / individualism / legalism / Rev. Lee Stoneking / standards / subjugation / United Pentecostal Church / UPC / women by admin

In college, Western Civilization 101 pulled the rug of faith right out from under me. Growing up in the Bible Belt, I’d been indoctrinated almost by osmosis. It seemed obvious to me that since Adam and Eve had a one-on-one with Yahweh from the very beginnings of human history (since that […]

Everything We’ve Been Taught About The Origins Of Civilization May ...

June 16, 2015 in My Pagan Path tagged Archaeoastronomy / archaeology / astronomy / christianity / history / megalith / Newgrange / prehistory / solstice / Stonehenge by admin

I got a text from my Mother In Law last week. She told me that doctors had discovered a small nodule on her lung, that she’d had chest x-rays and a CT scan done and that she had an appointment today with a lung doctor to discuss. She may or […]

A Vent About Faith

June 10, 2015 in The Christian Cult tagged christianity / faith / tithing / United Pentecostal Church / UPC by admin

So over the weekend my Facebook feed (I promise I don’t live my life on Facebook, but it does give me lots of great article fodder) was littered with links to a particular article. It caught my eye because, for one, I saw it several times, but also because it’s […]

People “Backslide” For Very Good Reasons

June 1, 2015 in My UPC Experience / The Christian Cult tagged apostolic / backsliding / christianity / christians / intolerance / oneness / Rev. Lee Stoneking / United Pentecostal Church / UPC by admin

Ok probably not the ONLY fundamental difference, but this meme from my facebook feed today does sum up the core philosophical difference between Christianity and Paganism. At least, one of my very favorite differences. It’s not the singling out of women that bothers me here. It’s the idea that people are […]

Christianity and Paganism: The Fundamental Difference

March 16, 2015 in My Pagan Path / The Christian Cult tagged christianity / individualism / paganism / uniqueness by admin

When I joined the United Pentecostal Church, I was young. I had lost members of my family and in my grief was looking for something concrete. The services were exciting and the people warm and friendly. I jumped in with both feet, and before long was worshiping exuberantly and speaking […]

Red Flags I Ignored

March 14, 2015 in My UPC Experience / The Christian Cult tagged apostolic / christianity / conversion / Holiness / legalism / oneness / United Pentecostal Church / UPC by admin