Algernon D'Ammassa“We work for the federal government, not a church. I just want to go to work and make my country better — I shouldn’t have to suffer through sermons and other religious messages forced upon me by the head of a federal agency.”
kctiptonReligion and the Right to Be Left Alone - WSJ https://www.wsj.com/opinion/religion-and-the-right-to-be-left-alone-7cc4b803?st=2eV3uS&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink #religion #proselytizing #privacy #personalspace
NonilexExperts say in the 1990s, 20 years after the draft ended, the #military shifted to pull disproportionately from #conservative-leaning areas of the country. Then the terrorist attacks of Sept 11, 2001, pushed ideas of #religious #war into the fore. The Air Force Academy in the 1990s & early 2000s faced investigations & #litigation over allegations that #religious #intolerance & #proselytizing were rampant.
#law #Trump #Hegseth #Constitution #FreedomOfReligion #Evangelism #NationalSecurity #USpol
The #Army civilian, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they fear of being punished at work or fired, said limits that used to exist around #proselytizing have evaporated under #Hegseth. The situation, the person said, is “terrifying.”
If #troops are trained to believe that “God is on our side,” the person said, “what precludes us from doing anything we want to win? The strength of our #military is our people, & their sense of belonging to their unit & their service.”
And as chair of the #JointChiefs of Staff in the late 2000s, with #troops in Iraq & Afghanistan, Navy Admiral Mike Mullen kept Mass off his public schedule, aiming to keep the particulars of his Catholic faith private.
But those longtime norms are being upended by the #proselytizing #Christian campaign of #Defense Sec Pete #Hegseth, say multiple former high-ranking #military officials & experts on #religion & #law.
#law #Trump #Constitution #FreedomOfReligion #NewApostolicReformation #NAR #war
NateHow CRAZY that 2 accounts independently had the exact same thought!
Great! Are the god botherers coming to mastodon now?!
Matt DobbinsGood Morning! Greetings from Washington DC, and the White House!
I sent this to the hundreds of Jehovah’s Witnesses I was hiding from.
Good Morning!
It has been so long since I have talked to any of you, and to be honest, I was shocked that so many reached out to me to invite me to the memorial. Perhaps that was an indication of your love. This message is an expression of my love; for justice, ethics, and standing for the correct thing.
One of the things that woke me up and motivated me to leave was how in-depth the elders focused, obsessed, and oppressed those who were experiencing an LGBTQ+ crisis. I felt this personally, and I wish I had not been afraid to displease them.
Do not be on the wrong side of history. Do not allow someone who has no stake in the fight for authenticity to establish your feelings towards a world that you do not know, as they do not have the credentials to do so. And if you know these worlds and the hell that they can be, choose to be kind and show beauty and love. And even if you cannot do that, then just remain silent and do not add to the problem.
If you are facing an LGBTQ+ crisis yourself, know you are whole, beautiful, and loved. Attached are some pictures and links to my new family.
https://mattdobbins.com/2024/06/26/we-are-what-we-are/
I won’t bore you with what I have been doing in life, but know this: I have been building something beautiful and bigger since I left, and I don’t sit idle. I hope you have grown and improved since we parted ways. Your sons and daughters and loved ones will remember how you behaved, how you loved, and how your love is conditional. It won’t be forgotten by anyone.
Oh, and if any of you choose to invite me again to the memorial, it isn’t appreciated. Never do that again. I never even considered sharing my values back until you all reached out to invite me to the memorial. I realized I had just as much right as you do to communicate my truth. We can both proselytize and express our ideals, and that’s exactly what I have dedicated my life to now, in part because of my experiences with you. So thank you for empowering me even if you never intended to.
Goodbye, and please reevaluate your life. Perhaps in time, you will find that your ‘best life ever’ will change to ‘I thought that was my best life? Whatever!’
https://mattdobbins.com/2024/06/26/poetry-pride-united/
#Acceptance #activism #ArchiveWasPublic_ #authenticity #buildingANewLife #challengingNorms #communicationRights #communityImpact #communitySupport #diversity #EmotionalHealing #Empowerment #equality #ethicalChoices #Ethics #evolvingBeliefs #ExJehovahSWitness #expressingIdeals #FamilyDynamics #findingVoice #historicalPerspective #humanRights #inclusion #justice #leavingACommunity #LGBTQCrisis #LGBTQRights #LifeTransformation #loveWithoutConditions #PersonalEmpowerment #personalEvolution #PersonalGrowth #PersonalJourney #personalLiberation #personalReflection #proselytizing #reclaimingIdentity #reevaluatingBeliefs #ReligiousUpbringing #SelfDiscovery #selfExpression #sharingValues #SocialJustice #speakingTruth #SpiritualAwakening #standingUpForBeliefs #supportiveNetworks #unconditionalLove
Some Guy Extraordinairehaha. Facebook reminded me of this post from two years ago. I was in a #TerryPratchett group that was being overrun with Evangelical Christian spam. I took a couple of the spam posts and photoshopped them into something more appropriate for the group.
#gnuterry #discworld #proselytizing #evangelicals #christians
Gay CurmudgeonHalfway through this J.Lo sci fi romp, she discusses religion with a robot and the robot agrees there HAS to be a god. I switched to Youtube for the rest of the evening. Yuck. #atheist #atheism #goodwithoutgod #atlas #jlo #jenniferlopez #scifi #proselytizing
WIST Quotations moves again!A quotation from Hoffer, Eric:
«
Proselytizing is more a passionate search for something not yet found than a desire to bestow upon the world something we already have. It is a search for a final and irrefutable demonstration that our absolute truth is indeed the one and only truth. The proselytizing fanatic strengthens his own faith by converting others.
»
Full quote, sourcing, notes:
https://wist.info/hoffer-eric/9403/
#quote #quotes #quotation #conversion #fanatic #proselytizing #truth #validation
True Believer: Thoughts on the Nature of Mass Movements, Part 3, ch. 14, § 88 (1951) - Hoffer, Eric | WIST Quotations
Proselytizing is more a passionate search for something not yet found than a desire to bestow upon the world something we already have. It is a search for a final and irrefutable demonstration that our absolute truth is indeed the one and only truth. The proselytizing fanatic strengthens his own…