Last night we were invited to attend a church's Christmas pageant, starring children. While the kids were adorable... and they were... the preacher thought it a good idea that the children do the story all the way back to the angel telling Mary she was knocked up and then the angel telling Joseph, "Hey, don't leave her. She's having my baby, but it's cool." (Okay, not in those words...)
I just thought to myself... what in hell is this preacher trying to do to these innocent little babies? Making them spew shit they don't comprehend? Hell, I'm sure most of the adults in the pews didn't know those things, either, nor did they 'understand' them through the mumbling voices of those kids... so to what purpose?
I noticed though, when the preacher did talk, he wasn't dressed in something of a clerical manner and he kept insisting on Jesus and if you didn't know Jesus, you should and if you don't think you should, why not... and so on and so forth. And that right there just turned me off to this guy. His wife is a lovely woman, but him... blech.
Scary thing... so many people in this world long to garner comfort from religion, not fear and that's all it seems the church and it's clergy want to instill... fear. Why? Isn't the world frightening enough? I know this Nativity certainly was.
Churches, preachers and deacons ALL have to do better and stop acting like they're the only ones who understand God and His wants... because everyday they're just losing more and more people, innocent, frightened people who really need some sanity in their lives.
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