I was mostly referring to Max getting a little bit personal towards Mags. I understand we are all different, as I said; and we all see things a different way, and I appreciate that massively. But I don't think personal attacks are necessary. Maybe it was just the way I read it.
(off topic)
No, MightyMax seems to hate me and everything I say. S/he always has. As for that dig about my ex (who I am firmly convinced has Don Juan Narcissistic Personality Disorder, a form of psychopathology), get over it. I broke up with him almost a year ago. It wasn't his "lifestyle" I objected to, it was his poor choices in whom to date, and how to date. Drama galore in that triad with the newbie poly married couple, jealousies, multiple breakups and reunions, the angst of which bled over into our time together-- bleh. I truly questioned his taste, not to mention his poly ethics, so realized we were not a match.
(back on topic)
We are not Christian bashing here. I get so bored with Christians who consider Christianity to be this protected monolith that should never be questioned. I am against a certain form of Christianity that is called evangelical/fundamentalist/non-denominational/Bible church. I mean, it's fine for the practitioners. Whatever gets you through the night, and all that.
It's when they insist on forcing their beliefs onto others who don't need it and for whom it doesn't resonate, and into politics, that I get pissed off and fight back.
I have read the entire Bible twice and read many of the most important books seven times or more. I laugh when fundies tell me, "Just read the Bible," and I will convert. Nope. And I know lots of Biblically literate atheists... formerly raised Christian, who took the time to carefully study the Bible and realize, while it is a valuable piece of antique literature, it doesn't really tell them anything about "God" that would cause them to become an evangelical Christian.
You might as well tell me to read Greek myths and instantly become a Zeus or Athena devotee. Or read Chinese lit and immediately bow down to Kwan Yin.
One thing I did do, that I found really exciting, when I was immersed in Bible study, was to learn everything I could about Asherah, the great goddess of the Hebrews, who was for hundreds of years considered Yahweh's consort, until Her worship was wiped out by King Josiah in 600 BCE. (The word Asherah is mistranslated "poles" in many Bibles, since her image was carved onto upright poles of wood.) You read of Her high places and groves in the Old Testament. She was usually worshiped outside, a god of the people. But her image did stand in the House of El (the Jewish Temple) in Jerusalem, for hundreds of years, as well.
The Levite nobility, and priestly caste, wanted everyone to quit worshiping their "foreign" gods (which were not foreign at all) locally, and come worship, and most importantly, tithe, in Jerusalem. This was a hardship to poor farmers, but the nobles told them God (Yahweh/El/Elohim) demanded it. The tithes were given to the upper classes, to eat (only the best "unblemished" livestock), to season their foods, to wear (only the finest wool), to accessorize their fine outfits with gold, silver and gems, so they didn't have to work the land. And the gold dishes the nobles used, the ivory embellished homes, the golden Temple vessels, all gotten from slaves and serfs, and in trade for the farmers' "sacrificed" fine wool, grains, and other goods. So godly!
Another aspect of the feminine divine I discovered in Bible study, was Sophia, a Gnostic spirit embodied in the 2 Marys of the New Testament. I think of her as part of the Trinity of the Christians. Shouldn't Christ have both a father AND a mother?
