People are fine with being disrespectful to Christians

[Flymetothezoom]

At a church playgroup. The people who run it are very devout Christians. I am taken aback, by the number of parents, who thought it was appropriate to bring their kids to the church dressed for Halloween. Kids are dressed as witches, goblins, skeletons, creepy pumpkins etc..
The church holds a light party every year on Halloween and is very clear that they do not endorse Halloween.

@Powderandpaint

Women (and men) should stop wasting energy trying to fight battles they can't win. If women want to have a career in the priesthood then most Christian denominations make that possible. So why get all upset about those few that have a glass ceiling? The same applies to medicine, law, politics. If you are good enough, you'll get there. (Having said that, it's amazing that the Labour party with all it's talk about equality hasn't produced a Prime Minister or even a Party Leader in all it's history?) Maybe Socialist career women should do something about that instead of whinging about perceived 'discrimination' in the church.

That mask is fully off then now, I see? Lovely.

"If you are good enough you'll get there" is a statement dripping in privilege and / or ignorance.

All of the major religions had a big part to play in slave trading at various points in history.

So you are fully in favour of any form of contraception that suits a woman? And pro choice?

@monsteramunch - I have seen Jewish posters very fiercely defend circumcision which I don’t agree with. But I do think some corners of Christianity has a special sort of victim complex. I always have Bo Burnham’s song “Straight White Man” in my head when I come across it.

@ReneBumsWombats It's great when women have a positive pregnancy/labour experience but I have to reject this idea that it's something we need to be so grateful for that we shouldn't see how it disadvantages and contributes to our oppression at a class level. I don't think I've ever known a man to envy it.

So you think being a mum is something that disadvantages and contributes to women's oppression at a class level?

Do your children partner/DH know how you feel about that?

Quite frankly I'm appalled by your attitude.

Are you pro contraception as a woman chooses, and pro choice?

@Powderandpaint

Oh and according to scripture, the pain of childbirth certainly wasn't a gift, it was a punishment...

A woman’s pain in childbirth is part of the suffering brought into the world through sin. As a direct result of the original sinn, Adam, Eve, and the serpent were all cursed in one way or another. Genesis 3:166 lists one of the judgments for Eve’s sin as pain in childbirth: “I will make your pains in childbearing very severe; with painful labor you will give birth to children.”

It appears that, even before the fall, there would have been some pain in childbirth. God says, “I will greatly multiply your pain in childbirth” (ESV), using a Hebrew word meaning “to increase.” The pain of childbirth would be more than before. The pain was amplified.

The pain in childbirth that Eve and all her daughters would experience involved more than the actual delivery of the baby. The phrase “painful labor” indicates that the whole process of childbirth, from conception to delivery, would include much difficulty.

This judgment from God was meant to be one that every childbearing woman would experience. Pain in childbirth was placed on Eve and on every future mother. This pain serves as a universal reminder of God’s judgment for the sin Adam and Eve brought into the world.

Are you pro choice? And pro contraception?

Apologies you're right on that one, I have seen some kickback re circumcision on here.

So you think being a mum is something that disadvantages and contributes to women's oppression at a class level?

You have but to look through Pregnant Then Screwed's website to know that this is something that actually happens. I'm surprised at your lack of awareness.

What? You've seen MN threads where atheists are as aggressive as the Westboro Baptist Church, who shout abuse at grieving families at funerals? Seriously?

It's very revealing when the mask slips

It is indeed - revealing, too, to see which questions are ignored

@ZoeCM What? You've seen MN threads where atheists are as aggressive as the Westboro Baptist Church, who shout abuse at grieving families at funerals? Seriously?

Yup, seen some nasty pots from atheists on here, fortunately they get pulled.

@ZoeCM 'demanding' in this case tends to mean 'asking for objective evidence of God's existence'. It's one you never get an answer to, and yet the theists state time and again that their faith is more than just belief, it's based on evidence. They never prodice any. They seem uncomfortable with the idea that their faith in a god is as much a matter of belief as an atheist's belief that there is no god.

I've met some atheists who were absolute assholes, but you don't tend to get atheists telling your DC (with tattoos and wearing Pride gear) that they are going to Hell. In every town I've gone shopping in, there's been at least one and often more.

There was never any mask to slip. It was always Captain Howdy.

Imagine having the balls to claim shock and horror that someone said reproductive biology is key to women's oppression, right after telling a woman she has no right to grieve over her birth injuries.

Wow! That’s just really unpleasant of you now. That is not what she was saying and yet you have twisted it. Aren’t you going a bit too far with your put downs of others who disagree with you?

I’ve had too many experiences of Christian privilege for me to have any respect for the religion.

I don't wish to be dragged into the argument, but the Westboro Baptist church always gets used as an example of 'intolerant Christians'. They're not Baptists, they're not even Christians - they think everyone who isn't a member of their weird cult is going to hell.

@pointythings You have but to look through Pregnant Then Screwed's website to know that this is something that actually happens. I'm surprised at your lack of awareness.

And I'm surprised that on a site that is supposed to champion motherhood I've encountered such a bunch of resentful, hard-done-by Mums.

And for those that asked I'm anti contraception and pro-choice. My maxim is that if you don't want a child don't have sex. Simple.

I think I'll go and visit some of the happy mums I know - I'm out of here.

Honestly? What are some examples of posts from atheists on MN that are as extreme as turning up at a funeral to abuse the deceased's relatives? I really don't believe you're telling the truth.

And let me guess, it's not rape unless she screams so loud that three men hear her in the next village...

So you're anti contraception and anti choice, and anti mothers having a place to discuss issues relating to mothers. And yet motherhood is never used to oppress women.

We've got a live one, guys. Do you think it's real? These people do exist...

Ah the classic 'these questions are too hard or if I answer them honestly I won't look very nice' flounce.

Not everyone who gets pregnant wanted to have sex by the way. But even then I'd wager you would think they were wrong to terminate. Not as easy to dismiss them with a 'simple' solution.

There's far more to fatherhood than ejaculating! A lot of women - horror of horrors! - don't enjoy pregnancy or childbirth.

You're "sorry I can't see" that women have other avenues to have power, so it should be okay for the church to discriminate against us? Do you think organisations should be allowed to have policies whereby no black people are allowed to be leaders? If black people objected to that, would you patronisingly tell them you're sorry that they can't see there are plenty of other organisations that would take them?

@Powderandpaint - I really think you need to re read some of what you are posting here and pray about it. I don’t mean that mockingly. If you genuinely believe that Catholicism is a force for good and you should model yourself after Jesus Christ who you believe preached loving thy neighbour, I think you need to reassess your behaviour. Show your priest some of the things you’ve posted here, I dare you. I would hope they would be rightly horrified. This is beyond nasty.