I just got off the phone with my fundie sister. Yet another conversation that started off ok on technical Internet connectivity issues which turned out to be a bad router and then quickly devolved once the topic was turned (by her) to politics. Sigh. Then it went to religion and got worse.
She is depressed overall since for her the election was lost once McSame got the nomination. If Hillary is nominated my sister will vote against Hillary (for McSame, but she can't bring herself to vote for him.) She can't stand Obama and will not vote for him under any circumstances.
She is a typical Rethuglican fundie in that she would rather believe than think, totally believes anything they say on Fox News, knows all the verses in the Bible but doesn't seem to understand what the words actually mean, was on welfare at one point but now wants to pull the ladder up behind herself so no one else can "freeload".
I hate to make her sound like such a caricature but it is all too true. I actually started to get depressed when she defended Rupert Murdoch and corporations and profits. I asked the question, "What does it profit a man to gain the world and lose his soul?", and she then attacked me with "Don't quote the Bible at me, you don't even read it and it probably has dust on it." The dust part is true, but I certainly have read it.
I am what you might call a leftist fundie. I believe very strongly in God and His plan which is unfolding. However, unlike most of the Righty fundies, I undestand that what is in the New Testament is much different than what is in the Old Testament. God had a change of attitude, you might say, and changed all the old rules.
As I said, I started to get really depressed and I simply said, I love you, and hung up the phone, but it got me thinking, and I want to share this with everyone.
I believe that we will go to Heaven, and that we will be able to spend time meeting everyone up there and truly becoming a family together. In that spirit, I want to see as many people as possible, and ask them, "What was it that turned your life around? When I met you, you were headed down the wrong path, but you are now here and I am thrilled to see you. Please share with me what happened to make you realize that you needed to change.
I pray this for many people that I meet. I want to know what it was, whether it was something I may have said or done, or someone else with an inspiration in their lives.
For my story, I was in a dark period in my life many years ago, 25, stupid, wasting my life in many ways. I was pretty enamored of the Vampire Chronicles by Anne Rice, some of the most well-written books out there, to the point where I wanted to have one of the vampires take me away, claim me, and take me to the Dark Side. Literally.
And one of them showed up. This is not a joke so please read on.
I was laying in my bed, very late one night. I had a habit of keeping the room totally dark, all doors and windows closed, in a position much like a coffin with the covers tucked in tightly around me. A couple of nights previously, I had managed to somehow leave my body behind while I floated up through the ceiling, through the roof, above the house, looking around and very much enjoying the experience, and then I realized exactly what I was doing and SNAPPED back to my body, waking almost in a panic. I was frigidly cold for about an hour, but I was very excited that I had managed to do it and wanted to do it again.
Well, that eventful night, I was in my normal position, when I suddenly snapped awake and I KNEW that Something was in the room with me. I looked into the deep darkness across my small bedroom, and there was Something darker still staring back at me. It was something dark and terrible, and I knew that it had come for me. I stared back for what seemed to be hours, but I knew it was merely fractions of a second. I then understood that it was now my time to choose. I could go with him, and see and do things I could scarcely imagine.
I backed my body up to the wall behind the bed and yelled, "Jesus, protect me". I was terrified. Suddenly a bright glowing shield appeared in front of me and moved toward the Darkness. No sooner did that happen then it flew out the door. I felt the door open and close so fast I could not see it, but I felt the wind. I got up and ran out or the room, and I could still feel the air movement from the front door as well.
So I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that there really are terrible and monstrous things out there. You may think Cheney is bad, and it may yet turn out that he is one of Them in disguise, but this was the Real Deal. It literally scared me straight and showed me in no uncertain terms that I was making the wrong choices in my life. I think God gives us what we need. For my wife, she says she had a dream long ago where she was depressed and Jesus was in her dream. He lifted her chin and said "You are my princess." She got the positive experience she needed. For me, I needed to see the dark side up close and personal to realize the mortal danger I was in.
Anyways, to wrap this up, please try thinking about this next time you meet someone that you feel that you don't want to encounter or associate with again because we ARE our brothers and sisters keepers. Someday we can meet and swap our stories as true brothers and sisters, and tell of the greatest inspiration, or whatever the event was, in our lives that caused us to change our direction in life.
Peace.