The Cultural Christian Quiz I'm in a very weird position, which is why this whole discussion is both very important and very distressing, to me. People might have noticed that, first of all, I keep saying stuff like "I don't have the right to talk about that" or things that imply that I feel guilty for stuff. Like I go around with some kind of complex about being who I am.
Cause I do. People keep telling me I should take blame for stuff, so what else can you do?
I'm a white, American, evangelical Christian. There, I said it. Most people already know that about me though. I think, if I was a biological male, that'd make it even worse. At least I'm not rich, right? And at least no one in my family came over on the Mayflower (although, alas, one side did fight in the Revolution).
But see, that also puts me in a position to see, and
know exactly how clueless people like me can be. I'm watching you people with my mouth hanging open, unable to believe what I'm reading. I've said dumb, racist or ignorant things in the past, and I've even had the gall to say them out loud- but you people just keep
sticking to your belief that you haven't said or done something wrong here.
I'm shocked, amazed and baffled.
Especially since all you people so tenaciously defending Christmas are frequently the same people who regularly claim that you're not Christians, you're not religious, Insert Culture Here is Not a Christian Culture, etc. And now you're all popping up to talk about how important your Christian holidays are to you.
Where are all you Christians when I need you? Seriously. The one time you people ever show up to defend Christianity is the one time you
really shouldn't have. I find this frustrating. I talk and talk and talk, and I get into situations where I'm upset by things people are saying about Christianity and basically I feel like I'm all alone out here but oh no, someone comes along and says that they feel a bit left out by your
ficathon and suddenly you're all ZOMG You Shall Not Infringe on Christmas!
Of course, some of the people involved aren't Christians, they're neo pagans because Yuletide is the pagan half of the holiday. So neo pagans certainly aren't getting off scott free here either-smug, self rightous, Eurocentric anti Semitic neo pagans certainly exist too.
And of course I always find the third category of people frustrating and amusing- those who actually believe that there's such a thing as a secular Christmas, as if Christmas(or Yule if you're using the pagan pov) can be separated from its religious roots and that people who are neither Christian nor pagan should be totally happy to join in with your Christmas because it's "secular". Oh, you don't do baby Jesus and churches? You just do Santa? Watch me bang my head on the desk repeatedly and hand you some books on mythology.
Another thing that is giving me a chance to see life from the other side is my Neo Pagan beliefs/some of my stranger personal Christian theology. Mine are...different...than a lot of others, because most of the others, well, it's complicated. But I certainly do understand now what it's like to go to dinners and have people try to feed me stuff I can't eat. Or go to resturaunts and when I finally find something on the menu I can have, it turns out to have bits of things I can't eat hidden inside it, the chef probably thought it'd be a pleasant surprise. Or watching a movie where the chef did that to someone because it was "funny" and he "wasn't going to compromise his food for someone else's picky diet" (although, that's actually a bad idea whether the customer's reason is religious or just a health one. If you put cups and cups of real sugar in a dessert and served it to someone who had asked you to use sugar substitute and that person happened to be a
diabetic).
I've listened to pastors rag on my goddess- who is, btw, the only neo pagan goddess actually mentioned by name in the actual Bible. Then I listen to neo pagans ragging on my god, who is the only one they have permission not to pretend to be tolerant toward!
Yippie, I just can't win!
Now, here's a little quiz I made up to see if you're a cultural Christian or if you live in a culture of them.
( Are You A Cultural Christian?/Do You Live in a Christian Culture? )