About your sister: if your mother can influence her beliefs so can you.
About your frustrations: Don't generalize! Quakers are remarkably open-minded and believe in tolerance and are a "peace church." Episcopalians and some branches of Protestantism often take similar views. As to what "Christianity" teaches children it often depends on the personal beliefs of the one teaching. My mother attended church with relative regularity during some points of her life and was the most the most devout religiously of my two parents but always preached tolerance and so did my school as far as I can remember. "By the way, if you sin and don't pray for forgiveness, you'll burn in Hell. But if you love God and praise Him, you'll be happy forever in Heaven!" Its only ever really that simple with radical Christians. A good deal (so far as I can tell) believe that if one does good deeds then God will love them and support them regardless of one's faith in God. There are also so called "liberal Christians" which is a blanket term encompassing Christians who use Enlightenment-style thought in their approach to worshiping God. Note that as an agnostic theist with no deal of interest in any organized religion this is all based on things I have learned and remembered from early on in life.
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regna
(no subject)
Date: 2008-09-17 03:29 am (UTC)About your frustrations: Don't generalize! Quakers are remarkably open-minded and believe in tolerance and are a "peace church." Episcopalians and some branches of Protestantism often take similar views.
As to what "Christianity" teaches children it often depends on the personal beliefs of the one teaching. My mother attended church with relative regularity during some points of her life and was the most the most devout religiously of my two parents but always preached tolerance and so did my school as far as I can remember.
"By the way, if you sin and don't pray for forgiveness, you'll burn in Hell. But if you love God and praise Him, you'll be happy forever in Heaven!"
Its only ever really that simple with radical Christians. A good deal (so far as I can tell) believe that if one does good deeds then God will love them and support them regardless of one's faith in God.
There are also so called "liberal Christians" which is a blanket term encompassing Christians who use Enlightenment-style thought in their approach to worshiping God.
Note that as an agnostic theist with no deal of interest in any organized religion this is all based on things I have learned and remembered from early on in life.