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You know, in this article, I hardly know who to believe. I want to side with the gal being sued, because I know churches and their patrons to be like the articles says they treated her, but then another part of me says "you don't know the whole situation...maybe it was really bad"

Still reading into the article a little more, it's kinda got me shaking my head. It reminds me too much how I believe religion is killing itself by being too overly controlling over it's patrons. XD I did a bit of a test when I  had to move back to the town I graduated in, and when people asked me why I wasn't in church, I'd tell them I belonged to a different religion every time I was asked. I have a great interest in religions, and know quite a bit about the one I was confirmed and raised in for most of my life, but it sickens me to see people who take advantage of other's spirituality. It's even worse when people get shunned from a congregation because they don't agree with everything the priest says, or don't agree with every aspect of the religion. I personally believe that no religion is 100% true. No religion. And that learning about all the different ones can help you to be closer to whatever religion you follow.

I grew up in a christian community, about an even split between Baptist, Methodist, and Catholocism. I was confirmed in the catholic church. Most of the churches there taught nearly the exact same things, the only major differences being how they did their mass. The churches were very seperate, however. Kids weren't taught to hate other religions, but there were taught that changing your religion was a serious affront to God. I knew very little about the other churches in town because of that mindset. I didn't hate anyone, but it seemed odd that I only saw a few of my classmates at church functions (I won't say I wasn't naive.)

I used to keep an eye on the news quite a bit after 9/11 and I remember reading all sorts of horrible stories about how people were being treated horribly because they were muslim. I never knew too many muslims, meeting more online as the case would be, but I felt bad for all the people wrongly accused for a crime they never committed. Then you would hear stories about priests holding burnings of another religions sacred book. It was disgusting all around. I remember doing a report in highschool on Islam. It opened my eyes a bit more to how extremists can take one aspect of their bible and throw out all the rest. I knew all religions did that, but it just made it feel more real to me. Also at this time, we were having trouble with priests in my church. The priest at the time had something against my mother, thoug I can't remember if it was something she said to him, or if it was a sister who had a problem with her, and she convinced the priest... might have been a bit a both XD; Anyway, she was the DRE (director of religious education) and she was forced out of her job there, despite the fact she turned the entire program around, making sure everyone had the supplies they needed and running the program on much less money than the DRE before. She also kept alot of the gossipers out of the offices there by moving the key to get in and not telling anyone where she put it...that's right XD that's why the Sister hated her XDDD;;

Mom held a grudge against him, because he abused his power to get his (or someone elses) way. It may have not been the right thing to do, but I couldn't blame her at the time. The situation which caused her to leave I was present at, and they completely blew it out of proportion and lied about. Mom refused to go to church after the incident, at least until we got a new priest and sister. The new priest was a nice guy on the surface, but the longer and longer he's there, the more and more twisted he becomes. the first thing people noticed is how he hates kids. he also has a tendency to spend the church's money on personal things (like a new car, his two dogs, lots of nice stuff for the priest's house, including tvs and other expensive electronics) He also had a, "I'm right, no one should question me" mindset towards the entire congregation. I had been confirmed and was done with my religious schooling before alot of this went down (thank god) but the priest ended up chasing away nearly half the congregation. Many sent messages to the Bishop over the area and when the priest started getting chewed, he in turned ripped out the congregation, pulling his "my way or the highway" baloney... many chose the highway XD;

It's sad to see a religion crumble like that, but that's what made me realize we should have the opportunity to question our religion. It's also kind of tragic how churches treat those who do. What angers me most is religious figures abusing their power.



XD; anyway, I really didn't come on to do a religious rant, though it seems like that's exactly what you got...


As far as the comic, I got one page nearly done XD; sad to say, it'll be rougher than the rest, but it's an improvement over the first try at it, and definitly an improvement over the current first page XD; like I said before, some of the characters grew a personality and perpose since those first pages were put up, though it might not be apparent in the first few pages. I'm struggling with the "show don't tell" part, but hopefully I'll get better at that as time goes on.



Genius is more often found in a cracked pot than in a whole one.
E. B. White

The surest sign that intelligent life exists elsewhere in the universe is that it has never tried to contact us.
Bill Watterson