heretic pride

thank you in advance! sorry this may be a big question

The first thing to note is that Zionists are by no means the authority on Judaism so don't let them tell you what you can and can't speak about.

Zionism has global implications so it's not just an internal matter. Zionists use that as a way to shield themselves from criticism. You can and should listen to both Jewish and non-Jewish voices that are advocating for human rights. So yes you can speak on Zionism because of it's impact on global politics and it's various human rights violations.

Yes Kahanism is extremely violent and extremist but so are many Zionists. Zionism is a 19th century nationalist movement for a Jewish homeland and it has achieved that through human rights violations and an ongoing genocide. Personally I have a problem with the idea that a homeland for me should come at the cost of Palestinian homes and lives.

Sure Zionism means different things to different people (most Zionists aren't even Jews fyi) but it's important to pay attention to whose voices are being silenced in the name of a nationalist movement.

Me: You know why evangelical Christians are pro-Israel, right?

My mom: No, why?

Me: Because according to the Bible Israel has to exist in order for the end of the world to happen. But they still believe non-Christians should and would go to Hell.

My mom: So they don't actually care about what happens to Jews, they only want them to start the end of the world.

I think sin doctrine is harmful. I think the concept of original sin is harmful. I think purity culture is harmful. I think hell doctrine is harmful. I think vertical morality is harmful. I think mandatory forgiveness is harmful. I think sin leveling is harmful. I think emotion and behavior and thought control are harmful. I think child indoctrination is harmful. I think believing you are separate from the world ("we're in the world not of the world") is harmful. I think isolating/insulating yourself from the world is harmful. I think believing this life is your "practice life" and your "real life" is in heaven is harmful. I think believing that you alone hold the one source of truth is harmful. I think spiritual bypassing is harmful. I think atonement theology is harmful. I think proselytizing is harmful. I think telling people that their thoughts, actions, emotions, beliefs are being monitored every second of every day is harmful. I think believing you are more knowledgeable than experts because you have an all knowing God on your side is harmful. I think believing you know other people's experiences better than they do because you have an all knowing God on your side is harmful. I think encouraging/requiring victims of abuse to put up with abuse because divorce is a sin is harmful. I think prioritizing faith over evidence is harmful.

I'm certainly missing things but this is long enough as is. And not every christian or church does or believes every single one of these, but none of these are one-off or two-off or even three-off things I've experienced. These are all patterns I've noticed.

You can say "the bible wasn't ever talking about gay relationships in [xyz] verses" but that doesn't make the average church actually safe and affirming for queer people. You can say "actually hell doesn't have any biblical backing" but that doesn't mean very much when like 75-80% of christians believe in hell. You can say "men and women are equal in the eyes of the Lord" but it doesn't erase the rampant misogyny in christian culture.

I grew up in an environment that encouraged black and white thinking. I grew up knowing to fear hell. I grew up knowing Jesus could come back at any moment and if I was sinning I was fucked. I grew up knowing that God had access to all my thoughts at all times. I grew up learning that all sins are equal to god, that lying is the same as murder, that having an unkind thought was the same as violence. And I grew up terrified of questioning things because questioning the lord and questioning the authority the lord put in place (church leaders and parents) was from Satan, and giving into Satan would send me to hell.

whenever anyone had a "better" testimony than me; whenever i thought about the words i stumbled over; whenever i felt like i wasn't a good enough christian so what if that was fraud (because don't you know, it is worse to be the lukewarm believer?); even whenever i felt like i was being a good christian (because if i am better now, then was i good enough back then?)