Some not so progressive things
I'd like to add the caveat that I'm still very much a pro-choice, liberal-leaning, queer and gay affirming, progressive Christian, quasi-socialist, corporation-hating, anti-billionaire, hairy dyke. I have not consumed any right-wing media or tradwife/tradcath SSPX content. I still think the Catholic Church and many other denominations should make more apologies and reparations for slavery and colonialism. Churches like mine should own up to the evil it has caused, and not water it down or drown it out with whitewashed histories of the good things they brought. The Catholic Church absolutlely has to make recompense for centuries of blood libel against Jews and creating fictional saints used to further promote antisemitic hate. I think AI is the tool of Satan to make us brain-dead, uncritical, and reduce our free will. Billionaires and their stupid data centers are the bane of all human existence.
With that being said, I have been seen some posts on my feed that have gotten under my skin. I would rather not get into debates or get into fights with people with whom I disagree with. This is my confession post about things that would probably be considered "conservative," or at the very least not progressive.
1/ I hate gambling. I hate it. I don't like poker. I stopped liking gacha games. I think I shouldn't have to pay for the chance to win the digital art piece that I can't even put in a frame and hang on my wall. The lottery is a scam
2/ I don't like communism. I don't like Karl Marx. I don't think his thesis is provable and I don't like him as a person. I think the idea of a utopian society where people take care of their problems collectively and the concept of money, race, class, gender, etc. ceasing to exist at all is just that, a utopia. It's not because humans are inherently greedy, it's just I find it hard to believe that we can evolve into a society where no one is greedy and we all look out for each other and think about the common good. People will always fight over stupid things like land and resources. You can't fix a world that is broken. It is good, but it is broken.
3/ I like folk Catholicism. I like folk saints. I don't like, however, Santa Muerte. Venerating death as a saint is not my vibe. I don't believe people who venerate her are evil or pagan, it's just, can I be honest? It can be a little off-putting to me. I tried venerating her once, did not enjoy it. It feels idolatrous in a way. Death is a concept, unlike other folk saints who were at least once living, breathing humans. I saw a post about "Mother Death" wrapping her arms around Jesus when He was crucified while Mary was helpless, and I feel that does a great discredit and disservice to the Mother of God to shunt her to the side like that.
4/ Casual sex has always confused me. Before I started spiritually searching and long before I was baptized, I never understood casual sex. Sex is awesome! Sex and orgasms are good! But I can't help but feel that if you're going to have sex, it should at least be with a partner you've known a while. What's the point of one-night stands? Temporary sexual pleasure sounds so boring. What is so fun about risking pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases, and having sex with a stranger or friend with benefits? I don't personally get it. I don't mind couples moving in together, just maybe abstain a while before marriage, even if it's just common law marriage? I think living together is great practice for marriage, but if you plan on raising a kid, it should be done if you're planning to get married or already married so there's legal channels to prevent a partner from running away from the life created. Gay and lesbian couples should likewise stay loyal to their partners, whether married or not. Chastity isn't the burden some people say it is.
5/ Doing good deeds because we're commanded by Christ to love our neighbor and wanting to go to Heaven are not opposite. You can and should have the desire for both. Another post I've been seeing argues that we don't need heaven and we should make heaven on earth by doing good things. Don't even atheists do this? Heaven is obviously not a reward for good deeds, the price of admittance into Heaven was already paid for by Christ's death on the Cross. We have the ticket, but in order to travel there we have to honor God not just through loving our neighbor but also through prayer, meditation, fasting, and attending Sunday Mass (or service, whatever you call it in your denomination). We were literally made for Heaven and everything on earth is but dust compared to being one with God and wrapped in eternal glory, a merit we cannot earn for ourselves. It's frustrating to see such posts arguing that Heaven is attainable on earth just by doing good things and we don't need to worry about our afterlife. What even is the point of Christianity if it's focused on earthly deeds?
6/ I disagree with christopaganism. I'm sorry, but for me you're either pagan or you're Christian. It's confusing when you choose both. Christianity opposes the idea of multiple gods that could be worshipped and I don't think ancient deities from the Greek pantheon, for example, are somehow manifestations of the True God. Folk beliefs and practices are one thing, the veneration of deities alongside the Holy Trinity seems to me a bad mix. 'Thou shalt have no other gods before Me' and all that jazz.
7/ There is such a thing as being too open-minded. If we let in every single idea, then any sense of cohesion, tradition, or ritual becomes a moot point. I can appreciate someone's belief that Jesus might have been trans or gay. They might be right. I believe that the Holy Spirit goes beyond gender, but could manifest in both the feminine the and masculine. But you have to draw the line in the sand somewhere?
8/ I still believe in a form of hell for truly unrepentant sinners. It's not a fire & brimstone place, just the complete absence of God, which to me at this point in time, feels like torture enough. People who truly do not hate their sins and do not believe they can be forgiven are cut off. God cannot force Himself on them, no matter how much it pains Him to see them unwilling to accept His forgiveness. I don't think Hitler would have felt sorry for the millions of deaths he caused, and frankly I would not want him in the same place as Mother Mary or my grandpa. Yes, God is infinite in His Mercy and we should hope Hitler and people like him had a sliver of remorse for what they did, but God is also the God of Justice and punishment should follow, either here or the hereafter. People who do not know God are shown mercy because they didn't know Him through no fault of their own.
9/ This one is more about my experiences in Catholicism. People need to start dressing nicer and modestly for church. I don't mean in a sense of covering up head to toe and women shouldn't wear pants. I mean to dress better than a pair of basketball shorts and a t-shirt for Sunday Mass unless that is all you have or you're in a hurry. Time and place, people! Mass is supposed to be beautiful. Don't you want to look nice for Jesus? If you're poor, like me, put on whatever is cleanest or looks the best. If you're rich, dress below your means so you're not flaunting your high-end clothing.
10/ I think polyamory is reinventing polygamy. I'm sure there are many polyamorous couples who get along splendidly with each other. I'm sure that they resolve their problems amicably. However, I think there's a reason why we can't go back to the kind of relationships our ancient, pre-historical, hunter/gatherer, early humans had. We simply do not have the same environments or lifestyles and we're too tainted by monogamy to fully go back to that lifestyle.
