Sins of the Fathers

[greyfox]

What can you remember in your childhood being a "sin" as personified by your church or Christian people you knew?

Like I remember when women having short hair and wearing make-up was sure sign of whoredom.

[greyfox]

1. Oh... and....

wearing earrings and other jewelry was also bad for women... slutty.

Men had very little sin, though I recall that cufflinks once got a preacher ostracized!

[Left Is Write]

2. I don't have any recollections like that.

As far as I'm aware, short hair and makeup have always been okay in my church.

I can't think of anything specific.

[greyfox]

5. Well, just about anything....

is okay in todays church... I just want to know what USED to be sin that is not necessarily anymore. (And yes, I AM writing a book). ;)

[Left Is Write]

11. Oh. Well, you asked about childhood, and I can't

remember anything specific from my childhood. I do belong to a liberal church, though.

[Southpaw Bookworm]

3. Seeing a psychiatrist

Because there was no such thing as mental illness, which was a secular invention to explain away man's selfish nature. Either you weren't praying enough or didn't have enough faith.

Interracial marriage: Because of that biblical verse about unequal oxen being yoked together, and because WHAT ABOUT THE CHILDREN?!

Halloween: It celebrated Satan.

Women working outside the home: They were supposed to be at home making babies.

Divorce: Because no matter how often he beats you, it's still a sin.

Evolution: 'nuff said





:puke:

[greyfox]

8. Evolution

is still a mainstay no-no in most churches and with reason.

But yeah, I remember those others, too.. good stuff... more more...

[arwalden]

4. Masturbation. Dancing. Wanting To Be With Men.

Thinking about masturbation.
Thinking about dancing.
Thinking about wanting to be with men.

[One_Life_To_Give]

6. Going to Church without a Tie

[greyfox]

7. Hahahaha

How well I remember that one and, until the day my mother died some 8 years ago now, she made sure I had a tie on when I went to church! THAT was a definite no-no. Love it... thanks for reminding me.

[u4ic]

9. Everything

I grew up Catholic. It was a marvelous day when I shrugged off that church 20 years ago, realizing there was no hell, no big bogeyman in the sky watching everything I did and no 'sin' (in my view, what is called a sin is people creating problems for themselves and often others). Heck, even an arguement with my parents was a sin - but the priest never asked if anything was resolved, what were the problems, etc. Just "you're a sinner" and here's your penanace.

[greyfox]

10. Maybe we could....

remember some individual stories of when we were affected by th "sins" of the fathers i.e. those that the church used to feel were sins.

Anyone have a story?

[aWaKeNoW]

12. Dancing is bad...M'kay

[greyfox]

15. Oh my yes....

and I was Dance King in high school and he church was appalled! Then later came that movie "Footloose" and many were shamed -- but unshakable nonetheless!

[JVS]

13. I remember the brief order of confession, which we said at the beginning

"We confess that we are in bondage to sin and cannot free ourselves. We have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done and by what we have left undone. We have not loved you with our whole heart; we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves...."

The "left undone" part was a real kicker for me as a kid. I always wondered how many things were being left undone that needed to be done.

[greyfox]

14. I believe...

it referred to a lack of witnessing to others and reaching out to others -- if we did NOT do such things, we were said to sin "by omission".

[JVS]

16. I think it referred to much more than that

I believed that it refered to every deviation from what would be a good thing to do. Did we really need that dinner or could we have had bologna sandwiches and given the money to charity? Did Godparents remember the obligation that they accepted to properly educate the children. Particularly in conjunction to the loving the neighbors, when one stops to think about all the things one does for themself that it really brings to mind what could have been done for them and that often we don't even bother find out what they need.

[greyfox]

17. I doubt that...

but of course you know better than I what you FELT... but sometimes we overthink such things, don't you think? And maybe add our own little twist to it? Did someone from the church hierarchy TELL you that the "rules" included such or was that YOUR interpretation? (see what I mean at all?)

[JVS]

18. They never specified. I never asked either.

The text speaks for itself, I had no need to ask. It was just that at an early age I was familiar with a concept that sin was more than just running doing what is forbidden but also includes failure to do good things because it might be more convenient not to.

[greyfox]

19. And?

Do you feel that was wrong?

[Ekirh]

20. I remember....

Back when I took part in the Southern Baptist Church system... I went to a church concert, which wasn't really that bad, and two members from a visiting church started to dance. The Next day the reverend asked to speak to them, and informed them that dancing was look down up at the church, and requested they leave and never come back...

[yardwork]

21. My parents were unofficial Pagans so I didn't hear anything like that

But in my elementary school girls were never allowed to wear pants of any kind! This was in the 1960s and early 1970s. On snowy days girls were allowed to wear long pants UNDER their dresses at recess but we had to take them off when we came inside. I wore jeans to school one day and was sent home.

Even in my high school in the 1970s long hair was taboo. The principal used to hold a block of wood two inches long under the boys' hair. If the hair extended beyond the block it was too long and the boy was sent home.

[kitkatrose]

22. Women wearing pants. Actually,

that still exists, but not as badly.