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Daley
- Male
- Omega, GA
- United States
- Blog Posts (8)
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Daley!
Profile Information
- My URL
- http://myspace.com/mimiyeow
- About Me
- I was raised in a Christian 'Church of God' church.
The sect was actually called "Pentecostal Holiness".
Speaking in tongues, dancing and other mystical entertainment was a weekly experience for me. We were taught that this was a necessary step to really be close to god and have him speak through you.
We were put into a room on Sunday mornings to hear and memorize stories and verses. The women didn't cut their hair and they wore long dresses. No jewelry. The men couldn't wear shorts and couldn't have long hair. This was REAL Christianity. No filler and no fluff to make it look good to the world. The world didn't matter. It was all about Jesus. I wasn't even allowed to have sleep overs and we purposely lived outside of the 'city' to be in solitude.
I remember being a child and having frequent nightmares about going to hell. It seemed that there was always another step to take to be more holy. Once, I went to my parent's room and told them I had a bad dream. My father told me that it was Satan coming to me and that I should go back to my room and pray. Obviously, I walked back to my room shivering in fear.
In church, it was very common to be half asleep (unnoticed because my father would have surely snatched me up and taken me outside to the nearest tree branch for a switching) from a boring sermon only to be suddenly startled by a screaming lady running around the aisles of the church speaking in tongues.
The church mostly consisted of 2 families: mine and the preacher's. Needless to say, I was thoroughly brain-washed and basically taught to stay away from anything "ungodly".
Having said this, all of these people were good people. I cared for many of them.
I questioned religion more as I hit puberty and knew that my natural attraction to other men was not in my control like I had been taught.
You like what you like and that's that.
I was being taught to hate myself.
The idea of teaching that natural feelings are wrong really opened my eyes and made me decide that I would live my life in quiet and go to church as I was told until I was able to get away.
At one point, we had boot-camp weekends for a few months where we had to memorize pages of the bible and were forced to run laps around town following our preacher (who was a young obese man that was in his truck ahead of us) to learn discipline. If you didn't memorize correctly, your rights to sing in choir and sit with friends were taken away until you learned it. This was only done for the teens and young adults.
I didn't see anything wrong with this until years later when I decided to leave the church.
Needing something to believe in, I studied Judaism and was very attracted to the idea of Buddhism. I found a temple and practiced Judaism for many years.
My fall from grace came when I started college.
I was introduced to the world, traveled internationally and slowly things made sense to me. Just a simple look at history, mythology and genuinely learning how contorted the ego is made a big difference in my life and perspective.
I decided that stories of history are sometimes wonderfully interesting, but that the emphasis isn't on truth in mystical storybooks.
I have found happiness in atheism and the understanding that we actually have the control in our own lives and don't have to make up fairy tales to feel accomplished or important.
Right now, I am living with my partner of 6+ years and having an incredible life away from the horrible judgment of religion and it's people.
"I have found that the most religious people are the ones that know the least about their religion or any other." -Daley (Dale Staines)
- School/College/University
- Valdosta State University
- Age Group
- 22-30
- City and State (For Member Searching)
- Omega, GA
- Country (For Member Searching)
- United States
Daley's Blog
Randomly 3am
Posted on December 21, 2008 at 1:55am 0 Comments 0 Likes
-Warning: Nothing smart to say, just updating for my friends-
BREAK!
It is finally winter break and I have Brent (my partner) all to myself.
He has had tons of Xmas concerts (all secular) to conduct for the past 2 weeks and our time has been limited. We also swore off MySpace and the like (Yes, the Nexus) for AN ENTIRE WEEK along with TELEVISION (except for Sanctuary, Chase and Estate of Panic! - best shows) in order to stimulate creativity. We played games and baked… Continue
BREAK!
It is finally winter break and I have Brent (my partner) all to myself.
He has had tons of Xmas concerts (all secular) to conduct for the past 2 weeks and our time has been limited. We also swore off MySpace and the like (Yes, the Nexus) for AN ENTIRE WEEK along with TELEVISION (except for Sanctuary, Chase and Estate of Panic! - best shows) in order to stimulate creativity. We played games and baked… Continue
Culture Shock
Posted on November 27, 2008 at 4:54pm 1 Comment 0 Likes
I've just entered the Twilight Zone and I think I like it.
Big front porch, old and heavy woods, gas heater, built in storage closets, screen door and a Baptist Church across the street. A post office, sheriff station, privately owned market, barber and city hall all on one block; the only block. This is my new home.
I was raised in a small town and hated it. I was secluded from any friends that I might have had and knew little more about the world outside of the Wal-Mart.… Continue
Big front porch, old and heavy woods, gas heater, built in storage closets, screen door and a Baptist Church across the street. A post office, sheriff station, privately owned market, barber and city hall all on one block; the only block. This is my new home.
I was raised in a small town and hated it. I was secluded from any friends that I might have had and knew little more about the world outside of the Wal-Mart.… Continue
Abortion is wrong
Posted on November 8, 2008 at 6:35am 4 Comments 0 Likes
I posted a piece this morning on MySpace.
I woke up and ran to my laptop with the idea oozing from my ears.
Here is it:
Abortion is wrong.
I will accept any Atheist Nexus friend request with a smile.
We need more of us on MySpace.
I woke up and ran to my laptop with the idea oozing from my ears.
Here is it:
Abortion is wrong.
I will accept any Atheist Nexus friend request with a smile.
We need more of us on MySpace.
Brent (my partner)
Posted on November 6, 2008 at 1:15am 1 Comment 0 Likes
I was doing brainstorming exercises today for a piece that I'm working on and I couldn't turn off my brain. Hehe.
I was writing a mail to a friend and I lapsed into free-hand while trying to describe Brent. I decided to let it all leak out and blog that portion of it. You can notice how it turned from email to free-hand.
*********************************
I doubt that there is a kinder person on the planet. He gives and gives and gives and would never ask for anything.… Continue
I was writing a mail to a friend and I lapsed into free-hand while trying to describe Brent. I decided to let it all leak out and blog that portion of it. You can notice how it turned from email to free-hand.
*********************************
I doubt that there is a kinder person on the planet. He gives and gives and gives and would never ask for anything.… Continue
Daley's Photos
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Greetings, Daley! I'd like to invite you to a group where we talk about anything on our minds, Hang With Friends. :D
http://twitter.com/evasvobodova
Antisocial or shy? There is a difference, I think. I see antisocial as being hostile to society, but not necessarily shy or reserved.
I have had gay friends, but over the last 8 years or so, I have lost a lot of them due to one thing or another. Though I live in the heart of the gay community here, I do find it terribly hard to meet guys and make friends. One, I am not as superficial as a lot of men. I am also not into gay culture or pop culture. Additonally, we live in such a consumerist, attention-driven culture, that most people want friends who they can leech off of for reasons of popularity, or money, or social status, etc. That is not a motivating force for me. I like genuine friends who are intelligent and interested in other things besides Cher or hanging out in bars.
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