§tèvë

Dec 2, 07 - 12:39 AM

Religion and stuff

Hi Andrew

First off, thanks for the thanks, but it was my honour to share your journey with you mate and you did all the hard work, but thanks, and good to have you here with us mate

I also went down the route of religion myself as a teenager, up there in Scotland, in fact (Hawich) and ED to name a few places.

I also did some investigations into the various sects out there and the damage caused by them demanding that you acted exactly as told, by their version of the bible.

Anyhow, I also saw that sex has played a huge part in religion, and its always been a negative part, in that men were not to have sex until married, which when you consider the sexual urges we have a teenagers and older, its a wonder we ever get off our backs and do anything else apart from wank off!

Because of the abuse i suffered, i was sexualised from a very early age and saw everything and everyone as someone who wanted to have sex with and if not, why not, wasnt i good enough, etc (twisted thinking brought on by the abuse that i mistook for love!)

For far too long we have been subjected to the religious thinking that because we are sexual, that we are dirty and should not fornicate or think evil thoughts, which is quite sick in itself, and we are told that our normal sexual thoughts are bad and evil, which in turn makes us think bad and evil thoughts!

Quite sick really, when the priests, church and whoever are telling us this, when behind closed doors abuse takes place in gods name.

As you can gather, I dont 'do' religion, so hope no one is offended by this, but thats my view on a twisted system that is there to feed only those who want to believe.

By the way, i still have great eyesight!

§tèvë

APM

Dec 2nd, 2007 - 5:23 PM

Re: Religion and stuff

Talking about religion? … interesting stuff from somebody like me that was abused by a catholic priest.
I am sorry to disagree with you Steve.
First of all, it seems to be that there is only ONE religion or ONE type of religious people. That is wrong.
There are many different ways of living and experiencing religion, as there are many ways of living other human experiences like Sex.
For some people Sex means child abuse, pornography, prostitution… a crazy road to personal degradation, in the meantime, others live their sexual life as part of adult, intimate, trusted and love relationships.
In my life I try hard not to reject friendship, sex, love and other good human gifts because one guy abused me when I was too immature to understand what was going on.
Therefore I am open to live and to experience the Love of God and I look forward to grow spiritually learning more and more what means to be Christian and what Jesus has to say in my life.
I can not deny that I feel the love of God.
I can not deny that I understand many things written in the Bible, which I feel were written for me.
Basically my today dignity comes from my experience of God and from the example of Jesus.
Of course I don’t have the same religious experience I had when I was fourteen. That is not only for my spirituality but for my body, my friends, my family, my work, my language, my view about this world and their false prophets… etc. Everything has changed, everything is changing for good.

Tom

Dec 3rd, 2007 - 9:30 PM

Re: Religion and stuff

The American survivors of priest abuse seem to have things really organised with Voice of the Faithful, (votf.org) www.bishop-accountability.org/ and www.snapnetwork.org/ (Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests). It was browsing one of these a while ago I came on some priest involved in getting legal justice for survivors and getting the church and the clergy really to own up and face the consequences for their shame, as well as doing what he could to help survivors. I emailed him wishing him well, and pointing out that though it was not a priest who assaulted me when I was a kid, the day I got assaulted I told the priest in confession that night and the twisted cunt gave me the biggest penance I had ever had in my life. Well I didn't use those word to the priest I emailed. He sent a nice little email back which actually meant a lot to me, some kind words on the subject after all these years from one of them.
I'm with both of you on this. If you have a route to the Divine whatever it means to you if it does mean anything, keep it open. It's a private matter. But for myself the organised churches and notably the Catholic Church has had its day in my life, and it was too long a day, telling me what I can and can't do with my own body, and five thousand ways I should feel guilty. I went back for a wee while after a long absence a few years ago. It was appropriate for me to try it again, and equally appropriate that it finally and peacefully made me realise that if there is a God my line to him isn't through organised religion.

Tom

Dec 7th, 2007 - 8:49 PM

Re: Religion and stuff

Just to add if it seemed I was having an easy swipe at clergy, a guy I greatly admire is Father Shay Cullen of the Preda Foundation, who has been helping and rescuing abused boys in the Phillipines for decades. A wholly committed man like yourself Steve doing his daily bit for the abused in another part of the world. The street children are thrown in jail then raped by police and adult prisoners. For those who don't know about Preda you can read about them at http://www.preda.org/home.htm Clicking on the donations section gives you an address in Solihull. It says there "We are doing everything we can to help get the kids out of the jails before it is too late. We are working to prevent them from being put inside by lobbying for new legislation, pleading with judges, prosecutors, and complainants to apply the existing law and give us custody of the kids least they be raped or abused in the adult cells. Small cubicles in the cells with curtains in the cells is where the small boys who cant fight off the paedophiles are brought and are forced to do it and are sexually abused."
Here's to Father Shay and the likes of him.

chris the kiwi

Dec 8th, 2007 - 7:24 AM

Re: Religion and stuff

hey steve told you I would get on here one day. loved the comment about still having your eyesight . I should have been as blind as a fucken bat. just want to say keep strong to everybody it gets better .theres a shit load of people in this world who just don,t get what its like to be abused. had an example of this steve when me an kenny went up to the police station for a thankyou afternoon tea for the work done by male survivors of sexual abuse trust . some people have it firmly entrenched in there heads that abuse victims will abuse it pisses me off

§tèvë

Dec 8th, 2007 - 10:28 AM

Re: Religion and stuff

Hey Chris

Good to have you with us mate, bet the weather in NZ is a lot better than here in the UK, as we are being battered with storms at the moment, and its PISSING down with rain!

Sorry to hear that someone still thinks that shit about survivors, but its their loss and twisted logic that thinks that way, because we know we wouldnt do that another child and cause him or her the pain and suffering we had to go through!

Those people will get message one day Chris, as we wont stop telling them until they do listen!

§tèvë

§tèvë

Dec 8th, 2007 - 10:33 AM

Re: Religion and stuff

Hi Tom

I've followed the work of Father Shay and the Preda Foundation over the years and have heard from others in the same area, saying what a great guy he is, and he was often being told to go away and leave the issues unmentioned.

Another guy who wont go away and stay quiet!

Maybe you and Andrew should get together one of these days, living so near one another?

Hope alls well with you mate

§tèvë

Author	Comment
§tèvë Dec 2, 07 - 12:39 AM	Religion and stuff Hi Andrew First off, thanks for the thanks, but it was my honour to share your journey with you mate and you did all the hard work, but thanks, and good to have you here with us mate I also went down the route of religion myself as a teenager, up there in Scotland, in fact (Hawich) and ED to name a few places. I also did some investigations into the various sects out there and the damage caused by them demanding that you acted exactly as told, by their version of the bible. Anyhow, I also saw that sex has played a huge part in religion, and its always been a negative part, in that men were not to have sex until married, which when you consider the sexual urges we have a teenagers and older, its a wonder we ever get off our backs and do anything else apart from wank off! Because of the abuse i suffered, i was sexualised from a very early age and saw everything and everyone as someone who wanted to have sex with and if not, why not, wasnt i good enough, etc (twisted thinking brought on by the abuse that i mistook for love!) For far too long we have been subjected to the religious thinking that because we are sexual, that we are dirty and should not fornicate or think evil thoughts, which is quite sick in itself, and we are told that our normal sexual thoughts are bad and evil, which in turn makes us think bad and evil thoughts! Quite sick really, when the priests, church and whoever are telling us this, when behind closed doors abuse takes place in gods name. As you can gather, I dont 'do' religion, so hope no one is offended by this, but thats my view on a twisted system that is there to feed only those who want to believe. By the way, i still have great eyesight! §tèvë
APM Dec 2nd, 2007 - 5:23 PM	Re: Religion and stuff Talking about religion? … interesting stuff from somebody like me that was abused by a catholic priest. I am sorry to disagree with you Steve. First of all, it seems to be that there is only ONE religion or ONE type of religious people. That is wrong. There are many different ways of living and experiencing religion, as there are many ways of living other human experiences like Sex. For some people Sex means child abuse, pornography, prostitution… a crazy road to personal degradation, in the meantime, others live their sexual life as part of adult, intimate, trusted and love relationships. In my life I try hard not to reject friendship, sex, love and other good human gifts because one guy abused me when I was too immature to understand what was going on. Therefore I am open to live and to experience the Love of God and I look forward to grow spiritually learning more and more what means to be Christian and what Jesus has to say in my life. I can not deny that I feel the love of God. I can not deny that I understand many things written in the Bible, which I feel were written for me. Basically my today dignity comes from my experience of God and from the example of Jesus. Of course I don’t have the same religious experience I had when I was fourteen. That is not only for my spirituality but for my body, my friends, my family, my work, my language, my view about this world and their false prophets… etc. Everything has changed, everything is changing for good.
Tom Dec 3rd, 2007 - 9:30 PM	Re: Religion and stuff The American survivors of priest abuse seem to have things really organised with Voice of the Faithful, (votf.org) www.bishop-accountability.org/ and www.snapnetwork.org/ (Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests). It was browsing one of these a while ago I came on some priest involved in getting legal justice for survivors and getting the church and the clergy really to own up and face the consequences for their shame, as well as doing what he could to help survivors. I emailed him wishing him well, and pointing out that though it was not a priest who assaulted me when I was a kid, the day I got assaulted I told the priest in confession that night and the twisted cunt gave me the biggest penance I had ever had in my life. Well I didn't use those word to the priest I emailed. He sent a nice little email back which actually meant a lot to me, some kind words on the subject after all these years from one of them. I'm with both of you on this. If you have a route to the Divine whatever it means to you if it does mean anything, keep it open. It's a private matter. But for myself the organised churches and notably the Catholic Church has had its day in my life, and it was too long a day, telling me what I can and can't do with my own body, and five thousand ways I should feel guilty. I went back for a wee while after a long absence a few years ago. It was appropriate for me to try it again, and equally appropriate that it finally and peacefully made me realise that if there is a God my line to him isn't through organised religion.
Tom Dec 7th, 2007 - 8:49 PM	Re: Religion and stuff Just to add if it seemed I was having an easy swipe at clergy, a guy I greatly admire is Father Shay Cullen of the Preda Foundation, who has been helping and rescuing abused boys in the Phillipines for decades. A wholly committed man like yourself Steve doing his daily bit for the abused in another part of the world. The street children are thrown in jail then raped by police and adult prisoners. For those who don't know about Preda you can read about them at http://www.preda.org/home.htm Clicking on the donations section gives you an address in Solihull. It says there "We are doing everything we can to help get the kids out of the jails before it is too late. We are working to prevent them from being put inside by lobbying for new legislation, pleading with judges, prosecutors, and complainants to apply the existing law and give us custody of the kids least they be raped or abused in the adult cells. Small cubicles in the cells with curtains in the cells is where the small boys who cant fight off the paedophiles are brought and are forced to do it and are sexually abused." Here's to Father Shay and the likes of him.
chris the kiwi Dec 8th, 2007 - 7:24 AM	Re: Religion and stuff hey steve told you I would get on here one day. loved the comment about still having your eyesight . I should have been as blind as a fucken bat. just want to say keep strong to everybody it gets better .theres a shit load of people in this world who just don,t get what its like to be abused. had an example of this steve when me an kenny went up to the police station for a thankyou afternoon tea for the work done by male survivors of sexual abuse trust . some people have it firmly entrenched in there heads that abuse victims will abuse it pisses me off
§tèvë Dec 8th, 2007 - 10:28 AM	Re: Religion and stuff Hey Chris Good to have you with us mate, bet the weather in NZ is a lot better than here in the UK, as we are being battered with storms at the moment, and its PISSING down with rain! Sorry to hear that someone still thinks that shit about survivors, but its their loss and twisted logic that thinks that way, because we know we wouldnt do that another child and cause him or her the pain and suffering we had to go through! Those people will get message one day Chris, as we wont stop telling them until they do listen! §tèvë
§tèvë Dec 8th, 2007 - 10:33 AM	Re: Religion and stuff Hi Tom I've followed the work of Father Shay and the Preda Foundation over the years and have heard from others in the same area, saying what a great guy he is, and he was often being told to go away and leave the issues unmentioned. Another guy who wont go away and stay quiet! Maybe you and Andrew should get together one of these days, living so near one another? Hope alls well with you mate §tèvë