>>2412105Some things take time to realize, even when they're in front of your eyes when it's been what you were raised with. It's part of the gaslighting I talk about with Christianity. And I did figure it out before those 14 years were up but there was a period I stayed because I thought my church was having unique problems I thought I could help with. But I eventually realized both how systemic and built in the corruption is.
One of the big straws was when I watched the church council actively conspire to have the janitor Victor who was slightly mentally disabled (probably autistic but this was the 90's when that word just meant Rain Man to most) to take a leave from his job to apply for benefits because he'd have a better chance that way with the promise to bring him back when he got them. He really thought as I did naively that they were sincere in wanting to help him get a bit of a better life since surviving on a church janitor's wage was hard even back then.
But no, the very next week they brought someone else in and then all but pretended like he didn't exist when he came back. He got the benefits but they were nothing close enough to live on. He was homeless for about 15 years, living mostly in the woods and collecting beer cans and that's where he died.
Vic was a good guy, but as I said probably autistic and a little weird. The kind of guy who could recite the lyrics, release info, chart ratings etc of any song you could mention but other than that about smart enough to keep a church clean. They didn't care for that though, cause he was odd. And even when I asked various members they saw it as sad but not a single one showed actual remorse.
There were many others over those years amongst all the general politics and backstabbing, some objectively worse but that in particular really stuck with me.
>>2413005I too follow a tradition, an older one than Christianity now in fact. But my views on right and wrong are not based on feelings.
