Post by BlackCat on Mar 9, 2015 0:27:38 GMT -6
Greetings, all.
After lurking on the forums since their inception, I have finally decided to register and introduce myself. You may call me Cat. I was uncertain of making an appearance here as I have not posted anything to the internet in many years, but was ultimately won over by everyone's jovial nature. Until recently, I was a relatively devout Roman Catholic who had converted to Christianity from a kind of Celtic polytheism, the religion of the household I was raised in. From what I have read here, this seems to be the opposite direction of most on the forum. I took the faith of my childhood with a great deal of severity, however, and did not view it as a very open tradition or something to discuss with others, particularly outsiders. I have since come around from that way of thinking, although I may seem more touchy on the subject than many (for which I apologize) and I think a large part of those feelings stemmed from my rearing in a region very heavy with conflict, especially of the "interconfessional" variety. Discussing faith, especially unorthodox faith, was heavily discouraged. Nonetheless, I am committed to changing this unproductive suspicion into a deeper, loving, understanding of others' faiths. Which is partly why I am here.
I have also, in the last year, begun to feel that my decision to convert to Christianity was motivated more by social acceptance and fear of persecution than honest piety, and so I am here attempting to reconnect with some part of the faith I turned my back on so harshly. Which is the other half of why I am here. My appearances may still be somewhat sporadic, however, as I have a deeply religious Christian significant other who is a very uncomfortable with my old religion, and so I only post at night when she is asleep (if only to be polite.)
That all said, I am looking forward to meeting you all and am happy to share a little about myself otherwise. I am a naturally nocturnal and reclusive person who lives a simple if austere lifestyle of prayer and contemplation, now isolated in the mountainous forests of Appalachia. I have taken a vow of non-violence in a formal capacity, which prevents me from engaging in aggressive debate, raising my voice in anger (physically or metaphorically, e.g. in writing), acting with intent to harm, or even acting in self-defense through violence or force, so I promise that my generally neutral to serious tone and strong emotions on matters of faith will not cause me to be confrontational, and are not signs of such. Since it is such a strict requirement, I almost never venture out into the open, even online, but I have been put at ease by many of the rules of the forum and the overt friendliness of the community. So I am trying not to hide from you all.
I enjoy poetry tremendously, although I am not the best at it, and my blog can be found here: manicpixiedreamcatcher.tumblr.com/. I also am very fond of animals, riddles, linguistics and languages in general (which I studied post-secondary) and it goes without saying that I deeply revere nature. I am perfectly content to waste the hours endlessly discussing the theology and spirituality of any religion or people, and my record (be warned, friends!) is eighteen straight hours. I will try to make sure never to go on that long in public. My English is a little formal and clumsy, anyway, I am told.
I grew up in an area heavily involved with Vodou, and I able to converse fairly competently on all major forms of the practice: Louisiana, Caribbean, and West African. To a lesser extent I am educated formally in Catholic theology, have a heavy fascination and respect for Islam (although I am much more capable with Shi'a, especially Twelvers and Seveners, than I am with Sunni or Ibadi Islam), and more relevantly have a "solid enough" understanding of various Celtic and Baltic polytheistic religions.
I enjoy talking about myself at times, since I get to do it so rarely, and am happy to answer any questions anyone might have. If it makes me seem more human or even less stiff (a problem I have), I also enjoy the girliest (and often trashiest) of indie music, live off of coffee, and can't ride a bike or tie my shoes to this very day. I have taken a second vow never to cut my hair above my ankles as a sign of faith, so just picture my tripping on it in excitement as I try to rush to greet you, if I start seeming too grim. My avatar image is a more accurate depiction of me than most will ever know.
That is all for now. I hope I did alright. Love to you all.
After lurking on the forums since their inception, I have finally decided to register and introduce myself. You may call me Cat. I was uncertain of making an appearance here as I have not posted anything to the internet in many years, but was ultimately won over by everyone's jovial nature. Until recently, I was a relatively devout Roman Catholic who had converted to Christianity from a kind of Celtic polytheism, the religion of the household I was raised in. From what I have read here, this seems to be the opposite direction of most on the forum. I took the faith of my childhood with a great deal of severity, however, and did not view it as a very open tradition or something to discuss with others, particularly outsiders. I have since come around from that way of thinking, although I may seem more touchy on the subject than many (for which I apologize) and I think a large part of those feelings stemmed from my rearing in a region very heavy with conflict, especially of the "interconfessional" variety. Discussing faith, especially unorthodox faith, was heavily discouraged. Nonetheless, I am committed to changing this unproductive suspicion into a deeper, loving, understanding of others' faiths. Which is partly why I am here.
I have also, in the last year, begun to feel that my decision to convert to Christianity was motivated more by social acceptance and fear of persecution than honest piety, and so I am here attempting to reconnect with some part of the faith I turned my back on so harshly. Which is the other half of why I am here. My appearances may still be somewhat sporadic, however, as I have a deeply religious Christian significant other who is a very uncomfortable with my old religion, and so I only post at night when she is asleep (if only to be polite.)
That all said, I am looking forward to meeting you all and am happy to share a little about myself otherwise. I am a naturally nocturnal and reclusive person who lives a simple if austere lifestyle of prayer and contemplation, now isolated in the mountainous forests of Appalachia. I have taken a vow of non-violence in a formal capacity, which prevents me from engaging in aggressive debate, raising my voice in anger (physically or metaphorically, e.g. in writing), acting with intent to harm, or even acting in self-defense through violence or force, so I promise that my generally neutral to serious tone and strong emotions on matters of faith will not cause me to be confrontational, and are not signs of such. Since it is such a strict requirement, I almost never venture out into the open, even online, but I have been put at ease by many of the rules of the forum and the overt friendliness of the community. So I am trying not to hide from you all.
I enjoy poetry tremendously, although I am not the best at it, and my blog can be found here: manicpixiedreamcatcher.tumblr.com/. I also am very fond of animals, riddles, linguistics and languages in general (which I studied post-secondary) and it goes without saying that I deeply revere nature. I am perfectly content to waste the hours endlessly discussing the theology and spirituality of any religion or people, and my record (be warned, friends!) is eighteen straight hours. I will try to make sure never to go on that long in public. My English is a little formal and clumsy, anyway, I am told.
I grew up in an area heavily involved with Vodou, and I able to converse fairly competently on all major forms of the practice: Louisiana, Caribbean, and West African. To a lesser extent I am educated formally in Catholic theology, have a heavy fascination and respect for Islam (although I am much more capable with Shi'a, especially Twelvers and Seveners, than I am with Sunni or Ibadi Islam), and more relevantly have a "solid enough" understanding of various Celtic and Baltic polytheistic religions.
I enjoy talking about myself at times, since I get to do it so rarely, and am happy to answer any questions anyone might have. If it makes me seem more human or even less stiff (a problem I have), I also enjoy the girliest (and often trashiest) of indie music, live off of coffee, and can't ride a bike or tie my shoes to this very day. I have taken a second vow never to cut my hair above my ankles as a sign of faith, so just picture my tripping on it in excitement as I try to rush to greet you, if I start seeming too grim. My avatar image is a more accurate depiction of me than most will ever know.
That is all for now. I hope I did alright. Love to you all.
I'm looking forward to your perspective as well!
