akje: Plain beige icon (Background)
[personal profile] akje
I wish I could have used these quotes in my book, but there was just no room for them:

■ Tristan confronts the pastor:

"I don't know how you can call yourself a Christian. That word means follower of Christ, you know. Jesus as the Christ is the only official mouthpiece of God in the Bible, no one else. Wherever there's contradiction in the Bible, and there's plenty of it, then it's His views that trump all others. Maybe Solomon thought it was a good idea to beat the shit out of your kids, but Jesus said do not harm them. I can't fathom why you'd want to encourage your flock to follow the teachings of a cruel, sinful, worldly king who fell out of God's grace and turned his own son into a hated, vicious tyrant instead of following the compassionate teachings of Christ, but you, Pastor, are everything that's wrong with religion in America today."


■ Eve tells Naomi:

"The pastor said the PTSD was my fault, that is was caused by my refusal to forgive my assailant. That if I'd just forgive his moral lapse, then the nightmares and flashbacks would go away. Fortunately I found a good therapist later who told me the pastor is a freaking moron."


■ Naomi tells Nevaeh:

"I don't understand it. No matter how much I submitted to Mike, it was never enough. He just lost even more respect for me and took advantage of my servitude. I was never anything to him but a tool he used for whatever he needed at the moment: a cook, a maid, a hooker, a servant. Submission doesn't work. Marriage without love doesn't work, and love without mutual respect means nothing."


■ Eve tells Naomi:

"We need to stop rewarding people for having so many kids. They should stop getting tax credits after baby #2, and with baby #3 they should start paying penalties. If we punish people financially for excessive breeding in this overpopulated country, maybe quiverfull thinking would die out."


■ Tristan to Hope:

"Why would God let people be born around the globe into different faiths if they were going to go to Hell for believing in those religions? It was so convenient for Christians to be born into the correct faith, but what about all those other people? Does God create junk? If he created Hindus, Buddhists, Muslims, atheists, homosexuals, etc. then He must treasure and value those things. Why would he damn a good Muslim person to Hell yet reward a serial killer who happened to be Christian?"


■ Eve to Naomi:

"I had a serious problem with the church downplaying the important things in the Bible and emphasizing minor points instead. The submission of women thus became as important as the Commandments or the Crucifixion, and even superseded the instruction of Jesus to treat others as one would like to be treated. When you prove the pastor wrong with scripture, he just says you're using the wrong Bible."


■ Eve to Naomi:

"The pastor acts as a counselor for the congregation, but never takes complaints from the women in the parish seriously, especially when they complain about abuse and rape. When I was raped, he made me feel like I deserved it and was to blame for it. What an ass."