Posts by Matthew Kim88

Grace Barnes7 said:Hi everyone... Not sure if this is the right spot for school religious ed questions, but if anyone knows the deal, please let me know.

My kid is starting 3rd grade. She took religious education classes at school during 1st and 2nd grade. Since she’s hitting that age for First Communion this year, I went to the local parish to sign her up. However, the priest told me she can't do it this year because she needs to attend church-based religious ed for at least two years first. When I pointed out that she’s already done two years of it at school, he just said school classes don't count toward First Communion prep.
Is he just being difficult, or is that actually a rule from the Vatican?
I wish I could get some official clarification from someone in Vatican City, since it feels like every priest has their own set of rules...
Has anyone dealt with this? I'd love some advice or info...
Best,

That’s actually standard procedure if the parish runs its own classes during 1st and 2nd grade, so she can just do two years of church catechesis now and catch up with the younger group later...

Jason Ortiz5 said:Whether this fits here or not, the way religious instructors are hired and how irresponsible they can be toward principals really bugs me.

We had a situation once where a very "pious" instructor teaching religion would punish kids running in the halls by banning them from going to snack time. Since she didn't target my little girl, there wasn't much I could do, but it was such a dirty move to deny a kid a meal that, by the way, parents are paying for. Only two or three parents complained, and even then, it was pretty weak because they cared more about keeping good relations for the sake of grades. That instructor only left once they found her a "proper" replacement.

On top of that, school assemblies have turned into religious services. Half the content—choirs, short plays, essays, whatever—mentions Isis, deities, angels... My daughter used to love participating in school events, but since I forbade her from being involved in anything religious, her teacher just stopped letting her participate in anything at all.

I've already posted about kids being stuck hiding in the bathrooms during religion class. They got kicked out of the library because it was small and needed space for the younger grades. Then the principal chased them off the hallway because "there's a draft, they'll catch a cold." They couldn't go to Van because leaving campus during class is banned, the cafeteria was closed, and they weren't allowed in the locker rooms either. So, they were just left to spend 45 minutes enjoying a smelly restroom.

My girl is in high school now, but there's no way I'd let her sit in a classroom during religion class. There's always an alternative, and I truly believe the health guidelines and the SEC mandates are just convenient excuses for some principals to get rid of non-religious kids the easiest way possible.

If we're talking about something like a Christmas pageant, why is it such a big deal if there's religious content in it?
If your kid was happy participating in the play, why did you stop her?

Robin Rodriguez73 said:I find myself in complete agreement. In fact, I teach my own children quite seriously that religion is little more than a form of psychopathology. Is one considered mentally sound simply because they believe in Pinocchio? They will pass this same logic down to their offspring. Furthermore, I would argue that nations function under much the same pathological principles.

Both nations and religions are merely two invented human cults. They operate on the fundamental principles of a sect to maintain dominion over their followers. It is reminiscent of JonesTown, though perhaps without the collective suicide—at least for the time being. One can only wonder what might occur should some other entity descend from the cosmos.

These two cults have served as the primary instruments for nearly every war in human history. When people begin to unite, leaders incite conflict to ensure that such unity does not lead to freedom, thereby regaining control. Consider, for instance, how certain religious institutions operated during the 1940s, inciting slaughter and fostering hatred to prevent the restoration of former borders.

Moreover, the programming begins while individuals are still children; through rituals like baptism, they initiate the erasure of individual personality and freedom. The moment you are told who you are—without ever being asked—and instructed on how to think, the process is set in motion. This serves to stifle the development of individuality, ensuring one becomes a hollowed-out vessel, dependent and easily manipulated. Is this not, in truth, a crime against humanity? They provide only the information they deem appropriate, ensuring no alternative perspectives are ever heard.

Under the influence of sect leaders in JonesTown, entire groups ended up destroying not just themselves, but their own children as well. People are effectively destroyed the moment they are forced into a mold without consent—through baptism, through nationalistic manipulation, and through various other sectarian tactics.

No invented human cult could ever be placed above individual liberty and independent thought. Nothing conceived by man should be treated as sacred if it does not resonate with the individual. That is the essence of freedom: to remain anacionalan and an atheist.

This is how my family lives and how I instruct my children: to exist as free beings, unburdened by the shackles of the invented human cults known as nations and religions.

We should be teaching kids to respect differences and other people's faiths, rather than labeling everyone with a different opinion as a pathology.

Mark Cruz said:Yeah, renting a tent with a floor for just a few hours? Total waste of cash. Especially for an outdoor wedding...

Wow, you guys are actually the first people I've heard of who've had a wedding there! If you don't mind, give me the scoop. I was low-key stressed because I didn't have any info on the catering, and my whole family is super picky—they won't touch cold lamb... Plus, I felt like the space was way too massive. Worried the vibe would just totally dissipate?? I mean, that depends on the crowd, obviously, but it's hard to picture a party in a place with nothing but bare walls and pillars...
The guy from the Student Center told us that since there aren't many students hanging out in that wing, the insulation is fine, and noise shouldn't be an issue...

Wait, I just realized I posted this in the California thread... I wasn't actually in California at the Student Union, I was just at the restaurant near the Student Center where they don't have students sleeping nearby.😬

You could always rent a tent with flooring, though that’s definitely going to hit your budget a bit harder...

I went to a wedding at the Student Union once and it was alright, but since classes start back up in October, I'm not really sure if they even keep the venue open for weddings by then...

Mods really ought to stop disabling DMs, because there are times when you can't even ask why you got a ban or a warning since the messages just don't go through, plus all those threads about the local high school football rankings keep vanishing...

I don't think I've ever actually seen anyone get banned or even flagged on TMZ... I mean, I'm not sure if they even have those rules in place. You’d probably have to seriously screw up, like repeatedly doxxing someone, just to get hit with a permanent ban. Usually, the mods just drop by every once in a while with a warning and leave it at that. There are way too many lurkers watching anyway...

Rachel Jones8 said:But how else are you supposed to feel when your posts get nuked for supposedly
trolling or flame wars or whatever,
when you know damn well you didn't do any of that?
Or how do you feel when you suddenly get hit with 130 points, a ban, or a warning, and you have zero clue what was actually wrong with your posts, even though you followed the rules?
And so on, and so forth.
In my opinion, just because someone finds a post tedious doesn't mean they should get flagged or anything. ...Nobody's forcing anyone to read boring or annoying posts.
Just skip them.

She isn't even a moderator anymore 😁

Is it actually true that you get massive portions out in California, or is that just a thing in certain cities...