This post is likely to be offensive. I don't want to argue with you, so if you are easily offended, just keep scrolling. I'm not here to make enemies, I'm just here to flap my gums, let off some stream and such. I love many Christians, I think there are beautiful parts to the faith, I'm all for acceptance and coexistence and if you know me you know that already. Cool? Cool.

But I'm starting with the mum stuff.

So, I had this amazing mum date today. It was just so great. This chick goes to my gym and for months has been all watching me when I'm not paying attention and wanting to get to know me, because I'm one of very few pregnant chicks who go to the gym and apparently that's inspiring. Anyway, then she discovered I'm mates with one of her friends, because we ended up at a two year old's birthday together. We made some small-talk, I was desperately uncomfortable, she said she wanted to be mates, we didn't exchange numbers. Let's just forget this ever happened, right?

Wrong. I might live in the city, but this suburb is totally smalltownsville. So I've bumped into her a few times, always when I'm unprepared. We make small talk, and then I run away. The last time this happened, I was leaving the gym with Bec, and this chick busts her arse trying to hold me in the conversation. And I really wanted to... I wanted to so bad!... but I panicked, made an idiot of myself and ran away. Shame Miriam. Shame. Anyway, when I got home I contacted our mutual friend, explained what happened (because I just upfront tell people I have mad anxiety issues these days. It saves time and trouble.) and verified this chick's name with her - because I'm horrible at both names AND faces. Honestly, I can get off a plane and be looking for my own sister in the crowd and not be 100% sure I'm approaching the right person. It's awful. I think maybe the panic from being in a social situation leaches all the blood out of my optical nerve or something. So I add this chick on facey and that's the limit I'm able to go for trying to make this work.

Luckily, she's got the persistence of a stalker, and we made a date for coffee today (Thank you facebook!). And she's amazing. We've got enough in common that we never ran out of things to talk about, she's generous and well mannered and not annoying at all. Awkwardly though, she's like "I keep trying to talk to you, and you always seem really friendly but at the same time like you really don't want to talk to me." OH the shame! All I could do was be honest about it and hope she didn't think I was a freak. If she does think I'm a freak, she was nice enough to just laugh it off and pat me on the back. I wasn't even weirded out by the unsolicited touching! So I'm trying to ask her out on one of my days off next week. Fingers crossed!

So you know what shits me about Christians? They equal parts assume that everyone believes in the same thing they do - and that they are special snowflakes who are the only people that believe what they do. Come on now, you can't have it both ways! They have this massive victim-minority thing going on there. Dude, you're not a minority of anything. There are whole countries where your religion is the dominant one. Any time someone says "God" be it in a religious context or a curse, it's your God they think of first. Sometimes your God is the only one they have even heard of. Your religious celebrations are the basis for the largest public holidays nation wide. Whilst people might lack the finer nitty-gritty details, most people have a general grasp on what you believe in, and it forms the basis of our legal code. They pay me more to work on a Sunday because of you (Thank you, by the way. I am genuinely grateful for this contribution to society. I also like your heavenly music.) and when our laws do slide away from the tenants you hold dear EVERYONE hears about it. Loudly. It's also super easy for you to meet other people who believe the exact same shit you do. There's a place you can go one day a week - your GPS is pre-programmed to know where it is! - where you will be embraced by other kind souls who also think they are better than the rest of us. So, stop with the martyr thing. No one is buying it.

But just because we have heard of your God, and you, and your beliefs - doesn't mean that A) we share them or B) you're right. That's the great thing about faith. You can swing your holy-scripture-penned-by-man around all you like, but you can't actually prove a damn word of it any more than I can prove that I spoke to the Goddess the other day and she did me a favour. And unless you can prove it, shouldn't you kind of stop ramming it at everyone like it's a fact?

I think this is all coming to a head for me for two reasons. Firstly because during gym time with my sister she talks about her faith a lot. We're good like that. I understand Catholicism, and I support her. She has a grasp on Wicca, and supports me. She doesn't tell me I'm going to hell, and I don't tell her she'd be happier without all that catholic shame. It's a good system. But at the same time, she does forget that her faith isn't the only one, and that faith doesn't apply to people's lives in the same way. Like last night when we were busting it on the ski machine, she was talking about how having faith helps her with some things, like forgiveness and moving on, but makes it harder for other things like "What do I have to do to prove to God I'm worthy of a pregnancy?" and I joked "See, that's where my faith differs. I don't have to prove anything, I just have to get naked and drink a lot of wine!" - Mood restored! The great thing about Wicca is the Gods don't expect you to take yourself or them seriously. Anyway that's OT.