Um... first of all I'd like to point out something that a few people have already touched base on for you here. The Raptor Jesus thing isn't something that was made by Gaiaonline itself. Raptor Jesus was created on 4-chan & became a long running internet meme almost two years ago.
Oddly enough, its still popular among those of the interwebz culture. Being that Gaia is a website inhabited by many of the interweb culture, it is almost a sure duty that they use it in light of the situation.
What's more, they're not really making fun of the religion itself so much as they're poking fun at Harold Camping. Who, by the way, didn't say that the world was going to end on May 21st. He said it would be the first Judgement day. The end of times is supposed to be on October 21st 2011. Still, lets not forget that he's predicted the end of the world before... several times before. One of which I remember very clearly, September 1994. He wrote a book titled
1994? which scared the s**t out of hundreds of people across the US of A. When nothing happened, Christians suffered a lot of losses (including myself) but he made more than a s**t ton of money off of it. The guy is corrupt, using religion to make his funds & then hiding behind the good deed mask of his religion. Don't defend him & don't get offended. Its pointless on the internet anyways. Everyone is just going to either bash or ignore you.
I get what you're saying though, there are plenty of people who just go on saying harsh things about religion without actually knowing anything about it. Or, better yet, they know little & cling to it while beating it with a stick as if it were chock full of candy. Even better, they just don't care how deeply you love your religion. I may not be Christian but I've faced the discrimination before myself, mostly from Christian believers & Atheists alike. I'm of Nordic belief & heavily follow in their ways of worship but I'm not about to blind myself with rage every time someone makes a harsh joke based on almost nothing or when anyone that tells me my beliefs are wrong. Does it upset me? Yes, to the core because its something very important to me & I apply my religion to my life every day. But sometimes you have to just learn to roll with the punches & understand that not everyone is crimping on your freedom of religion on an uneducated bias. Granted, that may be the case several times over for some arguments you'll find yourself in but its not always the case. I myself am very well educated in Christianity, thanks to the majority of my family being Christian in belief. I respect that full heatedly, but its hard to respect a religion when several from the same group are constantly bashing you for going against their flow. Its happened to me hundreds of times before, Christians telling me that I'll go to hell if I don't change my religion & repent. I do have a strong bias against them because of the population of Christians I have been around, but I understand that not all who follow that religion are the same. I believe in giving people a chance no matter what they are.
Which is why I get just as pissed off when Atheists or any other belief/religious group decides to jump on the band wagon as well. Every group does it, forcing their ideals down other people's throats & trying to force them to choke it down with a bar of soap. We single each other out, & the cycle continues. The only advice I can give you, would be to just get a sense of humor or separate yourself from situations where you feel offended because of what someone or some group of people are saying. Don't instigate by starting an argument on the internet cause you're not going to get all the sympathy you're looking for & you're never going to win. Accept that there are people who don't have the same beliefs as you & respect it in the hopes that they will respect your beliefs as well. If they don't, screw'em. They aren't worth talking to then.
I hope you find solace in knowing that someone understands, some one who isn't of your own religion that is. I also pray that you might find an easier way to deal with insult upon injury in a better manner than you have achieved here. Good luck, & peace be with you.
PS: Too true... Goth is a fashion, not a religion. I enjoy seeing a religious girl such as yourself indulging in the idea of "not fitting the label." Just don't try too hard...
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