Nathan did it on purpose I think because it's much easier to blame an entity or another person when someone won't cooperate. Just because I consider myself a christian doesn't mean that I draw my morals from the bible. Right and wrong has always been right and wrong to me, it isn't Jesus that taught me that. I think he also uses that to reduce me to the role of the crazy fanatical and I'm just not that.

-- Renee (justme@justme.org), February 05, 2001

Answers

It seems to me that the sense and perception of right and wrong were with me from my earliest memories. If that is not true at least it was that way before grown ups started indoctrinating me. And also with me was the belief and faith in a God above. I lost that faith for many years and just regained it since I became involved with the net.

-- Denver doug (ionoi@webtv.net), February 05, 2001.

I get misjudged a LOT! WHen I was younger I was the poster child for Hyperactivity/weird stuff, and I have no brain censor so I was thought of as someone who did a lot of drugs or who was really strange. Funny, a woman I used to work with in CT who I now am friends with here in NJ used to think the worst of me, and now I found out she used to be a big-time drug user. We're all friends now, and if people misjudge me these days, it doesn't really bother me, because I know who I am. The only exception is if I accidently offend or hurt someone. Thats a horrible thing and I always feel rotten, and make amends as soon as possible.

-- annie (anne.stewart@bms.com), February 06, 2001.

I was raised Catholic but haven't considered myself Catholic, or even Christian, since about 7th grade. For years I was pretty much just agnostic, and still am to some extent. But over the past 5-10 years I have dabbled in the study of Wicca and other Pagan religions and finally feel at home. (I call myself an eclectic Taoist Buddhist Pagan, LOL) Many people have major misconceptions about these beautiful religions so I guess I am judged a lot for that however I am the most moral honest and trustworthy person I know. Seriously. I am surrounded by so-called "Christian" or "religous" people that lie, cheat, steal, are selfish and whatnot. Not to say all are like that but I see many more hypocrites among christian religions than non. I also believe strongly in monogamy, for me. I am also pro-life, for me. But pro-choice for others. Anyway, my morals don't come from a bible or any other book. I just try to be a good person, the best I can be. I want to feel good about myself, it's as simple as that.

-- Amethyst (honeybee@journalist.com), February 06, 2001.

I think most people tend to judge other people's motives by what their own would be... that is, we think, "I wouldn't do something like that, unless..." and then figure that must be why the other is doing what they are doing. So, someone who would require an outside entity to tell them what is right (along with proper punishments for not doing it) would assume that anyone who lives within that entity is there for that reason.

Yes.. I get misjudged about things. People who have an easy time accepting religious ideas with faith misjudge my need to question as some deliberate refusal to 'believe'. People who have long ago answered their own questions with "No, I don't believe" think I'm flakily far too interested in the questions and deliberately refusing to accept the 'obvious'. (I'm either too spiritually inclined or not enough if you accept the opinions of others... I don't think I'm ever 'just right'!)

In other areas... ok, here's an example that comes up a lot... people who have no difficulty with replying to all their email assume that those who do are just rude or uncaring or (fill in whatever) - because that's what it would be if *they* should not reply. I guess it's just hard to accept that people do things without necessarily having the same motive we might in the same situation, or to accept that aspects of life that seem obvious or easy to us aren't that way for everyone else.

-- Lynda B (lyndacat@bigfoot.com), February 07, 2001.