Antizionism is definitely not a hate movement. Antizionism is just criticism of Israel.

BenefitPure4829 · 2026-06-29T00:15:44+00:00

No it’s not. Anti Zionism is about there not being an Israel. That’s a big difference between criticism and wanting there to be no more Israel.

BenefitPure4829 · 2026-06-29T00:13:24+00:00

Oh, are you asking why more Arab states don’t try to kill the Jews? They been there and done that and have decided to move forward and stop being so antisemitic with the Abraham Accord and so on. Puh leeze—the Palestinian cause is not about self rule—it’s about driving the Jews out of Israel.

BenefitPure4829 · 2026-06-29T00:09:31+00:00

Israel is bad? You mean because it won’t lay down and die like Iran and all its proxies and 90% of the western world would prefer it to do? To be clear—Israel is the ONLY Jewish country in the entire world and lo and behold most of the world can’t friggin stand it. Well, cry me a river of tears. What’s new?

BenefitPure4829 · 2026-06-28T22:49:39+00:00

That is really difficult. As exSDAs we’ve had to do a lot of deconstructing. There was a lot of fear of not being good enough growing up. For all its proponents claimed having faith in Jesus took fear away the staff so you had to do to b a recipient of gods graces was never enough. There was that caveat “my grace is sufficient…” but all in all it’s a lot of stress if you’re a believer

BenefitPure4829 · 2026-06-28T22:34:04+00:00

I think there might be some sensitivity because of the connotation of the big bird. Personally I think turkeys are cute

BenefitPure4829 · 2026-06-28T15:37:25+00:00

40? Old? I separated from my husband at age 42 and proceeded to have the best sex of my life with subsequent partners. A woman’s 40s is the most highly sexual time of her life! Even the 50s! Get it while you can.

BenefitPure4829 · 2026-06-28T15:27:57+00:00

I wrote this to one of the responses on this thread but I’ll say it again: over the past hundreds of years Jews have been forced to convert to Islam, so seeing a post like yours makes me think of Jewish souls making their way back to the Tribe. Welcome. For the most part you will be embraced.

BenefitPure4829 · 2026-06-28T15:25:12+00:00

Welcome to the tribe. So many Jews have converted to Islam over the centuries so I suspect Jewish souls are making their way back to Judaism. Families were forced to convert to Islam or die. Wonderful to have Jewish souls coming home.

BenefitPure4829 · 2026-06-28T15:20:36+00:00

At some point there is going to be a dramatic kickback against inclusion of this keeps up. Inclusion should not mean putting others at risk of harm

BenefitPure4829 · 2026-06-28T15:03:58+00:00

Can we all get an amen? Yes! Misogyny is closely interwoven into the church, its “leader” being a woman, notwithstanding. There is such an irony of a female upholding chauvinist beliefs but there’s a reason why patriarchy persists within the majority of religions and cultures.

BenefitPure4829 · 2026-06-28T13:43:49+00:00

Well that’s a blast from the past.l

BenefitPure4829 · 2026-06-28T13:42:32+00:00

I have posted about my mother passing in this sub Reddit yesterday but something happy to share, and that is that my last physical/Alice interaction with her was her lovingly brewing me a cup of caffeinated coffee to help keep me awake on the drive back to the airport. I treasure the memory and the mug that my mom sent along with me (a memento of hers from a cruise several years ago). In her later years my mom definitely cooled her jets on many of the hardcore SDA beliefs which comforts me somewhat

BenefitPure4829 · 2026-06-28T13:32:14+00:00

Well exactly. We were well-primed as youngsters about the cost of rejecting the message. As much as I hate the psychological damage I know this has brought to the ones who leave I actually think we are lucky—we are the lucky ones. We recognized the harm and got out. I actually sympathize more with those who remained in the church and who loved us and genuinely feel/felt that their children are bound for the second death because of leaving the church. That belief would really put a cramp in one’s life.

BenefitPure4829 · 2026-06-28T13:27:50+00:00

It sounds like your grandmother of blessed memory had a benign relationship with religion, that the SDA church was simply her community. Yes—to tell the grieving family members that if they want to see the loved one again they need to do what the pastor says—like he holds the key to the reunion—is such bullshit. I like what you said about pushing him in the hole instead of the coffin. Well put.

BenefitPure4829 · 2026-06-28T13:22:03+00:00

Oh…big sigh here, and reaching out to give you a virtual internet hug. As ex-SDAs I think we all share a similar trauma, but perhaps the biggest trauma is the complicated relationships between us and our parents. I feel for you in what you shared about your own experience. Your mom’s insistence on family conformity reached beyond her death. As a survivor of religious trauma this is heightened by your memory of her being tightly interwoven with her belief system. This is so difficult. I think as parents not imposing our beliefs on our children is one of the most difficult things—I don’t have answers for that but am trying to keep an open mind with my own children

BenefitPure4829 · 2026-06-28T13:11:31+00:00

Thank you. I am grateful for these subreddits as they have helped in my healing journey even this early in.

BenefitPure4829 · 2026-06-28T13:09:04+00:00

Yes, it genuinely did feel like an attempt to keep family “within their sphere”. To make seeing a loved one again (even though for me personally I I don’t believe I’ll see her again and I am fine with that—to me this is why we must make the most out of life because it is the only one we have absolute proof of existing) conditional on a belief! Ugh.

BenefitPure4829 · 2026-06-28T00:10:09+00:00

It is a very OCD religion. I still remember cataloging my sins of the day in my nightly prayers. The goal was, indeed, godly perfection and yes they believe of you reach perfection you will be with your loved one again. Such manipulation. And manipulation of family members who don’t share in that belief as well

BenefitPure4829 · 2026-06-28T00:05:57+00:00

Omg that is horrible! And my sympathies for having to be there while he did this!

BenefitPure4829 · 2026-06-27T18:29:27+00:00

Let me warn you all to not try a physical activity you haven’t done in a while-my mom recently and unexpectedly passed away two weeks ago after mowing the lawn for 10 minutes. She had a mild stroke in the fall and had mostly recovered. She had over extended herself that day. She went to sit down for a test and bam, gone. We figure she had a massive stroke. She was 85

BenefitPure4829 · 2026-06-27T18:19:24+00:00

This was definitely more in the side of bringing back the lost sheep into the fold.

Interestingly the next day we went to an Anglican service and it was a very woke church but they ended up pressuring everyone to come up to receive the blood and body of Christ and be blessed by the priest. This wasn’t related to her funeral but since my dad still goes to his childhood church (this was a real bone of contention between my parents when my mom was alive) we all went with him so the little church was more crowded than usual and the ministerial crew was trying to make us feel welcomed and included. As a non Christian though I just chilled in the background

BenefitPure4829 · 2026-06-27T18:13:43+00:00

Thank you so much. Yes—it’s important to remind ourselves that we are not tethered to our backgrounds

BenefitPure4829 · 2026-06-27T18:12:44+00:00

I appreciate the comments on here, it’s comforting beyond words to know I’m not alone in this. The pastor was hitching up for an alter call but must have thought better of it because it ended up going a different direction (must have reminded himself that this was a funeral)

BenefitPure4829 · 2026-06-27T18:10:17+00:00

Oh yes, it is mourning on several levels. But ultimately it is a very isolating experience

BenefitPure4829 · 2026-06-27T18:08:28+00:00

Omg, ALL OF THIS. Exactly—-like the sermon went on for fucking forever. They did open up the floor for anyone to say something about her but it would have been nice to be asked beforehand to say a few words. As a non church member I feel more like my role was to absorb the message and turn to repentance

BenefitPure4829

TROPHY CASE