Quote Originally Posted by Thorne View Post
It is scary. But not at all surprising. After all, the whole purpose of religion, other than to give preachers a relatively cushy job, is to make people feel better about their poor lot in life so they don't revolt against those in power.
I doubt being a priest in Sweden is a cushy job, and since there's hardly any religious people in Sweden... they're hardly a threat to anybody in power. Nah... that's not it.

I actually liked him a lot. I got a total BDSM-master vibe from him. He was a born dominant. I think he sincerely enjoys being worshipped and being "gods instrument" on earth. After all God and the entire church is nothing but a massive fetish (in the religious sense of course and not in the hanky panky way you are thinking I meant).

I have no doubt in my mind he actually loves his congregation and cares deeply about people around him. I got total honest love vibes from that guy. I think his heart was pure. He just wasn't a particularly deep fellow.

I saw the ceremony as nothing but a massive D/s sex orgy... but with clothes on. I mean... the couple had to get on their fucking knees to get the blessing from God.... having their eyes in the priests crotch height. And he was speaking about God and Jesus just like people speak about their boyfriends. It was like a love song to Jesus.

But then again... without Christian religious ceremonies having overly sexual connotations I doubt it would have been able to replace paganism. So I guess I shouldn't have been so surprised.

Maybe that is the secret of Christianity. It made all sex outside the marriage and outside the church illegal. (as was encouraged in Paganism), as a method to become more popular. I mean... we all know that most people like to have their sex strongly regulated The existence of this site is proof of that. Anyhoo... it's a theory.

Quote Originally Posted by Thorne View Post
But those must have been Swedish Baptists, Tom. Here in the southern US, you'd be hard pressed to find any alcohol at a wedding.
I think it's a result of religion being so marginalised. Priests here have to adapt and be more like people in general if they are to have any hope of attracting people to the churches. There's plenty of churches in Sweden with no active congregation at all. They get converted into fancy houses for the rich.