Religion and the Paranormal (A Lesson Learned)
I'm going to be working really hard these next few days to get some stories done and dusted in the hope that they'll get into either this week's or next week's paper. Like I've mentioned in a previous entry, I've got some good ones going on. It's great to be able to get my teeth into some of the more intriguing stories.
This week is set to be a fairly interesting one, actually. It got off to a good start in that I was able to stay over at Jason's - more on my use of the word 'able' in that sentence later. Tonight I'm going to be giving blood and on Friday I'll be going to a charity paranormal night, getting in free as I'm a reporter. I'll be live tweeting from the night itself and writing an extensive account of the freaky goings-on. If you're a fan of that kind of thing, watch this space!
The event will be run by UK Ghost Tours, and Para-Project will also be attending; if you've ever seen 'Spooks School' on the telly you'll be familiar with them. All funds raised will be donated to Cheshire Search and Rescue, who cover a vast area - despite their title, I believe they attend incidents all over the North West, St Helens included, and are a vital service to whom many owe their lives.
I'll be doing this event on my own. Jason, at first, grudgingly (and I mean really grudgingly; he took some persuasion!) agreed to come with me, but it was obvious that he really wasn't happy with it - he did confess that he wasn't a fan of the paranormal. At first I'll admit that I thought it was a bit silly. I didn't think he was the type to even believe in that kind of stuff. But it turns out it runs a wee bit deeper than that.
Okay, I'll warn you now. I'm going to go off on a bit of a tangent here. Just so you know.
It transpires that Jason is really anxious about the paranormal due to his upbringing. His mum is a Jehovah's Witness, and while I'm not exactly clear about what they teach regarding the paranormal (or Spiritology, as they know it), but it's not something to be embraced. Well, whatever they teach, it has led Jason to flat-out reject anything spiritual - it's one of the few things that remained after he decided not to be a Jehovah's Witness.
Out of respect I decided that I wouldn't force him to come. I felt really bad that I'd pestered him to in the first place - though I thought it would be something fun to do together, and I was anxious about having nowhere to stay afterwards (the event is in St Helens, and nobody else would appreciate me crashing at theirs at 3am), I really hadn't appreciated that there might be something behind what seemed like stubbornness and unfounded anxiety.
I only learned about this belief of Jason's thanks to Dave being a git. Last Thursday, when we (as in me, Jason, Lee and Dave) were at the curry night at The Turk's Head (THE MADRAS, OMG <3), we were discussing anime and manga becaused we're cool. And, because nothing could possibly transcend our coolness, we were talking about the typical boys' stuff; Naruto, Dragonball Z and the like. Then Dave, feeling the need to be an idiot, said mockingly: "Jason doesn't like Bleach because there are ghosts in it."
It seemed like a silly, friendly dig at the time, but when I learned the following day exactly why Jason's not keen on the supernatural the meaning behind the remark changed. It now seemed like Dave intended to show him up. The arsehole.
And now if we can just sidle back to the topic of religion, Jehovah's Witnesses in particular... I feel awful because I've said some scathing things about them in the past. Prior to meeting Jason's mum, Marie (not Maria, which I've since learned she hates being called - I think), my only knowledge of Jehovah's Witnesses came from the devout ones you'd get doing door-to-door canvassing, and from what my Dad told me - but mainly from my Dad.
See, my paternal grandmother had a brief spell as a Jehovah's Witness, shortly after divorcing my grandfather, I believe. I've been led to assume that they knew she'd recently gone through a divorce and was dealing with two disabled children (Auntie Sharon and Uncle Adrian), so they homed in on her as someone who was vulnerable and needed support. According to Dad, they were always around at the house preaching and gave him the filthiest looks when he came home in uniform (he's ex-Navy and apparently they hate the military).
Because of this, I then thought all Jehovah's Witnesses were sly, pushy people who preyed on vulnerable individuals and wanted to shove their beliefs down your throat. But then think about it - Dad pushed this belief onto me from an early age, so isn't he just as bad?
Looking at Marie, though, you wouldn't think she was a Jehovah's Witness at all. She's so laid back, friendly and fun. If Jason hadn't actually told me about her religion, I would have thought she was agnostic or atheist - not particularly fussed about religion in any way. She's the good kind of religious person, who keeps her beliefs to herself and lets everyone else do the same.
It reminds me of a brilliant quote by Roger McGough I read recently: "It's not religions that are the problem, but people." It's true, really. Think about it - there's no problem at all with Islam and most of its followers are fine; just normal people. The issue lies with the extremists who use those teachings as an excuse for violence. Same goes for Catholics and Protestants. You can't blame the Catholic religion for the IRA or the Protestant religion for the UVF. It's the people who act. Most religions teach peace and understanding.
Of all the things that I've matured enough to form my own opinion on, I think religion has taken me the longest purely because of the sheer amount of family tales of horror. In our religious dealings, particularly on my father's side, I think we've just been severely unlucky. The Jehovah's Witnesses that pulled in my grandmother were on the more extreme end of the spectrum. It's just sad that my Dad's opinion of the religion as a whole has been darkened for decades afterwards as a result.
I'm really glad I met Marie. She's opened my eyes, definitely, and not in a way I expect or regret. She's taught me - well, to quote Roger McGough again, "It's not religions that are the problem, but people." Marie is a shining example of why religion does not equal crazy frothing loony. Plus, think about it - while there's such thing as a devout and obsessive Christian, there's also such thing as a devout and obsessive athiest. Fundamentally they're the same, and we're all just as bad as one-another.
Wow, I really went off on one, there, didn't I? But since it's a milestone (and a bloody big one, at that) in my personal development, I think it deserves the coverage.
So, giving blood! I'll be popping in to the second of two sessions at Wesley Methodist Church on Corporation Street after work. And considering I'm not at all fond of needles, I'm not feeling too nervous! Maybe it's because I'm keeping myself busy in work so I'm not thinking about it all that much.
Jason's agreed to go with me because I'll no doubt be feeling really faint afterwards, plus we typically hang out on Mondays anyway. I've asked him a dozen times if he's sure he's okay to come along (just in case he's squeamish about blood or something) but he seems fine with it. I'm so grateful that he is, though, because while I really want to do this, needles terrify me and I have enough dizzy spells when I have all my blood, thank you very much!
I'm hoping to join the Bone Marrow Register, as well. So then I'll be a registered organ donor, I'll have given blood and I'll be available should anyone need bone marrow donated. You know what, medical science, just take me now! All of me! There's enough to go round!
News just in: Anna's managed to commandeer herself a flat, and needs my decorating skills on Wednesday! Now awaiting a text with the when, where, and might one bring a pet Jason along on the day?
This week is set to be a fairly interesting one, actually. It got off to a good start in that I was able to stay over at Jason's - more on my use of the word 'able' in that sentence later. Tonight I'm going to be giving blood and on Friday I'll be going to a charity paranormal night, getting in free as I'm a reporter. I'll be live tweeting from the night itself and writing an extensive account of the freaky goings-on. If you're a fan of that kind of thing, watch this space!
The event will be run by UK Ghost Tours, and Para-Project will also be attending; if you've ever seen 'Spooks School' on the telly you'll be familiar with them. All funds raised will be donated to Cheshire Search and Rescue, who cover a vast area - despite their title, I believe they attend incidents all over the North West, St Helens included, and are a vital service to whom many owe their lives.
I'll be doing this event on my own. Jason, at first, grudgingly (and I mean really grudgingly; he took some persuasion!) agreed to come with me, but it was obvious that he really wasn't happy with it - he did confess that he wasn't a fan of the paranormal. At first I'll admit that I thought it was a bit silly. I didn't think he was the type to even believe in that kind of stuff. But it turns out it runs a wee bit deeper than that.
Okay, I'll warn you now. I'm going to go off on a bit of a tangent here. Just so you know.
It transpires that Jason is really anxious about the paranormal due to his upbringing. His mum is a Jehovah's Witness, and while I'm not exactly clear about what they teach regarding the paranormal (or Spiritology, as they know it), but it's not something to be embraced. Well, whatever they teach, it has led Jason to flat-out reject anything spiritual - it's one of the few things that remained after he decided not to be a Jehovah's Witness.
Out of respect I decided that I wouldn't force him to come. I felt really bad that I'd pestered him to in the first place - though I thought it would be something fun to do together, and I was anxious about having nowhere to stay afterwards (the event is in St Helens, and nobody else would appreciate me crashing at theirs at 3am), I really hadn't appreciated that there might be something behind what seemed like stubbornness and unfounded anxiety.
I only learned about this belief of Jason's thanks to Dave being a git. Last Thursday, when we (as in me, Jason, Lee and Dave) were at the curry night at The Turk's Head (THE MADRAS, OMG <3), we were discussing anime and manga becaused we're cool. And, because nothing could possibly transcend our coolness, we were talking about the typical boys' stuff; Naruto, Dragonball Z and the like. Then Dave, feeling the need to be an idiot, said mockingly: "Jason doesn't like Bleach because there are ghosts in it."
It seemed like a silly, friendly dig at the time, but when I learned the following day exactly why Jason's not keen on the supernatural the meaning behind the remark changed. It now seemed like Dave intended to show him up. The arsehole.
And now if we can just sidle back to the topic of religion, Jehovah's Witnesses in particular... I feel awful because I've said some scathing things about them in the past. Prior to meeting Jason's mum, Marie (not Maria, which I've since learned she hates being called - I think), my only knowledge of Jehovah's Witnesses came from the devout ones you'd get doing door-to-door canvassing, and from what my Dad told me - but mainly from my Dad.
See, my paternal grandmother had a brief spell as a Jehovah's Witness, shortly after divorcing my grandfather, I believe. I've been led to assume that they knew she'd recently gone through a divorce and was dealing with two disabled children (Auntie Sharon and Uncle Adrian), so they homed in on her as someone who was vulnerable and needed support. According to Dad, they were always around at the house preaching and gave him the filthiest looks when he came home in uniform (he's ex-Navy and apparently they hate the military).
Because of this, I then thought all Jehovah's Witnesses were sly, pushy people who preyed on vulnerable individuals and wanted to shove their beliefs down your throat. But then think about it - Dad pushed this belief onto me from an early age, so isn't he just as bad?
Looking at Marie, though, you wouldn't think she was a Jehovah's Witness at all. She's so laid back, friendly and fun. If Jason hadn't actually told me about her religion, I would have thought she was agnostic or atheist - not particularly fussed about religion in any way. She's the good kind of religious person, who keeps her beliefs to herself and lets everyone else do the same.
It reminds me of a brilliant quote by Roger McGough I read recently: "It's not religions that are the problem, but people." It's true, really. Think about it - there's no problem at all with Islam and most of its followers are fine; just normal people. The issue lies with the extremists who use those teachings as an excuse for violence. Same goes for Catholics and Protestants. You can't blame the Catholic religion for the IRA or the Protestant religion for the UVF. It's the people who act. Most religions teach peace and understanding.
Of all the things that I've matured enough to form my own opinion on, I think religion has taken me the longest purely because of the sheer amount of family tales of horror. In our religious dealings, particularly on my father's side, I think we've just been severely unlucky. The Jehovah's Witnesses that pulled in my grandmother were on the more extreme end of the spectrum. It's just sad that my Dad's opinion of the religion as a whole has been darkened for decades afterwards as a result.
I'm really glad I met Marie. She's opened my eyes, definitely, and not in a way I expect or regret. She's taught me - well, to quote Roger McGough again, "It's not religions that are the problem, but people." Marie is a shining example of why religion does not equal crazy frothing loony. Plus, think about it - while there's such thing as a devout and obsessive Christian, there's also such thing as a devout and obsessive athiest. Fundamentally they're the same, and we're all just as bad as one-another.
Wow, I really went off on one, there, didn't I? But since it's a milestone (and a bloody big one, at that) in my personal development, I think it deserves the coverage.
So, giving blood! I'll be popping in to the second of two sessions at Wesley Methodist Church on Corporation Street after work. And considering I'm not at all fond of needles, I'm not feeling too nervous! Maybe it's because I'm keeping myself busy in work so I'm not thinking about it all that much.
Jason's agreed to go with me because I'll no doubt be feeling really faint afterwards, plus we typically hang out on Mondays anyway. I've asked him a dozen times if he's sure he's okay to come along (just in case he's squeamish about blood or something) but he seems fine with it. I'm so grateful that he is, though, because while I really want to do this, needles terrify me and I have enough dizzy spells when I have all my blood, thank you very much!
I'm hoping to join the Bone Marrow Register, as well. So then I'll be a registered organ donor, I'll have given blood and I'll be available should anyone need bone marrow donated. You know what, medical science, just take me now! All of me! There's enough to go round!
News just in: Anna's managed to commandeer herself a flat, and needs my decorating skills on Wednesday! Now awaiting a text with the when, where, and might one bring a pet Jason along on the day?