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In Reply to: Dear Matt Re: Shulamite posted by Rocky on May 22, 2002 at 16:28:07:
Don't you think that this is something that is used in a lot of mainstream and fundamental religions? Remember, DB came out of a very patriarchal, fundamentalist religion. He was steeped in it.
It took me a long time to get over that, to get over the guilt thing and that everything that went wrong was somekind of punishment and that I was a horrible mother, otherwise, everything would be a constant hearts and roses life and my children perfect.
I read a book by Rabbii Kushner that answered my dilemma, "When Bad things Happen to Good People." I can't begin to tell you the liberation I felt after reading that book. Before, I was constantly freaking out, thinking that I had messed up in some way and God was punishing me. My children still remind me that I'm not a bad mother and that I did a good job, see how much I must have repeated that over and over to them, crying all the while. Poor things.
I think Andrea Yates, the woman who drowned her children, was adversely affected by this kind of mind set. She was already mentally ill, and this just played right into it. I hate that kind of religion.
