The Kemetic Religion is a Force for Good in the World

I must say I was thoroughly disappointed with my opponent's argument. He has clearly done a good amount of research into a lot of basic Kemetic ideals, but his research is extremely lacking. Not only that, it is not just lacking in detail, it is FULL of outright fabrication.My opponent has outright lied about Kemetism in his response. I would now like to demonstrate how. TRUTHMy opponent's first fabrication is to state that Kemetism enforces the religious mythology as absolute fact that is unquestionable, by punishment of Hell (my opponent refers to this place by name, which is another fabrication.)This simply is not true.Any small amount of research on modern Kemetism will show that the mythology is NOT taken as literal truth by the vast majority of Kemetists, if by any at all. I have never met a single one who took the ancient myths as fact. They are allegories, stories told to help us understand the nature and personalities of our gods. These stories were indeed used in ancient times to explain what was unknown, but what my opponent has so conveniently ignored is that they are NOT used in this fashion anymore. My opponent has not given any sources to indicate that modern Kemetists still take these myths as truth. For my opponent to make this claim without basis is outright fabrication.As for my opponent's criticism of the 42 Negative Confessions (AKA The Declarations of Innocence), I would like to make two points here.The first being that my opponent has failed to take into account the Kemetic attitude towards these 42 declarations. They are NOT solid "I must do this or go to Hell" (again, more on the "Hell" thing later) rules. They are guidelines that one should try to adhere to, but nothing is lost if you fail to do so. In the end, judgement relies entirely on the Weighing of the Heart, a ceremony in which one's heart is weighed to determine if it is full of Ma'at or full of Isfet. In modern Kemetism, this ritual is what determines the judgement of the individual, NOT the 42 Negative Confessions. For my opponent to state, without evidence, that modern Kemetism uses the 42 declarations as criteria for who goes to Hell or not (again, more on that later) is outright fabrication.The second point is that my opponent's interpretation of the declarations is very much skewed in his favour. "I have not been sacreligious in thought or deed" does NOT mean "I have not questioned the idea that the Kemetic mythology is 100% true even the parts that go against scientific understanding."Sacrelige, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, means "violation or misuse of what is regarded as sacred"[1]. My opponent's claim that the mythology of the Kemetic religion is sacred and unquestionable is a bold-faced lie, nothing more. To claim the mythology isn't literally true is NOT sacrelige, as my opponent has made a very baseless claim to say, instead it is the default of modern Kemetism. As for my opponent's claim he is going to "Hell" just for having this debate, this is just ridiculous. Kemetism does not have a "Hell", or any such place of eternal torture, nor would my opponent be sent there for questioning things that we Kemetists question ourselves all the time in hopes of understanding them better.As for "I have not betrayed my leaders", this is simply advising that loyalty is an admirable trait. It doesn't say "Unless they murder millions of people out of racial hatred" because it assumes we're smart enough to know that. My opponent's argument seems to assume Kemetists are mindless sheep incapable of thinking about these ideas any further than what's written. My opponent has fabricated claims about Kemetism enforcing strict, unquestioning allegiance to dogma without providing ANY evidence to support them. He has not fulfilled his burden of proof, and thus this point is invalid. Kemetism understands and embraces all modern scientific understanding, just as many other religions do. We are not fundamentalists.EXPLOITATIONYes, the Nisut is also a Vodun priestess. Kemetism recognises the legitimacy of the concept of having multiple faiths [2] and even allows its clergy to be members (or even clergy) of other faiths provided that when they choose to become Kemetic clergy, they promise to put Kemetism first. What is your complaint, exactly? The point about the Udjat Foundation says there is no evidence it gives any of the money it receives to charity. My opponent then says there is evidence that it is a front to line the Nisut's pockets. Why does he not cite this evidence while making such an accusation? SKEWED BELIEFSMy opponent claims that the 42 negative confessions condemn homosexuality and encourage victim blaming in abuse cases. This is not the case at all.The so-called "victim blaming" my opponent has claimed is a forced interpretation at best. "I have not allowed myself to be abused" does not say the victim has done something wrong when they are abused. Remember that the 42 confessions are a GUIDELINE, not absolute, solid, unbreakable rules. As a guideline, this is simply advising abuse victims not to stand and take it. There is no eternal punishment for being an abuse victim, nor is there one for refusing to get out of an abusive relationship. It is merely there to inform abuse victims that they should not just take abuse when it is given to them, that they should do something about it. How is this anything but a positive message? As for the confession forbidding homosexuality, this is often a point of criticism, but not one that I cannot defend myself against. This verse is, at best, poorly phrased in the original language, and modern translations differ greatly. Among Kemetists, this verse is commonly translated as forbidding child prostitution, paedophilia or molestation, NOT homosexuality.[3]As for my opponent's claims about "sacrifice", he has shot himself in the foot on that one. He claims it is wasteful to offer food to the gods which could otherwise by eaten, but the very source he cites then goes on to say "it is customary to eat them afterwards."[4]For this reason, Kemetists most often offer food they were going to eat themselves anyway.My opponent then references the horrors of animal sacrifice. I agree that animal sacrifice is horrible. However, nowhere in the source you cited does it say Kemetists must kill animals for ritual sacrifice. Kemetism does NOT require, encourage or promote animal sacrifice in any way, shape or form. This, out of all the fabrications my opponent has created about Kemetism, is by far the most insulting.As for my account of an abuse victim finding recovery within the religion, I will admit my opponent has a point. I could not give more details or provide references out of respect for privacy. Whether or not he was getting better without Kemetism, he still cites Kemetism as the cause of his recovery, and he is not the only case. I wish I could provide references, but again, privacy. I would then like to point out that my opponent claims that because the community is causing the help, not the religion, it is not the work of the religion. I would like to reply by pointing out that the community would not exist without the religion.I would also like you to provide evidence for your claim that without the Kemetic community, there would be more good in the world than with it. My opponent also claims that atheists give more to charity than religious people, and I would be more moralistic if I followed a different philosophy. My opponent has not provided evidence that the specific individuals who follow Kemetism would donate more to charity if they were atheists. I wish I could say more, but I'm now at the character limit. I will conclude by saying I am deeply disappointed my opponent felt the need to tell so many lies in order to make his point. Sources:[1] http://www.oxforddictionaries.com...[2] http://www.kemet.org...[3] http://www.netjer.org...