- Nov 25, 2018
- 153
- 129
- 33
- Country
- United States
- Faith
- Episcopalian
- Marital Status
- Single
Peace and blessings to all.
I am reading the letters of Paul right now. He talks a lot about unity of Christians and the church. It's a common, recurring theme in his writing. I am having trouble with this.
Conservative Christianity leaves a lot to be desired. Here and there you can see me getting into it with them on these forums, and I feel far from unified with them.
It seems to me like they think the only thing the bible says it that homosexuality is wrong. To them, the bible is three sentences: In the beginning, homosexuality was wrong. The end. They seem to have skipped right past love thy neighbor, judge not lest ye be judged, and let he who is without sin cast the first stone. They've also made an alliance with rugged right-wing capitalism, which ideologically worships money, praises selfishness and self interest, reveres the rich, and vilifies the poor. This is also in DIRECT conflict with the teachings of Christ and the acts of the apostles. Also, slavery, segregation, and restriction of voting rights were in the past endorsed by many of the conservative Christian community. The KKK itself STRONGLY identifies as a Christian organization. The end to these injustices was fought back against with brutality, war, and terrorism. The incarceration of scientists during the enlightenment was perpetrated by conservative Christianity. They have since given up ground on these issues and accepted change, but continue to persecute other vulnerable groups.
The persecution of the LGBT community by many sects of Christianity is in my view abhorrent, unacceptable, and contradictory to Christ. Sin or no sin. Entertaining the idea that homosexuality is sin and not a natural biological and genetic occurrence, if Christ died for our sins (and mine have certainly been numerous, I don't know about you), then He died for the sins of homosexuals as well. The fallout is immeasurable. Suicide rates for LGBT persons are sky high. This oppression is killing people, and I cannot accept it. You don't have to agree with their lifestyle, but you absolutely can leave them alone if not for any other reason but accepting the idea of individual freedom and free will. They seem to think homosexuals are "recruiting," and social acceptance of homosexuality encourages people to join them. This is a fundamental ignorant misunderstanding of sexuality. You're either gay or you're not. No straight person is going to hop on the gay wagon just because it's acceptable to do so.
Naturally I spew venom when I see this hatred. It drives a wedge between me and them that is difficult to overcome. It's to the point where I start becoming hostile toward the faith in general, which is not good. I see so many failing to follow even the most basic teachings of Christ: Love God, and love thy neighbor. This means your black, gay, or atheist neighbor. If you can't do that, why even be a Christian? I try so hard to love them, but when I see a long drawn out pattern of injustices that they perpetuate in the past and up until this day, it makes it extremely hard.
I am reading the letters of Paul right now. He talks a lot about unity of Christians and the church. It's a common, recurring theme in his writing. I am having trouble with this.
Conservative Christianity leaves a lot to be desired. Here and there you can see me getting into it with them on these forums, and I feel far from unified with them.
It seems to me like they think the only thing the bible says it that homosexuality is wrong. To them, the bible is three sentences: In the beginning, homosexuality was wrong. The end. They seem to have skipped right past love thy neighbor, judge not lest ye be judged, and let he who is without sin cast the first stone. They've also made an alliance with rugged right-wing capitalism, which ideologically worships money, praises selfishness and self interest, reveres the rich, and vilifies the poor. This is also in DIRECT conflict with the teachings of Christ and the acts of the apostles. Also, slavery, segregation, and restriction of voting rights were in the past endorsed by many of the conservative Christian community. The KKK itself STRONGLY identifies as a Christian organization. The end to these injustices was fought back against with brutality, war, and terrorism. The incarceration of scientists during the enlightenment was perpetrated by conservative Christianity. They have since given up ground on these issues and accepted change, but continue to persecute other vulnerable groups.
The persecution of the LGBT community by many sects of Christianity is in my view abhorrent, unacceptable, and contradictory to Christ. Sin or no sin. Entertaining the idea that homosexuality is sin and not a natural biological and genetic occurrence, if Christ died for our sins (and mine have certainly been numerous, I don't know about you), then He died for the sins of homosexuals as well. The fallout is immeasurable. Suicide rates for LGBT persons are sky high. This oppression is killing people, and I cannot accept it. You don't have to agree with their lifestyle, but you absolutely can leave them alone if not for any other reason but accepting the idea of individual freedom and free will. They seem to think homosexuals are "recruiting," and social acceptance of homosexuality encourages people to join them. This is a fundamental ignorant misunderstanding of sexuality. You're either gay or you're not. No straight person is going to hop on the gay wagon just because it's acceptable to do so.
Naturally I spew venom when I see this hatred. It drives a wedge between me and them that is difficult to overcome. It's to the point where I start becoming hostile toward the faith in general, which is not good. I see so many failing to follow even the most basic teachings of Christ: Love God, and love thy neighbor. This means your black, gay, or atheist neighbor. If you can't do that, why even be a Christian? I try so hard to love them, but when I see a long drawn out pattern of injustices that they perpetuate in the past and up until this day, it makes it extremely hard.