Wednesday, September 2, 2009

Today (09/02/2009)

Yesterday, I got into a conversation regarding religion with my niece. She is a 16 year old girl, who is incredibly smart, and has a great head on her shoulders. She has grown up going to church, so as you can imagine she knows a lot about it. This blog was really motivated by her and I's conversation yesterday. ***Please note that for this conversation the word "God" will always be in quotation marks as not to offend anyone and their religious points of view.

Thinking back to the days at vacation bible school (yeah right, like I can remember those), when you go to the Christian church you learn that "God" loves everyone no matter what. That is a great thought, and in the years that I have spent growing up and forming my own opinions, I am not sure how much truth is in that.

Case in point, I have lived in San Diego for over a year now, and I was here for the controversial Prop 8 vote. While my views (which come from someone not involved with any religion), were to let people get married regardless of gender were not shared by 52% (not positive on actual percentage, but it was somewhere around there) of California, I think that this taught us something very different about people in general and Christians.

I can clearly remember driving around for work and seeing people on the corners saying "God Hates Gays", mind you this was in a very lavish part of town. Not only were these people out there with their signs, the had their kids out there holding the same signs. Like I mentioned before, I am not a religious person, and I do not claim to know everything. One thing I do know, is that the Christian Bible does not teach people to hate, this is evident in my niece who is a young Christian woman.

My travels around town take me to various places, one of them being a church, where Christianity lives and is absorbed. I was taken back when I saw all of the hatred here. People again standing out with kids holding signs saying "God Hates Gays". I know in the Christian Bible it is believed to be written with a phrase "Homosexual acts are an abomination to God" (with the definition of abomination being: a person who is loathsome or disgusting). This phrase right here makes me believe that the bible was not written by "God" or Jesus, but maybe someone who wants to mold minds (again, just my opinion). For as long as I can remember people have been saying that "God" loves everyone, and forgives us of our sins. Well, with that, don't you think that the people on the corner should be teaching their children to "forgive" rather than to hate? I think that the Christian religion has skewed into what people want to believe, rather than what "God" says. I find it highly suspect that "God" being the guy that forgives everyone, would say, "hey I hate that guy because he is gay." I may be wrong but who knows?

Well I think that I am going to leave the religion alone for right now. This will for sure be a topic that is visited at a later date.

3 comments:

  1. I would like to start off by saying thank you! This makes me feel important!

    I think you definitely bring up a lot of good points, and the "hate" expressed by Christians these days is, without a doubt, something that most people question, Christians or not. The idea about homosexual acts being abominated by God is an issue a lot of people, of all ages, struggle with. What people don't struggle with, is the idea that God also abominates cussing, or disrespecting one's parents, or jealousy. Those are everyday things that we as humans, don't think twice about. Yet when the topic of homosexuality is brought up, people tend to have a problem that God doesn't support that. The Bible states that God holds every sin, or whatever you want to call it, equal. That means when I feel jealous of my friend's hot boyfriend, I am disobeying God just as much as someone who chooses to be homosexual. Yes the Bible states the God loves everyone, and it also states that He abominates homosexuality. The first thought in most people's mind is that this is totally contradictory. But when you truly think about it, God dislikes the ACT of homosexuality, not the person. God dislikes the ACT of my jealousy, but he still loves me. God dislikes the ACT of a criminal stealing, but he still loves the criminal. It also states in the Bible that God forgives anyone who puts his or her faith in Him. That means that if a person who is homosexual asks for forgiveness, God will forgive that person for their actions, just as much as if I'd ask for forgiveness for being jealous or disrespectful.

    You see these people on the street, representing God, using the word "hate". You have to understand that these people are not acting through God, despite what they think. The use of that word comes from an earthly power, a pure human origin. It's so sad to see that, or hear of that happening. But you have to understand, that is not the act of God, that is the act of humans; humans who are sinful by nature, all of us.

    I am sorry that this is so long! Maybe this will spur some thought!

    ReplyDelete
  2. First, this is Cassidy, not Beth - lol. Honey, there are always going to be people spouting off craziness in the name of God. You have to believe, as a reasonable person, that in every religion there are those who claim to be acting in the name of God who are sadly misguided, ill-informed, angry, etc. It is no different in this case. If you are curious about what God says about anything, I would encourgae you to read the Bible - simply to see for yourself what it says in there In the same way, I would encourage someone who wanted to sort through the truth and misinformation about Islam to read the Quran. As individuals, it is our responsibility to know why we think what we think or believe what we believe. Whatever the result, Im sure it would give you piece fo mind to know you "saw it for yourself" in this case. I know it makes you sick - it does me too when I see it. As if that kind of hatred could do any good...let's do our best to teach our babies differently. You don't have to accept someone's lifestyle or choices to love them as people.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Read the book, "What God Wants" by Neale Donald Walsch. Easy read and poignant message.

    ReplyDelete