Good commentary on "Bible vs. gays"
Sep. 28th, 2003 01:47 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
beandelphikiWatching someone think hard about gays and gay rights and then come to the conclusion that homosexuality is "wrong" is like watching a kid work on the same math problem for a month and STILL get the wrong answer.
Anyway.
On Gaia there's a thread for people to leave "testimonies." I gather that means for people to tell their stories about why they accepted God. Something like that, I'm not familiar with the concept. (And since everyone who replied knew what it was about, no one was spelling it out. But yeah - they were telling stories about why they believe in God.)
Anyway, so a girl, "Nida" posted a long comment about spirituality and homosexuality. I thought I'd repost it here, because I like it so much.
How's this for a testimony:
I used to listen to Baptist preachers. And believed them.
I used to listen to James Dobson and Chuck Colson. And believed them.
I used to listen to mainstream Christian rock. And believed them.
Then, my semi-adoptive mother introduced me to a little trick that's applicable in every aspect of life: for every thought you have, every observation you make, ask yourself "why".
For instance:
James Dobson despises homosexuality.
Why? Because mainstream Protestantism espouses that view.
Why? Because that view is in line with socially conservative principles.
Why? Because supposedly, the bible says that homosexuality is wrong.
Why? Because it's mistranslated and purposefully misinterpreted.
Many philosophers have noted that when you question everything, there are only two answers at the very bottom: "God" and "I don't know". Since the second answer didn't appeal to me, I turned to the first-- not to the so-called American Family Association and its heavy-handed right-wing nastiness; not to my local hyper-Protestant "God hates fags and he hates you too" preacher; not to my vapid, airheaded, "Let's go on a retreat and praise the Lawd!" peers-- but to Big G himself. I mean, we'd been talking all the time anyway, but I have a feeling that he was just waiting for me to get around to asking the real questions instead of taking everyone else's opinion over his.
Since then, Big G and I have been systematically deconstructing my worldview and rebuilding it from the ground up. And since my worldview isn't even close to being in line with mainstream, right-wing Protestantism, this means that 98% of the Preacherists (not Christians, since they follow the almighty Preacher, not Christ) whom I know remind me that "u r not teh rael Cirhstina bcz u beilve insert belief or political stance here" on a regular basis.
The moral of the story: throw away your bibles and shoot your pastor. "Why" is the only spiritual guide you need.
Link!
Anyway.
On Gaia there's a thread for people to leave "testimonies." I gather that means for people to tell their stories about why they accepted God. Something like that, I'm not familiar with the concept. (And since everyone who replied knew what it was about, no one was spelling it out. But yeah - they were telling stories about why they believe in God.)
Anyway, so a girl, "Nida" posted a long comment about spirituality and homosexuality. I thought I'd repost it here, because I like it so much.
How's this for a testimony:
I used to listen to Baptist preachers. And believed them.
I used to listen to James Dobson and Chuck Colson. And believed them.
I used to listen to mainstream Christian rock. And believed them.
Then, my semi-adoptive mother introduced me to a little trick that's applicable in every aspect of life: for every thought you have, every observation you make, ask yourself "why".
For instance:
James Dobson despises homosexuality.
Why? Because mainstream Protestantism espouses that view.
Why? Because that view is in line with socially conservative principles.
Why? Because supposedly, the bible says that homosexuality is wrong.
Why? Because it's mistranslated and purposefully misinterpreted.
Many philosophers have noted that when you question everything, there are only two answers at the very bottom: "God" and "I don't know". Since the second answer didn't appeal to me, I turned to the first-- not to the so-called American Family Association and its heavy-handed right-wing nastiness; not to my local hyper-Protestant "God hates fags and he hates you too" preacher; not to my vapid, airheaded, "Let's go on a retreat and praise the Lawd!" peers-- but to Big G himself. I mean, we'd been talking all the time anyway, but I have a feeling that he was just waiting for me to get around to asking the real questions instead of taking everyone else's opinion over his.
Since then, Big G and I have been systematically deconstructing my worldview and rebuilding it from the ground up. And since my worldview isn't even close to being in line with mainstream, right-wing Protestantism, this means that 98% of the Preacherists (not Christians, since they follow the almighty Preacher, not Christ) whom I know remind me that "u r not teh rael Cirhstina bcz u beilve insert belief or political stance here" on a regular basis.
The moral of the story: throw away your bibles and shoot your pastor. "Why" is the only spiritual guide you need.
Link!
