I am so freaking angered whenever I see someone who claims to follow Christ and yet uses the Bible as a tool for their bigotry.
They claim to love everyone but in that same sentence say something along the lines of "your gay so you will be burned ".
Here's how I see it.
God is creative.
And because of that there's so much variety in the world. Millions of colors, seen and unseen.
More types of animals than we can count, subclasses in those animals.
Plant life of ALL kind claim this earth as home.
There's even variety in people.
We all have different hair textures and colors, more skin tones within skin tones.
We come in different heights, weights, eye colors.
So why is it so hard to believe that people could be attracted to people of the same gender, or both.
Why is it a struggle to believe that a person might be a different gender than what they were born with.
Why is it impossible for a person to be attracted to someone romantically but not sexually?
Or vice-versa?
And why is it so hard to accept that God made us and loves us, because he made us this way?
Why is it that you say can love a black person but not a gay person when both people were made by God that way?
I have also had this question for a long time.
"If the God you claim to serve is as you say he is, which is a vindictive, hateful, cruel, hypocritical god. A god who claims to love all his creations, but then dooms them to Hell out the gate simply because they are who he created them to be. Why do you worship him? That is not a god worthy of worship. And you worshiping him says far more about YOU than it ever could about the god. "
The God I worship is a kind, giving God.
He is a God who protected everyone of his sheep.
Each one of his creations are loved and created in his image.
He was born a lowly babe to save us from corruption and our sins.
He called out the blasphemous pharacies (idk how to spell it).
He gave food to the hungry, and hung out with society's hated. That's the one true God as well as the one who I serve.
Sorry bout the rant.
I've just had this in my head for a while now.
People are going to abuse scripture, the same as people are going to abuse everything.
The lectionary readings for this coming Sunday include Psalm 37, which offers this wisdom:
“Do not fret because of the wicked; … for they will soon fade like the grass, and wither like the green herb. Trust in the Lord and do good…. Take delight in the Lord…. Commit your way to the Lord…. Be still before the Lord, and wait patiently for him; do not fret over those who prosper in their way, over those who carry out evil devices. Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath. Do not fret—it leads only to evil. … Depart from evil, and do good; so you shall abide forever. For the Lord loves justice….”
And so on. The psalm offers an opportunity to reflect on the ways we might best live. It is summed up, I think, in one of my favorite movie lines of recent years (albeit in a much maligned scene in a much maligned movie), that we win by saving what we love, rather than by fighting what we hate.
Peace be with you.