I don't know about you, but I think we live in a hypocritical world. Christians seem to be running around judging homosexuals and spewing rhetoric based on scripture taken out of context, and the homosexuals turn around and tell Christians not to judge, but then write them off as being ignorant and closed-minded. I'm sorry, but as a homosexual and former Christian, I am very disappointed in both sides. Let me start by acknowledging that there are exceptions to both sides and that the follow is based on general observation, and not to be taken to heart by those to whom this does not apply.
To the Christians who are trying to convert people to Christianity: calling people sinners, quoting Bible verses out of context, and insisting that if they don't convert, they will go to hell is probably not a good way to start off a conversation. I have read and studied the Bible and I have yet to find an example of someone coming into a loving relationship with God through meeting someone who did nothing but shove religion down his/her throat in a judgemental fashion. Jesus only raised his voice in anger when he was around religious people. He did not try to convert people; he tried to teach them a better way through the way he lived his life, how he treated others, and the words he spoke. I think a lot of Christians end up using the Bible as a weapon instead of as a tool of instruction and that is one of the reasons I believe the church is failing to reach people. There are denominations that are seeing this error and trying to turn back the tide, but the floods of ignorance and hatred that have swept over much of our society are still strong within the church. Unless Christians start acting more like Christ and understand the concept of what Christ was really trying to do, Christianity will continue to gain more enemies than converts.
To my GLBT friends: I understand how hard it is to sit and listen to someone judge us like they know everything about us and tell us that we have "chosen" this path and that it will send us to hell. I understand how personal and angering these attacks can be. However, it is important to look past the words of hate and see where it is coming from. I have found that most people who speak out against our lifestyle are either insecure in their own sexuality due to natural internal conflicts or abuse, or they are people misguided by religion and society, who would rather write those of us who don't conform to societal norms as "unnatural," instead of getting to know us at a personal level. Neither scenario is a valid reason to spread hate and violence, but returning the hate and violence is not the answer. There are better and more effective ways of dealing with this people than getting in their faces and screaming at them. This kind of conflict is what most of them look for and we only fuel their the fire when we fight back.
The nniverse has a delicate balance of dark and light. Those who choose to fight evil with more evil ultimately make the world a darker place. Light, when present, always abolishes darkness. Let's consider light in this instance to be respect, unity, and acceptance created through education and mature, open-minded conversation. When we fight, we starve our flame of oxygen and it dies. When our light dies, the darkness wins. Now, imagine a world full of people fighting and only a few people holding a candle, trying to spread understanding and tolerance-- there isn't going to be much light is there? What would happen if a bunch of us got together and invested in a bunch of search lights? Well, those who live in the dark would have a harder time attacking openly.
Relating all of this back to the topic, as long as we fight ignorance with ignorance, more and more people will be pushed to the extremes, instead of being brought together in the middle. As long as people get defensive and offensive when discussing these issues and both sides put the other down by propagating stereotypes and the use of abusive language, we are going to see no real progress towards finding acceptance, on either side. I know how hard it is to just suck it up and be a bigger person, but I think it is absolutely essential to find any real solutions to this growing rift.
1 comment:
I will say that I partially agree with on some of this but also think that you may have more faith in people than most. Forgive me if I seem to be "fighting ignorance with ignorance" but there are some Christians (most I would say) that are not going to look past ones sexual preference and see the person beneath. Love is love regardless what gender the one you love may be. If "god" created each and everyone of us in his image and the bible says that he loves all equally, then why are there such attacks and hatred from so called Christians?
I also think that to say that most that are speaking out against it are unsure about themselves is wrong and just another reason for them to see such a negative perception of the GLBT community. To automatically say it is because they are unsure about their sexuality or unwilling to accept it is not always the main cause. Or to say they are misguided, well you have to think how a person could let themselves get that way. we all have free will and should know how to use it. Just like there is still racial intolerance there will be the same for our community. We can only hope for the best and learn how to co-exist without pushing our lifestyles and values onto each other without being asked.
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