Nothing ruins a sunny Sunday afternoon like a hypocritical hate group claiming to be Christian and corrupting the next generation of children.
When it comes to religion, I feel like choice is an important concept. You can choose to believe whatever you want to believe. It’s in our Constitution, and it’s one of our shared societal beliefs. Although I am not the most knowledgeable regarding religion, I can see that it has several advantages – it can bring you closer to others, it can give you strength in times of crisis or prosperity, and it can help you find deeper meaning in life or self-actualize.
At this moment in time, I am an agnostic atheist. I don’t really believe in a higher power because in my lifetime, I have not seen enough evidence. God has not convinced me yet. Similar to Abraham Lincoln, I believe something similar to “When I do good, I feel good. When I do bad, I feel bad. That is my religion.”
But I will still let you choose. Just because I believe God might not exist – even if I believed God doesn’t exist – it is not in my power to purge you of your choice. You choose what you want to believe in. You believe what makes you happy. If you want to worship or pray, go straight ahead. Personally, I think physical attractiveness is overrated, that the humanities should take a front seat to the sciences, and that it’s essential for everyone to read for at least half an hour every day. Obviously, not everyone will agree with me or follow in my footsteps. But that’s perfectly okay.
I slipped in a reference to reading solely so I could provide a picture of my new bookshelf. I do not feel guilty.
However, your religion or your philosophy should not take away other people’s choices. It should not come into play with things concerning government policy, how a female feels about her body, or how two men or two women want to express their love for one another. It is simply wrong for religion, or any belief system, to steal another person’s chance to attain happiness. I accept that I am mostly ignorant when it comes to religion, but does it not revolve around the idea of loving your neighbor like you love yourself? Who in this whole wide world would Jesus ever decide to hate?
If all of this is true, then why does the American Family Association exist? Why do these people spread hatred and hypocrisy, poisoning the prosperity of America’s children and killing hope and harmony?
The truth behind this hate is ignorance. These people cannot comprehend – cannot understand – the bile that has built up in their communities, the lies that have infiltrated their teachings. They cannot break free from the ignorance implanted within their minds.
Woo twitter ranting! I recently reached 1000 tweets. Not sure whether I should feel proud for posting so many updates, or worthless for wasting time… just kidding, sort of.
In the end, you choose. You choose what you believe in, you choose what you say to people. I saw a friend from a summer program I went to outright castigate abortion and a women’s right to choose on a social networking site. I had another friend tell me to my face that what I want – to love another man fully, consensually, and compassionately, is morally wrong. Unfortunately, I’m used to it.
But when my little cousins grow up, and when I have children, I will never let anyone tell them how to pursue happiness. I will never allow an association, which supposedly supports families, to enslave my own blood by banning them from love.
I will always, always let them live freely.
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Thoughts and comments, even if they are from an opposing viewpoint, are always appreciated.
the quiet voice 
Great post, well written, good call, agree with you, mature words, pity not everyone can see this 🙂
Thank you Kevin! Thanks for tweeting it as well. (:
Well stated Thomas! I’m glad you wrote a post on this issue.
Thank you Sonia! You inspired me.
Thank you. Increasing numbers of Christians do not hate or condemn homosexuality or gay activity. Have you seen the Heartland Proclamation? Grounds for hope for churches. http://www.heartlandproclamation.org/
Wow, this is amazing! I’m going to tweet it now – I will share it with my friends and others who need to “see it to believe it.”
Also, have a look at Reconciling Works, Lutherans for gay participation in churches since 1974. http://www.reconcilingworks.org/
Okay, thank you for sharing!
Personally, I’m with you. Luckily, I go to a school that is more tolerant than others – as a whole, that is. In other words, there are some kids that slip through the cracks and reveal how hateful people really can be. For instance, a student wanted to go to Chick-fil-A down the road for lunch. My friend (who is gay) immediately spoke up and said Hey, me too, I’m hungry (he is believes Food is Food is Food, corporate beliefs aside) and was instantly shot down from the afore mentioned student because it was “the one smart business left in town” for not approving of his sexuality.
I’ll also tell you I had a tough time reigning in my temper after this took place before me. I immediately looped my arm through his (my friend’s) and said Screw that, let’s get a chicken sandwich, not before listing a few strings of profanities mixed in a comment of this student’s stupidity (I wasn’t proud of it, but I hate Hate) after which I walked him to Chick-fil-A while he ranted about ignorant people.
Point is, I’m not one to judge another person – do as you please, as long as it doesn’t hurt yourself or me – and I completely loved this post for the fact that I could not have said it as beautifully or eloquently as you did.
Aw, I feel like there are people like that at every school. I think you did a good thing by taking your friend aside and going to Chik-fil-A, if that’s what he really wanted to do. It’s sad that there are people out there who would say nasty things like that, but I’m glad that there are others like you who know how to combat it!
And I agree, live and let live. It’s not a difficult concept at all.
Thanks for your wonderful post. I am also an Agnostic but identify as a Secular Humanist. I prefer to talk about what I believe over what I don’t. One thing I believe is that any belief system that doesn’t embrace love and compassion is deeply flawed. I have seen the problems hate and religion can cause. It cost the life of a close friend when I was in my first year of college. His suicide was a big blow and sent me back into the closet for many years. Then I found a loving home with a Unitarian Universalist Church who’s pastor happened to be a.humanist. I am son of a conservative pastor/preacher it pains me to say it but his beliefs cost me a relationship with him, (he passed away this part SprIng). I am glad there are people like you in the world paving the way to a better future.
Yes, it’s great that you prefer to talk about what you believe over what you don’t – that is a positive message! And I’m sorry about your friend, and the effect his suicide had on you. However, I’m glad that you found a loving home in the end. I empathize with you and your relationship with your father, it’s unfortunate that he couldn’t really see the light before he passed away.
Thank you, and I am glad there are people like you who are supportive of people like me!
Hello Thomas! Greetings from Vancouver, BC! I stumbled upon this post, and I completely agree with your words. Thanks for your mature perspective on the LGBTQ community and religion, and I think your post summarized one of the major points of this debate. Is it alright if I share it on this Facebook page for my school’s gay-straight alliance?
http://www.facebook.com/chatatthompson?fref=ts.
Hi Adrian, I would be honored if you shared my post with your school’s GSA! Thanks for stopping by.
I envy you your new bookshelf..actually thats the understatement of the year. I’m turning radioactive green with jealousy right now. I’m stuck in a college dorm where my book shelf( a rust covered precariously nailed in ledge…book shelf is too grandoise a term for it) has place for like 8 books…if i’m lucky. But yeah…a little suffering goes a long way towards character building. So i guess i’ll just have to suffer through this.
Anyways,onto more serious stuff. The code that i live by (or try to..there have been slip ups) is that “Your freedom extends till the front door of someone elses privacy”. You can’t force someone to conform to the way you think….and for those who believe they can I just have one thing to say. This is NOT the Dark ages….and we don’t want those years to be repeated. They were not called “Dark ages” for nothing!
Aw, I’m sorry! If it makes you feel any better next year when I go to college I’ll have to leave behind my beautiful bookshelf as well. Then we can suffer together. (:
But, yes, I love that code. We should be as free as possible without harming other people by taking away their privacy – like you said, the dark ages were dark for a reason.