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.
look, i was raised Christian. nothing about the god of the Bible is kind or loving. he committed multiple genocides and required heinous trials of faith to people who followed him (Abraham and Isaac come to mind). he’s an ego driven maniacal bastard who didn’t mind ruining his entire creation just because not enough people were praising him.
sorry, but if the shoe fits… Christianity is a religion of blood and violence toward the out-groups, and always has been.
You’re welcome to feel that way, but it simply is not accurate to say “nothing about the god of the Bible is kind or loving.” The love and kindness of God are all throughout scripture.
Those other things are certainly in there, too. But neither they nor their presence in scripture are the end of the story. Throughout history, people have experienced and perpetrated horrific violence. We could just as easily (and just as inaccurately) say there is nothing kind or loving of humanity. We do not, however, because it is not true. And people have generally reflected themselves and their experiences—including the violent ones—into their storytelling about God. The better question to ask about anybody’s ideas about God, including ideas that we find in scripture, is not whether they are objectively true, but what they reflect about the people who are speaking or writing them, and what we should learn from that.
For example, why would people wish to tell a story of how they violently invaded a land and displaced or subjugated its people, as we find in the book of Joshua? The question is even more compelling when we consider the fact that archaeological evidence simply does not support the historicity of such a conquest. What does it tell us about these storytellers that they would wish to fabricate such events as their own story?
Similarly, in the United States, where I live, it is fascinating to see the way people have done precisely the opposite of what the biblical storytellers have done: although European colonizers in fact perpetrated a violent program of displacement and subjugation, that true story is suppressed by many in favor of a false one in which the colonizers are bringers of light and peace.
We can learn a lot about ourselves and others by considering these things. And the Bible is not just some factual account of “what happened” that must simply be either accepted or rejected uncritically. Rather, scripture is an invitation to press more deeply into the difficulties and messiness of human existence and the human relation to the Divine.
When I left Christianity I was told those types were not true Christians and that I’ve been mislead. Unfortunately while volunteering with a church I did not meet any true Christians either.
No hate on your faith but I thought this might add to the conversation.
I was raised by those types and, for what it’s worth, they saw everyone who disagreed as “not true Christians” as well. This is literally why we have many fractured protestant versions of Christianity.
It’s honestly the biggest tell that it’s all fake.
Many Christians don’t really know the Bible well or follow jesus’ instructions.
There’s articles about it every so often. https://www.newsweek.com/evangelicals-rejecting-jesus-teachings-liberal-talking-points-pastor-1818706 was the top hit right now.
Logical arguments aren’t going to persuade anyone of anything. This is the domain of emotions. It’s about in-group and identity
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.