This is one of my biggest beefs with the Christian religion. Intolerance.
I have had a number of friends who were gay, and still have those who are close to me who are homosexual. Their sexuality was never a problem for me, and in some cases I was one of the few who was even aware of it. I have seen how difficult coming to terms with this realization can be for many people. If most of these people really had a choice in who they were attracted to or fell in love with they would certainly not choose to be gay.
I cannot speak for everybody's situation of course, but I have seen some who are close to me feel the need to hide, and even, deny their orientation. They have had family members disown them, and friends shun them. They may find it challenging to locate a place to live with their lover or even fear holding hands in public, out of concern of coming under verbal or even physical attack by passersby.
And it is my opinion that the Christian church, and members like Sally Kerns, are the ones who stoke the fires of this fear and hatred toward our brothers and sisters, and sons and daughters.
When the church finally throws out these ancient prejudices they may have a chance to survive for centuries to come. If not then they will find themselves thrown on the trash pile of abandoned mythologies by the more enlightened humans of the future.
Thank you for this great post. You touched on many issues I have had to deal with in my lifetime.
ReplyDeleteI've always said that if sexual preference was a choice, I would have chosen the alternative--life is a whole lot easier when you're straight.
It never was a choice for me, although I tried to deny my sexuality for a long time.
My bigoted family hasn't spoken to me for the better part of a decade now. They believe that my partner and I, and all other gay people, do not deserve equal rights under the law.
I have been discriminated against in my personal and professional life. I have been subjected to verbal and even physical attacks because I am gay.
And I lay the blame squarely on the heads of those bigots who claim to be speaking "god's word." Hateful speech leads to hateful acts. Is there any doubt that hateful speech helped cause the death of such young people as Matthew Shepard?
As a society, we seem to be slowly coming around to the idea that gays and lesbians deserve equal rights, too. Unfortunately, the bigots are firmly entrenched and won't give up easily.
My partner and I long for the day when we are finally treated the same as every other citizen.
Thanks to you and all the others like you who have done what you can to help advance the idea.