A prize, you deserve one. I completely agree with this. Man wrote the Bible, several times over. Man is not perfect. I'd bet money on the idea of several elements of the Bible being changed simply because it was too farfetch'd for somebody to believe. I'm not saying the Christian Bible is a waste of time, because it's not. I've read it several times, front to back, and the entire message it gives is undoubtedly a positive one. Even if I do not follow a religion, I can respect the Bible and the moral grip it has. Of course some things in there may not actually be "the word of God," as humans tend to enjoy revisions over mimicry. I'll leave it at that, as I don't know how deep we can go into the religious aspect on this board without warranting a lock and/or ban.
I love you, Timbers.
I feel the same exact way about the Bible (I, too, have read it several times over). It is an excellent moral compass and lays out the foundation for good, wholesome living. However, I can't bring myself to buy in to the finer points of its dogma (i.e. God's proclaimed "mercy", the contradictions found in the Old and New Testament, etc). There are some parts of it that I feel that mankind has thrown in there just for effect and embellishment.
As for homosexuality and the church: Mortal sin for thinking outside of the box and outside of natural instinct? Heaven strike me down because the individual in question is NOT honoring their sacred duties in repopulating the Earth (I mean, not having children is also a quintessential sin right?). It just burns me up that people just don't have their own will to make their choice.
...
A lady had come up to me the other day while I was working on Self Checkout. She was a slight and slender black lady who was crowned with one of those hats that you would see a Southern Belle with. Her clothes were relatively kept and nice, though they had appeared worn and faded from a long period of possession. It's the sort of wear-and-tear you see on all clothes that are incredibly ancient and well cared for. Face was set into a slight smile, as if she were smug about something. Like there was this big secret that she had hidden right behind her back, in her palms, anxiously awaiting revelation. Her eyes were crater-wide and dark, glazed over by what I could only discern as other tears or zealousness. Whatever it was, it made me a little more than uncomfortable.
I didn't flinch from this person; let's face it, part of my job is to interact with people. It would be disrespectful of me to give her an outward sign that I wanted to admonish her presence as politely as possible.
So, I stood there and doled out my obligatory "hi."
She smiled, whitely, and responded in kind. "Hi yourself, Mister..." The lady regarded my nametag for a second with her eyes, absorbing the white text of my name like a sponge would suck up free-laying water. "Kevin, is it? A lovely name."
Usually, this would be a pretext to trouble. Honestly, I thought that she was one of those people that harbored a complaint about me not acknowledging their presence while they were checking out (Lord knows people raise a fuss about that). I nodded solemnly and gave her a broad grin. "Thanks. In old Gaelic, the name roughly translates to "beloved." Better than my Dad naming me Brook or somethin'." I laughed a little at my own joke; my Dad DID intend on naming me Brook because he thought that he was gonna get a third daughter (the ultrasound proved him wrong).
There was a chortling sound that came from this lady. Whether she was tickled pink by my half-***** attempt at a joke, I wasn't entirely sure. But she laughed. Then she fixed her eyes on me. A straight, even stare that subliminally told somebody that she was ready to talk and that I would listen.
"Are you an honest person, Kevin?" she began, tilting her head to the side and watching me. The phrase sounded...rehearsed. Practiced. It was like a lame pickup line when you walk up to somebody you're attracted to. Only she wasn't attracted to me; she was attracted to something about me, I guess, this aura I projected (innocuous as it was, considering I'm just a nerdy cashier).
From underneath the brim of her hat I could see her features hardening just a little. I paused for a second, unsure of what to say to that. Customers don't just walk up to you and ask this sort of ****.
"I suppose I could say I am," I replied, a thick wad of saliva belating the last few syllables of my sentence. I got very uncomfortable and shifted on the balls of my feet. I looked around; no managers in site, no cop on duty, nothing. I was stuck. I couldn't very well tell the customer to go away and let me do my job; I'd get fired in a New York minute if I did something like that. I had a nagging feeling about what was coming, but I couldn't say anything.
There was a long moment of silence; she lingered there like a spectre. "Do you...hm. Do you believe in God, Kevin? Were you baptized?" The question was, again, solemn and simple. It came out so easily for her.
"Yes," I replied.
"Do you...attend church?"
"I can't really say that I have, ma'am. Not lately." I look around, suddenly realizing that I was getting knee deep and that she was confirming my fears.
"What is it holding you back?" she asked me. "Lack of time?"
"More or less," I lied. I have a whole host of reasons to not like the church (the institution), but that's not the point.
The lady set her jaw for a moment, mildly annoyed. She probably saw right through my deception and knew the lie for what it was. Maybe she didn't. But her and I both knew that that sort of thing didn't matter. So she stepped closer. There wasn't a smugness that was present in her features anymore; I could see only zeal creasing the gentle lines of her face, making her appear so much older than what she looked. If her eyes had a way of looking, I'd say it could be comparable to canning light and shoving it in the back of somebody's eyeholes to burn brightly behind their eyes.
She launched into the beginnings of a spiel. "Kevin, did you know that God loves you?" she asked, though not expecting a response back. "Did you know God is empowering? Did you know God is forgiving? God is compassionate? Did you know all of these things, Kevin?"
I went quiet and my eyes narrowed. I could only nod solemnly; I knew these things. The Bible talks about it all the time. Elementary school stuff.
Then she proceeded to tell me more about God. God and His wonderful plans for the world and everything else in between. Telling me that, by following God, I am a leader among men. "Leader, leader, LEADER!" She accentuated those words with swift jabs to my chest, actually succeeding in knocking me back a step away from my podium. I remained calm even then, though anger was starting to mount. Not because I was being shoved around or because I was being told things that a Christian school teacher could blurt out in a matter of seconds. I was growing angry at the way she conveyed things, the way she painted everything in black and white. Absolution in calling; there was nothing else in-between. There was only this Word and nothing.
When she finished, the lady turned around and walked away. I called out to her.
"Ma'am?" I asked. I had to control the trembling in my voice. "I do have a question for you."
The lady paused and looked bemused. She almost looked as smug as she did when she first approached me. "Yes, Kevin?" She walked back over in due haste, interested again.
"What about us?" I grated, enamel grinding against enamel. "What about...human beings? The ones that roll around in the dirt that is God's great creation? Don't we matter at all? Don't we have a say in things?"
She blinked for a moment and looked almost incredulous. "Of course you do, Kevin. We all have a say in things. God gave us free will to do that. You're allowed to think what you want to think. God is not coming down from on high, pressing this magic button that'll make you love him. Nor is he twisting your arm to do so, making you cry "I'll love you, Lord! I'll love you!" You always have a choice." She then proceeded to repeat that last bit for a moment, ad nauseam.
I got in her face and glared, icily. "Oh, good. I'm glad God gives us a choice. Now, please---do yourself a favor and stop twisting MY god**** arm. There is something called volition, you know."
With that, I walked away.
tl;dr
The point of the story was this: Gray area is paramount. I believe in choice. If someone wants to be gay or indulge in an alternate lifestyle, it is their right. No one else should infringe on it.
Smooth Criminal