Would Jesus Discriminate??

At last!! Someone with the courage to stand up and be counted, when there are so many boosting their image of self through the hatred of others, affirming their own self-righteousness, rather than affirming others and welcoming them into the Kingdom.


I found this online, at http://www.towleroad.com/2007/04/indianapolis_to.html

Now, before you grab your rosaries, and sharpen your wooden stakes, take a look at the website, even if just out of interest's sake.

My own answer to the question in the title is, "No, I don't believe He would. In a life that was all about accepting the unacceptable, loving those that society cast out, and standing side-by-side with the outcasts, I think Jesus would've loved and accepted gays, lesbians, bisexuals, transsexuals, transgenders and everyone in-between."

Oooooh ;o)

I've just been called a 'Liberal Satanist' by one Mr Jones (allegedly) who was too cowardly to accredit his comment with any contact details. LOL. He writes, "By supporting abortion and homosexual actifities you cannot honestly claim the title of Christian, why not be honest and claim the title of Liberal Satanist."

What exactly is a Liberal Satanist? Does it mean I can be a bit flexible on the human sacrifice issue? Or is it perhaps that I don't have to wear black? Perhaps I can add chocolate to my blood cocktails? While we're on it ... what are actifities? There's a cough syrup called 'Actifed' ... is an 'Actifity' someone who uses Actifed, and actifities the plural of that?

I'm glad he felt he had to help me towards self-actualisation. Or would that be confusion? I can't tell.

However, if Mr "Jones" had read the post (which, I know, given his eloquence and spelling, is a bit doubtful), he would have seen that I never once said I support abortion. I simply said it wasn't the greatest threat to face us, and that it wasn't a simple issue. You can't apply a set of absolute values to it, because circumstances can vary greatly - from the person who wants a termination because they're not ready for a baby (which, I think could be reconsidered), and the person who needs a termination to save their life, or because the life and quality of life of the foetus is in danger, to the person who is pregnant by rape. Vastly different cases, that each need to be considered individually.

As for the gay issue, and supporting homosexuals, hear hear. I think they need all the support they can get, surrounded by bigots that discriminate against them simply for being who they are. Perhaps Mr "Jones" is of the ill-informed school of thought that thinks that gay men are - in fact - straight men who decided in a weak moment to start shagging other straight blokes up the arse. That it was entirely a cognitive decision ... a giving in to weakness. LOL!!!

I wonder if he lies awake at night, worrying about whether or not he'll be strong enough to resist that first tender touch from a guy. Don't worry sweetie ... it's not an actual decision. It's just something gay people are. They're born gay, and they can't be anything but gay, because that's what they are, what they were made, and what they were created to be.

Perhaps Mr "Jones" would be more at home in Westboro Baptist Church, who can be seen in this photograph, spreading the good news about Jesus Christ to their community?
Of course, their method of communication is not educated, nor even Biblical, but it's important to let these people busy themselves with simple tasks, such as colouring in bright signs ... it keeps them happy.

Oh, and to another poster, who didn't leave any contact details, other than the name 'Chuck', whose offering to help make me straight ... no thanks. I'm happy just the way I am. I tried that whole 'make you straight' rubbish once ... was the most screwed up 3 years of my life, with people making me feel guilty for being who I was, telling me my parents were to blame for me being gay, and that I just had to unlearn to be me, and then relearn how to be a good little clone. No thanks. It screwed me up big time, until someone had the sense to tell me that I am as I was created to be, and that God loves me just as I am. He doesn't love us when we conform to a set of rules, He loves us as we are.

And there's nothing wrong with being gay. "If it aint broke, don't fix it." Gay people are not 'imperfect', 'broken' or 'outside the divine plan'. Consider, oh "straight" man, what you're implying by saying that gay people are imperfect and a deviation from God's created "norm". Are you suggesting that God makes mistakes? Or, are you suggesting that God is unfair and chooses to produce some people ok, and others all imperfect? Either is blasphemy. Consider, instead that the gay man is as God intended them to be, and that they need to be the best at being who they are, in order to honour their Creator.

I'm so grateful for the enlightenment ... I shall sleep much better tonight. And, for the record, don't expect me to reply to each I'll-help-you-be-just-like-me, or homophobic post. Much less posters that don't have contact details.

Fundamentalism ... a modern 'demon'?

Since starting in post, I've been receiving regular mailouts from LifeLeague, an organisation that seems to fancy themselves as the upholder of all things moral in the U.K. (another moral defender). Their publicity material is always calling for the reader to campaign their government about issues surrounding abortion and - more recently - to stop the government bill allowing same-sex couples equal adoption rights.

Their publicity is deliberately inflammatory and alarmist, for example using phrases such as, "Parliament launches unprecedented attack on our faith. Church faces biggest threat in years." Now, to my mind, statements like that are unhelpful and uneducated. Surely global warming, 3rd world debt, poverty, 'ethnic cleansing' policies by certain countries, AIDS and things like the abuse of power by tyrant politicians are greater threats ... endangering the lives of millions of people globally, and threatening the planet.

Besides, abortion is never a clear black-and-white decision. There can be extenuating circumstances, such as rape cases, or life-threatening issues. It's not always the comfortable financial decision that organisations like this would panic us into believing.

And the issue of same-sex couples being allowed to adopt ... surely the responsible thing to do would be to look at a couple's parenting ability, and make sure a child goes to the best home possible. Bearing in mind, of course, that statistically there are more cases of child abuse in 'straight' households, and that same-sex couples probably make a much more informed and prepared decision to adopt ... after careful consideration.

So, because I think their unsolicited mailouts are uninformed, unnecessarily alarmist, miss the point, and are not worth the paper they're printed on, I sent them a simple request that they stop sending them, as follows:

> Dear Sir / Madam
>
> The concerns and campaigns of LifeLeague do not reflect the concerns of this office.
>
> Please refrain from posting further correspondence to the address you currently have on file as ... [address supplied]

Their response was as follows:
> Well Andy, they SHOULD reflect the concerns of your office.
>
> Your address has been removed in accordance with your wishes.

I guess I ought to be really thankful that they educated me in what I should be doing. Or is it more of a case that they were trying to force their agenda on me. Hmmm ... unsolicited, inflammatory, alarmist mail (and while we're all focusing on the 'green' agenda ... a waste of trees), and now an attempt to force me to comply with their own agenda. Nice.

My reply to them was as follows:
> I would prefer not to end up in a slinging match, thank you. It was a simple request. Thank you for complying.
>
> Regards

Not heard a word since ... thankfully. Let them just try and bombard me with publicity, now that I have on file a request to stop it, as well as their acknowledgement of my request and agreement to comply.

The less you hear from people and organisations like that, the better!

Kinderen voor Kinderen song - Two Fathers

I stumbled across this yesterday, and just think it's awesome!

Can you imagine the outcry if something as open as this was allowed to air on a children's show in the U.K.?

It's a video of a kid singing about how he has two dads. If less people panicked, and encouraged this sort of openness and communication, the world would be much more fabulous!