This diary was going to be a comment for an earlier diary found here: http://www.dailykos.com/... I found I had too much to say for a comment section so read below the orange Cloud of Unknowing for my comment/diary.
What we Christians need to do is to look inside of ourselves. If someone frightens or disgusts us it is time to search for understanding about why. What shortcomings in me cause me to be unable to love this particular neighbor? Our job as Christians is to become more loving, more accepting, more caring of our neighbors. When we have a problem with someone, it is time to pray for insight about why we are failing in these tasks.
Much of our disgust is born of fear that has been instilled in us in our homes, our churches, our schools, in politics, on the news. Some fears are for our survival. Being afraid of killers, rapists, war, robbers, pedophiles, etc. are proper and help us to live in a dangerous world. Other fears are created by something different than what we were raised to accept. The fear of the unknown is a good example of this. We were taught as children to be afraid of strangers. Our parents and other adults taught us this to protect us from being kidnapped or harmed by those who prey on children. Unfortunately, many of us were also taught to fear other races, other cultures, other practices that our parents feared. If you were white and born in the Deep South, you were taught that black people were less than you were and that they were dangerous. If you lived in the Southwest you were taught the same thing about Hispanic people.
Many of us were taught to distrust Native Americans. In Boston, it was the Irish. In the 50’s and 60’s it was the Yellow Peril about Oriental people and Russia. Now it is Middle Eastern people that people are being told to fear. This is ridiculous with the mishmash of races our world has become. Many of us would find, if we had our DNA checked out, that some of the races we speak against are in our bloodlines.
Homosexuality and Transgender people have been feared for a longer time than all of these biases. Churches and schools have had a lot to do with that. It is time we Christians realize that these biases are outdated and harmful. If they are going to base their religion on the Old Testament then they have to base it on the whole Old Testament, yet they pick and choose what they want from there and if they don’t like something, they ignore it. If they were really Christian, they would base their religion on the New Testament. The New Testament does not address homosexuality. When Paul talks about it he talks about the men having sex in the temple with male prostitutes. His point is not that they are having sex with boys but that they are taking part in pagan rituals. Jesus does not address homosexuality at all. His directive is to love your neighbor and not to judge others and to take care of the poor, weak, marginalized, widows and orphans.
The extreme hate and emotional reactions to marriage equality, homosexuality, and transgender is born out of fear of difference by a part of our society. Some men are so afraid of homosexuality because their fathers were afraid of it. There is also the fear that they might have those tendencies too. When a person is attracted to another person, it may be because of their beauty of body, spirit, or talents. Or it could be a sexual attraction. Attraction is a confusing subject and what we may think is sexual attraction may be a need that is unfulfilled in our lives. Like the man or woman who is attracted to an older woman or man. That could be born out of an unfulfilled need in their childhood or out of respect and admiration. What makes us want to be with someone is complicated but it should not be legislated.
These are the issues that a Christian needs to pray about. The needs and faults within themselves that cause negative reactions to others. This soul searching, when done honestly, helps us to grow and become more loving. Judgment keeps us stuck in the past and distances us from others. Wars, murders, and acts of violence are quite often linked directly to these fears and biases and until we learn to accept other races, lifestyles, cultures and religions, they will continue and solve nothing. Christians can unify or divide by their attitudes and actions. It is time for us to repent of our pride, our hatred, our mistrust, our selfishness and our greed. Jesus invited us into a life of love and service to others and that should be our focus.
My mother was very afraid of other races and cultures. I could have allowed her fears and biases to direct my life. However, in the schools I went to, we had many races and cultures. I enjoyed the differences as well as the similarities I had with these other children. I have known and worked with many homosexuals and transgenders. Being a musician, and having studied ballet, working in art galleries and working in the theater, you cannot avoid them. To me they were just people living a different lifestyle. It always seemed strange that people would dislike or be afraid of these differences. I, myself am made up of English, Irish, Scots, French, German, Dutch, and 1/16th Cherokee. I am heterosexual but have loved and admired other women. People are people and I try to take them as I find them. I have wrestled with the question of marriage equality, abortion and other issues and have evolved over time in my views. This is just a progression towards maturity. I do not want to be judged for my lifestyle or beliefs and I try not to judge others. Having worked extensively in the church these have been tough wrestling matches with myself. I believe what Jesus taught and have had to sift through doctrine and theology to find what was a part of what he taught and what came from the biases in the different ages of the church. Much of theology and doctrine has evolved over time as well and that is why Christianity still survives. Fundamentalism, to me, is a group of baby Christians that have not gone deep enough in their faith through soul-searching and really hearing what Jesus taught. Many are frightened and undereducated individuals who just get spoon fed what they should believe by other limited Christians. They are churches that are here for awhile and then they gradually die. People leave to find places where they can grow in their faith. Many of these churches are all about money. They do not heal their people’s wounds. They do not care for the poor and marginalized. They are constantly judging others and patting themselves on the back about how Christian they are as compared to others while not seeing that they have walked away from Christianity. All religions have much to answer for because of their failings. They are made of human beings that are fallible. When they are fundamentalistic and biased they do more harm than good. That applies to Catholics, Protestants, Islamic, Jewish, Mormon, Jehovah’s Witness or any other religion or ideology. When you base your beliefs on selfishness, fear, or greed, you have walked away from the good that was the basis of the formation of your faith.
True spirituality demands growth and forward momentum. It requires soul searching and letting go of hate, bias and other failings. It is time for us to preach the gospel of love and to put away childish things.