I was taught ever since I can remember to love those around me and to treat everyone with respect and love. Now that I am older I realize that the people that taught me this fundamental lessons and life advice are not living by it themselves. WHy is it that people can teach you to see the best in people and to love them for who they are and yet take a completely different stance in their own life?
I mean even when they resort back to the bible for textual evidence about somethign, most of the time it is their interpretation of the text and many others can have a different interpretation and understanding than they have.
In regards to homosexuals my family and church put it down and say that the act of homosexuality is a sin and an abomination and yet i have been taught to love my neighbor and treat them with respect but how is it respectful to say that who they are is sinful and they are an abomination? I just dont udnerstand why people cant understand that god made us all (if that is what you believe) and that we are all his creation and we are all DIFFERENT. I think it has taken society a while to realize (and some still havent) that we are all different and maybe the homosexual gay pride movement is an expression of that even though it has been present for many centuries it is just now coming out into the light and saying this is who i am and being a homosexual doesnt define me, just like being straight doesnt define you.
I feel as though i am harping on this issue but i have decided that this will be my paper topic because it hits em so close to home. being a theatre major and having so many gay friends i know what it is like form a secondary standpoint and have felt the heat from my family just in associating with so many homosexuals and gays in my college career and what i want to do in the future. i want to look at the contradictions in biblical doctrine and christian practices of hate particularly toward homosexuals and also look at the examples and a bit of history of prejudice and discrimination of gays in the south while incorporating plays and literature and personal interviews into my research as well.
You can love and respect someone and still believe in your heart that their actions are not pleasing to God. It is not your place to judge or be mean to them, only God can judge us because we all fall short. However, it does not mean that you have to support something that God does deeem sinful. And the role as a preacher SHOULD be to warn those that he shepards of things that could be detrimental to their salavtion. Homosexuals are no less than anyone else, and they are no more of a sinner than you or I. But they are still sinning. We all sin in different ways. God did create all of us. We all have our own struggles and temptations. It is a temptation to be drunkard just as it is a temptation to be homosexual. But you can choose not to act on it. There is nothing wrong, according to the bible, with being attracted to the same sex. Again, according to the bible, what is wrong is acting upon it. But, it is no more wrong than gossipping, stealing, lying, getting drunk, committing adultery, etc. And homosexuality should not be viewed in any harsher light than any other sin. But debating whether or not it is a sin according to the bible is a losing debate because the bible makes that clear for those who believe it. But as we are all sinners we are all supposed to love one another and not judge each other but rather confess our sins to one another and pray for one another. Homosexuals and liars alike.
ReplyDelete1 Corinthians 6:9 "Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the Kindgdon of God? Do not be deceived, neither fornicators, nor idolators, nor adulterers, nor effeminat, nor homosexuals, nor theives, nor covertous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindelers, will inherit the Kingdon of God".
ReplyDeleteHope this helps with some insight on the paper topic :)
ReplyDeleteWell as a Christian I know all of this and some of it I have different interpretations on, like we said in class.
ReplyDeleteBut knowing this, my argument in my paper isnt to debate whether or not homosexuality is a sin, but the discrimination against these individuals because they are homosexuals. The fact that Christian groups will commit hate crimes in the name of God, the same God that is a loving and caring God. This contradiction is what I am looking at, the preaching of a loving God and the hate portrayed toward these individuals.
I like that you mentioned that all sinners are the same, because I know that in my personal experience, some people DO hold certain sins as worse than others. That is another contradiction i would like to study and look at.
Thank you for your insight though!
What kind of sources are you coming up with, Reagan? Yes, focus on interactions between religious and queer communities as a conversation to debate as a social scientist interested in human exchange and behavior... Will get you going in a good direction to start if you keep that in mind...
ReplyDeleteThe sources I have started to find are related to specific incidents surrounding hate crimes that deal with "religious" groups as well as articles dealing with interviews and an analytical look at what growing up a homosexual in the Bible belt is like and the struggles presented. As stated before, I am not looking at whether or not said homosexuality is a sin, that is not what my "debate" is about, it is merely a look at a group or groups' fundamental beliefs and how when in relation to homosexuals, (and in the 60s with the KKK) those are pushed aside or "changed" to what that group wants to have done. I am going to do all I can to not fall into the stereotype and generalizations. I have not decided whether or not I want to focus on one denomination of protestants in the "south" or if i want to pick and focus on a few as a compare contrast. I will more than likely go with the latter.
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