 |
| Ad that ran in local paper this week..... |
My opinion is not always the popular opinion, but it is mine. I totally understand the idea behind the law, people want to protect themselves from not having to bake a cake for a wedding they do not approve of, or be forced to take photos at an event they do not religiously or morally agree with. I get it. I do. Here's the thing.......hang up a sign that says "We reserve the right to refuse service to anyone, for ANY reason." That's it.....done, you are off the hook.
When you try to make something like this a "law" it can easily get twisted and turned around and made to be something that was not intended, it could easily become a license to discriminate against ANY group of people, and that is why people oppose the law, it promotes hate. If you are going to discriminate against gay people and their right to marry (as well as anyone that supports them), then why stop there? You don't want to be a hypocrite after all.....Have people fill out a questionnaire before you will do business with or associate with them, add to your very closed minded law that you will also not do business with anyone who has committed adultery (which would also include a divorcee or anyone who engaged in pre-marital relations). People are people, not angels, just people and none are without sin....you can certainly believe what you want, you can discriminate against and condemn who you want, but if you aren't going to follow ALL the rules, and you are just picking and choosing the ones that fit your agenda, then PLEASE stop doing it in the name of Christianity....please do not use the bible, or scripture or the name of Christianity to fuel your hate group.
I have grown up approximately 30 minutes from the Westboro Baptsist church, and the hate that it spews.....that has been enough to shake my beliefs to the core at times. Because, I am also a Christian, one with deep rooted beliefs in the words of the Gospel, but here's the kicker....I also have a DEEP respect for human life and other people's beliefs in general. It took me a while to come to peace with that.....but, finally I realized....... my God is NOT the God they speak of, he does not hate people, or condemn entire schools, towns, cities and countries. My God is a kind and loving God a forgiving God, a God that LOVED humanity so much that he sent his son to DIE for us. I have waged a war inside of myself with the entire institution of organized religion, just for this reason....hypocrisy. That's right....guess what, nobody is perfect (certainly not me), that is the WHOLE premise behind being a Christian.............if people (anyone) were perfect there would have been no need to send his son.
I understand coming from a small community how hard it is to realize that the world is much bigger than ourselves, much bigger than this community, much bigger than our country. By the way, our country was started with people trying to start over in a place that allowed religious freedom, and there are MANY religions represented through out the world, other than Christianity.
That is what hurts me.....in a time where the world is falling a part and people are looking for any reason to persecute and hate Christians, you added fuel to the fire. Condemning people who are different from you is what has caused mass hate and religious wars, it is what the Nazi's did, and the Taliban still does, the KKK and the countless other numbers of hate groups that have beliefs or practices that attack or spitefully criticize an entire class of people. More importantly a small group of people can taint the entire group, and I really don't want a small closed minded set of people to sway people's opinions of Christianity the way the Taliban caused people to view the Islamic faith.
I wonder if you realize the damage that one full page ad in a local paper can do. I wonder if you understand the difficulties that people in the gay community and their loved ones face. I wonder if you realize just how hateful you sound, or how many teenagers have taken their lives because of ads like yours, or condemnation like yours....from their churches, and sometimes their own families. I wonder if you can see past your own self-righteousness to see the harm this can cause peoples' spirits. I wonder if you realize how many people saw your ad, and decided that Christianity is not for them.
I had a long talk with a friend last night, about the unfairness of the world and why we care so much. I believe it is because I have been down.....way down. I have had the "crowd" against me, I have been gossiped about and lied about. People have formed opinions about me based on absolutely no facts. I have struggled, not as much as some, but I know what struggle is and therefore I am compassionate, I root for the underdogs.....I root for people to have the ability to be their "true selves"(without discrimination)......that's it, take it or leave it this is who I am.
Now, I just have a plea to people......please do not base your opinions on ANY religion off of the rantings and ravings (yes, even mine) of one person or one small group. Use your own brain, read your own books, make your own decisions, and whatever you believe........believe it with your whole being. I have an amazing, accepting and supportive church family, ALL are welcome at the First Christian Church I attend. I will not be swayed, my beliefs will not falter, I will stand up for equal rights for ALL people....(even tax collectors and prostitutes) because I believe the lessons I have learned, the "words in red", and the hymns I sing, with my whole heart, "They will know we are Christians by our love".
No comments:
Post a Comment