Christianity is becoming less forgiving and persecuting
Well I am going to do something I almost never do, talk about religion! Now before you leave this post thinking “great this is going to be another rant about God and how the world is going to hell”, Just wait its not that kind of post.
My whole life I have been raised to believe that God was the creator of all things and that we as his servants are supposed to be kind and help our fellow man (or woman). What I see in the news lately, however is proving disappointing and at times has made me question whether I am right to still call myself a Christian! Let me explain this a bit more so its not taken out of context, I am still a believer in God and Jesus, I just feel the word Christian has come to mean persecuting bigot instead of loving and helpful.
Now what I am about to say may offend some people (if I have not already done so), however that is not my intention, I mean only to explain why I feel things have changed and why I feel dirty when I call myself a Christian now. Lets start with the good things that have happened and go from there shall we?
New Pope elected
On March 13th 2013 Pope Francis began his Papacy, during his first few years things changed drastically in the church! Laws that were dated and sexist began to disappear and you saw the church as being more forgiving and kind then it had in years.
He was quickly known as the merciful Pope encouraging people to seek Mercy as much as possible just like Jesus did. Well without getting to preachy here it ended up making waves some good some bad he had views on Gay and Lesbian couples that most Catholic people would cringe at and accepted them as part of the church (in the sense that they are Christian not a part of the clergy) not caring how they chose to live their personal life.
War against anything not “Christian silently begins”
Which brings me to the bad, people began to set their sights on Gay and Lesbian couples throwing biblical passage after biblical passage at them to prove what they were doing was wrong.
While there is no passage in the bible that specifically states anything against gay or lesbians or trans or whatever other group people fall into. Sure you can interpret the passage about marriage being between a man and a woman as meaning that anything else would be a sin, the point however is that it is not specifically mentioned as a sin or a evil deed.
Now I am not saying you have to accept that what Gay or lesbians do as being acceptable, what I am saying is that they are people just like you or I and persecuting them for a part of their lifestyle is the same as saying you’re going to Hell because you wore plaid on a Sunday!
If you do not agree with their lifestyle choice, deal with it, it is their choice after all not yours! You would think this would be the only point of contention here but you would be mistaken.
Fast forward a few years and you get the current drama as it unfolds; USA Politicians in two states are trying to force religion on people blaming the entirety of our nations faults on the lack of spiritual education! Now I am neither a pastor nor a Politician, but look at less religious countries like England (yes they have religion but it is not as strong as it once was) that get along just fine without forcing religion on their people!
They also come to defense of Child molesters trying to say that the reason people have an issue with what Josh Duggar did (for example) is because he is anti-gay! I mean really I would like to think that most people have more common sense then this. I am not going to go on a political rant ethier as that is not the point of this blog post, the point is to show that religion specifically Christianity has become more about persecuting those who do not share your views then welcoming them with open arms and trying to enjoy life. There will be times when you do not agree with someone in life but does this mean you point a stick at them and tell them they are going to die in the pits of hell due to a life choice they made?
Lets take a quick stroll into US history shall we, During the 50’s Blacks and Whites were segregated and even the church tried saying that God hates Blacks and that is why they must be treated as such. Of course this was a small few but it gained enough momentum that businesses could deny service based on skin color! We have evolved past that and made laws preventing this kind of thing, however religion is not starting to put those walls up again! Maybe not in the same fashion as blacks and whites still are equal but now religion becomes the variable in which we choose to hide behind.
Several US businesses run by Christians refuse to serve Gay and Lesbian couples, or even Islamic or other religions just because they do not agree with either their life choice or religion! Now correct me if I am wrong but is this not the same thing we did in the 50’s to Blacks? You do not need to agree with the choices people make weather it is religion or a life choice to provide goods and services to them, at least this is how things used to be. As people become more and more focused on this way of thinking Christian becomes a word that means violent bigot who refuses to see reason and I do not want to be one of those people.
Full disclosure I am not gay but I do support gay rights as well as freedom of religion, I believe our country is supposed to honor freedom and not persecution. So you tell me am I wrong in thinking that the word Christian is slowly become more known with cruel segregationist (religion and life style) that will persecute you so much as look at you if your not thinking exactly what they are, or am I way off base?
I welcome comments I just ask you to first stop and think long and hard at how Religion has influenced the changes lately and while trying to keep a objectionable frame of mind respond letting me know what you think.
Remember Christianity is supposed to be about forgiveness and helping others not tearing them down because they are different then you!