Religion Hello everyone, hope you are all having a great day. I will give some info about myself and then go into my real question. I am a 21-year-old male living in the U.S (I live with my parents). I recently (2 months ago or so) came out to my family. My mom has not brought this up, everything is as normal. The only time she seems mad is when I bring up my boyfriend. The other day I asked her, “why do you not like him?” There is no reason why she should not like him, she has not ‘met’ him. She just told me that we should not trust people because we never know their real intentions; my mom does not trust many people. At that point, I noticed the conversation was not going to be productive so I let it go. Later that week I told her that I was planning on having a stay at home date with my boyfriend. She dint seem to like the idea but she said “ok.”While my mom and I were out I asked her why she didn’t want him at the house? And this answer I know she meant it. She told me it was because she doesn’t want to go to hell. My mom is not the most religious person but she, like I, do believe in God. I then gave some examples of what my grandma had seen as sins (my grandma was very conservative and religious) that were no longer considered bad. I was stumped by her answer, so I said nothing else. My thinking is, Who am I to tell her that being gay is not a sin. I do not know if it is, I have not spoke to God to make sure it is not a sin. My question is then, What do I do. I know it seems very broad but I have hit a wall in the road; I do not know what to do. I am also to question everything. Is being gay a sin? Has the mass media worked its magic to make the common people think is ok? Have I fallen for this mass advertisement? I do not know, I think I just need to talk to someone who is more in tuned to his/her religion. I know where I am posting this; most of the users here are gay. I know most of you will tell me that being gay is not a sin but I need more. I need someone to try to convince me (as I were to try to show my mom) being gay is not a sin. Sorry for this long question. I have tried to find the answer on my own but I feel that I need to speak to someone. Thank you Ps. There is also an audio by Paul Harvey called “if I were the devil” (you can find it on YouTube) that I feel makes a great point to the mass media statement I made earlier.
Well let me start by saying that personally I don't really believe in god. I don't know what baring that will have on my credibility towards you, but I don't intend to hide it or shy away from it. When it comes to religion the rules change with time. At one point slave holding was supported by the bible, and general racism. With time people argued out this point until it was determined that the 'slavery' section of the bible should be 'skipped over' or 'ignored'. So that's been outta the story for awhile. The same goes for women. There is plenty of misogyny in the bible as well. Again this became part of the public debate and over time the rules were again redefined to remove these from the generally accepted reading of the bible at your average church. Now we get to the homosexual community. The debate is currently underway, and we're quickly seeing that it is going down the same path. We're straying away from those few passages that discuss this. I imagine before long the standard reading of the bible won't include these passages given enough time. I would also like to point out that there are very few passages that speak about homosexuality and that they are fairly vague as well. The one condemning homosexuals to death could very easily be a mistranslated interpretation.
the only reason why you are questioning all this is because she's your mum, she's someone who is important to you, and you've let her hurt you because you feel a mum who loves their kid would never do that. its as simple as that this I dont care for either, the things he stated were things that had been already happening, he was just stating the obvious and making it sound like it was the devils doing and that he could predict the future. hes just one old bitter man who wanted to blame peoples poor choices in life on the devil, the main point of religion was to control people with fear and to keep them coming back so that people like him could stay in power. being gay is not a sin, what you're mum had said to you was a sin, she blindly hates and fears, thats a bad human being. If you're still keen on bringing the bf home, just warn him before hand how much its gonna annoy your mum, id do it just to spite her, teach her a good lesson that you're growing up to be a fine independent man
Nobody really has the answers on if the Bible condemns homosexuality or not. That's something that you are going to have to decide where you stand. I cannot tell you that. The only thing I notice is that you seem to be leaning heavily to the side that the media has been "corrupting" society to think that homosexuality is ok. Have you looked at the other side of that argument? Have you thought that maybe the media is bringing attention to LGBT individuals because the Church is trying to condemn them? There is nothing that irks me more than when a church says that LGBT people are taking their freedom of speech. We have a voice, and we deserve to be heard as well. One of the main ways that both the Church and the LGBT community are heard is through the media. You take that away from both sides, and that is a major blow to both. If people don't like a show because of an LGBT character, then they can easily change the channel. That's the world that we live in now, a world with a ton of channels, that are specialized. It takes a lot more than a television show airing gay couples, or a documentary about gay people, to change people's opinions about homosexuality. I don't remember where I saw this, but many people now have said that their opinions have changed because they have met an LGBT person, or had a friend come out to them. The media is not a magical red pill for instant changes in people's viewpoints. That's what the video that you mentioned is trying to say. The media is in the business of making money. Because of this, they make what the public wants to see. So, the inclusion of LGBT people is evidence of a cultural shift, not the other way around. Now, back to the original point that I was saying, I cannot make you believe that being gay is or is not a sin, but I can provide you the other viewpoint since it does not sound like you are getting too much of offline. This video made me look harder at what the Bible really was saying in the clobber verses. Also, there is plenty of information if you google "the Bible and homosexuality".
I'm an atheist but I'd like to weigh in here. Why would God create Gay people? It's not just simple temptation if you're gay, is it? Why is gluttony a deadly sin and yet everyone gorges on Christmas, and yet homosexuality is not a deadly sin but is punishable by excommunication from the church? Lust is a deadly sin, but it applies to straight peoples' lust as well. And yet we all know that everyone succumbs to lust; does that mean we're all going to hell except for the celibate? It's not just gays then is it? I just don't understand the reasoning. My family stopped being religious after my great grandparents and great aunts and uncles perished in the Holocaust. They did nothing wrong but there was no God to help them. Meanwhile my life is peachy and I'm living my life as an out queer lady. I see no correlation. But that's just me.
I am a Christian and I do not believe that being gay is a sin. Brad said a lot on the matter so I am not going to repeat what he said. The thing that I will tell you, is that you do not have to believe what your family believes or what anyone around you believes. Your beliefs are your own, and no one can take that from you. What you believe is and is not a sin is personal choice and relies on heavy thing and self reflection. Whatever choice you make, is the best choice for you and you alone. If someone tries to be over barging with their beliefs, tell them to stop. It is fine to talk with people about what they believe and why and why you believe what you believe. The important thing is to not let their beliefs rule yours. You can find what they believe to amazing or even true. However, if you find what they believe to contradictory to your life then don't believe it. Anyone who tells you that their beliefs or their journey is the only and right journey out there, should not be followed wholeheartedly. It can be nice to talk with them, but do not follow with blind faith. Let your life build your faith, not the other way around. And if your life leads you to a path where you do not believe in a God, that's okay too. It is your life, live it in a way that makes you happy.
Humans are born with original sin and live in a world of sin and sin everyday, even the most strongly believing. If lying with a man is a sin, it is one of many, and Jesus forgives all sins if you accept him into your heart since He died for us on the cross. Jesus talked and ate with those who had committed sin when others shunned them. Judge not, that ye be not judged; let ye who is without sin cast the first stone.
Religion and homosexuality don't mix. God is a different story though, but personally I don't believe in unicorns.
I believe you're a good soul and if you have the intention to be a good person no one can blame you and everything will be fine in the end. A good God doesn't punish something wonderful like love.
I am going to add my two cents lol Is there a God? maybe. However I feel the bible isn't accurate in any sense, it's ok to believe in God and think the bible is a fairy tale gone awry. not all religions condemn homosexuality, only the ones that originated from the middle east region(I guess is the right way of putting it) do because they're basically the same religion with a different name for themselves, book, & God. Sorry I don't want to make it sound like I am making a gross generalization lol When I was 14 I did abit of searching, to try and find the right one for me, it took a couple of years, but I eventually discovered Buddhism, & have been an active practitioner since
