On the verge of hyperventilating for 3 years isn't fun

To be frank, if the Book of Leviticus is truthfully the standard for human salvation there would be no point in attempting to avoid homosexuality to save oneself because none of us would stand a chance regardless. Even among religious figures, Leviticus is a section of the Bible that is hardly considered as applicable to human life because the guidelines it sets are nearly impossible to remain in the confines of. Homosexuality is the only topic that Christians choose to argue in favor of condemning because homosexuals and polysexuals are a persecuted minority group.

Slavery, misogyny, classism, Social Darwinism, and genocide have all be supported by manipulating the common interpretations of the Bible, as with many other religious texts. People see what they want to see to justify their own agendas. Not to mention, the Bible has been translated by hand for centuries. Language and concepts that are present in the text today weren't even in existence at the time of creation. I respect the belief that the Bible may have been written as the word of God, but I'm sorry to say that preservation of the word through language and millenia of translation would have been undoubtedly impossible.

You don't have to choose between your beliefs and who you are. Exactly as you don't have to take the beliefs of others as your own. Take some time to consider the things that you truly believe and live life in the way that you see as most gratifying.

 

i agree with you. the bible being the word of god but written down by a human, as flawed as we are. not much faith in that.

 

I recently read Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth by Reza Aslan. It is based on the historical personage of Jesus the man instead of the biblical Messiah Christ figure. During his life Jesus took action to right the injustices of his day. Even during his time he was pressured to proclaim himself as the Messiah and he repeatedly refused to do so. He eventually, begrudgingly stopped protesting when others called him that but his most agreeable responses when called on to claim to be the Son of God (capitals intended) was to say "I am the Son of Man" which laid claim to a different prophetic figure altogether. Immediately following the death of Jesus there began power struggle and division within the followers of Jesus. If James had lived longer and continued to direct the followers we would likely have had a whole different religion. As it was Saul came into leadership and the religion began a whole new route which led to the foundation it is built on today.

So many other power struggles along the centuries have shaped and twisted the meaning and impact of the life of a man who would have been fighting the majority of practices done in his name today.

As I tell my daughter "the fault of religion lies not with God but with mankind."

 

Huh that's weird what happened to the first post? Anyway I'm so sorry you're feeling the way you do, Pummelmuffin.(*hug*) I could offer you my in-depth views on religion/spirituality but that's a really personal thing so I'll just say most of the major world religions seem to put a lot of stock in the idea that love is a good thing and conquers hate/evil. Given that, I personally cannot see how adding more love to the world could be a bad thing. I hope things get better for you.

 

I fixed this, sorry about that, for some reason, your post was kicked into moderation.

 

What exactly are you seeking from us then? It is highly unlikely that you would have constructed false memories to justify being bisexual because the mind wouldn't have had any reasonable motivation to do that. You're only seventeen. It is extremely common for your attractions in both men and women to have not been as fully developed until a few years ago.

People aren't bashing Christianity here. Only explaining that there is no reason to have this mindset that you have to choose between your religious beliefs and your sexuality. You shouldn't be so quick to dismiss what others have said here in that regard, since your religious beliefs clearly are going to have a hand in your ability to accept yourself.

 

With this quote in mind, what do you want us to say? It's clear that you are strong in your faith, which is cool. But there comes a point where you have to make a choice. You're at that spot. I was at that spot at one point. I tried to hide it. That, clearly did not go too well for me. I still have emotional scars from that, and it's been over 2 years.

It's your choice in the end. It's not my place to tell you what choice to make. I wish you the best of luck in making your decision. If you ever want to talk to me, feel free to PM me, because I know that it can be a hard decision to make.