Religion a topic best not talked about cause it always ends up in a fight. I've talked about it before and yes got to talk about it again. First off let me make it clear that I believe in God so if you read this and think I'm coming down on religion or the people who follow it well you read wrong. I am a believer this is just my thoughts on it all.
I don't go to church don't see the need in it I believe you don't have to go to church to get to heaven. Besides I don't want to sit with a group of people that hate me and what I stand for. Trust me if Jesus comes back the last place I want to be is sitting in a church of haters cause them people going to get an eye opening real quick.
How can me being gay be wrong God said something like we are created in the image of him so if this is true than he created me just how he wanted. I know enough about the bible to get myself into trouble. But what I know is people cling to that book like it's the last thing on earth and they don't even know that some things in the English version aren't right. The book was translated and it's a prove fact some of it was translated wrong.
Not only that there are two books that was left out of the American version all because the church's here didn't like the books and they contradicted some of the other books of the bible. Trust me like I said I know enough about it to get myself into trouble. All I know is over the years people have used the bible to hate and make it okay to hate cause there holding that bible. All I know is that when Jesus comes back look out people are going to freak out thinking there getting to heaven yeah don't want to be sitting in that church.
I want to leave you with something I read a long time ago and for me I think it puts what religion should be all about and if you read the words I think you will get it.
Somewhere in VietNam a 19-year-old soldier walked out of a barroom
and he said I must be seeing things that bourbon hit me like a baseball bat
In Bellfast Ireland a little lady dropped her shovel in her garden
she raced across the yard and ask her neighbor Mrs Clancy what was that
In Memphis Tennessee a teacher raised the window closest the river
and the children in her classroom swore they'd heard a choir singing down the street
In Washington DC a private secretary's lips began to quiver
and the President just put aside his papers and rose quickly to his feet
I lay in a cheap motel in the arms of someone else's woman
when a loud explosion rocked the room and turned the morning into night
I jumped out of bed and ran into the street with hardly any clothes on
as the sky lit up my heart stood still and I could feel my face was turnin' white
All at once the clouds rolled back and there stood Jesus Christ in all his glory
and I realized the saddest eyes I'd ever seen were lookin' straight at me
I guess I was awakened by the penetrating sounds of my own screamin'
and it didn't take me long to stumble out of bed and fall down on my knees
As tears rolled down my face I cried dear God I'm thankful I was only dreamin' and if I never go to hell Lord it'll be because you scared it out of me.
I don't go to church don't see the need in it I believe you don't have to go to church to get to heaven. Besides I don't want to sit with a group of people that hate me and what I stand for. Trust me if Jesus comes back the last place I want to be is sitting in a church of haters cause them people going to get an eye opening real quick.
How can me being gay be wrong God said something like we are created in the image of him so if this is true than he created me just how he wanted. I know enough about the bible to get myself into trouble. But what I know is people cling to that book like it's the last thing on earth and they don't even know that some things in the English version aren't right. The book was translated and it's a prove fact some of it was translated wrong.
Not only that there are two books that was left out of the American version all because the church's here didn't like the books and they contradicted some of the other books of the bible. Trust me like I said I know enough about it to get myself into trouble. All I know is over the years people have used the bible to hate and make it okay to hate cause there holding that bible. All I know is that when Jesus comes back look out people are going to freak out thinking there getting to heaven yeah don't want to be sitting in that church.
I want to leave you with something I read a long time ago and for me I think it puts what religion should be all about and if you read the words I think you will get it.
Somewhere in VietNam a 19-year-old soldier walked out of a barroom
and he said I must be seeing things that bourbon hit me like a baseball bat
In Bellfast Ireland a little lady dropped her shovel in her garden
she raced across the yard and ask her neighbor Mrs Clancy what was that
In Memphis Tennessee a teacher raised the window closest the river
and the children in her classroom swore they'd heard a choir singing down the street
In Washington DC a private secretary's lips began to quiver
and the President just put aside his papers and rose quickly to his feet
I lay in a cheap motel in the arms of someone else's woman
when a loud explosion rocked the room and turned the morning into night
I jumped out of bed and ran into the street with hardly any clothes on
as the sky lit up my heart stood still and I could feel my face was turnin' white
All at once the clouds rolled back and there stood Jesus Christ in all his glory
and I realized the saddest eyes I'd ever seen were lookin' straight at me
I guess I was awakened by the penetrating sounds of my own screamin'
and it didn't take me long to stumble out of bed and fall down on my knees
As tears rolled down my face I cried dear God I'm thankful I was only dreamin' and if I never go to hell Lord it'll be because you scared it out of me.
Ryan, several years ago you asked me if I thought God hates you because you're gay, and I said I believe that God loves you as much as he loves anybody else. I said God always has loved you and always will.
I think the poem you put at the end of your post is interesting. What it says to me is that if we live in ways that are wrong, we need to change whatever's wrong. I think any sin amounts to a refusal to live the way God wants us to. I know I'm not perfect — I'm selfish, I don't pray enough, to name a couple of things, but I do try to do better — and I hope God will forgive me.
So the main thing is believing in God's love for you and loving him and other people in a way that means you try to do what he wants you do and what is truly good for other people.
As for going to church, it's really bad that some Christians have the crazy idea that they're supposed to hate gay people. You don't need to be getting hatred from anybody, and especially you don't need to hear it from a pastor. So if you can't find a church that is safe, then you're probably better off staying home. Maybe you could have your own mini-church for an hour on Sundays.
About the Bible, I've never heard about American Bibles having two fewer books than everywhere else. I have a German Bible, and my American Bibles have the same books as the German one. Protestants dropped several books that are in Catholic Bibles, but that was centuries ago, and not just in America. So I think whoever told you that was mistaken.
IMO the thing about the Bible is people can misinterpret it. So when someone says, "The Bible says this," maybe it does, or maybe they just think it does.
So I'm glad to see you say again that you believe in God, and I encourage you to keep trying to do what's right.
God bless you.
*hugs*
To me, Ryan, it's real simple, and it's posted on my Facebook page:
- "All religions are Controlling and Repressive".
As far as the "God" thing goes, I'll leave that one up for debate; for I would really really like to believe that such a wonderful person (as in Jesus) exists.
This puts me in the official catagory of "Agnostic"; although I PROUDLY proclaim to be an "Athiest" - just to piss people off.
In either case; whether there is "life everlasting" or not, one thing is for sure, you are truly a "good person" who will eventually be rewarded for all the wonderful things you do for the lesser creatures of this planet (whoever invented the phrase "lesser creatures" didn't know what they were talking about. I would be more willing to trust a Pit Bull than most people, IMO).
Stay true to tourself, Ryan......
"BZ"....... "FOGGY"............
Ryan, here is all you need to know about life:
1) You were created;
2) The Creator loves you;
3) The Creator wants to see you again.
Everything else is b.s. You can call the Creator "God" if you prefer. I do.
God made me. God loves me. God wants to see me (my soul) again. Whatever happens during our time on this planet is pretty inconsequential.
God loves you. It would be nice if you returned the favor.
And I know you do ;)
Nice post :)
I took a course in college called "The Bible as Literature," and learned a lot of things I didn't learn at church growing up. I won't get into it, but it's interesting.