Where's the love... Don't be offended

kevinlynch3

Loved this....thanks for sharing!

SinIsIn

:drinker: :drinker: :drinker: :drinker: :drinker: :drinker:

janjan369

Being a person who has left "faith", I'm very much in agreement with the statement.
Once I quit worrying about the rules men wrote in a book 2000 years ago, I started living.
I'm kinder, calmer, more charitable in my finances and in my time. For I now look upon life as something wonderful and precious but that is so rare in the Universe that I want to leave the earth as a better place than when I was born. Period.

^^ THIS! My husband and I also left organized religion and are better people because of it.
OP: Thank you for posting.

ncahill77

Couldn't have put it better myself... well said. I've had gay friends over the years that cannot/will not/are afraid to come out completely and it's a damned shame.

My favorite comeback to hateful comments is to just quietly say, "I though Jesus loved everyone..." that usually shuts them up

I love that response and if you dont mind will use it myself from now on! I am a Christian but honestly have a hard time with many churches, Jesus gave us 2 rules in order to make it to heaven, 1. love one another as I have loved you; and 2. believe in him. All the rest is "guidance", we all need to remember that.

nomoreplaying

Thanks for sharing this. My heart sunk down to the floor, my throat almost clogged - dam. The saddest thing is we know in this day and time of earth, things are not going to change.

Shells06

This is so touching. Thanks for sharing.

Squidgeypaws007

Hell of a post, thanks for sharing. And agreed, it's a shame we can't love one another just that bit more.

Tiggerrick

No, what makes somebody love, accept, and befriend their fellow man is letting go of a need to be better than others.

I AM better than you!!!.... no, just kidding, I am not. You and I are different, not better or worse, and in so many ways we are the same, it's a shame I don't know you and 'Jacob' in real life.

I am sorry that your friend 'Jacob' has been summarily dismissed by so many, and any other 'Jacobs' out there. I will not lie, there are those that I would not accept/friend (child molesters/wife beaters), but withing my level of tolerance, 'Jacob's' predisposition would not be an issue. Even if we chose to NOT friend others, increasing our level of tolerance would go so far into improving our society as a whole. I've been teaching my son, from early, to accept each individual for what who he or she is, and if the differences are so great that you can not accept them, walk away and allow them to be who they chose to be without judgement. You don't have to like everybody, buy you don't have to hate anybody.

Kudos for the (long) post and having the guts to put it out there in the first place.

avalonmaiara

just... WOW

Kenzietea2

I like the part where his VERY FIRST SENTENCE is "I didn't write this" and everyone says, "Wow, you did a good job writing that!"

On a more serious note, I saw the article last week and was glad someone had the heart to write it. Sadly, the ones who need to hear it the most won't listen.

"Well, some of those folks probably aren’t really Christians. 1 John 4:20 says, “If anyone says, ‘I love God,’ yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen.” And 1 John 2:9 says “Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates his brother is still in the darkness.” I am not allowed by Jesus to hate anyone. Our culture has accepted two huge lies: The first is that if you disagree with someone’s lifestyle, you must fear them or hate them. The second is that to love someone means you agree with everything they believe or do. Both are nonsense. You don’t have to compromise convictions to be compassionate."
-Rick Warren

... which is hilarious, because Rick Warren is very anti-gay-marriage. Yes, Rick.... sometimes you really DO need to compromise your convictions to be compassionate.

Although I am all for gay marriage (love my gays!)
You can still be against it and not hate gay people, which is what this quote is demonstrating.

zmzmzm19

Well said, God loves everyone, as should we.

jennifer52484

Couldn't stop reading. Excellent post!

Nikkei24

I agree. I never did understand how "people of faith" could condem others. the whole point is to love one another :-)

candylooms

That was awesome of you to write Bob. I loved it and agree with you. I also think all the Jacob's of this world would be proud to have a friend like you.
Thank you for having the balls to write that.

momof8munchkins

I read this about a week ago, I love it.

"Well, some of those folks probably aren’t really Christians. 1 John 4:20 says, “If anyone says, ‘I love God,’ yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen.” And 1 John 2:9 says “Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates his brother is still in the darkness.” I am not allowed by Jesus to hate anyone. Our culture has accepted two huge lies: The first is that if you disagree with someone’s lifestyle, you must fear them or hate them. The second is that to love someone means you agree with everything they believe or do. Both are nonsense. You don’t have to compromise convictions to be compassionate."
-Rick Warren

very well said.. I admitt I did not read op's entire post because it was way long.. the only response I have is this

Matthew 22:36-40

New International Version (NIV)

36 “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”
37 Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’[a] 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
I think that says it all.. as Christians we are called to love.

elysianashes

"Well, some of those folks probably aren’t really Christians. 1 John 4:20 says, “If anyone says, ‘I love God,’ yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen.” And 1 John 2:9 says “Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates his brother is still in the darkness.” I am not allowed by Jesus to hate anyone. Our culture has accepted two huge lies: The first is that if you disagree with someone’s lifestyle, you must fear them or hate them. The second is that to love someone means you agree with everything they believe or do. Both are nonsense. You don’t have to compromise convictions to be compassionate."
-Rick Warren

... which is hilarious, because Rick Warren is very anti-gay-marriage. Yes, Rick.... sometimes you really DO need to compromise your convictions to be compassionate.

Although I am all for gay marriage (love my gays!)
You can still be against it and not hate gay people, which is what this quote is demonstrating.

It's not a matter of whether he outright hates them or not. The fact that he believes they don't deserve the same sort of benefits that everyone else does is very telling. Compassion is allowing others to be themselves whether you like it or not. Saying they should not be allowed to marry each other is NOT compassionate. It's controlling.

Beezil

Awesome post. Thank you for sharing this! (I just posted it on my FB)

MassiveDelta

I know not everyone is Christian, but I am going to quote this anyway. " For God so loved the world that He gave his only Son, that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life. " - John 3:16. " The world " includes everyone, whether your gay, bi, straight, whatever. God loves everyone. We, as Christians, are suppose to mimic that love. The problem is, we don't. You don't have to agree with their lifestyle to love them, you just have to love them despite their lifestyle.

I just wanted to add one thing to this. Its impossible for us as human being to love like that. We are truly incapable to be 100% unconditional lovers. It is outside of human nature. We still have to try

Do not regard him as an enemy, but warn him as a brother.
2 Thessalonians 3:15 ESV



AS a BROTHER!!!

DAM_Fine

Beautifully written. This is the reason I don't belong to ANY organized religion. "Do as you would be done by" has always seemed to be all that's really needed.

toriaenator

love this and its so true. i feel so fortunate to live in california where views are more liberal. but the westboro church came to protest AT MY SCHOOL when i was there a few yrs ago. so we had a counter protest

Kenzietea2

"Well, some of those folks probably aren’t really Christians. 1 John 4:20 says, “If anyone says, ‘I love God,’ yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen.” And 1 John 2:9 says “Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates his brother is still in the darkness.” I am not allowed by Jesus to hate anyone. Our culture has accepted two huge lies: The first is that if you disagree with someone’s lifestyle, you must fear them or hate them. The second is that to love someone means you agree with everything they believe or do. Both are nonsense. You don’t have to compromise convictions to be compassionate."
-Rick Warren

... which is hilarious, because Rick Warren is very anti-gay-marriage. Yes, Rick.... sometimes you really DO need to compromise your convictions to be compassionate.

Although I am all for gay marriage (love my gays!)
You can still be against it and not hate gay people, which is what this quote is demonstrating.

It's not a matter of whether he outright hates them or not. The fact that he believes they don't deserve the same sort of benefits that everyone else does is very telling. Compassion is allowing others to be themselves whether you like it or not. Saying they should not be allowed to marry each other is NOT compassionate. It's controlling.

I guess I never looked at it that way. It does seem controlling. I still love the quote though, too bad it wasn't by someone else! The words are still true, regardless of who wrote them.

mamashatzie

Agree completely One of my strongest beliefs is that we shouldn't judge others. You're gay? I'm happy for you. You have a plural marriage? I'm glad that you are happy. As long as what you are doing involves consenting adults and is not abusive or physically harmful, it is none of my damn business.

I saw a quote that said "Morality is doing what's right, regardless of what you're told. Religion is doing what you're told, regardless of what's right." It really rings true to me, because a lot of "religion" encourages hating others, tearing them down, judging them, and so forth. I was raised a Christian and while I still hold a lot of those beliefs, I no longer attend church. Church, as far as I have found, is a place of backbiting, hatred, gossiping, and judging others. I am much happier living a life of morality than trying to put my faith in such a church.

And I would also like to point out that you can dislike something without hating the person who does that. Don't agree with gay marriage? That is your right. But there is no need to be hateful or nasty to someone who does practice gay marriage. It's like punching people who buy ham at the grocery store because you don't eat pork. Just because you don't like it, doesn't mean nobody is allowed to like it.

InnerFatGirl

I'm going to be honest, I didn't read all of it... I kind of get a little ADD like when there is a bunch of text and I honestly can't focus... but I think I get the gist of what you were saying and I believe that I agree with you...

My personal belief is this... that yes, homosexuality is a sin... simply because God stated it as such in the old laws.... HOWEVER, that does not mean that I get to hate, judge, shun, otherwise not show love to a person who says they are gay... Why? Because I too am a sinner... I too have sin in my life... I am a glutton... I wouldn't be here if I weren't... I am slothful more often than not... again, I wouldn't be here if I weren't... The example that Christ showed was to NOT cast stones at those that sin, even if we are without sin... Just like I don't accept my own sins (again, if I did I wouldn't be here) I don't accept the sins of others as well... HOWEVER, I do tolerate them just like others tolerate mine... None of us is perfect, none of us is righteous... so what gives us the right to act in such a way. It is between God and the individual on the repentance of sin and since I am no where in that equation, I have no idea how far away or close to God someone is to make any sort of judgement on their life... and even if I were, I would have to be totally cleansed of my own sin before I could make any judgement on anyone else's.. for any reason.... and to be honest, that's probably not going to happen until after I have died and been judged by God.


BTW: I loathe and dispise Westboro Baptist Church.... and am extremely glad that the SBC has choosen to not recognize them in the Convention.

I am not disrespecting you or your religion, don't get me wrong.

But the whole 'God condemning homosexuality thing' is a bit confusing to me. It's from a section of the bible that also condemns working on Sabbath and playing with the skin of a pig, yet nobody makes a fuss about those rules.

This picture sums it up for me, really;

determinedbutlazy

These posts are against the forum rules and will probably be deleted.
Frankly, I've read this before and it's boring.
Each to their own.

JTH11706

For all the "Jacobs" out there, or anyone who has been bullied or shunned, visit

http://www.itgetsbetter.org/

You'll find messages of hope and love and learn you are not alone.

For all of you who were touched by this post, consider taking the "It Gets Better" pledge to speak up against hatred. You can also share your love by adding a message of your own to this website.

penrbrown

I'm going to be honest, I didn't read all of it... I kind of get a little ADD like when there is a bunch of text and I honestly can't focus... but I think I get the gist of what you were saying and I believe that I agree with you...

My personal belief is this... that yes, homosexuality is a sin... simply because God stated it as such in the old laws.... HOWEVER, that does not mean that I get to hate, judge, shun, otherwise not show love to a person who says they are gay... Why? Because I too am a sinner... I too have sin in my life... I am a glutton... I wouldn't be here if I weren't... I am slothful more often than not... again, I wouldn't be here if I weren't... The example that Christ showed was to NOT cast stones at those that sin, even if we are without sin... Just like I don't accept my own sins (again, if I did I wouldn't be here) I don't accept the sins of others as well... HOWEVER, I do tolerate them just like others tolerate mine... None of us is perfect, none of us is righteous... so what gives us the right to act in such a way. It is between God and the individual on the repentance of sin and since I am no where in that equation, I have no idea how far away or close to God someone is to make any sort of judgement on their life... and even if I were, I would have to be totally cleansed of my own sin before I could make any judgement on anyone else's.. for any reason.... and to be honest, that's probably not going to happen until after I have died and been judged by God.


BTW: I loathe and dispise Westboro Baptist Church.... and am extremely glad that the SBC has choosen to not recognize them in the Convention.

I am not disrespecting you or your religion, don't get me wrong.

But the whole 'God condemning homosexuality thing' is a bit confusing to me. It's from a section of the bible that also condemns working on Sabbath and playing with the skin of a pig, yet nobody makes a fuss about those rules.

This picture sums it up for me, really;

Homosexuality is not only condemned in the Old Testament, it is also condemned in the New, outside of the book of Laws that few Christians follow. FYI.

TheDoctorDana

Don't lose faith in God. He sent not His son into the world to condemn the world but that the world through Him might be saved. Man looks on the outside but God knows the heart. I cannot speak for all Christians (I surely don't want them speaking for me) but we are called to love and to serve. THAT'S ALL. I am sorry that some people just don't get that. If they get holier than thou with you, remind them that Jesus' great grandma was a prostitute I really despise what organized religion has done to the human race. All it is is a tool used to control the masses. God is not about religion but about relationship.

theartichoke

Wonderful read. Thanks for posting.

InnerFatGirl

I'm going to be honest, I didn't read all of it... I kind of get a little ADD like when there is a bunch of text and I honestly can't focus... but I think I get the gist of what you were saying and I believe that I agree with you...

My personal belief is this... that yes, homosexuality is a sin... simply because God stated it as such in the old laws.... HOWEVER, that does not mean that I get to hate, judge, shun, otherwise not show love to a person who says they are gay... Why? Because I too am a sinner... I too have sin in my life... I am a glutton... I wouldn't be here if I weren't... I am slothful more often than not... again, I wouldn't be here if I weren't... The example that Christ showed was to NOT cast stones at those that sin, even if we are without sin... Just like I don't accept my own sins (again, if I did I wouldn't be here) I don't accept the sins of others as well... HOWEVER, I do tolerate them just like others tolerate mine... None of us is perfect, none of us is righteous... so what gives us the right to act in such a way. It is between God and the individual on the repentance of sin and since I am no where in that equation, I have no idea how far away or close to God someone is to make any sort of judgement on their life... and even if I were, I would have to be totally cleansed of my own sin before I could make any judgement on anyone else's.. for any reason.... and to be honest, that's probably not going to happen until after I have died and been judged by God.


BTW: I loathe and dispise Westboro Baptist Church.... and am extremely glad that the SBC has choosen to not recognize them in the Convention.

I am not disrespecting you or your religion, don't get me wrong.

But the whole 'God condemning homosexuality thing' is a bit confusing to me. It's from a section of the bible that also condemns working on Sabbath and playing with the skin of a pig, yet nobody makes a fuss about those rules.

This picture sums it up for me, really;

Homosexuality is not only condemned in the Old Testament, it is also condemned in the New, outside of the book of Laws that few Christians follow. FYI.

http://www.westarinstitute.org/Periodicals/4R_Articles/homosexuality.html

I can pull up more links if you like.

emmamcblain

LOVE.