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

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.

k8blujay2

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.

My point is... we all sin... we all have sin in our lives... and it's wrong for me (or anyone else) as a human being (and especially as a Christian) to judge and condemn others because of their sin. But we can get into the minute semantics all day long if you would like.

SkyMusic

I'm bisexual.

This is something it's taken my ages to come to terms with, and I was in denial for years. Raised Catholic Christian, I was terrified of what not being straight would mean. I went to an all girls Christian high school, and I was so afraid of myself. I fell in love with a girl in my sophomore year and she, being a lesbian, helped me accept that I was born this way. Once I accepted the fact that I was bi, I truly felt like myself. I started to become who I wanted to be.

I completely respect that the Bible might say I'm a sinner. That's fine. But you know what? Religion has no place in our government; if you don't like gay marriage, don't marry a gay person. It's really not that hard. But do not infringe upon my rights and judge me for something that I didn't choose to be. And honestly it doesn't matter if you're lesbian, bi, gay, straight, trans, etc. Don't label yourself; love who you want to love. Do what you want to do, do who you want to do.

I live in liberal California now and there's still always going to be people that think I'm gross and unnatural. But I don't care. There are so many awful things taking place in the world - wars, crimes, judgments, murders, inequality, etc. Too much love isn't hurting anyone. I think religious people that feel homosexuals are awful gross sinners would be better off applying their passions elsewhere.

Behl9

great, great post! thank you for sharing

_Bob_

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.

Hmmm, I glanced at the rules and didn't see a problem with it. no worries

darkmouzy

Great post love this!

Behl9

Too much love isn't hurting anyone.

^^Absolutely!!

MassiveDelta

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.

Here you go
http://www.str.org/site/News2?page=NewsArticle&id=5301

But like I said before Love and treat them like a brother

JanetLM73

Love it!

I was raised Catholic, I don't believe that religion belongs in the bedroom no matter what! Love is Love.

Oh, and the Church wouldn't marry my husband and I because we had a 3 year old son, totally different topic, but again....religion doesn't belong in the bedroom!

Thanks for posting it. And my daughter is named after my Aunt who is married to a very lovely lady

CarolineAndrus

So true. Why can't we all try our darnedest to live by The Golden Rule. Do unto others as we would have done unto ourselves.

Well done.

misti17

this is absolutely amazing!!!!!!!!!!!! Thank you for posting this. I truly do try to live this way, obviously I mess up and I'm sure there are times I am hateful, but I have always beleived that its noones place to judge, only one man can judge and that is God. And yes, God wanted us to love EVERYONE, even our enemies. This is the most beautiful thing I have ever read. I have copied and posted it to a word doc to share with others, and I will put my arm around someone and show them love. I will try to do this more often. Thank you for this post.