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How the Christian Right's Homophobia Scares Away Religious Young People
America is the most tolerant Nation in the world but the homosexual lobby continues to wish for what they will never get and that is acceptance. Instead of whining about homosexual marriage why don't the sissies march on Sharia law countries and see how far they get?
There are many gay people who are Christians. They didn't renounce their faith when they came out, however their church may have renounced them by it's stand on gay issues.Why would "religious young people" be scared away by anything about homosexuality. If they are religious then they would know that homosexuality is a sin, and should be discouraged and not condoned.
If there is any "hate" on display, its by anti-Christian and anti-religous folks like yourself who attack people for their religious beliefs that have been in place for thousands of years.
There are many gay people who are Christians. They didn't renounce their faith when they came out, however their church may have renounced them by it's stand on gay issues.Why would "religious young people" be scared away by anything about homosexuality. If they are religious then they would know that homosexuality is a sin, and should be discouraged and not condoned.
If there is any "hate" on display, its by anti-Christian and anti-religous folks like yourself who attack people for their religious beliefs that have been in place for thousands of years.
Today, young people are much more accepting of gays than the older generation. They reject the idea that someone chooses to be gay. If you don't believe it's a choice, it hard to accept the idea it's a sin. As the young grow older, it's inevitable that churches will soften their stand against gays. Support for gay issues including marriage has been gaining strength for over 10 years and there no reason to think the trend is going to reverse or that trend will not effect our churches.
Washington, D.C., 17 May 2012 (PAHO/WHO) Services that purport to "cure" people with non-heterosexual sexual orientation lack medical justification and represent a serious threat to the health and well-being of affected people, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) said in a position statement launched on 17 May, the International Day against Homophobia. The statement calls on governments, academic institutions, professional associations and the media to expose these practices and to promote respect for diversity.
Twenty two years ago, on May 17, the World Health Assembly removed homosexuality from the list of mental disorders when it approved a new version of the World Health Organizations International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10).
"Since homosexuality is not a disorder or a disease, it does not require a cure. There is no medical indication for changing sexual orientation," said PAHO Director Dr. Mirta Roses Periago. Practices known as "reparative therapy" or "conversion therapy" represent "a serious threat to the health and well-beingeven the livesof affected people."
The PAHO statement notes that there is a professional consensus that homosexuality is a natural variation of human sexuality and cannot be regarded as a pathological condition. However, several United Nations bodies have confirmed the existence of "therapists" and "clinics" that promote treatment intended to change the sexual orientation of non-heterosexual people.
The document notes that no rigorous scientific studies demonstrate any efficacy of efforts to change sexual orientation. However, there are many testimonies about the severe harm to mental and physical health that such "services" can cause. Repression of sexual orientation has been associated with feelings of guilt and shame, depression, anxiety, and even suicide.
Why would "religious young people" be scared away by anything about homosexuality. If they are religious then they would know that homosexuality is a sin, and should be discouraged and not condoned.
If there is any "hate" on display, its by anti-Christian and anti-religous folks like yourself who attack people for their religious beliefs that have been in place for thousands of years.
Well, more are close with gay friends/relatives and possibly themselves. Imagine that you are best friends with one and he came out to his parents, just to end up calling CPS on them. You wouldn't want to become religious with those retards.
Being gay is generally accepted by our younger generation, despite religion because they are human beings, too.
And lol@ attacking religion. Don't give others a reason to attack your hate.
Where I live, people don't care about who believes in what. But when you impose religion, expect alot of people up in arms.
Today, young people are much more accepting of gays than the older generation. They reject the idea that someone chooses to be gay. If you don't believe it's a choice, it hard to accept the idea it's a sin. As the young grow older, it's inevitable that churches will soften their stand against gays. Support for gay issues including marriage has been gaining strength for over 10 years and there no reason to think the trend is going to reverse or that trend will not effect our churches.
How the Christian Right's Homophobia Scares Away Religious Young People
It scares away non-religious old people as well.
Two quick quotes. Then make up your own mind because the problem is not with me.
2 Titus 4:3 -- For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.Leviticus 18:22 -- Do not lie with a man as one lies with a woman; that is detestable.
NIV translation?
I prefer "it is an abomination"
How the Christian Right's Homophobia Scares Away Religious Young People | Belief | AlterNet
May 16, 2012 |
Christian Right activists who give money, pressure politicians and organize against gay rights may think theyre accomplishing a couple of goals, like rolling back gay rights and asserting their religions primacy in American culture. Unfortunately for them (but fortunately for the rest of us), one of the things they're doing in the long run is alienating their young people -- not a good long-term strategy. Short-term victories like passing more bans on gay marriage, sometimes repeatedly in single states, might feel good for homophobic Christians, but in the long run, its their religion that will pay the ultimate price; available evidence shows that anti-gay activism is souring young people on Christianity.
In response to the latest gay-bashing vote in North Carolina, evangelical writer and speaker Rachel Held Evans wrote an impassioned plea to her fellow Christians to just cut it out. She points to statistics showing how much damage the church has sustained because of its anti-gay crusade. Research conducted by the pro-Christian Barna Group in 2007 on Americans age 16-29 found that anti-homosexual was the dominant perception of modern Christians. Ninety-one percent of non-Christians and 80 percent of Christians in this group used this word to describe Christians.
She also points to research documented in the book You Lost Me by David Kinnaman showing that 59 percent of teenagers who grow up as church-going Christians abandon their faith in adulthood. One of the major reasons is the gay rights issue. Overall, the perception--a largely correct one, Id add--is that modern conservative Christianity is dominated by sex-phobic bigots who use God as a cudgel to beat all sorts of people, but especially gays and lesbians. No wonder many in the younger generation want out.
Unfortunately for Evans, these kinds of numbers probably wont do much to convince the Christian right to give up on gay-bashing, at least not until it's done even more serious damage to the Christian brand. Evans may be drawn to Christianity for fellowship and spirituality--many more tolerant Christians are--but the dominant function of conservative Christianity in the real world has never been to offer comfort and solace to believers. Religion is about power and giving up the war on gays would mean relinquishing power and control over their adherents' most private selves. Thus, we can guess that the Christian Right wont stop fighting gay rights until its way too late for them to take it back.
Right-wing American Christianity is rife with contradictions. The content of the churchs actual teachings are centered around the figure of Jesus Christ, who is renowned as the lover of the meek and the powerless. Yet right-wing Christianity in America has often served to comfort the powerful and afflict the weak.
In fact, when you look away from the meek shall inherit the earth text to the actual uses of Christianity throughout history, a different picture emerges. God has been used to rationalize the power of kings over the people, men over women, rich over poor, Westerners over the rest of the world, and has even been used to justify slavery. In the latter half of the 20th century a particular brand of American Christianity called the Prosperity Gospel began to celebrate obscene wealth, taking Christianity far away from its progressive elements. And of course, conservative Christianity in America has spent much of the last century and the start of this one demonizing and oppressing LGBT people.
As devoted as it is to its anti-gay agenda, the Christian Right will be paying the penalty as gays are increasingly accepted in mainstream culture. Most political watchers are downright astounded at how quickly gay rights activists have turned public opinion around to favor their point of view. Less than two decades ago, most of the country had never even heard of the concept of same-sex marriage. Since then, theres been a steady rise in support for legalizing same-sex marriage, with the most recent polls showing a majority of Americans supporting legalization.
Conservative Christian activists know that the perception of homophobia is damaging, which is why they try to avoid speaking of the issue directly at all, instead saying that they support traditional marriage. But the attempts to seem less hateful toward gays while attacking their rights fail repeatedly because homophobes cant stay on message.
Virginia legislators this week blocked the nomination of highly regarded prosecutor Tracy Thorne-Begland to be a district judge for no other reason than they disapproved of his homosexuality. Del. Bob Marshall went on the record tut-tutting Thorne-Begland for his behavior, even though Thorne-Begland lives a quiet life with his partner and their adopted children. The whole situation exposed the emptiness of the traditional marriage rhetoric, demonstrating once again that the Christian Rights views regarding gay people are rooted in a very un-Christ-like hate.
With all this hatefulness on display, no wonder conservative Christianity is losing young people. While just a little over half of Americans supporting gay marriage, nearly two-thirds of adults born after 1981 do. The Christian Right is increasingly out of step with how Americans feel about gay rights. This issue, even more than abortion rights, might be the one that destroys them in the end
Pro Gay people should just start their own church and see how many people show up.
Will any of us be able to point the finger and say to God, "LORD, I didn't believe YOU because of what "other people" have done."... ?
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Why would "religious young people" be scared away by anything about homosexuality. If they are religious then they would know that homosexuality is a sin, and should be discouraged and not condoned.
If there is any "hate" on display, its by anti-Christian and anti-religous folks like yourself who attack people for their religious beliefs that have been in place for thousands of years.
'Abomination' would be that it goes against His creation.Two quick quotes. Then make up your own mind because the problem is not with me.
NIV translation?
I prefer "it is an abomination"
No "an". It is abomination.
I don't remember how that makes it different, but just sayin.
Homosexuals are born that way. Does that mean they are part of God's creation? I'd say so, meaning they are not abomination.'Abomination' would be that it goes against His creation.NIV translation?
I prefer "it is an abomination"
No "an". It is abomination.
I don't remember how that makes it different, but just sayin.
It was never meant to be this way.
We can thank the deterioration of original Sin through the generations for this mess.
Why would "religious young people" be scared away by anything about homosexuality. If they are religious then they would know that homosexuality is a sin, and should be discouraged and not condoned.
If there is any "hate" on display, its by anti-Christian and anti-religous folks like yourself who attack people for their religious beliefs that have been in place for thousands of years.
Lets put it this way; if Christians stuck to preaching just the teachings of Christ the man I think they would attract a whole lot more young people than they are currently. Christ was a beautiful person that taught people to live humbly, love their neighbors, and forgive. Great stuff.
However for many Christians today, the #1 focus (in the public sphere) is obsessively talking about how sinful the gay lifestyle is. And this is especially curious, because Christ himself never really preached on the topic, nor did he seem overly concerned.
Personally, I think he was much more focused on helping people and improving the world, vs spending all of his time and energy preventing people from being able to file joint taxes.
Just my take, though...
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