I am not against Christianity, or any other religion for that matter. My goal here is not to belittle or degrade what someone else believes in. I am not someone who sets out to convert people away from God, and I certainly do not want to disprove the Bible.
So that being said, lets get to it.
The reason I am writing this post is because this issue affects me personally. My girlfriend is not accepted for who she is in her home. She is constantly reminded of the poor choices she is making, and the risk of her eternal life. She has no support from those who are supposed to love her most in a world that already treats her like a foreigner for the injuries she obtained at no fault of her own.
First, let me state this as plainly as I can, no one is perfect. Quoting directly from the Bible itself, "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." Everyone makes mistakes, and everyone does one thing or another that perhaps God would not approve of. Yet, we rarely tell an expecting sixteen year old that she is going to hell.
Second, for all those who state that homosexuality is a repeated sin, and we must repent, I'm here to set the record straight. It is impossible to follow everything in the Bible, and therefor, everyone sins on a daily basis. Care for me to explain? Well, good because I was already going to.
- The divorce rate today is higher than my paycheck at my day job, yet the bible is ridden with verses that speak of God's sheer hatred for it. And when I think of all the people I know who tell me I'm going to hell, more than half of them are on their second, perhaps third marriage. For reference, I've included just a few of the verses on God's view of divorce (Malachi 2:13-16, Matthew 19:3-6, Matthew 19:7-9, Matthew 5:32-34)
- The Bible is full of so many things that we cannot legally follow today such as slavery, stoning our daughters for having sex before marriage, selling our daughters into marriage, having multiple wives...you feel me?
- There are tons of rules that we don't currently follow in today's society. For instance, who turns down a trip to Red Lobster unless they have a shellfish allergy or are inhuman enough to hate seafood? Yet, take a look at Leviticus 11:12, which states: "These you may eat, of all that are in the waters. Everything in the waters that has fins and scales, whether in the seas or in the rivers, you may eat. But anything in the seas or the rivers that has not fins and scales, of the swarming creatures in the waters and of the living creatures that are in the waters, is detestable to you. You shall regard them as detestable; you shall not eat any of their flesh, and you shall detest their carcasses. Everything in the waters that has not fins and scales is detestable to you." Basically, shrimp and crab are a nogo in God's rule book.
- Women are also not allowed to do much of anything unless it involves cooking, cleaning, pooping babies, and bowing down to their husbands. 1 Timothy 2:12 states "But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but be in silence." 1 Corinthians 14:34 states "Let your women keep silence in the churches: for it is not permitted unto them to speak." So, zip the lip, ladies, and remember, you can't be the CEO like you've always dreamed, and Presidency? Forget about it! But wait! It still gets better! According to Deuteronomy 22:5 "The woman shall not wear that which partaineth unto a man, neither shall a ma put on a woman's garment: for all that do so are abomination unto the Lord thy God." In retrospect, I feel as if all Transgenders just slipped right onto Satan's nice list with one verse, but in all honesty, apart from a few cultures, what modern women don't slip on a pant suit every now and then?
I could honestly go on, but I feel as though my point is made. Clearly, I'm full speed on the hellfire choo choo, waving my rainbow flag with a smile on my face but when we look back at some of these verses, we have to see that according to these type of rules, so are 90% of the Christian population. My point isn't to say that no one should worship God. My point isn't to make someone change their belief.
My point is simply to say that, as a Christian, you pick and choose. Everyday, you choose which verses to follow, and which ones to ignore because clearly in today's society, you cannot follow them all. So my question to all of those parents who say to their children, "I cannot support your lifestyle because God say's its wrong," How can you choose not to follow verses such as divorce, and shellfish, which seemingly hurt no one, but you choose to follow the one verse that hurts your child; the one verse that forces your own flesh and blood from your heart?
Hey Ellie, overall a good post, though I do have three things to point out.
ReplyDeleteFirst, you hit the nail right on the head with divorce; churches are rarely willing to talk about it, let alone condemn it.
Also, the issue with Old Testament law (ie. stoning, slavery, etc.) have their explanations. Christians are set free from most of the ritual and civil law of the Old Testament. They still have to follow the moral laws that were reestablished in the New Testament (whether or not you think laws regarding homosexuality were reestablished is up for debate). So if you find someone who condemns homosexuality and not shellfish, they may not be being inconsistent with their doctrine.
Finally, the issue with women's roles in the New Testament is a little more nuanced than just "shut up." For example, Paul here is only saying that women must be silent in the church (ie. no preaching or teaching men). Some people interpret this contextually as Paul saying that these women who were fresh converts from other religions should not have teaching authority because they were not educated enough for it. Others would say that it's just a blanket statement with no context necessary. These verses do not apply to anything outside of the church, so be president-doctor-with-a-mustache-in-space.
I’d say your argument is so fully supported by the point about divorce it is unnecessary to bring up anything else. Also, I lied, there is one other thing: most people haven’t paid enough attention/cared enough to understand why things are a certain way in their religion. If you point out the shellfish thing and they’re shaken they needed that slap to the face. Hopefully in drives them to really question their beliefs and figure things out for themselves.