This picture says it all ...
I have had the pleasure to be taught that life is filled with disappointments and joys, indifference and hope, bigots and liberals, beautiful cultures and destructive ideals. Knowing that some, like those in our current Administration, go through life with blinders on, all in the name of god is truly a sad state of affairs. My constant rant is that people use religion to live out their own fears and hangups. Example is how religious people single out the gay community as sinners and such. Being raised Christian and now armed with enough knowledge to know much of the teachings were tainted (chalk it up to human error and human fear), I can't understand how people try and quote the Bible to prove a point. Call me a realist or a cynic but last I checked religions are ruled by a book. Books written by men, who by their own nature, are faulty and filled with bias.
Unless I'm somehow mistaken, we've all played the game "telephone" as a child. The more a story gets told, the worse it is mangled. Eventually the story makes its way back around and it's nothing like the original. With that in mind, I'm guessing that if "Jesus" were actually here today, he'd probably take a look at most of these religious leaders claiming to be teaching his "Word" and give them a one-way ticket to the nut house. In the same breath, I'm also banking that Jesus wouldn't be cruel nor afraid of the gay community. In fact, the gay community would be embraced and loved. I honestly think people just pick on the gay community to avoid facing themselves. Because they don't understand why someone "is" gay, they knock it, try to demean the lifestyle. Perhaps it's just the bitchfest for the ages. I mean in the 60's, no one could have imagined bi-racial relationships and yet here we are, forty-plus years later with a world that is melting together and pro-creating in all its the colorful splendor. I realize there are still those who are "shocked" to see a bi-racial relationship but much like parenthood, you can't help who you love. The heart (thankfully) can't see color.
Religion has been used as a vice in today's society. It is no longer a quest for peace and answers to why we're here on earth. It has become a crutch people use to play out their fears and sadly, "faith" has lost its way. I know there are plenty of people who don't use faith to placate their own ignorance. Unfortunately, there are enough people that do. One thing I say to anyone who loses their mind in terms of accepting that the world is filled with different religious ideals is this: If you weren't born here (in the U.S.) and you were born in the Middle East, for example, chances are you would be raised Muslim. That is a simple truth. Religion, much like fashion, is based on your environment. No one would like it if someone came to their home and informed them that their beliefs that they hold dear are wrong and misled. So before jumping on the intolerance bandwagon, think about how it would be if the roles were reversed.
If you want to be people of faith, whatever that faith is, then be kind and patient, accepting and loving. That is the best example you can be. The hate and ignorance (which is a choice by the way) is just nauseating. On the off chance that Bush is reading this, God isn't really patting you on the back for the deviance you display. She is running the other direction, ashamed that you were part of her creation ... her and the big-bang are having a good laugh at your expense.
