New Pope Elected: Centuries Of Make-Believe (Religion) Reaffirmed For The Masses

[OwnedByCats]

189. It's true many

religions, and religious people have not evolved - unfortunately they have been taught it's a sin. With things like this, it takes time for people to realize, if they think about it logically, that this can't be a sin. At least, in the way I look at it I don't see how it could be as I don't consider it is a choice. When I hit puberty, I did not make the conscious choice to be straight. It just happened that way naturally. I believe it is the same for gay people, it just happened naturally. The Episcopal church has allowed gay people to be priests, and even elected a gay Bishop, and now some Episcopal churches in states where legal will perform gay marriage ceremonies. This is huge. While they still have some work to do in equality for gays across the board in every church, they are leaps and bounds ahead of other Christian religions. For a long time I wasn't any religion. I was a believer in a higher power, but felt organized religion to be too judgmental for my liking because I believe in a loving God. Then I came across this one that seemed extremely progressive compared to all others I had known about. While I don't go to church, I seem to most fit in with the Episcopalian religion if I were to associate myself with one. I found when I lived in England that the Episcopal church was based off of the Church of England, which is what England became after abandoning Catholicism.

Eventually I believe it will be more acceptable in other religions too. Do I think it will be in our lifetimes? Maybe not for some. It takes time to change the beliefs and attitudes of those who had it pounded into their head that this is wrong, especially the older generations when they didn't grow up seeing it becoming more and more acceptable. I guess what I'm trying to say is that there is hope. I don't expect you or anyone else to identify with an organized religion, or even just a belief in a higher power. That's up to you and frankly, I can see why you would not want to. However, just because these religions are against gays does not mean all the people who are religious believe the same, and it doesn't mean God is against you either. There is a big difference between what the "church" as an institution believes, and what God and their members believe. I have come across many who personally don't think God is against it, but their church hasn't come to that understanding as yet.

So I guess what I'm trying to say is - don't assume that DUers here are against you just because "officially" their church is. It's not always one in the same. I think there are good people here and I think you'll find that most if not all the religious people on this board are perfectly happy with you as you are, regardless of what they were taught or what their church believes. Pick on the churches, not the good liberals here who are an extremely open minded bunch. That is what I found annoying - people HERE getting picked on, not annoying that religions as their institution dictates is wrong - that does deserve anger.