Homosexuality vs The Bible
For almost all of us, the hardest part of coming out isn't realizing that we are lesbians, bisexuals or gays. It's not telling our parents or our friends. It's not worrying about what the neighbors will think. No, for most of us, the hardest part of coming out is dealing with the prejudices we've been taught all our lives. These feelings of internalized homophobia have lead to lesbian, bisexual and gay teenagers being at the highest risk of suicide. It is because of these feelings of self-hatred that many people have so much trouble coming to terms with who and what they are. And just when we do think that we have conquered the demons within and accepted ourselves, we are bombarded with the taught homophobia and hatred of the world around us. Oddly enough, the worst offender for teaching homophobia is supposed to be the one thing that brings us the most joy and peace in life...religion. Religion has been used in the battles meant to keep women, non-white races, and now lesbians, gays, bisexuals, and transgendered persons in their "place" in society. The Bible has been interpreted to "confirm" almost every hysterical idea you can imagine. Even militant groups planning an attempt at overthrowing the United States government say . . .
(You know, the go forth and be fruitful thing. The Bible is a simply a story book. But, when was the last time you saw people being beaten up or told that they are damned to hell because they told a lie? When was the last time you turned on the evening news and saw a bunch of Christians picketing to have a man convicted of stealing removed from their neighborhood because he might be a bad influence on their children? Yet, aren't these the sins that God said we are avoid? Was it not God who wrote these commandments on stone and delivered them to Moses? So, why is it that those who break the laws that God set are somehow less horrible than those who break the rules set by mortal men? The Bible contains six admonishments to homosexuals and three hundred sixty two admonishments to heterosexuals. that The Bible tells them clearly that this is their mission in life. Women were seen as second class citizens, seen as secondary to men in both this world and the heavenly world beyond. It strikes me as almost humorous when people talk about how The Bible has passages that "prove" that women are meant only to be mates to their men, that the white races alone is meant to rule the Earth, or that homosexuality is a sin that no one considers the fact that none of these groups of people had any influence over the creation of The Bible. Not many people would argue against the fact that The Bible is a book of parables meant to teach valuable lessons, however, few would admit that they actually read it to interpret what those stories really are trying to say to them. No one ever seems to question these kinds of ideas unless they are as far out there as the ones used by these militant factions. So, one can't help but wonder why people seem to think they can understand what is right or wrong in God's eyes just by reading some book that God did not write or listening to mortal men telling them what God thinks. Nuns were not allowed to work on the Bible. The Bible also tells men that if their brother dies, it is their responsibility to marry his widow so that she may conceive and bear children. In ancient times, it is common knowledge that the religion of the masses was not Christianity, but rather various forms of what we now call pagan religions. As a result, people didn't read The Bible for themselves and depended completely on their priests to tell them what it said. This idea of allowing the Church to dictate our religious beliefs seems to have carried over into modern time. Many scholars now see it as a collection of stories not meant to always be taken at face value.
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Acceptance Essays
