God does not hate gays!

[Gabrielle]

of course he doesn't, i don't understand homophobic people they break my heart!, God has shown that he loves me, i can't believe how evil people are.

[Rainbowmum]

Well hi there.

This is a bit of a touchy subject with me , as I removed myself from modern day christendom a long time ago .
I actually wrote a letter of resignation to the Anglican church.
I just could not stand the idea of a man deciding who will or will not be given Gods blessings.

It was 1980 and there was a huge movement going on here in Australia to Decriminalise Gay Choices and rights.

I know it's hard to believe that a relativly young modern country was still in the dark ages.
I had many gay friends (and they are still my friends) and it killed me that they had to live a lie.

So when we heard of the demonstraitions , we joined forces and marched every chance we got .
The Reverend Fred Nile was the man that standing against us trying to keep us all in the dark ages.

What the man did not realize was that he and his biggoted hate driven ways caused more harm to his movement than not.
I remember when he pointed his finger straight at me at yelled
" You will burn in hell for this!"
With out missing a beat I replied.
" I am already in hell and I am staring the devil in the eye, Who gave you the right to decide who has Gods blessing and who doesnt ; who gave you the right to take away our freedom of choice that God gave to us?"
" You are a false prophet and are blaspheming Gods name."
He pulled back as if I slapped him.
A friend of mine read a scripture from Matthew 18:20
"For where two or three gather together as my followers, I am there among them." ... There am I in the midst of them."
He asked us all :
" Who here has Jesus in his heart?"
The response was a deafening unity of " we do".

Finally in 1984 they year my eldest son was born they decriminalised being gay.
I have raised my children and grandchildren to know that God created them perfect just the way they are and that Jesus always loves them.
They don't need the church nor some guy in a gown that has never been married preaching to them.

[LateBloomer]

Well hi there.

This is a bit of a touchy subject with me , as I removed myself from modern day christendom a long time ago .
I actually wrote a letter of resignation to the Anglican church.
I just could not stand the idea of a man deciding who will or will not be given Gods blessings.

It was 1980 and there was a huge movement going on here in Australia to Decriminalise Gay Choices and rights.

I know it's hard to believe that a relativly young modern country was still in the dark ages.
I had many gay friends (and they are still my friends) and it killed me that they had to live a lie.

So when we heard of the demonstraitions , we joined forces and marched every chance we got .
The Reverend Fred Nile was the man that standing against us trying to keep us all in the dark ages.

What the man did not realize was that he and his biggoted hate driven ways caused more harm to his movement than not.
I remember when he pointed his finger straight at me at yelled
" You will burn in hell for this!"
With out missing a beat I replied.
" I am already in hell and I am staring the devil in the eye, Who gave you the right to decide who has Gods blessing and who doesnt ; who gave you the right to take away our freedom of choice that God gave to us?"
" You are a false prophet and are blaspheming Gods name."
He pulled back as if I slapped him.
A friend of mine read a scripture from Matthew 18:20
"For where two or three gather together as my followers, I am there among them." ... There am I in the midst of them."
He asked us all :
" Who here has Jesus in his heart?"
The response was a deafening unity of " we do".

Finally in 1984 they year my eldest son was born they decriminalised being gay.
I have raised my children and grandchildren to know that God created them perfect just the way they are and that Jesus always loves them.
They don't need the church nor some guy in a gown that has never been married preaching to them.

That's one of my favorite passages.

[namc11]

Hate itself is considered to be a sin, to harbor it against any child of God is an understatement of most every teaching. Those who say otherwise are only wielding religion to further their own political agenda, which is an affront to the otherwise peaceful and loving scripture in which they twist. These people are known as false prophets, and if they do not see the error of their ways, they lay in the same circumstances of condemnation as they attempt to point on to others.

This is one of many reasons us Christians are labeled as hypocrites and fakes. Instead of teaching love for all and equality the majority are preaching "love for all (who follow exactly what we think) which is wrong! the Bible teaches "Never get revenge. Never hold a grudge against any of your people. Instead, love your neighbor as you love yourself. I am the Lord." Lev 19:18 (GW) and "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved." John 3:16-17 (KJV) Where in there does it say "love all who agree with you" or "He sent His only son so the straight people who believe in Him....." NOWHERE!!!! So these ideas are rediculus!

[namc11]

See i personally believe that the straight Christian's biggest problem with gay marriage is the fact it would make it "acceptable" for us to have sex and be together.

[jbd555]

I've been told all along that you don't need a church, etc etc to believe in God and to be of a religious spirit. However, we as people like to be with one another, sometimes of our own kind to feel a type togetherness. I don't believe in half of what organized religion teaches but I feel closer to God in a church and when around fellow believers worshiping. I guess that is hypocritical and may be it's the way I was brought up.
For all those that are ridiculed and judged by so called religious leaders, you have to remember they are human and they will judge no matter what God has said or what the Bible says. This is no excuse, just what helps me get past the hate these people spew.
I think there is a lot more to do with gay youth suicides besides bullying. I think depression because of religious beliefs and the things we are taught growing up are a tremendous factor in suicides as well. I wish I had a solution.

[Pix]

Beside the progressive Christian sects who reinterpret that antigay passages, there are UUs for those who want a gay friendly church to worship with others (and they include reverence for Christianity as well as many other religions). I believe they have plenty of churches so many here should be able to find one in their area.

[OrphanPip]

I think there is a legitimate critique to be levelled at organized religion that their actions in reinforcing homophobia and anti-gay laws has seriously pernicious effects globally. For one, there is a historical issue, where ecclesiastical churches were initially involved with criminalizing "sodomical" behavior before it was integrated into secular legal systems; such that, anywhere anti-gay legislation persists in the West, and former colonies of the West, we can trace the ultimate origin to religious organization. Then there is the fact that religious organizations, even relatively moderate ones like the Anglican and Catholic churches, are implicit in supporting anti-gay legislation in Africa. If we ignore the matter of resisting gay marriage, there is still a widespread pattern of criminalizing of gay behavior that we should be concerned about. And that's without getting into the issue of Islam and its attitudes towards homosexuality.

[Thal]

Hate itself is considered to be a sin, to harbor it against any child of God is an understatement of most every teaching. Those who say otherwise are only wielding religion to further their own political agenda, which is an affront to the otherwise peaceful and loving scripture in which they twist. These people are known as false prophets, and if they do not see the error of their ways, they lay in the same circumstances of condemnation as they attempt to point on to others.

God hates hate but God also hates...yet God calls hate a sin. Is 'God' a sinner?

[Genersis]

God hates hate but God also hates...yet God calls hate a sin. Is 'God' a sinner?

Being a god gives him a free pass on sin apparently.
As according to most religions and their religious interpretations, everything the big guy does is, by default, correct and perfect and therefore can't be a sin.