But, I don’t hate him, just wish they would take the tax exempt status away, as they should with all churches that decided they want go into politics…

@John Shore, I come to your blog because like Fox Moulder, I want to believe. Not in Jesus – but in the basic humanity and capacity for decency of Jesus’ followers. I want to believe as you say that “There’s nothing wrong with Christianity,” but really I’m not so sure. Christianity didn’t just turn ugly when “gay people happened.” It was ugly when women happened, and wanted equal rights and to not be subjected to violence. It was ugly when black people happened and wanted equal rights and to not be slaves. It was ugly when members of other religions or sects and people who asked questions happened, and wanted to not be killed with fire. And it was sure as hell at its ugliest when Jewish people happened. There’s definitely a pattern here. The injustices against GLBT people are not a nasty blip on an otherwise stellar history.

I’ve seen a lot of Christians today try to claim the civil rights movement as if Martin Luther King were opposed in his fight for justice by a bunch of Buddhists. The racists were Christians too. So were the preachers and practitioners of every other evil done in the name of Christ. As Christians, they are every bit as representative of what Christianity is as you are, as Kathy is, as Rev. John Fee was, as Martin Luther King was, etc.

I also know people like Sam who work hard and help others and do their utmost to live good lives. My grandmother was just one such person, volunteering at the hospital and helping those in need in her community right up until she died. She was also racist, Christofascist, and homophobic.

I grew up in one vicious, nasty, ugly, hate-filled, arrogant, cruel, domestic violence practicing Pentecostal church chock full of vicious, nasty, ugly, hate-filled, arrogant, cruel, domestic violence practicing Pentecostals who would give the shirt off their back to a random homeless person or their last dime to a stranger in need. It was because they had been taught to be kind to the poor, but to almost no one else. Because they based their entire concepts of morality, ethics, & decency on what they had been taught in the name of Jesus, they had no conscience to tell them that it was wrong to lie to gain a convert, beat a child, hate a stranger, or deny basic rights to another human being.

In some people, Christianity awakens conscience, makes them humble (and therefore more tolerant and open-minded) and drives them to love. I come to your blog to be reminded that such Christians – and such Christianities – exist.

But in a lot of people, Christianity destroys conscience and replaces it with dogma – the most evil being the smug sense of superiority that “I’m born again and you’re not.” A lot of Christians become arrogant because they think of themselves as humble, and become persecutors because they think of themselves as persecuted. They fester with hate because they think of themselves as loving. This last one is the most evil because it leads them to pervert the very concept of love. Suddenly it’s “loving” to beat your gay kid to death. Suddenly it’s “loving” to bully people to suicide. Suddenly it’s “loving” to lie to Jewish people about their faith and yours in order to deceive them into converting.

I’ve had the experience of refusing to convert to Christianity at gunpoint. I’ve actually had one Christian insinuate to me upon hearing about that that the guy who held a gun to my head was doing it as an act of love – right before she resumed telling me that I was going to hell.

I *want* to believe that that “old time religion” is a good thing. I really do. But after a lifetime of Christian love, I just can’t.

Jesus was a beautiful, wonderful and kind man that loved everyone unconditionally. You are a disgusting man that should be banned from preaching hate and filth. The sin of hatred leads to hell. Have a nice trip and when you get there enjoy looking up and watching all the “homosexuals” dancing with Peter through the pearly gates!

Krista MacDonald
Sent from my iPhone.