God Doesn't 'Hate Fags' ... or Muslims ... or Anyone Else

God? Allah? Buddha? ... Ok, I'm not going to sit here and list all of them so don't worry. But this morning I'm driving in my car thinking, "God is good." Then I got to thinking, "Who is God?" I mean, when I think about God I think of the creator of the world. Father of Jesus Christ, etc etc. But that's not who God is to everyone. So I started to think about religion as a whole. You know they say the two most controversial topics in the world are religion and politics. So controversial in fact that it's taboo to talk about them with a stranger or someone you are just meeting. When you go to etiquette class, they stress how much you should NOT talk about religion or politics at a business dinner or other formal event. (Yes, I have taken etiquette class LOL). Why is religion such a touchy subject? Why are nonbelievers so critical of religion? Why do some folks get so defensive about their religion?

If you think about it, the fundamental teachings of just about every religion are the same. Treat others as you wish to be treated. Be nice to people so you can have good karma. Love your neighbor as your love yourself. So on and so on. It's all the same. Religion itself is humanistic. They all, generally, revolve around the same basic human values. Love. Family. Kindness. Gentleness. Patience. Etc etc. So when someone has a good heart and are living "right," but don't believe in the same thing you believe in, why is it such a huge deal? And I suppose I am speaking strictly from a Christian perspective. As a Christian that tries to actually read the Bible (yeah, some of us do that) and live by all of its teachings and not some of them, I am so baffled when I see people like this:

Thank God for breast cancer? God hates fags? Really??

Dear Christian extremists, thank you for giving all of us a bad name. 

Sincerely, 

Me

My Bible teaches me that God loves everyone. Regardless of anything you do the one person that will ALWAYS love you is God. Regardless of whether or not you love Him back, He loves you and there is nothing you can do about it. My Bible also teaches me "Judge not lest ye be judged." Who do you think you are to tell someone they will burn in hell?? And don't tell me you have to be a mission and spread the gospel because ... uuuhh ... that ain't the way to do it. NOONE ... I repeat NOONE ... is listening to you yell at them about how they will definitely, 100% burn in hell for eternity because God told you so last night. That's NOT the way to spread the gospel. Casting Crowns has a song that I love so much I put some of the lyrics on my Facebook profile:

People aren't confused by the gospel,
They're confused by us.
Jesus is the only way to God,
But we are not the only way to Jesus.
This world doesn't need
My tie, my hoodie,
My denomination, or my translation of the Bible,
They just need Jesus.
We can be passionate about what we believe,
But we can't strap ourselves to the gospels.
Because we're slowing it down
Jesus is going to save the world,
But maybe the best thing we can do
Is just get out of the way.

What this world needs
Is a Savior who will rescue,
A Spirit who will lead,
A Father who will love them in their time of need

As a Christian I don't feel like I have any right to tell you that what you will burn in hell because you don't believe what I do. All I can do is share "the good news" and say a prayer. Whatever else happens is between you and God. I will always be there to answer questions and serve as a resource, but I will never judge someone for not being a Christian. Some of the nicest, kindest, most generous people I have ever met weren't Christians. And some of the meanest, cruelest, most conniving people I have ever met sing in the choir at church. Even have the nerve to be on a committee of some sort. My personal belief? When they get to the pearly gates and tell God, "I believe Jesus is my savior and I follow his teachings" God is going to respond, "That's what ya mouth say, but ya heart ain't in it." This is one of those things I struggle with with my faith. It is true that the Bible says the only way to true salvation is through Jesus, but what about all the mean, hateful people that say they are Christians and the amazing people that aren't. I don't know the answer to that, but I certainly don't believe God will overlook a pure heart and good deeds.

The pastor at Cornerstone shared an unsurprising statistic one week at church, "Only 15% of Christians truly live as Christians should (ie tithing, giving back to the community, being kind to EVERYONE and not just the folks they like, etc etc). Well no wonder folks think Christians are all crazy hypocrites ... a vast majority of us are! Honestly, if I wasn't a Christian, I wouldn't want to become one either ... which is why I wasn't one for so long ;-) (which is a whole other story I might share later). Example: You mean to tell me you truly believe in your heart of hearts, deep down on the inside, truly profoundly believe that God wanted you to kill off tons of Native Americans and take over their land?? No people...that wasn't your "destiny" to "manifest." Nooo God didn't want you to kill every single person that ever spoke against the church. Like come on...what Bible are you reading?? What verse in your Bible tells you to stand across the street from someone's funeral and yell about how much God hates the person being buried? Please direct me.

Anywho, I feel like I've kinda been all over the place with this post, with no clear point being made. LOL So to wrap it all up, I guess my point is that:

1. We Christians have GOT to stop telling people they are going to hell. YOU don't get to make that call.

2. Either be hot or cold. Be on or off. Get in the water or stay out. Don't dabble your feet in it but never really get in. In layman's terms, stop picking the stuff in the Bible you want to follow because it's easy and throwing out the rest then going around screaming about being a Christian. (I am guilty of being luke warm at times too) But you being half on and half off only makes it that much harder for the folks that are all on to advance the Kingdom. People who aren't Christians just look at you as a hypocrite. Be who you are. We all have struggles and we can't be perfect, but keep your judgements to yourself. If you are REALLY that concerned with someone's salvation, pray for them. Don't scream at them about how you are trying to save them. LOL When I was in high school and I verbally said, "I am not a Christian," I had a friend that was praying that I would find Christ. At the time I didn't know it, but when I finally came around she told me that she had been praying for me since high school.

3. To all non-Christians out there: All Christians aren't mindless followers of child molesters. I say that jokingly, but seriously. Some of us actually read our Bibles and know what's in it. We aren't perfect and we may not understand everything completely, but that's where our faith comes in. We don't judge you for not being a Christian and I'd appreciate it if you didn't judge me (ie call me mindless or stupid) for being a Christian. I challenge you to actually take the time to learn what Christianity is all about. And any other religion for that matter before you develop a strong opinion about it. Don't let the ignorant extremists outside the courthouse and abortion clinics influence your opinion about Christianity. I am shaking my head at them just as much as you are.

And those are my thoughts.

D