Hiding behind the Bible won't help

Okay, so I have my beliefs. I have my faith. I keep them tucked away and pull them out and play them when necessary.

Much to the Baptists' dismay, I am not a "preach until you're blue in the face in order to convert them" person. If someone asks, sure, I'll share ... but not until then. I don't believe in forcing my beliefs and religion.

And I sure as hell don't believe in quoting the Bible in order to justify asinine thoughts and ideas. I always hated the Mormon commercial on TV back in the day that showed an open Bible and two passages were highlighted ... but read as if they were one, to make it sound like the Bible supported the crazy dude who found the golden tablets behind a rock. Oh, but see, that's not how it really worked. There was text in between those two passages that was eliminated for these purposes... it's like qualitative research data, you can twist it to make it say whatever you want. (But my gripe about Dr. Lindloff and his crazy research is a whole separate tirade indeed.)

So, to start the day, I see a link on my friend's Facebook page to a story, and his comment to accompany the story is simple, "Asshole." I don't think that begins to describe the dude. The long and the short is that this bastage from Virginia believes that children with disabilities are God's way to punish people who have had abortions - because, apparently, it's widely known that the first-born is sacred and if you harm that first-born in anyway, then you will be punished with a child who has special needs the next time you decide to screw around without protection.

Now, in all my years of going to church ... in all my years of listening to boring sermons that, admittedly, went in one ear and out the other most Sundays ... in all my years of randomly picking up the Bible and reading a verse or two when the mood struck, NEVER have I ever seen anything about God punishing people by burdening them with a child who has special needs. I mean, maybe I missed it, but I always thought God punished us by sending us to burn in Hell ... and maybe a cruel dose of irony now and then, but really? This guy believes this?

So, of course, it does beg the question ... are all special needs children born to parents who aborted what would have been their first-born? What if a woman aborted a child, but it was not her first-born - is she still to be punished with a special needs child? Ohhhh, by this douchbag's rationale, obviously Sarah Palin must have had an abortion early on and Trig is her punishment. (Don't you think what she does to herself every time she opens her mouth as of late is punishment enough?)

Okay, so enough of that guy, because if I go on too much more about that, my head just might explode.

So, that's open-mouth-insert-foot-but-justify-with-Bible moment of the day, act one. Brief intermission and my internet surfing lands me on this gem:

“The Bible says that marriage is between a man and a woman. In Leviticus it says, ‘If man lies with mankind as he would lie with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination. They shall surely be put to death and their blood shall be upon them.’ The Bible is pretty black and white,” Ashley told Pop Tarts.

“I feel like God himself created mankind and he loves everyone, and he has the best for everyone. If he says that having sex with someone of your same gender is going to bring death upon you, that’s a pretty stern warning, and he knows more than we do about life.”

Okay, look, I know the Bible does say horrible things about the gays. It does. But the Bible also says that God loves everyone ... and the only true sin is not believing in him, and those who don't are the ones who will burn in hell. I don't really think the lyrics of "Jesus Loves Me This I Know" go like this:

Jesus loves me this I know,
For the Bible tells me so.
Little ones to him belong,
Unless they're gay, that is so wrong.

But you know, I could be wrong. I don't go to church a whole lot these days. What about "Jesus Loves the Little Children"?

Jesus loves the little children,
All the children of the world.
Red and yellow, black and white
They are precious in his sight (unless they are gay)
Jesus loves the little children of the world

Alright, I'm getting off-topic by re-writing VBS classics. My point is simply this: taking the Bible out of context to promote your own agenda, however prejudice it may be, is not the way to go. Sure the Bible lays down the law on a lot of things (after all, it's wrong to kill and covet thy neighbor's wife), but it also has stories of love, compassion and acceptance.

And here's a SHOCKER ... Jesus, the Messiah, came to die for your sins (including opening your big mouth you dumbass) and wipe your slate clean. This means that if homosexuality is indeed a sin (which it probably is because, well, think about how the "seven deadly sins" put a cabash on everything), Jesus' death on the cross wiped that sin clean for them. Yay for Jesus.

So, little genius child, Miss Beverly Hills (who, ironically enough, the city of Beverly Hills does not acknowledge in the least), they are not going to burn in hell because they love someone of the same sex. You have no place to damn them to hell for who they love. Period. END OF STORY. Furthermore, if having gay sex will bring death upon them, I'm sure a lot of them will say "bring it" because they will go to Heaven and be in a much better place, one that doesn't have people like Lauren Ashley in it.

Now ... you are sitting here asking yourself that if I'm a little church girl like I seem to imply, aren't I a homophobe too? Nope. There was a point in my life when I would actually have admitted that. But that was when I had a much more narrow view of things. Now I've come to accept that you are who you are, and I will be damned if anyone has the right to control who you love. I am straight, but that doesn't mean it's the only option out there. I mean, shoot, I like milk chocolate, but that doesn't mean there aren't other flavors of chocolate out there that other people enjoy. I believe that in the end, EVERYONE will have to answer to their maker (whoever they believe it to be), and that's who gets to do the final judging. Not me. Not Miss Beverly Hills. Not some douchebag from Virginia. Believe me, no amount of shielding themselves with the Bible will protect them when they come face-to-face with their God. (What about the Athiests. I don't know. Don't make me think that hard, it's almost two in the morning for God's sake.)

Am I perfect? Not on your life. Am I casting stones. Sure I am. Did I whip out my faith and share without being asked (contrary to what I said at the beginning)? But it's my blog and I'm entitled to do it (eh, no one reads it anyway). The Bible grants me a First Amendment right to the freedom of speech ... oh, wait a minute .... no, that's something else entirely. :)