This is the problem I have…

With most Christians and/or Christian organizations:

They are pushy, overbearing, and stick their noses where they don’t belong. Like in politics and the lives of people outside their congregation. You want to know why I have a problem with it?

Because 90% of the things they are railing against have little to no effect on their church or its members. Don’t believe me? Go HERE and scroll down the page of articles. Read the headlines. And then realize why so many people like myself are disillusioned and disenfranchised with the modern church.

I grew up in the church, so please understand where I’m coming from. I have no problem with preachers telling their congregations that homosexuality is wrong and that they shouldn’t smoke marijuana. What I do have a problem with is when churches actively work to restrict people OUTSIDE their congregations from engaging in activities that they don’t agree with. Like this:

The Mormon, Christian, and Catholic churches spent MILLIONS of dollars to make sure this lovely little gem passed congress, and they are pumping even more money into it now that its been challenged.

My question is this:

Whatever happened to separation of church and state? Whatever happened to the laws that should protect against NON-PROFIT (which many of these churches claim to be) organizations being able to finance campaigns like this? And most importantly, why are these organizations even doing it in the first place?

Telling people they are going to hell doesn’t work. Actively working to make sure they are treated as second class citizens doesn’t exactly warm them to your cause. All it does is alienate them and make you look like the bad guy in their minds.

And I should know. It’s for exactly these reasons that I left the church in the first place. And why, even though I’d like to go back, I probably won’t.

I’ve Figured It Out!

I was sitting at my computer, playing bejeweled when it hit me. I think I understand why organizations such as the Catholic and Mormon churches are so vehemently opposed to gay marriage and homosexual relationships in general. It’s not because the find it morally wrong, it’s because most (not all, but most) gay people don’t procreate. Even if they do, I’ve never met a gay couple or individual with more than one or two children.

The backbone of both these organizations is in their numbers. The Catholic Church boasts over 1 BILLION members. The Mormon Church, although much smaller than the Catholic church, still boasts over 13 MILLION members. And anyone who knows anything about these churches knows their stance on birth control and abortion. It begs the question if they are that way because their faith tells them to be that way or if they see the convenience in over 1 billion people worldwide popping out a bunch of kids who are more than likely going to be raised in the church by their parents. Hmm.

My question is, so what?

I’m not saying they don’t have the right to believe what they believe, regardless of the reasoning behind that belief, but who are they to actively work to deny basic human rights to people? What makes them think they have the right to push legislation that denies people the right to marry who they love?

The bible, and nearly every other major religion, teaches that we are to love people the way GOD loves people. In other words, unconditionally, without judgment or hypocrisy. How is it fair that when a heterosexual woman is hospitalized, her husband gets to decide how she is cared for, but when a homosexual man is injured, his partner isn’t even allowed to see him, let alone make decisions regarding his care? Their love is no different, their commitment no less than that of a heterosexual couple, so why are they being denied the right to take care of their loved ones?

Secondly, marriage, at least civil marriage, is handled by the GOVERNMENT, NOT the church. What happened to separation of church and state? The Mormon church poured over $5 million into the proposition 8 passage, and has probably spent MILLIONS more to keep it as law. They are staging similar battles across the country, trying to spread their bigotry and hatred as far as they possibly can.

The problem is, they are spending so much of their time and resources on something that really doesn’t concern them. Most homosexual couples aren’t walking through the doors of a Catholic or Mormon church every Sunday. They don’t conform to that belief system, and probably never will. The focus of the church needs to be internal, focusing on its MEMBERS, not people outside their sphere of influence, where they are only making it that much harder to show them the love their God supposedly has for them.