I'm sure half the letters you get start the same way as mine: I normally agree with you 100%, but...Your response to LR angered me. Don't get me wrong, I think you're completely in the right in putting him in his place regarding the hypocrisy of his views. But it felt like a slap in the face to see Christianity being so concretely linked with being anti-gay. I'm an atheist, but I grew up in the United Church of Canada, where we learned that gay people have equal rights and we should fight for their right to marry. For coming out day, St. Andrew's Haney United Church had a billboard specifically welcoming gays, lesbians, straights, bisexuals, and transgendered folk. And this isn't some sort of "Come to our church, we'll turn you straight" deal. This is "God made you this way and that's how you should be and let's help the rest of the world accept you like you should be."
In my experience, the majority of Christians are apathetic or "tolerant" towards people of alternative sexualities. But there are certainly Christians who fully accept and believe that our society should be truly equal, just as there are those who truly hate anyone who differs from the norm. What I'm trying to say is that it really upsets me to see such a small minority being given so much power and attention, which just serves to widen the rift between gay people and Christians. Why not give some time and attention to the churches that welcome and love gay people? For someone who is gay and Christian (or any other religion with some element of anti-gay rhetoric,) I can't even imagine how heartbreaking it would be to feel you have to choose between two strong aspects of who you are. Wouldn't knowing that there are churches that believe that it's normal and okay to be both be more beneficial than reinforcing the need to choose?
Jesus Loves Gays And Hates Fundies
My response to "buttsore Christians" after the jump...