Religion and Homosexuality
So I never talk about religion because no one fucking understands my point of view. But here it goes.
Ever since I can remember, I've been alright with homosexuality. Before I even knew what homosexuality was I think I was alright with it. That doesn't seem to make any sense, so let me explain.
Me and my cousin Andrea watched the movie "But I'm a Cheerleader" when we were really young. I thought it was just about a cheerleader... doing cheerleading... but that wasn't the case. The movie ended up being about a cheerleader being sent to one of those camps where they try to stop you from being gay. She didn't think she was gay, but everyone around her thought she was. Ironically enough, when she got to the camp, that is when she *figured out* she was gay and started having relations with another girl at the camp. And trust me. Those relations were, um... very intense.
And so there I am, as a young girl, watching this movie... girls making out in their undies... TWO GIRLS... and it didn't even phase me. I don't even think a spot of confusion went through my head. I was never like, "Oh, why are two girls kissing? That doesn't make any sense..." I was just sort of like "Oh. Okay. She really likes that girl. That's cool." It seems to strange me, now that I am more aware of society's opinion of homosexuality, that I would have that sort of reaction. It is like somehow I avoided being socialized into the anti-gay culture and perceived it as just another relationship between two people.
I was a blank slate going into this movie. I had never heard of homosexuality at all. And when I saw it, it just seemed... natural. This makes me wonder... if people weren't socialized so early in their lives to think that being gay is wrong, would people even have that opinion at all?
It seems like there was something inside me, something unaltered and pure, that believed that those relationships were okay. And it is that sort of pureness that I believe to be true. I don't think any sort of socialization is truth, but rather humans are able to arrive at truth using nothing but the minds and souls they were born with. To me, that makes the most sense. I think every person is able to be in touch with God, and we do that by remaining intact with the unaltered souls that we were born with. Our natural essences are closest in line to the way we were made, rather than through the teaching of churches, which is the way we have been altered through the teachings of humans.
This is why I could never be Christian. It is so heavily reliant on the idea of human nature being immoral and perverted, and that we need to be fixed in order to be accepted. I don't think I can ever accept that as truth. Why would our souls, the thing that is the very closest to God and all that is spiritual, need to be fixed?
I was not raised religiously. I thank God every day for this fact [ironically]. Because I was not raised religiously, I was able to keep some of my nature intact. I can still feel my soul underneath everything that society has put in my brain. And notice, even though I was not raised religiously, I have a natural morality within me. I did not need a church in order to tell me not to steal, kill, or cheat. I did that on my own. That leads me to have beliefs in accord with Nietzsche, that humans have a natural morality that can be followed without the teachings of Christianity. Nietzsche also acknowledges that some people are bad, but that is not because of the lack of Christianity in their lives. He just says that once and awhile, there will be a few bad eggs out there. But that is not to say that humans as a race should be collectively categorized as "bad." I don't care what the people in my English class say, it just... makes sense.
In the same way I seem to naturally follow a moral code without any religious obligation, I seem to naturally follow my heart when it comes to love. That is what lead me to believe homosexuality was nothing odd, and then later lead me to become bisexual myself. As a bisexual, I know that "sexual orientation" is not all about the "sexual" part. I know that I am able to fall in love with anyone regardless of sex, not because I love both kinds of genitalia, but because I fall in love with their souls... and souls exist beyond the body, thus the body is irrelevant. Bisexuality is less about sex and more about philosophy for me. So all the Bible passages about homosexuality being sexual perversion seem silly to me. How can something be sexual perversion if it is based on something so spiritual?
I think love is the feeling that gets us closest to God. If there is one thing me and my Ethics teacher agreed upon, it is that falling in love is the most divine experience because it is like two souls are being joined. But because it is about the SOUL, not the GENITALS, I fail to see how this experience is exclusive to people of the opposite sex. I can tell you from personal experience that love that is felt with the same sex feels no different than the love that is felt between people of opposite sexes. Then it is my conclusion, then, that God would want us to be joined in love, no matter who it be with.
I know that devout Christians reading this are probably acknowledging my logic, yet shaking their heads a bit, because they know what I saying has no basis in biblical teachings. I concede: my thoughts about God have nothing to do with the Bible. Nothing at all. But I do not think that makes them invalid. I think that God intends to reach all people, and that no book is needed in order to be in touch with that connection. That simply because I am a human, with a mind and soul that has a place in the spiritual realm, I am able to reason what is true.
This is why quoting biblical passages has no relevance when trying to convince me of God's word. Giving me lines out of it in defense of the anti-gay mentality really doesn't do justice at all. God gave humans reason and logic to determine what is truth. Give me *your* reasoning, not a book's quote, and that is something that may convince me.
So to conclude, you're probably wondering what the fuck kind of religion I am if I am spouting off all this stuff about God yet not following a Christian mindset. It's called Deism. It used to be really popular, especially among America's founders, but since then it has reduced in number. I don't equate popularity with truth, however, so I will continue to follow it even if no one knows what the hell it is. If you want to know how it works, simply to understand my argument more, the Wikipedia page is pretty good. Don't assume I'm an atheist just because I'm not Christian and don't go to your church! Rawr.
/end rant.
Ever since I can remember, I've been alright with homosexuality. Before I even knew what homosexuality was I think I was alright with it. That doesn't seem to make any sense, so let me explain.
Me and my cousin Andrea watched the movie "But I'm a Cheerleader" when we were really young. I thought it was just about a cheerleader... doing cheerleading... but that wasn't the case. The movie ended up being about a cheerleader being sent to one of those camps where they try to stop you from being gay. She didn't think she was gay, but everyone around her thought she was. Ironically enough, when she got to the camp, that is when she *figured out* she was gay and started having relations with another girl at the camp. And trust me. Those relations were, um... very intense.
And so there I am, as a young girl, watching this movie... girls making out in their undies... TWO GIRLS... and it didn't even phase me. I don't even think a spot of confusion went through my head. I was never like, "Oh, why are two girls kissing? That doesn't make any sense..." I was just sort of like "Oh. Okay. She really likes that girl. That's cool." It seems to strange me, now that I am more aware of society's opinion of homosexuality, that I would have that sort of reaction. It is like somehow I avoided being socialized into the anti-gay culture and perceived it as just another relationship between two people.
I was a blank slate going into this movie. I had never heard of homosexuality at all. And when I saw it, it just seemed... natural. This makes me wonder... if people weren't socialized so early in their lives to think that being gay is wrong, would people even have that opinion at all?
It seems like there was something inside me, something unaltered and pure, that believed that those relationships were okay. And it is that sort of pureness that I believe to be true. I don't think any sort of socialization is truth, but rather humans are able to arrive at truth using nothing but the minds and souls they were born with. To me, that makes the most sense. I think every person is able to be in touch with God, and we do that by remaining intact with the unaltered souls that we were born with. Our natural essences are closest in line to the way we were made, rather than through the teaching of churches, which is the way we have been altered through the teachings of humans.
This is why I could never be Christian. It is so heavily reliant on the idea of human nature being immoral and perverted, and that we need to be fixed in order to be accepted. I don't think I can ever accept that as truth. Why would our souls, the thing that is the very closest to God and all that is spiritual, need to be fixed?
I was not raised religiously. I thank God every day for this fact [ironically]. Because I was not raised religiously, I was able to keep some of my nature intact. I can still feel my soul underneath everything that society has put in my brain. And notice, even though I was not raised religiously, I have a natural morality within me. I did not need a church in order to tell me not to steal, kill, or cheat. I did that on my own. That leads me to have beliefs in accord with Nietzsche, that humans have a natural morality that can be followed without the teachings of Christianity. Nietzsche also acknowledges that some people are bad, but that is not because of the lack of Christianity in their lives. He just says that once and awhile, there will be a few bad eggs out there. But that is not to say that humans as a race should be collectively categorized as "bad." I don't care what the people in my English class say, it just... makes sense.
In the same way I seem to naturally follow a moral code without any religious obligation, I seem to naturally follow my heart when it comes to love. That is what lead me to believe homosexuality was nothing odd, and then later lead me to become bisexual myself. As a bisexual, I know that "sexual orientation" is not all about the "sexual" part. I know that I am able to fall in love with anyone regardless of sex, not because I love both kinds of genitalia, but because I fall in love with their souls... and souls exist beyond the body, thus the body is irrelevant. Bisexuality is less about sex and more about philosophy for me. So all the Bible passages about homosexuality being sexual perversion seem silly to me. How can something be sexual perversion if it is based on something so spiritual?
I think love is the feeling that gets us closest to God. If there is one thing me and my Ethics teacher agreed upon, it is that falling in love is the most divine experience because it is like two souls are being joined. But because it is about the SOUL, not the GENITALS, I fail to see how this experience is exclusive to people of the opposite sex. I can tell you from personal experience that love that is felt with the same sex feels no different than the love that is felt between people of opposite sexes. Then it is my conclusion, then, that God would want us to be joined in love, no matter who it be with.
I know that devout Christians reading this are probably acknowledging my logic, yet shaking their heads a bit, because they know what I saying has no basis in biblical teachings. I concede: my thoughts about God have nothing to do with the Bible. Nothing at all. But I do not think that makes them invalid. I think that God intends to reach all people, and that no book is needed in order to be in touch with that connection. That simply because I am a human, with a mind and soul that has a place in the spiritual realm, I am able to reason what is true.
This is why quoting biblical passages has no relevance when trying to convince me of God's word. Giving me lines out of it in defense of the anti-gay mentality really doesn't do justice at all. God gave humans reason and logic to determine what is truth. Give me *your* reasoning, not a book's quote, and that is something that may convince me.
So to conclude, you're probably wondering what the fuck kind of religion I am if I am spouting off all this stuff about God yet not following a Christian mindset. It's called Deism. It used to be really popular, especially among America's founders, but since then it has reduced in number. I don't equate popularity with truth, however, so I will continue to follow it even if no one knows what the hell it is. If you want to know how it works, simply to understand my argument more, the Wikipedia page is pretty good. Don't assume I'm an atheist just because I'm not Christian and don't go to your church! Rawr.
/end rant.