I realized that I'm at a genuine impasse right now. When I weigh the pros and cons my choice is obvious but because the stakes are so high, I can't help but wonder "what if they're right?".
My parents said something that really shocked me when we were "talking" this spring break. They said that everything God says isn't equally weighted. I was really doubtful of this because I feel like if God is the beginning and the end, the light in the midst of darkness, creator of the universe, and everything else he's credited with, he wouldn't say something one day and then later on dismiss what he said. But I haven't read the whole bible so I consulted someone who had. He was raised Jehovah's Witness and passed his test at an early age so he really knows his stuff. He told me I was right. I wanted more back up and I thought "who better to ask than seasoned practicing Jehovah's witnesses" because they have a table set up almost everyday outside. I will say that the Jehovah's Witnesses are SERIOUS about what they believe. They are taught never to just tell you something when they ask a question, they show you too. They are in church ALL the time, or in bible study, or out recruiting. So I know they'd be able to really tell me what's up. I was too intimidated to walk to the table myself so I asked my ex-J Dub friend to go ask for me. After about 20-30 minutes at the table with me about 100 feet away, I saw a mix of emotions and lots of bible showing. At the end of it all the answer was still that everything in the bible has equal weight.
I learned something else today. I'm taking a christianity class this quarter in school. The professor said today that Christianity wasn't a "religion" because it's focused more on an individual rather than a set of principles like Buddhism for example. It's just labelled as one for comparison purposes. Yea we have "rules" but according to my good friends the J-dubs, the rules are up to interpretation. This seems kind of shaky coming from a religion that esteems itself so highly on "what the bible says" but here's what I figure. The difference between Christianity and other religions is that we have a personal relationship with the most important "figure" while other people simply worship or revere theirs. That's why we call him the heavenly father. Now with that image in mind (heavenly father), do you listen to everything your father has ever said without challenging him or coming to your own conclusions as you grow older? Christians seem to think that getting more mature in Christ means you learn to follow more rules as strictly as possible but rules are just there to guide you. You have to be commanded things until you realize why they make sense and learn to do them on your own. Then you decide how to live your life based on what you've learned just from living and maturing.
I've said it before and I'll say it again. Christianity's main message is about love. So to me, the rules that make most sense are the ones aligned with that. Don't kill, steal, talk about people when they're not there, LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR, you know, the basics. Now if you want to get specific, there are a whole bunch about what you should do to women who aren't virgins or who cheat (aka being executed) or saying that if you don't fence your roof, you're going to hell because someone could slip off and die so basically you're a murderer. But some specific things can't cary over to now. People don't readily climb onto strangers' rooftops and we don't typically allow stonings or stake burnings. It's like when your mom told you not to stand next to microwaves. They don't give off radiation anymore so you can watch your food cook as closely as you like. Or when you're instructed not to touch the stove. Well now you're 30 with a family of your own. Are you ready to touch the stove yet?
So why do people think homosexuality is the ultimate sin? Can't this be something outdated? You can justify anything you want with the bible. Anything people are uncomfortable with.Capitalism, socialism or communism. War or peace. I saw a play the other day and one part of it was a pastor talking to his son saying that people were starting to talk about the fact that he (the son) wasn't married. We later found out that they were saying he could be gay (and he was). The thing that struck me the most is that the pastor completely ignored the fact that the people were GOSSIPING which is just as clearly denounced as homosexuality. See how people pick and choose? I'm telling you. Decoupage.
--Zay
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