Sunday, January 23, 2011

Picking and Choosing, Again

[TW: Sexual prejudice]

Oh. Fun. Another one of these articles. From a Christian blogger:

"For the Christian, there has to be nothing more painful than knowing that a family member is struggling with or living defiantly in a lifestyle contrary to God’s moral laws. Whether it be drugs, addictions, sexual immorality of all kinds and various other offenses against God. It’s extremely painful for all involved."


Okay. So drugs, addictions, and sexual immorality. Like.... incest, sexual assault, and adultery, right? Nah. I know you know what's coming:

"I recently received an email from a reader of my blog desperate for answers in how to cope with her daughter who is a lesbian. This reader has done the best she could in raising a child up in a godly home. But circumstances beyond her control have led her daughter to choose the lesbian lifestyle. What shall she do?"


You see this attitude a lot among Christians. The concern seems to be less directed at the lesbian daughter (LD) and more toward the family members who must endure living with her. Enough about the person living a marginalized existence because of her Christian family's intolerance of her, let's talk some more about the Christian Family Members and how they can avoid feeling guilty for their intolerant behavior.

Anyway, surely, since this person is doling out advice via the internets, she is probably a counselor or therapist or a.... oh, erm, oh:

"After watching my aunt deal with my lesbian cousin, I’ve learned a lot how one can successfully cope with an LGBT (lesbian, gay, bi-sexual or transgendered) family member while not losing one’s heart, hope and mind in the process."


And that makes this commentator an expert on family relations and sexual identity how, again?

She continues, her advice being the trusty standby of praying, seeking out the opinions of other Christians who hold similar anti-gay views, and making sure the LD knows that the family loves her, it's her homosexuality they hate. The expert also takes the common tactic of quoting Bible verses. After all, dear readers, it's important that the El Gee Bee Tee family member knows "you love them, but you stand with God's word that says that homosexuality is a sin." For, that belief isn't just the Christian's "personal opinion," but "God's" opinion. As proof of this, the expert cites Romans 1:26-27:

"For this reason God gave them up to vile passions. For even their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature. Likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for one another, men with men committing what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due."

"Their women," eh? "The natural use of the woman," huh? I wonder what that would be.

Anyway, it's too bad that our expert doesn't cite the rest of this particular section of her holy book. But that's okay, because I think I remember how this one ends. It says:

"Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them."

Does our expert stand with "god's word" here, too?

I mean, it wouldn't be her opinion, after all, that El Gee Bee Tee people deserved to die, it would be "god's."

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