(I started this post last weekend then fell ill before posting. hence references to Easter weekend. You haven't fallen into a timewarp)
Well it is EAster weekend, which seems as good a time as any to talk about christianity.
It would likely come as a surpirse to many that I consider myself a Christian, what with all my sweariness, hot lesbo action and generally debauchry. TO be fair, I am on the libral side of liberal Christianity. There are things I agree with, and things I don't. Things I believe and things I don't.
I believe in God's hand on my life and in Jesus dying for our sins. But most of all I believe in Jesus's message of loving one another. For me, Chrisitainity is about acceptance, forgiveness and love. Hubster calls it "The groovy side of Christianity". I call it the truth.
I do not, however, believe much in religion. I don't believe the Pope is infalible. I don't believe the Bible is literal. I don't believe in judging others spirituality or relationship with God. And above all, I don't believe in picking and chosing from the Bible to suit your own needs.
Actually, that's not true. I DO believe in that. i believe every single Christian does that, or there's be no prawn cocktail and a woman on her period would be left out in the garden an poked with a stick. I just wish people would accept that picking and choosing is what they do, and stop using "it's what the Bible says" as a reason to parade their prejudice, particularly in relation to being gay.
As millions of smarter, more Bible-educated people than me have said before - why decide that the stuff about homosexuality is still so important but the stuff about weairng mixed fibres belongs with the Arc (literally). Who decided it and why? Who decided THEY knew what was put in there just as culturally imprtant at the time and what is one of God's super-duper life-time clause rules for eternity?
Because, as far as I can see , when Jesus rocked up and said "Hey guys, you know all those rules you used to live by? Yeah, not so important as long as you love the big guy and are cool with each other" (I may be paraphrasing here) he made ALL those rules obsolete and hating on the homo is part of that.
For me, it simply makes no sense. The things that I believe (and IMO any sane thinking person believes) God wants people to live by, are the rules which make logical sense. They are rules about being honest, truthful, kind, respectful, loving and forgiving. Sexual sin to me is mistreating your body and exposing yourself to hurt or using your sexuality to hurting others. The idea of gayness being sinful simply does not fit in with every other rule God made.
Being gay is simply loving. Nothing more, nothing less. And I will never ever believe that the God that I know would think any different.
And that is why I find it hard to agree with "religion" in general, though I definitely consider myself Presbetyrian - if only because it suits my feelings about faith. I find it very difficult to talk about comfortably, I don't like public displays of religious fervour, and I'd rather not be asked to pray in public, ta.
It is the denomination I've grown up with, and while there's a lot of things I disagree with, generally speaking I love me some cuddly Christians.
Our family church has always felt like a second home for me, though i don't go regularly now, my family is so intrenched in every aspect of the church (my mum still cleans it every week) I feel safe and welcomed whenever I return.
There are plenty of the old biddies who disapprove when one of the teenage girls gets her tongue pierced, or are horrified if a minister wears white socks. But generally speaking they embody - in the physical, every day way - the essence of Christianity.
I have experienced their Christian love when our car broke down and it took a long time to fix, so someone leant us their car for our summer holidays. I saw it when a team of people from the church gutted and redecorated a man's flat when a pipe burst whilst he stayed with his family over Christmas. I enjoyed it in the pack of chocolate bars a wheelchair bound man sent home to me every week because I was ill. I saw it in the tears of dozens of grown men and women at my dad's funeral. And I am still greatful for it in the teams of people who catered and ran my wedding for free, out of love for God, my Mum and me.
I don't deny the evil that is done in religion's name but it is not done in God's name. Hubby - the athiest - got it spot on when he alerted me to quote from the Chronicles of Narina, referring to Tash his enemy:
"For I and he are of such different kinds that no service which is vile can be done to me, and none which is not vile can be done to him."
That sums it up for me. Hate crimes and bigotry or small mindedness of any kind cannot be done in Gods name, by it's very nature.
But love - expressed in a very REAL form - is what Christianity is all about.
Too many people think of Christianity and christians as this namby-pamby form of love that has so little to do with the real world. But the Christians I know are deeple entrinched in the real world - they are doctors, nurses, teachers, policemen. And they live their lives in a Christian way, not just by praying, singing hymns and reading the Bible. They do it by volunteering, giving to charities (and not just "safe" charities. The Guild supports AIDS charities, mental health charities, causes for victims of domestic violence etc) and PHYSICALLY showing their love for their neighbour by giving of their time, energy, passion and compassion to help anyone struggling.
Even recently, we had hired a van to move some furniture. At the last minute we were let down by a lot of people helping us, but a guy form our church who I had never met heard my Mum talking about it and gave up his Saturday afternoon to run (literally!) up and down stairs carrying bookcases.
That's the religion I believe in - helping those around you, in any way you can, even if it puts you out. And I hope others can see that expression of love, God, Christianity or humniaty - however you define it - in me.
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