This subject is a hotbed for any member of the LGBT community as well as Hiv+ community as well as..shit, everyone on the entire goddamn planet! How fitting that I chose to write it on a Sunday afternoon. A little sidenote before I get started.
I've noticed something about my writing - I'm not letting my HIV+ status affect it one iota; but, the real kicker is that I'm not doing it on purpose, it truly is happening all by itself. The majority of my experiences written in this blogspace do connect, even if indirectly, to my existence as an Hiv'er; but, not every single piece does and that's okay with me. I'm just going with the flow folks.
My problems with the organized religions of the world? I am fed up with people using the Bible as a means to justify hatred and castigation of one's fellow man. I read the entire Bible from stem to stern when I was 33 years old because I wanted to get the full gest of the bullshit that members of the LGBT community, as well as us Hiv'ers, are automatically going to hell because of their sexual orientation, or the Biblical version of that which is "perverse, sinful lifestyle" which by the way is nowhere mentioned in that book - those terms are NOT mentioned anywhere in that book, are we clear on this?
Yes, there are one or possibly two mentions of laws against "one man laying down with another man"; however, those "laws" were written during a history timeline when people didnt even know how to articulate what the hell homosexuality/lesbianism was to begin with. In addition to that, just as with everything else in the Bible, its writings are all based on PERSONAL INTERPRETATION. Do you know how many times that book has been interpreted since before the original Dead Sea scrolls were found? Exactly 5,972 times. No shit. It does not take an English major, nor a Theology major, nor even a friggin Rocket Scientist to realize that after that many translations, guess what? You answered right - there is gonna be more than one component "mistranslated"; in other words, "misunderstood."
The most recent discovery of the NEW Dead Sea scrolls revealed that they were written in Aramaic. Hmmm. Isnt that interesting? Did you know that Jesus spoke and wrote in Aramaic regularly? And that the first part of the Bible was written hundreds, if not thousands, of years BEFORE Jesus was even born? Kinda funny isn't it that these organized religions claim their actions are dictated directly via the Bible yet when asked about the Bible's timeline and its major inconsistences they trip over each other to emphatically state "Oh well, you gotta have faith." I believe in having faith too, but that doesnt mean the next time I do a Cucumber & Honey mask my face is automatically gonna look like Hedy Lamar's when I am finished, does it?
Am I the only person on the planet who finds it somewhat suspicious that every organized religion on the planet literally states that there is God, the Father, God, the Son and God, the Holy Spirit? Uhm, what about God, the Mother and God, the Kid Sister Named Trixie? I do believe in God and I do believe in Jesus (my Jewish friends would disagree but that's okay, we all have the right to believe what we choose) and even the Holy Spirit; but, here's where I have the problem.
Rather than state it, I'm gonna do a literary no-no and state it in question format - don't any of you find it extremely suspicious that everywhere in both biology and even history, every life form on the planet (with the exception of those creatures that are asexual such as the common earthworm) has had to have both a Male and Female counterpart to reproduce, yet that rule allegedly does not apply to the Bible? I'm not going to leave this to faith, sorry. Even in the book of Genesis it states that nobody popped out of anyone's crotch until Adam and Eve were created. So in essence, we're talking about a literal contradition aren't we?
This piece wasnt originally suppose to be about theology so let's get down to more specific real problems of the subject. The religions of the world need to stop preaching that it's acceptable to use the Bible as a means to not use your brain and your heart when it comes to making decisions. God gave us brains to use, not to be brainwashed by a book so old and so mistranslated that when you literally read in-between the lines, it is a very very immoral history book. I'm serious, this one and that one screwing 746 wives and having 1,780 children and 3,765 grandchildren - sorry Sparky, the world just doesn't work that way. When anyone uses the Bible as means to not think and to not have compassion and acceptance for your fellow human beings you not only hurt innocent people but you end up hurting yourself too, as well as spreading much unecessary hatred and contempt all over the planet.
And oh my God, this bullshit that all the problems of the universe are to be blamed on the Female race really really rubs my rhubarb the wrong way. I have never heard such a crock of purely unadulteratd bullshit in my entire existence. Has anyone ever thought, maybe for just one second, that Eve actually got bored in that garden and wanted to get out and develop her personality? No place to shop, no place to have a pedicure, no place to have a Dunkin Donuts coffee - why if I was her I woulda been ripping the bark off the Tree of Good-n-Evil, not just grabbing an apple or two off of it. I'm not kidding. Personally, I think that entire story was written by some assinine, chauvanistic pig who wasn't getting any at home and wanted to take his rage out on the rest of the world. And for those of you who think God is gonna damn me for saying any of this, sorry guys, you're a bit too late to register any goodhearted concern whatsoever.
Another problem I have with organized religion. I think it is extremely wrong for any parents to force religion down their childrens throats. Growing up, I was raised a Lutheran (oh that single word is a post unto itself) and every Sunday like clockwork, I "had" to go to church because it was the right thing to do. Oh yeah? Tell that to a small child who less than 5 minutes after entering the church, like clockwork every Sunday, started shaking and vomiting uncontrollably. I'm not shitting you, you all thought the pea-soup scene in "The Exorcist" was gross? Ha, only if you coulda seen me. And every time a church official or a doctor or therapist told my parents "Look, there is a problem here, you need to remove your child from the church and examine the situation" all my parents said in rebuttal was "Well, that's just the fear of God pushing the sin out of him, it's good for him."
Thank God I had grandparents that intervened when I turned 8 years old and said "You've gotta stop doing that to that kid, you're letting your religion get in the way of being good parents." My grandparents always minded their own business when it came to our family but, when it involved us grandkids, it was best to just back down from them, especially my Grandma. I think some of it had to do with the fact that after my brother died my Grandma became fiercely protective of me. Once again, thank God she made a stance and stood her ground. I never hadda normal family life with being a military brat anyways but that is another post...lol.
What do I think it was that caused me to get so physically ill in church? I've already figured it out yet I dont know how to explain it to any of you in any terms but these - some people just were not meant to be churchgoers and I am one of them. A more psychologically logical answer you prefer? When a small child is in an enclosed space such as a church and has some preacher yelling quite loudly "If you do not repent of your sins, you will be going to Hell!!! There is going to be a price to pay and you will pay it with your soul for all your nasty sins!!" it does something to their psyche, something very terrible, something very dark. Basically I think what happened is that as a small child I didnt know how to verbalize my fears of what I was experiencing so I internalized it and my inner consciousness rejected it in the form of hurling my guts out. I'm no Dr. Spock, but that's my educated guess.
I wont speak for my friends in Canada and the rest of the world on this one but I will speak for America on this one - our country has enough problems as it is right now without having the words "You are a SINNER!!!" being constantly pounded into their lives. We have joblessness, our crime rates are up, people are murdering their children left-n-right and then on top of it we need some big-mouthed fuckhead telling us every Sunday "And remember, in spite of everything you are a SINNER on TOP OF IT ALL!" Sorry, the American people have enough to deal with as it is, they do not need anymore negative, psychologically dentrimental garbage being jammed in their faces and down their throats than they already do. It's not only wrong, it defies the purpose of what real religion is suppose to really be - taking care of both yourself and your fellow human beings as well as the world you live in.
This next point is for all my white wiccan and pagan friends. In the movie "Orca" (1978 or '79?) the character played by Charlotte Rampling states that the brain of a Killer Whale contains - I'm not sure what the number was - either thousands or millions more pieces of seperate, intricate pieces of information than the Bible itself. If that is indeed true, and not just some movie line, it makes one ask which makes more sense - adhering to the principles of a religion based on an ancient misunderstood, mistranslated man-made book like the Bible or joining one of the many nature religions that exist in the world? Remember, just because something is man-made does not mean that it was spiritually inspired.
In closing, I realize that there are many people who receive great spiritual comfort from belonging to a religion of their choice, as well as attending church every Sunday. If you are in this group I'm very happy for you, I truly am because it means that that is making a positive difference in your lives and that is wonderful. And I'm not saying that you cant be celebratory or even gung-ho about your religion either. What I am saying is that for those of us who dont have the same experiences or feelings as you do, please don't be so quick to judge. Everything that happens in this world happens for a reason and the world religions are no exception to this universal rule. On that you can truly have faith in. Thank you for reading.
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