At its Core, Christianity is a Gay Religion

[Pyrrho]

...

Also these "straight" men who think all the gays want to fuck them. ...

I think it is wishful thinking. They want to be attractive to others. They are probably more afraid that they are not attractive to other men. Often, their fears are justified.

[Metis]

An Asian trinity! Oh, this goes way back.  I will definitely study up on this and include it in any future essays on this subject.

Over the last few years, a lot of men have come forth about what was done to them by priest when they were altar boys.   At first all the Church wanted to do is transfer the priest to another Church. It took so much public outrage to bring just a little bit of justice. Imagine if the Church still hade as much power as it used to have. I will be glad when Jesus goes the way of Zeus and Apollo—something people used to do.

Well I'm happy it helped  While it's not as often spoken about these days in light of the reforms of Swami Vivekananda, the guy who during the last century took all the native Indian cults he deemed "authentic" (and arguably more importantly the ones that would most titillate the wealthy British colonialists) and mashed them into the single form we would call Hinduism in the west today, India and the Dharmic mythos has it's own trinity of greater Gods known as the "Trimurti"; Brahman the Creator, Vishnu the Presever and Shiva the Destroyer. One could make a case these trinities all share a common inspiration but since the number three has a common perception of having a magical quality across primitive civilizations across the world, everything from Greeks (Artemis, Selene and Hecate, traditional Maiden, typical asiatic Mother Crone combo) to Shinto (Amaterasu, Susanoo and Tsukuyomi; representing Heaven, Earth and the Netherworld respectively) this seems rather unlikely.

As for Christianity becoming extinct...Personal opinion here but I really can't feasably see it. It will change, given time I think maybe even two hundred years time the Catholic Church will be marrying divorcees, perhaps even gays who knows? It will mutate, but it wont die and for one reason, the one reason it actually beat all the pagan cults out of the water.

Compare Jesus to the civic pagan cult of Rome for instance. If you were a rich Roman male it was nothing short of delightful; it had few moral teachings, all of the stories literally dripped with sex and it openly advocated screwing everyone weaker than you for everything you could get, if they resisted? Beat the crap out of them like the Gods would do to you if you missed a sacrifice. For everyone else? It sucked to put it bluntly. Most of the temples wouldn't even accept offerings from the lower classes, that's why eastern cults like that of Hathor always did so well, she was a mother figure who accepted everyone. Even Isis to an extent, but because of her connection to magic (a tool of power) she quickly became the preserve of the super rich who could pay priests to preform elaborate rites.

Now Christianity on the other hand? "Love thy neighbor as yourself", "Give to the poor", "the first shall be last and the last shall be first", "I will love you until the end of days", "death has been destroyed with the resurrection of Christ"...All of these things have a very universal mass appeal, one that will always win the hearts of many across different levels of society.

Removing poverty and increasing education will cause attendance to take a hit, that I don't deny. But it will always hang around, social teachings may come and go but the central message of God loves you and death is not the end? That's something that will always hold on. Norway, Germany and Sweden may be highly irreligious nations but they're some of the biggest donators to the Lutheran/Catholic Churches on Earth (behind the US Germany-of-less-than-39%-Catholics-actually-believing-in-Catholicism is the single biggest donator to the Catholic Church). It'll be around for a while yet, we're seeing a period of denial but once it hops out of that we'll see a revival.

[robvalue]

"If I don't act hatefully towards gays, people might think I'm gay. Which I am, obviously, if I'm this concerned about it."

I agree that all forms of prejudice are probably rooted in insecurity.

Did you know every character in the bible is gay?

(It doesn't say they aren't.)

[Rhondazvous]

Exactly, get off my dick and go find a girl who wants yours, if you're so straight. What straight guy cares more about attacking gay people than they do about getting laid?

Also these "straight" men who think all the gays want to fuck them. Go home please, your mug is cracked, your frame is damaged and you stink. WTF ain't nobody asking for your presence, guys or girls.

We need more of this in the public discourse between gay and straight men.

If a woman puts her hand on my waist (which is a lodestone for male fingers) even if she keeps it there while we're walking, it's just a sisterly gesture because women are allowed to touch each other. I don't be tripping like "omg she's a lesbian. get away from me." But let a man touch another man and he will freak out.

[Pyrrho]

Exactly, get off my dick and go find a girl who wants yours, if you're so straight. What straight guy cares more about attacking gay people than they do about getting laid?

Also these "straight" men who think all the gays want to fuck them. Go home please, your mug is cracked, your frame is damaged and you stink. WTF ain't nobody asking for your presence, guys or girls.

We need more of this in the public discourse between gay and straight men.

If a woman puts her hand on my waist (which is a lodestone for male fingers) even if she keeps it there while we're walking, it's just a sisterly gesture because women are allowed to touch each other. I don't be tripping like "omg she's a lesbian. get away from me." But let a man touch another man and he will freak out.

Yes.  I have enjoyed putting my hand on a couple of homophobic friends' upper arm or shoulder, and smile at them, to make them squirm.  I am a straight male, and I really am not happy with homophobes.  They should get their heads straightened out (no pun intended).

Gay people are not a danger to society.  It is not a problem if your neighbor is gay.  Nor is it a problem if your neighbor is straight.  Or bisexual.  Or whatever, as long as he or she is only doing things with consenting adults (or inanimate objects that he or she owns).

It is amazing how fascist so many people are when it comes to this sort of thing.  What does your neighbors' sexuality have to do with you?  Unless you are having sex with your neighbor, what business or concern is it for you?  People need to mind their own business, and let other people live their lives in peace.


To get a little closer to the topic of this thread, the priesthood seems to have attracted quite a few homosexual men.  A guy I knew in high school wanted to become a priest.  I later learned that he was gay.  Really, it seems like a good cover for someone who is gay in a society in which homosexuality is not accepted, as it gives him a good reason or excuse for never marrying a woman.  People are more likely to get suspicious about a man who isn't a priest who never marries.  Which brings up the issue of beards, where a man uses a woman in order to hide his homosexuality.  If she is not aware of her function, that can be pretty bad for her, particularly if he goes so far as to marry her in order to hide his sexuality.

It really would better for everyone if society were more accepting of gays.

[Cato]

Well, the Young Men's Christian Association does have a theme song:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CS9OO0S5w2k

[Rhondazvous]

Well I'm happy it helped  While it's not as often spoken about these days in light of the reforms of Swami Vivekananda, the guy who during the last century took all the native Indian cults he deemed "authentic" (and arguably more importantly the ones that would most titillate the wealthy British colonialists) and mashed them into the single form we would call Hinduism in the west today, India and the Dharmic mythos has it's own trinity of greater Gods known as the "Trimurti"; Brahman the Creator, Vishnu the Presever and Shiva the Destroyer. One could make a case these trinities all share a common inspiration but since the number three has a common perception of having a magical quality across primitive civilizations across the world, everything from Greeks (Artemis, Selene and Hecate, traditional Maiden, typical asiatic Mother Crone combo) to Shinto (Amaterasu, Susanoo and Tsukuyomi; representing Heaven, Earth and the Netherworld respectively) this seems rather unlikely.

As for Christianity becoming extinct...Personal opinion here but I really can't feasably see it. It will change, given time I think maybe even two hundred years time the Catholic Church will be marrying divorcees, perhaps even gays who knows? It will mutate, but it wont die and for one reason, the one reason it actually beat all the pagan cults out of the water.

Compare Jesus to the civic pagan cult of Rome for instance. If you were a rich Roman male it was nothing short of delightful; it had few moral teachings, all of the stories literally dripped with sex and it openly advocated screwing everyone weaker than you for everything you could get, if they resisted? Beat the crap out of them like the Gods would do to you if you missed a sacrifice. For everyone else? It sucked to put it bluntly. Most of the temples wouldn't even accept offerings from the lower classes, that's why eastern cults like that of Hathor always did so well, she was a mother figure who accepted everyone. Even Isis to an extent, but because of her connection to magic (a tool of power) she quickly became the preserve of the super rich who could pay priests to preform elaborate rites.

Now Christianity on the other hand? "Love thy neighbor as yourself", "Give to the poor", "the first shall be last and the last shall be first", "I will love you until the end of days", "death has been destroyed with the resurrection of Christ"...All of these things have a very universal mass appeal, one that will always win the hearts of many across different levels of society.

Removing poverty and increasing education will cause attendance to take a hit, that I don't deny. But it will always hang around, social teachings may come and go but the central message of God loves you and death is not the end? That's something that will always hold on. Norway, Germany and Sweden may be highly irreligious nations but they're some of the biggest donators to the Lutheran/Catholic Churches on Earth (behind the US Germany-of-less-than-39%-Catholics-actually-believing-in-Catholicism is the single biggest donator to the Catholic Church). It'll be around for a while yet, we're seeing a period of denial but once it hops out of that we'll see a revival.

Indian trinity? Damn.

Since the trinity is such a universal symbol, it must be rooted on universal human experience and phenomenon that is ubiquitous—whether it's three things that work together like mother-father-child and sun-moon-Earth or one thing that goes through three stages like your maiden-mother-crone.

Are you a student or scholar in this field? I have a master's in English, but you are taking me places where my studies did not go.

Can't see the end of Christianity? That's all right. We walk by faith not by sight.

[Metis]

Indian trinity? Damn.

Since the trinity is such a universal symbol, it must be rooted on universal human experience and phenomenon  that is ubiquitous—whether it's three things that work together like mother-father-child and sun-moon-Earth or one thing that goes through three stages like your maiden-mother-crone.  

Are you a student or scholar in this field? I have a master's in English, but you are taking me places where my studies did not go.

Can't see the end of Christianity?  That's all right. We walk by faith not by sight.

I think so, it's not my area of expertise but it is a recurring feature you'll encounter all around the globe. The Trimurti doesn't see so much love on a lay level anymore (Indians tend to favour powerful female figures like Kali and Lakshimi) but most of the oldest state sponsored Indian institutions are centered around it.

I'm a University Lecturer teaching Religious Studies and Liberal Christian Theology courses with a background of a B.A in Anglican Theology and Early Church History and an M.Div from a relatively conservative Greek Orthodox Seminary. I'm also studying part time for an Masters in Sunni Islamic Theology. Early Church history does tend to require an understanding of pre-christian Hellenistic/Asiatic religions but it's not my main focus.

And yeah, I'm not actually too concerned about Christianity; it's Islam I think everyone has to keep an eye on and should worry about. Christians can't drag us back to the dark ages now but those guys have the potential to if left unchecked.

[Rhondazvous]

Yes.  I have enjoyed putting my hand on a couple of homophobic friends' upper arm or shoulder, and smile at them, to make them squirm.  I am a straight male, and I really am not happy with homophobes.  They should get their heads straightened out (no pun intended).

Gay people are not a danger to society.  It is not a problem if your neighbor is gay.  Nor is it a problem if your neighbor is straight.  Or bisexual.  Or whatever, as long as he or she is only doing things with consenting adults (or inanimate objects that he or she owns).

It is amazing how fascist so many people are when it comes to this sort of thing.  What does your neighbors' sexuality have to do with you?  Unless you are having sex with your neighbor, what business or concern is it for you?  People need to mind their own business, and let other people live their lives in peace.


To get a little closer to the topic of this thread, the priesthood seems to have attracted quite a few homosexual men.  A guy I knew in high school wanted to become a priest.  I later learned that he was gay.  Really, it seems like a good cover for someone who is gay in a society in which homosexuality is not accepted, as it gives him a good reason or excuse for never marrying a woman.  People are more likely to get suspicious about a man who isn't a priest who never marries.  Which brings up the issue of beards, where a man uses a woman in order to hide his homosexuality.  If she is not aware of her function, that can be pretty bad for her, particularly if he goes so far as to marry her in order to hide his sexuality.

It really would better for everyone if society were more accepting of gays.

They fear that a gay neighbor might influence their children. son comes home one day, "Mom, Dad, guess who's coming to dinner?"

For his 40th birthday my cousin's mother gave him a birthday cake with purple icing to protest the fact that he hadn't given her any grandchildren.

[Pyrrho]

---

Yes.  I have enjoyed putting my hand on a couple of homophobic friends' upper arm or shoulder, and smile at them, to make them squirm.  I am a straight male, and I really am not happy with homophobes.  They should get their heads straightened out (no pun intended).

Gay people are not a danger to society.  It is not a problem if your neighbor is gay.  Nor is it a problem if your neighbor is straight.  Or bisexual.  Or whatever, as long as he or she is only doing things with consenting adults (or inanimate objects that he or she owns).

It is amazing how fascist so many people are when it comes to this sort of thing.  What does your neighbors' sexuality have to do with you?  Unless you are having sex with your neighbor, what business or concern is it for you?  People need to mind their own business, and let other people live their lives in peace.


To get a little closer to the topic of this thread, the priesthood seems to have attracted quite a few homosexual men.  A guy I knew in high school wanted to become a priest.  I later learned that he was gay.  Really, it seems like a good cover for someone who is gay in a society in which homosexuality is not accepted, as it gives him a good reason or excuse for never marrying a woman.  People are more likely to get suspicious about a man who isn't a priest who never marries.  Which brings up the issue of beards, where a man uses a woman in order to hide his homosexuality.  If she is not aware of her function, that can be pretty bad for her, particularly if he goes so far as to marry her in order to hide his sexuality.

It really would better for everyone if society were more accepting of gays.

---

They fear that a gay neighbor might influence their children. son comes home one day, "Mom, Dad, guess who's coming to dinner?"

For his 40th birthday my cousin's mother gave him a birthday cake with purple icing to protest the fact that he hadn't given her any grandchildren.

That seems to be a pretty irrational fear.  Do they seriously believe that sexual preference is changed by someone talking to them?  Do they imagine it is a choice the way one might choose a blue tie or a red tie?  (If they think that, they must be bisexual.  Otherwise, it is more like a choice between some delicious food and some revolting, rotten food.)

The neighbor being gay might get one to come out of the closet, but it is not going to cause straight people to be gay.  Do they imagine that gayness is catching, like a cold?

Studies indicate that having gay parents is not a problem for children, so why would having gay neighbors be a problem?  See:

http://www.salon.com/2014/07/06/worlds_l...han_peers/

Basically, the idea that the neighbor being gay is a problem is ridiculous.  Of course, people believe many ridiculous things, and this is only one example.  But believing that something is a problem is not the same as it being a problem.  It is not a problem if one's neighbor is gay.  People need to relax and stop believing nonsense.