(March 24, 2014 at 5:02 am)futilethewinds Wrote: I would chime in with my support for what you are saying, TC, but I think you got this. Oh damn, that's exactly what I just did. Oh well.
Well, human beings are spiritual and complex. I have seen faith do good for people. Had I not consecrated myself to Mary, develop a code of morality, and prayed the Rosary at least a decade on a daily basis I'd be dead, in a mental institution, or in prison.
If the therapy works, why not fucking use it. Whether a person likes golf, skiing, pornography, prayer, or meditation, if it is not turning the person into an unhealthy fanatic or bigot, don't bash it.
Believe it or not I was actually anti-gay before I became Religious. I still have a phobia of gay men but as you know I discuss your sexuality with you, love you, don't judge you, and am that much more grateful for my relationship with you precisely because you are lesbian.
That's right, I was way more judgemental of "Weird" people before I got Religion. Christ was a friend of sinners, prostitutes, thieves, tax collectors, drunkards, adulterers, and I'd assume homosexuals as well.
He said he came for the sinners not the righteous. His big objection was with those whose Religious practices puffed them up with pride. Being a great sinner can actually lead to a source of perfect humility. God hates pride most of all, so a humble prostitute is so much more pleasing to God than a proud person that prays, fasts, and quotes their silly Scripture inside out.
If my Religious practices lead to me judging unbelievers or those guilty of a "sinful" life then I'd be a hypocrite and a casualty of Religion. However, Religious people do not have a monopoly on Hypocrisy. I've seen just as bad and worse in unbelievers as well.
