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Watching Sarah Palin over the past few weeks, and learning more about her right leaning ways - from her book banning to her church's pray-the-gay-away beliefs - I realize that I've known Sarah for much longer than I thought.
Here's a story for you:
A few days ago someone asked me if homophobia still exists. "Really? Are people really homophobic
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Comments
10.10.08
Wow. This is a powerful post.
As a straight, married Catholic, I struggle with this a lot.
Obviously there are a lot of different forms of Christianity, and it should be made clear, they are not the same regarding homosexuality. However, in my opinion, they have far to go to reconcile the issue of how they treat homosexuals, across the board. I personally think it's a bit insane to ostracize people, regardless of your belief system. I cannot imagine any Christian would do so and am incredulous when I hear stories like this.
As a Catholic, the church position on homosexuality is frustrating. While they do not condemn being homosexual, they say same-sex acts are a sin. I mean, come on. Even though I hear all the logical reasons why (same as no sex outside of marriage, etc.) I cannot accept them. They strike me as backward and detrimental to a properly functioning religion and society. The Catholic church (again, I can't speak for other forms of Christianity) has far to go in this regard, but I believe it can change.
Instead of ditching my religion, or simply going along with whatever they say like a robot, I believe that reform should be attempted, instead of condemnation. Some people would say I'm a "Cafeteria Catholic" and I'd consider them "Close-Minded Catholics."
There is a big movement of theological and philosophical scholarship that is attempting to get the church to change their views on homosexual relationships. Will I see the church accept a fully-functiong homosexual relationship within my lifetime? I don't know, the church is often slow to recognize things without considerable thought (like centuries). Look how long it took them to accept the sun didn't revolve around the earth. While this could be viewed as negative, I also think it is a testament to the strength of the faith. While Catholic leadership may be slow to change, you can be assured that it carries a great deal of meaning when they do.
Furthermore, there is a historical precedent for reform within religion. It has happened in the past and it can happen again. Just know, not everyone thinks like your aunt or Sarah Palin and they can still be Christian.
10.12.08
I agree with you when you said, "I understand where Sarah Palin is coming from, and I don't think it's a place of malice" I think its a place of ignorance. Let me explain the ignorance part.
Sarah Palin is a redneck, I'm surprised she doesn't chew. A lot of people consider being a redneck a negative attribute but for people like Palin it isn't considered negative because it is who they are. They think that they are right because the world in which they live reaffirms that their lifestyle and beliefs are correct; but then they leave their world. They go move to a big city (or run for VP) They are thrown into a world where it is not normal to have a shotgun in your truck and people buy meat from a grocery store, and their opinions and view points aren't the norm. Instead of looking around and saying, 'hey, I'm no longer assimilated to the general population' they just assume they still are and become ignorant because they are unwilling to see that their view point isn't necessarily correct. Its like going to a foreign country and not respecting their culture; for a while people will play it off because you're a foreigner. Sometimes people let their religion shroud them in ignorance and prevent them from seeing things as they really are. Everyone is ignorant in some sense because not everyone has the same life experiences, but shouldn't our leaders be able to look beyond themselves at what serves the people best, not what fits their beliefs?
Similar story to your situation with your Aunt, I declared my faith to Judaism and my neighbors (strict Christians) sent their two children, age 7 and 9, over to ask me why I decided I wanted to go to hell. They wont talk to me anymore and I respect their choice to think I'm going to hell, but if my boss were to do that, or a community leader I would be outraged because they are held to a higher standard.
10.14.08
Great post. That's an excellent perspective into the Palins of the world.
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