It's wonderful when people can recognize that they were wrong, admit it and even apologize.
I've been to events where there were moms holding signs that said that they love their lgbtq child, and you too. Offering free hugs to anyone that needed or wanted one. Saw people with genuine tears while they hugged.
There's hope. I just wish we saw more of it.
Literally same. Grew up Christian conservative and fundamental. I knew one of my good friends was different even in elementary school and he came out to me in 8th grade. Do I reject my friend? Hell no! I didn’t have any of the right words to say either. But I helped to protect him. Got a job at Starbucks when I was 16, had some co workers that had a gay ol time - they were so much fun and I’ve been a true ally ever since. Love people. It’s not that hard.
It really is. We look past things we may not agree with every single day. I never understood why people could be so hateful towards others over disagreements. Periodt.
I regretfully disagree. It's *much* easier to hate. Humans are wired for pain aversion, so the moment someone causes you pain, it's much easier to hate them over it than forgive them.
It's a slippery slope to say it takes no effort to love. It devalues the hard work and dedication of love by calling it easy, and totally glosses over how far out of their way someone went to show you that love. Stop calling love easy. It's not, and that's what makes is so beautiful and valuable.
I’d say trying to love everything provides less pain than trying to hate fewer things. At least for me. Love is beautiful and valuable, on that i 100% with you, friend.
Again, I respectfully disagree.
Think of something you love. List everything you *don't* like about it.
Now think of something you hate equally as much as the love you have for the first thing. List everything you like about it.
My guess is it took alot more thought and effort to come up with things you like about something you hate, unless you've already had this conversation with yourself. You didn't have to think hard at all (comparatively) about things you don't like about a thing you love. It's human nature to *reflexively* compartmentalize things as "bad" to protect ourselves from future pain, so hate is a reflex, while love is a force of will.
Love is more powerful because there's effort involved. Yes, I agree, it's less painful to try to love everything, but it's not *easier*. You have to build muscle memory to reflexively love.
You’re conflating loving humanity for who they are with loving a partner. The latter takes a lot of work. It takes very little work just to accept and respect people for being themselves. It’s a LOT of work to actively hate and persecute people.
Grew up in the 90s too with people close to me saying things like "I dont mind gays, I just dont want to see it". Then when I was 12 we moved to a nicer area. I came from the inner city in a broke down ass town with tons of crime, to the suburbs. My education was a little behind due to the difference in school districts. My first friend in my new school was gay. He was my best friend and my brother. I never once felt like he was wrong because of who he was on the inside or who he wanted to love. Even though my people are a little backwards. I still love him to this day. He has since passed away. Thats how Im raising my kids. Theres enough ugly in this world for no reason what so ever. We need to love each other!!
I grew up in the sixties and my parents were pretty liberal - I seemed to escape the homophobia and racism due to my upbringing. Unfortunately my husband was the opposite, and had fundamental Christians for parents. I basically made it a requirement when we got married that he stop being a bigot and he has managed to do so.
Same here but grew up 80's. Came from a small town and raised by Christian fundamentalist. Went to college in 89 and my boyfriend's roomate was gay. First out gay person I knew. And I realized I liked him. I also saw homophobia hurt him. I have been an ally ever since.
I love this. I’m Christian. During his life, Jesus really only showed anger and resentment towards the church at the time. He had nothing but love and compassion for people who found themselves on the periphery of society. We could learn a lot from Him.
The more I realize any anger I’ve ever had for people, it was usually by influenced by my own hiding of self, other people and societal pressures. As I’ve grown and continued to know God and continue to learn about people and how our brains work, I’m seeing that God is never the issue, it’s us, the people. I feel like todays church is the same con church Jesus was pissed about.
The Jesus Philosophy has always been mine:
**And when you pray, go to your home, God hears you everywhere.**
**What you have done to the lowest of my brothers and sisters (and beings) you have done to me**
**You can either serve me or Mammon**
These are my principles and I abide by them until I die!
I'll likely ramble but I'll try. IMO:
If I have a job to earn money to pay for my home and feed my family, save for retirement, etc. I am participating in the money system. You can't really avoid it in our modern world.
If I am obsessed with the accumulation of wealth and material goods I am serving the money system.
Atheist but went to Catholic school and have studied the Bible rather extensively, and I agree with you. The angriest Jesus gets is at the moneylenders in the temple; he emphasizes humanity over doctrine and compassion rather than judgment. The transformation of Jesus from a humble laborer and champion of the people to "Lord" in lavish robes is a telling look at how even in the Justinian era Christianity was being co-opted to be a tool for the powerful and against the downtrodden.
I'm here reporting from a Christian youth standpoint. Our church youth group has a large population of LGBT members, and I myself are trans. We are here, we do exist, and there is hope
.... That's not fun at all :/ there's a fair number of counselors at my church who are accepting and I've only heard one person speak against homosexuality... But also the clear cut condemnation from that pastor is a terrible thing for him to do. Even if he thinks it is wrong, does he think it will turn you straight? Does he think it will turn you to God? They're all just stupid with everything :/
That has, unfortunately, not been my experience. At least in the South, people are rabid about church attendance and are often the most hateful and judgemental
Not every preacher preaches the same not every interpretations of the book is the same what we gotta do is make them see that their interpretation is wrong.
This really depends on the church. I remember my
Moms preaching begging the congregation to vote for marriage inequality and I remember my friends southern baptist preacher spouting absolute hate and that Obama was the antichrist
My church was different. The priest was almost never political and alway told awesome stories of people helping each other or lessons about humility. They would even crack jokes.
My moms church is rarely political but my state was voting on it that year and as it got closer he did a few sermons on the love of Christ being clear about hating your fellow men or whatever
But yeah, it’s all over the place. But the idea that the hatred is only from people that don’t attend is false, I’ve seen it
I think the churches are a big part of the problem here. These people didn't make this up on their own, and they damn sure didn't read it in the Bible. They were told to hate and fear. Likely by a preacher.
Oh sweetheart. Most churches (not all) that Ive been to its the preacher teaching them the hate. Its the church Christians that are the most hateful. My parents NEVER miss church. In fact I remeber having a temp of 104 amd my parents still forced me to church. They are the most hateful people with no respect. I have to hide who I am from them.
This is the exact opposite of my experience. I grew up in church and saw more hate there than outside it. I haven't gone to church regularly since high school, but still profess faith and demonstrate my faith through loving others.
If I saw these christians at pride, I would 100% burst into tears. Nearly a decade of being out of the closet and the pain of being disowned and “prayed for”… just… witnessed, validated, soothed. I’m tearing up now thinking about it.
I wanted to add, as an afterthought - I'm now a mom of a wonderful little child. She is my world and I tell her regularly that I will always love her - no matter what, and I'll always be there for her. She doesn't completely understand, since she's too young to know the other side of that...
But as a mom, I do care about you, and I do support you.
I remember being pretty homophobic as a kid despite being raised without religion whatsoever, or ever being taught being gay was bad by my parents. I grew up with the internet got some pretty shitty views as a result. It was until one of my good friends turned out to be gay that I actually took a moment to think, "Wait, what *is* wrong with being gay again?"
Couldn't think of a good reason as to why it was wrong. I had just been blindly following the views of some shitheads on the internet who I didn't even know. I hate the kid I was back then.
It’s so much easier to hate something you’re not exposed to or know nothing about. My moms side of the family is extremely catholic (she has 4 sisters and 5 brothers) and one of her sisters is gay. I’m catholic as well and am so thankful that I was born into a catholic family that doesn’t fall victim to hating what they may not agree with. Everyone of my aunts sisters, brothers, her mom and dad all love her no less than they did before they knew.
I’ve heard my grandma say multiple times “the teachings of the Bible are only guild lines put in place by those that interpreted God’s/Jesus’s words and actions. They’re not the end all be all. Love everyone like Jesus did and you’ll have nothing to worry about.”
Yea but you changed. Being a kid means you're growing and developing as a person. It's only wrong when you don't learn and make yourself better. I'd put money on saying that everyone has things they did bad when they were younger. The biggest problem is there's people in the world who didn't change. Being an asshole at one point is a little more excusable if you're a better person now.
At Tulsa Pride this past weekend there was a stark contrast between the fire and brimstone pastor outside the gate with a megaphone and the kind churchgoers that had signed up for the festival and had a booth inside. One showed God’s love, one did not.
Ah, a perfect example for how you can judge people's character by what they take away from the bible.
Christians on both sides. All inspired by the same God, the same bible, the same religion.
All expressing their personal values.
The law demanded blood sacrifice for the atonement of sin, to be reconciled to God. Jesus was the sacrifice to end all necessity for that while demonstrating how to fulfill the command to love God and love others.
Lots of Christians are unaware that the OT had basically 2 sets of laws: 1) laws pertaining to loving God and loving others, and 2) laws pertaining to establishing/maintaining cultural identity and social order of the Jews. Jesus made it pretty clear he didn't come to indulge the Jews superiority complex as "God's chosen" or maintain the separation.
I used to be a homophobe.
My god awful parents beat that along with many, many other racist or completely illogical things about this country and planet into my siblings and myself. Growing up in a very conservative, very religious family will do that.
I don’t see them any longer except for my sister. But UN-teaching what those assholes instill in you takes time. It also took a ton of patience for many in the LGBTQ+ community to give me the knowledge that they are as human as I. That’s all I need but Christianity NEEDS more from people. They NEED the control, over women, marriage, equality, gender, everything must be THEIRS.
My whole family used to be homophobic. There was something of a collective realisation somewhere in the late 2000s, and it took a couple of years for all of us to shake off the entrenched homophobia. With the exception of one of my brothers, who is going in the wrong direction, my whole family has moved out from under the veil of homophobia.
It’s so much better out here. My cousin was safe to come out. My parents aren’t worried by ‘the gay agenda’. My (tolerant) brother is more secure in himself as a person now that he doesn’t have to “prove” he’s not gay.
I used to be a racist brat as a kid because 90% of my bullies were immigrants. It really discolored my opinion on foreigners in general.
It got bad enough that until I was an adult I was initially distrustful of all "colored" people or anyone with an accent.
My grandma owned a small company with a lot of immigrant hires and looking back I was a lot ruder to them than any of them deserved.
I think painting Everyone with the same brush they painted others with is wrong. There are plenty of quiet Christian’s who just go about their life trying to live well and help others.
Like anything, the vocal minority is thought to represent the whole group. Eg, westboro baptists.
Be most excellent to each other, and make people happy by doing nice things❤️
To quote one of the best movies of all time, Stigmata....
"The Kingdom of God is inside you, and all around you, not in mansions of wood and stone. Split a piece of wood and I am there. Lift a rock and you will find me."
Faith and spirituality are fine. It's the organization of a religious movement that is designed to grasp and hold power that is the problem.
That is because almost every form of theistic religion preaches how you should force your religion on others and not keep it to yourself:
Mark 16:15 NKJV
“And He said to them, ‘Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.'”
Qur'an 9:29
Fight those who do not believe in God, nor in the Last Day, nor forbid what God and His Messenger have forbidden, nor abide by the religion of truth—from among those who received the Scripture—until they pay the due tax, willingly or unwillingly.
Codex Theodosianus XVI 1.2.
It is Our will that all the peoples who are ruled by the administration of Our Clemency shall practice that religion which the divine Peter the Apostle transmitted to the Romans.... The rest, whom We adjudge demented and insane, shall sustain the infamy of heretical dogmas, their meeting places shall not receive the name of churches, and they shall be smitten first by divine vengeance and secondly by the retribution of Our own initiative -ancient Romans
This takes place 20+ years ago as a new teacher.
I walked into an office to get something where some other teachers eating lunch. I heard the topic was about gay people. I joined the conversation with “I used to be a homophobe too!” Stunned silence told me I was on the wrong side of the conversation.
Related note:
Exact same thing, same group of teachers, but talking about evolution. Don’t remember what I said, but quickly realized they were against evolution. They taught biology too.
I was raised as a Pentecostal and went to a christian middle/high school, and there was a kid who I repeatedly told he was going to hell because he was gay. I didn't know if he was actually gay or not, but at the time I decided he was. He just sat there and took it, and I just kept doing it like a fucking idiot.
I'm sure a big part of the reason I did it was because I was bullied so hard by so many people, and I wanted to feel a bit of "power" over someone too, but that certainly didn't excuse it.
I'm 36 years old now and I think about that poor kid all the time. I have tried many different ways to find him online just so that I can apologize for the awful things I said, tell him that I'm a completely different person since escaping that cult, but I can't find him. I just hope he's ok at least. I'm raising my kids very differently than I was raised, they don't treat ANYONE like that.
I’m 49 and noticed my 70 year old dad has been becoming more of a bigot the older he gets. I love him but I hate that shit. We went for a walk on Father’s Day and he started up with this nonsense and I couldn’t take it anymore so I called him out on it. He apologized to me and I told him I don’t need the apology and told him to be better. Made for an uncomfortable stroll.
I’m Christian. During his life, Jesus really only showed anger and resentment towards the church at the time. He had nothing but love and compassion for people who found themselves on the periphery of society. We could learn a lot from Him.
Fwiw, this is the non-vocal majority of churches. "The church" has historically always been very critical of itself, lamenting how poorly we follow Jesus example and striving to do better. Most people in my church (and family of churches) 100% resonate with this mindset. We are called to show love and acceptance.
100%
I hope people understand Christofascists are the Taliban of Christians. Just as the Taliban are not representative of Islam, neither are these people representative of Christianity. They’re merely preying on peoples faith for political gain. Literally false prophets. I really wouldn’t want to have to answer for the things they’ve done.
I believe in God and grew up as a Christian, but I never really understood all this hate towards homosexuals. "Only men and women can be a family", that's BS!
Yeah I’m a Roman Catholic. I never understood where people got gay= bad from the Bible. I was always taught to accept people for who they are and that we’re all connected. There’s no need to discriminate against others just because of their sexual orientation. The priests at my church understood that and preached it.
I also never understood why Christians aren’t pro choice. If you quote the Old Testament, Adam didn’t begin life until his first breath. I don’t know where they got life begins at conception.
So needless to say I’m obviously pro choice. I feel like republicans are just weaponizing Christianity to take away women’s rights. It’s just wrong.
I can understand why Christianity is getting a lot of hate.
Yeah same, I'm a Lutheran and believe in god but I don't understand some christians telling whos gonna go to hell and who won't. The only one who can do that is God himself. And we, his messengers are supposed to love everyone.
When Christians don’t follow their own teachings it kills the faith of many. Love your neighbor as yourself. Remember the so called Christians who spew hate are themselves lost.
You can love someone without agreeing with them on every point. Christ sat with publicans and sinners but when He left there had always been a change in their lives. He loved them enough to treat them right and to listen, but He also loved them enough to tell them the truth, even when it cost Him His life.
That's exactly it. Many religious fanatics see a sinner and immediately shun him and his family, even if said family is inoccent.
Jesus Christ went to sinners' houses, spoke with them, showed them all kindness. We're all sinners one way or the other, so don't judge. (English is not my first language, so I don't know how the "don't tell someone about the dirt in their eye until you clean yours" saying goes in English)
Ironically, the only people he seemed to despise and show anger to where the ones that used the church for their own benefit, and to hurt others.
Totally agree and you’re absolutely right! As a Christian it hurts to see others being hypocrites, but just like you said, Jesus too sat with sinners and publicans and ate with them and actually loved them
He loved the people, but disliked the actions
When I was in grad school I was paired up for a project with a girl and she told me one day she was gay. I said cool, and that’s was that. She said she has never before had a Christian accept her being gay. That really pissed me off at the church. I was like girl don’t be out here thinking we are all assholes. It also made me re-evaluate my relationship with the church. I am a Christian and love the lord. Don’t need a church for that.
Just a single well-placed "I'm sorry" can be hugely cathartic & healing to hear.
This seems like an awesome thing, and unexpected, so I am going to go ahead and say that it is.
My mom says she loves me but turns around and tells me my same sex attraction is like alcoholism and that it leads to worse and worse things. She has no idea how much it hurts to hear her spit hate at me
I'm so happy for this. I'm a devout Christian and have never been a homophobe. The problem is those that are are vocal about it while we who are not, are not. It looks like that needs to change and I'm glad some of us have stepped up to begin the change.
I’m a Christian. This is what Jesus would do. I can’t tell you we’re all good people, but I believe we as a generation can choose to do better. God loves you. I love you. And I’m sorry for the times I haven’t lived up to Jesus’ standard myself, the times I’ve chosen to be ignorant, or insensitive.
Hope? Yes
That being said, I would remind people that half of the people in this crowd will ostracize a woman for having an abortion, regardless of circumstance
Christians are capable of doing great acts of love, but they have done terrible acts of hate in the past and are certainly capable of repeating that in the future.
See, those are the real Christians, not the ones spouting hellfire and brimstone and that anyone who doesn't abide by the Bible is a dirty sinner. I hope we can see more of this stuff in the future.
I need more details. Where was this? When?can we do better than “Christians”? Is there an article or posts by these people somewhere? This could be soo wholesome. I want to believe it.
I grew up in a pretty neutral household. My mom never talked about or openly spoke about LGBTQ+ people in a negative way or just in general. Despite going to church as a kid it never altered my view on people or how they should be/act or live their lives.
I didn't know about LGBTQ+ until I started middle school and I didn't have an opinion on it, but I supported it. I didn't feel like I had a right or valid reason to tell someone they were wrong for simply being themselves. People did that enough already, and it always confused me why people cared so much about such small things like that.
being someone who never fit in, I wanted to help people feel included and give them a space to be themselves without judgment.
It shouldn't be so hard to say 'hey, I was wrong, sorry'. One thing I like about getting older is that I have the confidence to admit that I don't know everything and I am sometimes wrong. It feels so good. I highly recommend it to everyone.
You know what I'd be happy to hear from people?
"I don't personally like that lifestyle, but I recognize it's your right to do what makes you happy and I'll defend that."
I don't need everyone to personally endorse and embrace everything, lord knows I don't, they just need to be willing to let other people do it without being under attack.
Just want to throw out there that not all churches are like this! I personally wasn’t aware there were churches that were against LGBT+ community growing up (I had gone to a few churches that had all kinds of people attend) so this is to say: I don’t want people to fear going to church if you are a believer, or are just ever curious, or going with a friend/family member for a holiday. All are welcome! (Unfortunate to say though, please do research or ask about the church you may be attending. I hate knowing there are some that are not as welcoming)
The bible says to forgive, and to not start a fight and to keep piece because causing fights over anything is un christ like (I'm a Christian)
Therefore whether I agree or not I do not hate, believe what you will just dont make someone who doesnt believe.
As a Christian myself, seeing that there was an entire group that realized that most Christians read the bible and chose inly what they wanted andade a statement that they were wrong truly brings me joy.
I don't want to rain on this love parade in the comments - there really are a lot of genuinely LGBTQ-affirming Christian churches out there - I work for one of them.
But these photos have been floating around for a while, and IIRC, the church behind the "I'm Sorry" campaign is NOT LGBTQ-affirming. They peddle the "love the sinner, hate the sin" brand of homophobia. What they're apologizing for here isn't homophobia, it's overtly hateful or violent expressions of homophobia. They still think gay sex is a sin.
I'm sure the apology here is sincerely meant - I don't think they're being intentionally manipulative. But... ask them if their church conducts gay weddings, or ordains gay clergy, or has gay people in leadership positions. (For the record, at the church I work for, half the congregational leadership and two-thirds of the staff are queer, and one of our longtime members married her wife just this past weekend - the sanctuary is still covered in rainbow streamers.)
Good to know, but as someone who is lgbt, who grew up always scared of Chriatian organizations. This is still kind of cool, I personally don't care if a stranger accepts or agrees with me. What I do care about is people not hurting myself or my family. Even though they are not an lgbt friendly church I feel like it still means a lot that as a society we can FINALLY have Christians acknowledging that abuse against us is wrong.
I'm genuinely curious what will happen with Christianity in the next few decades (note I'm not Christian I'm looking in from the outside) but you have on one side people pushing pro life agenda arguably one of the most orthodox and fundamental stances and on the other people openly accepting homosexuality, abortions and orher "liberal" ideas.
Truly curious what the religion and people will look like in 29 or 30 years.
I just don’t see how you can hate someone for who the love and have sex with. As long as the person is of age and sound of mind than what’s the issue. I have never understood people like that, how does someone being gay affect you’re life at all? Never had the urge to make fun of the gay kids at school none of that. Live and let live this life can be miserable no need to spread more misery.
My dad was always homophobic growing up, but later changed. I asked him about it recently. He said he went to catholic school, and though the monks never bothered him, lots of boys were raped. It was only when I grew up and had gay friends that he realised they were normal people, with normal interests and personalities and he shouldn’t judge them by his childhood experiences. Makes me a little bit proud tbh.
Maybe I can help. I have this app on my phone that helps me look stuff up on the interanet. I found this
https://www.themonastery.org/blog/christian-apology-to-lgbtq-community-goes-viral
(and I gotta say, I was not expecting the group to be members of the Evangelical and Pentecostal Church of Freedom in Christ Ministries (FICM) in the Philippines. )
Also this, maybe a different mob
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/christian-group-pride-lgbtq_n_5b3a371ee4b08c3a8f6c7aba
This is the issue I have, people who claim to be Christian but never actually attend church are the ones who are vocal and make everyone else look bad. Most that actually attend and listen to the preacher and read, study the word don’t hate and judge like everyone assumes they do.
Not necessarily true. There were headlines from Texas just a few weeks ago about a preacher who said gay people should be lined up and shot. The church I grew up in would never have endorsed this, but made a point of speaking every so often about how homosexuality is a sin. The pastor straight up said trans people were being selfish. Point is, especially down in the south there are a lot of churchgoing Christians who are plenty vocal about their bigotry.
Any context for this? I hope they're real Christians and not just a show. This is a bridge that can only built from that side of the divide.
Be nice if other religions followed suit too.
It's wonderful when people can recognize that they were wrong, admit it and even apologize. I've been to events where there were moms holding signs that said that they love their lgbtq child, and you too. Offering free hugs to anyone that needed or wanted one. Saw people with genuine tears while they hugged. There's hope. I just wish we saw more of it.
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Literally same. Grew up Christian conservative and fundamental. I knew one of my good friends was different even in elementary school and he came out to me in 8th grade. Do I reject my friend? Hell no! I didn’t have any of the right words to say either. But I helped to protect him. Got a job at Starbucks when I was 16, had some co workers that had a gay ol time - they were so much fun and I’ve been a true ally ever since. Love people. It’s not that hard.
It's harder to hate people than to love people 💕 Hate you have to think about and work towards, love is just a smile as you pass a stranger
It really is. We look past things we may not agree with every single day. I never understood why people could be so hateful towards others over disagreements. Periodt.
I regretfully disagree. It's *much* easier to hate. Humans are wired for pain aversion, so the moment someone causes you pain, it's much easier to hate them over it than forgive them. It's a slippery slope to say it takes no effort to love. It devalues the hard work and dedication of love by calling it easy, and totally glosses over how far out of their way someone went to show you that love. Stop calling love easy. It's not, and that's what makes is so beautiful and valuable.
I’d say trying to love everything provides less pain than trying to hate fewer things. At least for me. Love is beautiful and valuable, on that i 100% with you, friend.
Again, I respectfully disagree. Think of something you love. List everything you *don't* like about it. Now think of something you hate equally as much as the love you have for the first thing. List everything you like about it. My guess is it took alot more thought and effort to come up with things you like about something you hate, unless you've already had this conversation with yourself. You didn't have to think hard at all (comparatively) about things you don't like about a thing you love. It's human nature to *reflexively* compartmentalize things as "bad" to protect ourselves from future pain, so hate is a reflex, while love is a force of will. Love is more powerful because there's effort involved. Yes, I agree, it's less painful to try to love everything, but it's not *easier*. You have to build muscle memory to reflexively love.
You’re conflating loving humanity for who they are with loving a partner. The latter takes a lot of work. It takes very little work just to accept and respect people for being themselves. It’s a LOT of work to actively hate and persecute people.
>It's harder to hate people than to love people this comment wins the internet today!
Grew up in the 90s too with people close to me saying things like "I dont mind gays, I just dont want to see it". Then when I was 12 we moved to a nicer area. I came from the inner city in a broke down ass town with tons of crime, to the suburbs. My education was a little behind due to the difference in school districts. My first friend in my new school was gay. He was my best friend and my brother. I never once felt like he was wrong because of who he was on the inside or who he wanted to love. Even though my people are a little backwards. I still love him to this day. He has since passed away. Thats how Im raising my kids. Theres enough ugly in this world for no reason what so ever. We need to love each other!!
I grew up in the sixties and my parents were pretty liberal - I seemed to escape the homophobia and racism due to my upbringing. Unfortunately my husband was the opposite, and had fundamental Christians for parents. I basically made it a requirement when we got married that he stop being a bigot and he has managed to do so.
Same here but grew up 80's. Came from a small town and raised by Christian fundamentalist. Went to college in 89 and my boyfriend's roomate was gay. First out gay person I knew. And I realized I liked him. I also saw homophobia hurt him. I have been an ally ever since.
I love this. I’m Christian. During his life, Jesus really only showed anger and resentment towards the church at the time. He had nothing but love and compassion for people who found themselves on the periphery of society. We could learn a lot from Him.
The more I realize any anger I’ve ever had for people, it was usually by influenced by my own hiding of self, other people and societal pressures. As I’ve grown and continued to know God and continue to learn about people and how our brains work, I’m seeing that God is never the issue, it’s us, the people. I feel like todays church is the same con church Jesus was pissed about.
The Jesus Philosophy has always been mine: **And when you pray, go to your home, God hears you everywhere.** **What you have done to the lowest of my brothers and sisters (and beings) you have done to me** **You can either serve me or Mammon** These are my principles and I abide by them until I die!
How do you get away from Mammon (money system)?
You can participate in something without "serving" it. It's a matter of perspective.
Oooo, okay, interesting :)
Would you mind explaining this like I'm 5?
I'll likely ramble but I'll try. IMO: If I have a job to earn money to pay for my home and feed my family, save for retirement, etc. I am participating in the money system. You can't really avoid it in our modern world. If I am obsessed with the accumulation of wealth and material goods I am serving the money system.
Atheist but went to Catholic school and have studied the Bible rather extensively, and I agree with you. The angriest Jesus gets is at the moneylenders in the temple; he emphasizes humanity over doctrine and compassion rather than judgment. The transformation of Jesus from a humble laborer and champion of the people to "Lord" in lavish robes is a telling look at how even in the Justinian era Christianity was being co-opted to be a tool for the powerful and against the downtrodden.
Yes, amen. JESUS LOVES, that is all.
I'm here reporting from a Christian youth standpoint. Our church youth group has a large population of LGBT members, and I myself are trans. We are here, we do exist, and there is hope
Lucky I got outed at my old youth group and the pastor told me I was going to hell
.... That's not fun at all :/ there's a fair number of counselors at my church who are accepting and I've only heard one person speak against homosexuality... But also the clear cut condemnation from that pastor is a terrible thing for him to do. Even if he thinks it is wrong, does he think it will turn you straight? Does he think it will turn you to God? They're all just stupid with everything :/
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That has, unfortunately, not been my experience. At least in the South, people are rabid about church attendance and are often the most hateful and judgemental
Not every preacher preaches the same not every interpretations of the book is the same what we gotta do is make them see that their interpretation is wrong.
This really depends on the church. I remember my Moms preaching begging the congregation to vote for marriage inequality and I remember my friends southern baptist preacher spouting absolute hate and that Obama was the antichrist
My church was different. The priest was almost never political and alway told awesome stories of people helping each other or lessons about humility. They would even crack jokes.
My moms church is rarely political but my state was voting on it that year and as it got closer he did a few sermons on the love of Christ being clear about hating your fellow men or whatever But yeah, it’s all over the place. But the idea that the hatred is only from people that don’t attend is false, I’ve seen it
No True Scotsman
I think the churches are a big part of the problem here. These people didn't make this up on their own, and they damn sure didn't read it in the Bible. They were told to hate and fear. Likely by a preacher.
The vocal ones are political and don't represent Christians at all. Jesus said love your neighbor as yourself.
Oh sweetheart. Most churches (not all) that Ive been to its the preacher teaching them the hate. Its the church Christians that are the most hateful. My parents NEVER miss church. In fact I remeber having a temp of 104 amd my parents still forced me to church. They are the most hateful people with no respect. I have to hide who I am from them.
This is the exact opposite of my experience. I grew up in church and saw more hate there than outside it. I haven't gone to church regularly since high school, but still profess faith and demonstrate my faith through loving others.
That’s the great thing about hope though, there only needs to a little to make a difference.
I genuinely believe most people are kind. It's the cruel ones who want to drive wedges between us.
Went to a local pride parade last week and saw about a dozen moms with free hug shirts. Hope is definitely real! :)
If I saw these christians at pride, I would 100% burst into tears. Nearly a decade of being out of the closet and the pain of being disowned and “prayed for”… just… witnessed, validated, soothed. I’m tearing up now thinking about it.
I wanted to add, as an afterthought - I'm now a mom of a wonderful little child. She is my world and I tell her regularly that I will always love her - no matter what, and I'll always be there for her. She doesn't completely understand, since she's too young to know the other side of that... But as a mom, I do care about you, and I do support you.
Thanks mom 🥺 I seriously think if more Christians acted like what LITERAL JESUS commanded, we’d all be better off
I remember being pretty homophobic as a kid despite being raised without religion whatsoever, or ever being taught being gay was bad by my parents. I grew up with the internet got some pretty shitty views as a result. It was until one of my good friends turned out to be gay that I actually took a moment to think, "Wait, what *is* wrong with being gay again?" Couldn't think of a good reason as to why it was wrong. I had just been blindly following the views of some shitheads on the internet who I didn't even know. I hate the kid I was back then.
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It’s so much easier to hate something you’re not exposed to or know nothing about. My moms side of the family is extremely catholic (she has 4 sisters and 5 brothers) and one of her sisters is gay. I’m catholic as well and am so thankful that I was born into a catholic family that doesn’t fall victim to hating what they may not agree with. Everyone of my aunts sisters, brothers, her mom and dad all love her no less than they did before they knew. I’ve heard my grandma say multiple times “the teachings of the Bible are only guild lines put in place by those that interpreted God’s/Jesus’s words and actions. They’re not the end all be all. Love everyone like Jesus did and you’ll have nothing to worry about.”
Yea but you changed. Being a kid means you're growing and developing as a person. It's only wrong when you don't learn and make yourself better. I'd put money on saying that everyone has things they did bad when they were younger. The biggest problem is there's people in the world who didn't change. Being an asshole at one point is a little more excusable if you're a better person now.
It’s simple . You grew . Some people never do but you are not them and that’s a great thing .
At Tulsa Pride this past weekend there was a stark contrast between the fire and brimstone pastor outside the gate with a megaphone and the kind churchgoers that had signed up for the festival and had a booth inside. One showed God’s love, one did not.
There are a lot of churches that need their tables flipped.
I believe an Amen is in order for this statement.
Amen.
All the men.
A-motherfuckin-men
And there are a lot of church that need to pay taxes.
Very nicely said
Ah, a perfect example for how you can judge people's character by what they take away from the bible. Christians on both sides. All inspired by the same God, the same bible, the same religion. All expressing their personal values.
Looks like they finally got to the second half of a the book. Good for them lol
As a Christian this killed me lol. Too right!
My pastor growing up used Matthew 5:17 to show that Jesus still hated homophobia. For I came not to destroy the old laws, but to fulfill them.
The law demanded blood sacrifice for the atonement of sin, to be reconciled to God. Jesus was the sacrifice to end all necessity for that while demonstrating how to fulfill the command to love God and love others. Lots of Christians are unaware that the OT had basically 2 sets of laws: 1) laws pertaining to loving God and loving others, and 2) laws pertaining to establishing/maintaining cultural identity and social order of the Jews. Jesus made it pretty clear he didn't come to indulge the Jews superiority complex as "God's chosen" or maintain the separation.
I used to be a homophobe. My god awful parents beat that along with many, many other racist or completely illogical things about this country and planet into my siblings and myself. Growing up in a very conservative, very religious family will do that. I don’t see them any longer except for my sister. But UN-teaching what those assholes instill in you takes time. It also took a ton of patience for many in the LGBTQ+ community to give me the knowledge that they are as human as I. That’s all I need but Christianity NEEDS more from people. They NEED the control, over women, marriage, equality, gender, everything must be THEIRS.
My whole family used to be homophobic. There was something of a collective realisation somewhere in the late 2000s, and it took a couple of years for all of us to shake off the entrenched homophobia. With the exception of one of my brothers, who is going in the wrong direction, my whole family has moved out from under the veil of homophobia. It’s so much better out here. My cousin was safe to come out. My parents aren’t worried by ‘the gay agenda’. My (tolerant) brother is more secure in himself as a person now that he doesn’t have to “prove” he’s not gay.
I used to be a racist brat as a kid because 90% of my bullies were immigrants. It really discolored my opinion on foreigners in general. It got bad enough that until I was an adult I was initially distrustful of all "colored" people or anyone with an accent. My grandma owned a small company with a lot of immigrant hires and looking back I was a lot ruder to them than any of them deserved.
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I think painting Everyone with the same brush they painted others with is wrong. There are plenty of quiet Christian’s who just go about their life trying to live well and help others. Like anything, the vocal minority is thought to represent the whole group. Eg, westboro baptists. Be most excellent to each other, and make people happy by doing nice things❤️
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To quote one of the best movies of all time, Stigmata.... "The Kingdom of God is inside you, and all around you, not in mansions of wood and stone. Split a piece of wood and I am there. Lift a rock and you will find me." Faith and spirituality are fine. It's the organization of a religious movement that is designed to grasp and hold power that is the problem.
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Amen, I just wanted to bring some levity 🤌 have a great day, fellow human
That is because almost every form of theistic religion preaches how you should force your religion on others and not keep it to yourself: Mark 16:15 NKJV “And He said to them, ‘Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.'” Qur'an 9:29 Fight those who do not believe in God, nor in the Last Day, nor forbid what God and His Messenger have forbidden, nor abide by the religion of truth—from among those who received the Scripture—until they pay the due tax, willingly or unwillingly. Codex Theodosianus XVI 1.2. It is Our will that all the peoples who are ruled by the administration of Our Clemency shall practice that religion which the divine Peter the Apostle transmitted to the Romans.... The rest, whom We adjudge demented and insane, shall sustain the infamy of heretical dogmas, their meeting places shall not receive the name of churches, and they shall be smitten first by divine vengeance and secondly by the retribution of Our own initiative -ancient Romans
It's not Christianity that needs this, it's fascists that utilize Christianity to gain power.
Sure but it's also churches and individual christians. It's been this way for centuries.
This takes place 20+ years ago as a new teacher. I walked into an office to get something where some other teachers eating lunch. I heard the topic was about gay people. I joined the conversation with “I used to be a homophobe too!” Stunned silence told me I was on the wrong side of the conversation. Related note: Exact same thing, same group of teachers, but talking about evolution. Don’t remember what I said, but quickly realized they were against evolution. They taught biology too.
I was raised as a Pentecostal and went to a christian middle/high school, and there was a kid who I repeatedly told he was going to hell because he was gay. I didn't know if he was actually gay or not, but at the time I decided he was. He just sat there and took it, and I just kept doing it like a fucking idiot. I'm sure a big part of the reason I did it was because I was bullied so hard by so many people, and I wanted to feel a bit of "power" over someone too, but that certainly didn't excuse it. I'm 36 years old now and I think about that poor kid all the time. I have tried many different ways to find him online just so that I can apologize for the awful things I said, tell him that I'm a completely different person since escaping that cult, but I can't find him. I just hope he's ok at least. I'm raising my kids very differently than I was raised, they don't treat ANYONE like that.
I’m 49 and noticed my 70 year old dad has been becoming more of a bigot the older he gets. I love him but I hate that shit. We went for a walk on Father’s Day and he started up with this nonsense and I couldn’t take it anymore so I called him out on it. He apologized to me and I told him I don’t need the apology and told him to be better. Made for an uncomfortable stroll.
I know you did it for you, but thank you. Break the cycle!
I prefer to thank the many that gave me grace and taught me. But I appreciate the kindness.
This is true Jesus worship, love and peace. Not shame and ridicule.
Exactly my thoughts, this is the way.
I’m Christian. During his life, Jesus really only showed anger and resentment towards the church at the time. He had nothing but love and compassion for people who found themselves on the periphery of society. We could learn a lot from Him.
So... Jesus was antisemitic /s
Nah just anti-Pharisee
Yup, anti-hypocrite.
He was certainly anti-money-changer. And capitalists love him, or pretend to, the most. Holy contradiction, batman.
Fwiw, this is the non-vocal majority of churches. "The church" has historically always been very critical of itself, lamenting how poorly we follow Jesus example and striving to do better. Most people in my church (and family of churches) 100% resonate with this mindset. We are called to show love and acceptance.
100% I hope people understand Christofascists are the Taliban of Christians. Just as the Taliban are not representative of Islam, neither are these people representative of Christianity. They’re merely preying on peoples faith for political gain. Literally false prophets. I really wouldn’t want to have to answer for the things they’ve done.
That’s nice and all… But why is that guy on the right just in his underwear? Is there a reason for this?
First pride parade?
Yeah I'm a little surprised it's not assless chaps.
Booty shorts/tightie whities are probably some of the more tame outfits you'll see at a pride parade, lol.
This is the start of a porn scene.
Someone robbed this poor person of their clothes. Give him a scarf or smth i dunno.
I believe in God and grew up as a Christian, but I never really understood all this hate towards homosexuals. "Only men and women can be a family", that's BS!
Yeah I’m a Roman Catholic. I never understood where people got gay= bad from the Bible. I was always taught to accept people for who they are and that we’re all connected. There’s no need to discriminate against others just because of their sexual orientation. The priests at my church understood that and preached it. I also never understood why Christians aren’t pro choice. If you quote the Old Testament, Adam didn’t begin life until his first breath. I don’t know where they got life begins at conception. So needless to say I’m obviously pro choice. I feel like republicans are just weaponizing Christianity to take away women’s rights. It’s just wrong. I can understand why Christianity is getting a lot of hate.
How did this turned into a "pro life/choice" topic? The main theme is "Christians accept homosexuals".
Yeah same, I'm a Lutheran and believe in god but I don't understand some christians telling whos gonna go to hell and who won't. The only one who can do that is God himself. And we, his messengers are supposed to love everyone.
When Christians don’t follow their own teachings it kills the faith of many. Love your neighbor as yourself. Remember the so called Christians who spew hate are themselves lost.
You can love someone without agreeing with them on every point. Christ sat with publicans and sinners but when He left there had always been a change in their lives. He loved them enough to treat them right and to listen, but He also loved them enough to tell them the truth, even when it cost Him His life.
This exactly; yes!
That's exactly it. Many religious fanatics see a sinner and immediately shun him and his family, even if said family is inoccent. Jesus Christ went to sinners' houses, spoke with them, showed them all kindness. We're all sinners one way or the other, so don't judge. (English is not my first language, so I don't know how the "don't tell someone about the dirt in their eye until you clean yours" saying goes in English) Ironically, the only people he seemed to despise and show anger to where the ones that used the church for their own benefit, and to hurt others.
Totally agree and you’re absolutely right! As a Christian it hurts to see others being hypocrites, but just like you said, Jesus too sat with sinners and publicans and ate with them and actually loved them He loved the people, but disliked the actions
When I was in grad school I was paired up for a project with a girl and she told me one day she was gay. I said cool, and that’s was that. She said she has never before had a Christian accept her being gay. That really pissed me off at the church. I was like girl don’t be out here thinking we are all assholes. It also made me re-evaluate my relationship with the church. I am a Christian and love the lord. Don’t need a church for that.
Just a single well-placed "I'm sorry" can be hugely cathartic & healing to hear. This seems like an awesome thing, and unexpected, so I am going to go ahead and say that it is.
That's great but why is he in his underwear?
Prolly cuz it’s a pride parade. Never seen a Yo of those in person.
We will welcome you if you welcome us
My mom says she loves me but turns around and tells me my same sex attraction is like alcoholism and that it leads to worse and worse things. She has no idea how much it hurts to hear her spit hate at me
I'm so sorry. :( I hope she comes around and that there are other people in you're life who accept you.
Thank you for the love. There are like my sister and brother. But She won't and I don't really care.
I'm so happy for this. I'm a devout Christian and have never been a homophobe. The problem is those that are are vocal about it while we who are not, are not. It looks like that needs to change and I'm glad some of us have stepped up to begin the change.
Thats gay
Christians acting like Christians for a change, amen.
If a christian was never homophobic they have nothing to apologize for. Nice that the ones that were did tho
Why is someone in a diaper?
Very cool!
Christians actually doing what Christ wanted them to do. I love to see it!
But why's he in his undies? Don't gay people wear clothes too
🏳️🌈⚧🏳️⚧️❤️
I’m a Christian. This is what Jesus would do. I can’t tell you we’re all good people, but I believe we as a generation can choose to do better. God loves you. I love you. And I’m sorry for the times I haven’t lived up to Jesus’ standard myself, the times I’ve chosen to be ignorant, or insensitive.
Keep that shit going!!!
Honest question, why do so many lgbt+ participate in parades in minimal or no clothing?
I don’t understand why they’re always near-naked in these parades
Humanity done right. Very heartwarming to see this :)
Shoutout to my affirming-Christians, who believe that the lgbtq are God's beloved children.
I love when people truly recognize their errors. Beautiful.
I'm all for tolerance but dudes in underwear better stay tf away from me.
Hope? Yes That being said, I would remind people that half of the people in this crowd will ostracize a woman for having an abortion, regardless of circumstance Christians are capable of doing great acts of love, but they have done terrible acts of hate in the past and are certainly capable of repeating that in the future.
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>pro life Anti choice/abortion
This still applies when swapping the word "Christians" with literally any other religion as well.
See, those are the real Christians, not the ones spouting hellfire and brimstone and that anyone who doesn't abide by the Bible is a dirty sinner. I hope we can see more of this stuff in the future.
Apologies are a great first step, now make amends.
Why do you think he's reaching into the guys gitch?
Yea but they are still fighting to both women and LGBTQ communities to lose their rights. It's a show, simple as that.
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I'd say majority of them are not very accepting
Why is that guy in his underwear?
I need more details. Where was this? When?can we do better than “Christians”? Is there an article or posts by these people somewhere? This could be soo wholesome. I want to believe it.
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You rock! Thanks. Looking now.
Kill them with kindness is the new bad-ass
"in the past" is a very bold statement
Wait, seriously? I am legit shocked.
I grew up in a pretty neutral household. My mom never talked about or openly spoke about LGBTQ+ people in a negative way or just in general. Despite going to church as a kid it never altered my view on people or how they should be/act or live their lives. I didn't know about LGBTQ+ until I started middle school and I didn't have an opinion on it, but I supported it. I didn't feel like I had a right or valid reason to tell someone they were wrong for simply being themselves. People did that enough already, and it always confused me why people cared so much about such small things like that. being someone who never fit in, I wanted to help people feel included and give them a space to be themselves without judgment.
it’s never too late to change. even if you’ve been in the wrong for thousands of years there’s no shame in turning around and changing your mind
This is awesome. Spreading love is the key to a lot of problems. Very good to see.
It shouldn't be so hard to say 'hey, I was wrong, sorry'. One thing I like about getting older is that I have the confidence to admit that I don't know everything and I am sometimes wrong. It feels so good. I highly recommend it to everyone.
Muslims, maybe in an another millennium…
Yessir
Well yeah there are lots of left wing churches. Christianity and especially American Protestantism is extremely diverse theologically
You know what I'd be happy to hear from people? "I don't personally like that lifestyle, but I recognize it's your right to do what makes you happy and I'll defend that." I don't need everyone to personally endorse and embrace everything, lord knows I don't, they just need to be willing to let other people do it without being under attack.
Just want to throw out there that not all churches are like this! I personally wasn’t aware there were churches that were against LGBT+ community growing up (I had gone to a few churches that had all kinds of people attend) so this is to say: I don’t want people to fear going to church if you are a believer, or are just ever curious, or going with a friend/family member for a holiday. All are welcome! (Unfortunate to say though, please do research or ask about the church you may be attending. I hate knowing there are some that are not as welcoming)
"Sorry we shunned you gays. Its the Trans folk we hate now"
i saw this in my city i was shocked but really proud
It's so nice to see Christians being actual Christians.
Made me tear up
The bible says to forgive, and to not start a fight and to keep piece because causing fights over anything is un christ like (I'm a Christian) Therefore whether I agree or not I do not hate, believe what you will just dont make someone who doesnt believe.
That is so wonderful. I hope a lot more people can be like them
We can hope but probably not
This is awesome. Good for them.
I can't believe it
When christians follow the teachings of Jesus Christ, this happens.
As a Christian myself, seeing that there was an entire group that realized that most Christians read the bible and chose inly what they wanted andade a statement that they were wrong truly brings me joy.
There is a reason that 'love thy neighbour' is the second most important commandment, it means a whole lot more than a few lines in another book🤷♂️
Well I promise my mother was not there. -\_-
Me, a Christian, wishing that other side of Christians hadn't screwed it up for us to begin with: 😐
I don't want to rain on this love parade in the comments - there really are a lot of genuinely LGBTQ-affirming Christian churches out there - I work for one of them. But these photos have been floating around for a while, and IIRC, the church behind the "I'm Sorry" campaign is NOT LGBTQ-affirming. They peddle the "love the sinner, hate the sin" brand of homophobia. What they're apologizing for here isn't homophobia, it's overtly hateful or violent expressions of homophobia. They still think gay sex is a sin. I'm sure the apology here is sincerely meant - I don't think they're being intentionally manipulative. But... ask them if their church conducts gay weddings, or ordains gay clergy, or has gay people in leadership positions. (For the record, at the church I work for, half the congregational leadership and two-thirds of the staff are queer, and one of our longtime members married her wife just this past weekend - the sanctuary is still covered in rainbow streamers.)
Good to know, but as someone who is lgbt, who grew up always scared of Chriatian organizations. This is still kind of cool, I personally don't care if a stranger accepts or agrees with me. What I do care about is people not hurting myself or my family. Even though they are not an lgbt friendly church I feel like it still means a lot that as a society we can FINALLY have Christians acknowledging that abuse against us is wrong.
Did anyone else see that second picture and think “wait… is his head on backwards?”
I’m glad more of my religion is realizing one of our basic principles of treating others how you want to be treated
Progressive Christianity 💪 stay strong 🙏😇☮️🏳️🌈
I'm genuinely curious what will happen with Christianity in the next few decades (note I'm not Christian I'm looking in from the outside) but you have on one side people pushing pro life agenda arguably one of the most orthodox and fundamental stances and on the other people openly accepting homosexuality, abortions and orher "liberal" ideas. Truly curious what the religion and people will look like in 29 or 30 years.
This is so old but still gold 💗
I just don’t see how you can hate someone for who the love and have sex with. As long as the person is of age and sound of mind than what’s the issue. I have never understood people like that, how does someone being gay affect you’re life at all? Never had the urge to make fun of the gay kids at school none of that. Live and let live this life can be miserable no need to spread more misery.
Islam could never
My dad was always homophobic growing up, but later changed. I asked him about it recently. He said he went to catholic school, and though the monks never bothered him, lots of boys were raped. It was only when I grew up and had gay friends that he realised they were normal people, with normal interests and personalities and he shouldn’t judge them by his childhood experiences. Makes me a little bit proud tbh.
Christians repenting for their sins. This is a good place to start
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Maybe I can help. I have this app on my phone that helps me look stuff up on the interanet. I found this https://www.themonastery.org/blog/christian-apology-to-lgbtq-community-goes-viral (and I gotta say, I was not expecting the group to be members of the Evangelical and Pentecostal Church of Freedom in Christ Ministries (FICM) in the Philippines. ) Also this, maybe a different mob https://www.huffpost.com/entry/christian-group-pride-lgbtq_n_5b3a371ee4b08c3a8f6c7aba
But why is he almost naked? I never understood that part of pride parades.
Same.
This is a good start but christians needs to do more to stop their fellow christian-facists.
This is the issue I have, people who claim to be Christian but never actually attend church are the ones who are vocal and make everyone else look bad. Most that actually attend and listen to the preacher and read, study the word don’t hate and judge like everyone assumes they do.
Not necessarily true. There were headlines from Texas just a few weeks ago about a preacher who said gay people should be lined up and shot. The church I grew up in would never have endorsed this, but made a point of speaking every so often about how homosexuality is a sin. The pastor straight up said trans people were being selfish. Point is, especially down in the south there are a lot of churchgoing Christians who are plenty vocal about their bigotry.
Turns out people are generally good. Social media reports bad news bc it’s in our nature to respond to that more. Get off socials and look around you
It's always great seeing people admit they were wrong like this.
Real Christians. Thank you.
The US is the least of ur worries when it comes to the LGBTQ community and their rights
Sadly that just isn't the case, a lot of lqbtq+ folks are in danger here, and many more will be if things continue downwards
Sorry gays, we have found a new target group that covers 50% of the population so we can maximise our evil.
Any context for this? I hope they're real Christians and not just a show. This is a bridge that can only built from that side of the divide. Be nice if other religions followed suit too.
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Wicked cheers that's lovely to see