that's pretty much what you can expect from organized religion. i'd be hard pressed to find an atheist who is against homosexuals in any way.

I wouldn't call it so much organized religion, as it is personal agendas covered up by god, and it seems with the increase in homosexual acceptance, a lot of places are striking harder than ever, with more hate. All in all I think the video's a good insight to butchered logic and butchered religion.

but it is organized religion that pushes this bigotry, which is backed up by the bible along with other religious texts. i am aware that many christians (and believers in every other faith, for that matter) come to their own conclusions rather than what their church says, but that minority is dwarfed by organized religion that influences their followers to be intolerant of homosexuals, among other things.

It is, but what I would call Modernized religion, is straying further from the actual roots of christianity as I perceived it to ve. It is made up of people who just use god to pursue their own wills, and take down others, so perhaps it should be called a Cruel Convenience, for people who do what damon does.

actually, 'modernized' christianity is much more docile than it was, say, 500 years ago. no longer are people burned at the stake for 'heresy,' stoned to death for being an adulterer, or killed for stealing. the church is no longer the most powerful institution in the world. the pope can't call for crusades. scientists can publish new findings without fear of being killed by the church. our generation, and the generations after, are MUCH more accepting of homosexuals and other people's beliefs. for the most part, it is the older generation that spews the hate and intolerance, and they are a dying breed.

What I was saying is that it isn't crueler of harsher than the middle ages, the religion has become less christian than when the religion first began.

definitely. every ideology warps over time.

There's at least one organized religion which encourages its members to make up their own minds about stuff. :V

But then you've gotta put up with jew jokes, so...

Yay +1 for religion. But don't hate, there's a great group on FA. Called...umm...

http://www.furaffinity.net/user/openarms/

That's an amazing group, and I truly love the Christians in that, they are amazing people. Shame that some dick-heads like this have to bring them down, but eventually they'll all be dead and going straight to hell. (The douches, not christians. <3)

I think it's sad that we have two groups of people that are at war, and hate each other so much over one thing. It's hard enough for a homosexual to be in a religious group, and dealing with guilt and self-loathing, last thing they need is others of their faith not supporting them but making them feel worse.

It's nice that there are people still willing to love, even when they have people like damon representing them unfairly.

Indeed. I've always been an Athiest, so I've never really had a feeling like that, but I feel really bad for people who are in that position. :(

It's a heavy and hard experience, and if more people would be there for them, it would make a huge difference I feel!

Ugh ... had to listen to this off and on from my family friends and employers for most of my life. It sickens me :/

It's much more damaging than they could ever perceive! I'm sorry to hear :C

Took me 10 years before I became really comfortable with the idea of liking men, now its time to work on getting through a mental block that keeps me from enjoying a relationship and physical contact with people.

Hurtful words hurt more than they should.

That's rough! But I'm rooting for you!

Dealing with such heavy issues is more of a burden than people deserve to have, and I hope you find that peace you are looking for!

I do too *hugs* thankies

i'm not angry, more like sad. The "sequel" breaks my heart. Those people that go up to the altar. They are at a crucial point, they are confused about their feelings, and the last thing they need is religious brainwashing. What happens after? What happens when the feelings don't go away. They will lead a false life and never be happy and worst case scenario, commit suicide. This is why we can't progress as a country. People like this hold this country back.

Yay religion. So fucking glad I live in sweden. If a priest or someone religious went out in public and spoke like that, he would get criminal charges. On one hand I love america - and of course religion is to blame for a lot of it - but honestly? America is broken. It's a society and government that allows shit like this to exist and go on.

Alabama.

Millions have been slaughtered in the name of secularism too. :T

Holocaust mostly.

So, I wouldn't say all of the religious world is evil and all of the secular world is good. To say that would be highly prejudistic, which is I think what most people hate the evangelical christian groups for. :T Y'know. Being highly prejudistic.

I'd have to say in conclusion that evangelical protestant christian groups do not represent 100% of organized religion. Neither do the roman catholics. So, one should probably be more specific when condemning are particular group so that they do not accidentally condemn people they don't know anything about.

Well, I'm with you.

But your argument is against christianity, not all religion. Not all religion has a concept of hell, for instance. Not all religion believes in a big fat bearded man who sits on clouds and causes natural disasters.

You are aware that not all religion is christianity, right? : p My point of view is that of judaism specifically, and I have the feeling you don't actually know much about it. (Given that it is included in 'all religion'. Your argument doesn't specifically apply, however, because most jews don't believe in hell or a literal bible or a fat floating cloud man or really any of the things you mentioned.)

I am on your side, trust me. I just think when you said 'religion as a whole', you really just mean christianity. Either that, or you have little understanding of religions other than christianity and just lump them together as the same thing. (Not uncommon.)

:P To be fair, there are no rules in judaism which says dogs have to be stoned to death as reincarnations of secular lawyers. Your problem is with that person, that court, and that culture which enabled it. (BTW the sentence was never intended to be carried out, and the dog is fine. x) Not relevant to the discussion, just FYI. )

Just because a person who does something terrible happens to be jewish, doesn't mean that judaism is terrible. (Plenty of atheist serial killers in the history book, one of which actually managed to off 6-8 million jews but we don't hear any open-minded people saying that all atheists are evil.)

Broad, overarching generalization of large groups of people is a tool used by some of the religious people that formed your opinion, and it's no more right for us to use the same evil tool against them.

Anyway, I think it's short-sighted to blame the problems of humanity on religion, because people would be committing the same types of injustices with or without spiritual beliefs. (Holocaust being the best example.)

Hey, I understand your being pissed off at the people who ruined your life. But don't you think it's a little closed-minded to condemn all religion everywhere? That's like saying "I lost two toes to a rabid dog when I was a child, so now I hate all animals and believe they are the root of all evil." You assume that rabid animals are the majority the same as you assume that religious extremists are the majority. You condemn 99% more innocent, happy, easy-to-get-along-with people than you do the people who actually deserved condemnation. THAT is the mindset invented and used by the religious extremists you claim to hate.

P.S. You're telling a jew to read history because he doesn't know anything about the holocaust. Your credibility in this discussion is now zero. x)

Really. I should read history. :P Uh huh. Do you hate religion, or all beliefs religious or otherwise? Or do you even know what you hate and don't hate anymore.

... He is a terrible awful person...

It's just pathetic how they think that if you whisper into your hands to your deity of choice you can actually "cure" this. This man is just awful.

lol at this

holy shit that woman said "realm" O_o

People can believe what they want, but I have no reason to see religion as anything but superstition. When it comes to stuff like this, it seems more like an excuse for these people to justify their hate and give all the blame to this supposedly all-loving and all powerful god.

Nothing like a big helping of hate to help me get through my morning.

DEMONIC FORCE OF HOMOSEXUALITY!!1 GWAA4R1!!