This is what they call the "Generational Gap."

Remember, that your grandmother grew up in a different age, with different standards and there's been a lot of change in her world, just as there will be a lot of change in yours as you grow older.

Under her hatred of "change" in what are becoming social norms, is genuine concern for your well being and love for you. Some of the "old ways" weren't bad, but they just don't mesh with the Information Age.

It's amazing that Bigots rarely comprehend that they're being bigoted when they spew forth rhetoric or their own dated misconceptions of society. But it happens all to often.

My advice is to listen to everyone around you and do what feels right in your gut. Your gut feeling is usually the right one, so trust that intuition.

As for Politicking from the Pulpit...that's been going on since Colonial days. It's nothing new and it will continue on as long as people will listen and allow themselves to be influenced.

The best way to get through life's hurdles is to trust yourself, foster a few strong friendships, and keep a good attitude.

thank you this is kinda what I've been trying to do but its hard to respect her when she can be so cruel some times

I am not a believer, but from my understanding, these days, Religion is only an excuse to hold their backwards views, and to willingly make themselves ignorant to certain matters, because their religion says said thing is bad. As for why people are so mean; people fear what they do not understand.
"...Fear leads to hate, hate leads to suffering"

yea :(

A lot of what some "religious" people hold up as their religion is pre-existing prejudices and out-dated social norms (like swift said). Many of these beliefs are actually contrary to a contextual reading of the bible or have been cherry-picked to further their own beliefs. While the bible is clear that some things are definite sins, it's also clear that no sin is worse than any other and that all sins share both the same consequences and the same remedy AND that all have sinned. A true Christian (be they Catholic or Protestant) knows this and also knows that the bible calls on us to love and respect each other. These modern "Christians" are the same as the Pharisees of old in that they hold the structure of their religion more important than the one they supposedly worship. It's a tragedy.

wow 0,0 thats a really cool point i never thought about it that way what a beautiful statement

And one should never be offended by honest questioning of beliefs. If one's beliefs can't stand up to honest questioning, there's something wrong with them. :p

i agree but i didn't want to hurt feelings

Religion is a confusing topic, but I'll do my best to shed some light.

What many people don't understand about religion is that it's partially an attempt to establish a basic code of ethics; perhaps it's right for you to believe in God, Allah, or whoever you decide to worship. That's your business. I, however, have my own beliefs about religion. Mine are that it isn't meant to be taken literally, just that it should be used as a tool to make decisions. For instance, I'd like to say that I don't believe in a literal "God," but I do very much support people asking, "What would Jesus do?"

Asking that question is proper application of what a religion is. People that take it literally are the ones that do crazy things, getting bogged down on the smallest details. That, or they have a toxic religion that is poisoning their minds to prevent them from leaving, questioning the authorities of that religion, or cause them to start punishing dissenters.

I hate to say it, because I know there are good Muslim people out there, but Islam can be pretty parasitic if you look at it closely; the punishment for leaving the religion is death in many places in the middle east, it's common practice to be totally devoted to Islam (you know, praying 5 times per day in a special place while facing a very specific direction is a huge time commitment and a very ritualistic routine), and they say you should kill non-Islamic people. I know people say that passage isn't actually in the Quran, but that doesn't stop people from teaching it, and others from causing disasters because of it.

We like to think Christianity is better, but only because it's more "civil." I know many athiests who have been shunned by their families because they don't believe and their family thinks that makes them a bad person. You have met some people that take the bible so literally, that they pick out passages and think that the outdated point of view on abnormal behavior is what we should be acting on today. For instance, most of the "clobber passages" that say that homosexuality is wrong are located in the Old Testament. One specifically, I know, is in Leviticus. Yeah, Leviticus. If we listened to everything in that book of the bible, you could be stoned to death for not doing what your parents say. Or, more to the point, they can take you to the center of town, proclaim that you are a drunkard, and are rebellious to your parents, and everyone would be obligated to throw stones at you until dead. You could also be killed for checking your horoscope, lying, and several other small infractions that many people do every day, if not on a regular basis.

What they should ask themselves is not "Does the bible say this is OK," but they should ask, "Would God think this is OK?" or "What would Jesus do?" However, since the religion is conducted in such a way that the bible is supposed to be the immortal word of God, people end up committing fallacies or doing ridiculous things because their only answer is to consult the bible. Begging the Question, I call it.

thats interesting and as for the islam comment i agree these are people who have been indoctrinated in teachings that there book dose not agree on I'm sure that is true and dangerous in all religons I'm reminded of the inquisition as a christian example and I'm sure there is an atrocity for every extremist group its very sad

Don't forget the crusades... we had about seven of the things.

mhm its really sad

The thing about religion is it is different for everyone. Some take the teachings like "to the letter" and not "spiritually" .They say they need "to love the sinner" and such, but not all do so. You get those Bible Thumping people who criticize everyone and don't take time to understand their situation. I periannaly am in religious affiliation, but I believe that everyone has their choice in what they want to do ( and that includes everything ). And I cannot tolerate hate toward others for their point of view. That's why I don't associate myself with them :) to really answer your question, some people are just assholes and we have to live with them XD

wow thats harsh but true

I guess its depending on how each family understands the bible and the word of the Lord. I am Catholic as is my family. I was brought up in the church as well, but my family and even the church taught us to be good to each other no matter how they choose to run their life. I am openly gay, my whole family knows. Heck, my mom married us (me and my husband).

Some people (the hardcore baptists. My husbands parents) have the old teachings just ingrained their life. They do not approve of me or Mark being gay. They still love him, but hate what he does. Sadly it's just the way the word was taught.

aww thats really sad but I'm happy you and your husband are together though thats really great your family is so supportive i wish more christians i meet agreed with you :)

You ever hear of a book called Sic et Non by Pierre Abelard? I just picked up on the "way the word was taught" part... the whole book is about how the bible could be used to answer yes (Sic) or no (Non) to anything, using only what can be found in the bible. And he was... Catholic.... I think.

Might be something interesting.... or maybe not. My inner literature nerd is showing. Sometimes I just mention things only to realize tat not everyone can find something fascinating by looking at a translated centuries-old manuscript by some dead French guy. XD

Sorry heat of the moment in not usually that angry XD

I'm just sick of seeing people hurt :(

i understand

Religion is not always a good thing, and I'm saying this as a follower of God. I think of it this way... God made man, but man made religion. Just because some religion says something, it doesn't mean it has anything to do with God.

The Bible emphasizes love. Christ went so far as to say that love is his greatest command. If we were to truly follow what Christ told us, there would be no room for hating on anyone. We would not be trying to separate those who are gay, or black, or Muslim, or poor, or female, or any other group, and essentially saying that God hates what they are.

If someone has God's interests at heart, you will see good evidence of that in the fruits that they bear. The Bible says that the fruits of God's spirit are Love, Goodness, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Joy, Faithfulness, Gentleness and Self-control. Christ said that the greatest of those is Love. When someone claims to be a Christian, or to be a follower of God, and their fruits say otherwise, then something is clearly wrong. It causes confusion. It sounds like your aunt is following the prejudices of her religion, instead of following God.

I hate to see people in pain over things like this. Regardless of what some people's religions say, God accepts you, and me, and your best friends who are gay. God accepts furries, and nerds, and everyone who seeks him. Religions are very different than God, as they often reject people, while God welcomes them.

I know all of this probably doesn't help much, but it looks like your mind is functioning as God intended. It's designed to question things that don't make much sense, like why people judge and hate, and why they cause pain for others. I don't know if I'll ever understand that.

its very refreshing to see points of view from those with in the faith who see love first its very nice and i had no idea how supportive you guys would be to my questions I'm very thankful for all of your kind words

As a believer myself, I go about with the philosophy that I am no better than anyone else and we're all equally sinful in the eyes of God, so why go around singling people out and treating them differently? It's not our place to judge others, but some people don't get that.

true but i still don't get why people have to be inharently bad?

Because this world isn't perfect

but god has the abiltty to make it perfect ???????