Think For Yourself

I just read perhaps the funniest and most powerful thing I've read in a while. It's from a religious satire magazine called "The Wittenburg Door," and it's God's Interview with Larry King about the Tsunami. I don't even want to try to paraphrase it... just go read it. It's worth it. (Andi, this magazine was nominated for the 2004 Utne Independent Press Award.)

After looking at the Killing the Buddha and Utne websites, I was googling for some more "different" periodicals. That's how I found The Door. It's actually run by Christians, not heretics like yours truly. They're just tired of hypocrisy and stuff, and they're funny about it.

That makes me think of Fellow Seeker. He's one of my best friends, and I wish we spent more time together. We have the best conversations. I remember once we sat in Starbucks for a few hours and shot the theological breeze. He's one of those intensely smart individuals that knows everything. He knows random facts about St. Thomas Aquinas and the formation of the early Church and Kierkegaard. Great stuff. He told me during this Heresy at Starbucks episode that he wants to pull a Thomas Jefferson and take out all the parts of the Bible he doesn't like. A little drastic for my tastes, but to each his own. F.S. went to the same Christian college as me, and he was there for four years. He used to be big into the whole church thing, but he struggled with his homosexuality. Now he goes to an accepting Episcopalian church, and I occasionally go with him. He loves God more than most people I know. I wouldn't like to be in a heaven where people like him can't get in.

Another problem I have... I don't feel that homosexuality is something that can be changed, like a bad smoking habit. F.S. is not attracted to girls. He won't ever be. If any of you know a gay person well, you'll know this is true for them as well. Let's face reality here. So why are they ostracized from the church? People always tell me, "Because the Bible says it's an abomination." Then why are they gay? My friend Future Priest says that when they hit puberty, they just make the choice. Come on. Think of the gay Christians who struggle so much with their identity. Don't you think if it was a choice they would just unchoose?