Yesterday morning I got breakfast (plain bagel with butter and honey) and read my book until we went to church. I think that yesterday was the first time I'd put cologne on since last Tuesday.
After church we came home and had lunch. I fried a piece of chicken, chopped it up and put it on a salad with some celery, feta cheese, and pineapple. It was quite tasty. When we were done with lunch, dad and Byron went to go run some errands and I read my book some more.
So my book. It is called Love is an Orientation:Elevating the Conversation with the Gay Community. It's really good. Thus far the book is about the misconceptions the church has about the GLBT (Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender) community and what we should do about it. A recurring theme is that regardless of our view on the morality of that lifestyle, we as humans do not make the final decision about whether they go to heaven or hell. So, we need to stop judging them and be friends with them. When we say blanket statements like "homosexual people are going to hell," we are attacking the very core of their being. Like many people find identity in their job or family, people of the GLBT community find identity in their sexuality. So by directly attacking their sexuality, we are attacking them as a person. The author of the book makes it clear that we should not change our view point on whether homosexuality is wrong, but merely that we should learn who each person is as an individual and help them meet the loving God that cares about everyone. This is far more difficult in practice because most people of the GLBT community have gone through so much pain and discrimination on account of the church that they have no desire for and see no need for a God. And frankly I can't blame them. If I kept getting rejected by Christians, why would I want to be part of them? The sins of the GLBT community are no better or worse than the sins in the Christian community, and it would be naive of us to think that there is no sin in the Christian community. The difference is that "Christian sin" is accepted by the Christian community, where as "being homosexual" is not. When someone spreads a piece of gossip in the church, no one cares. But if someone finds an attraction to people of the same gender, then everyone freaks out and ostracizes that person. Christians tend to group people as "heterosexual, celibate, or sinful." That "sinful" category includes many people that don't want to be there, but are attracted to things deemed "sinful."
In recent days I've thought a lot about that "sinful" category. That includes many people of various sexual orientations, needs, and desires. And misconceptions. Another group that I have heard more from in recent years is pedophiles. Like homosexuals, the majority of them are normal people who have an attraction that they do not like or want, but cannot help. But to an extent I feel even more sorry for pedophiles. In recent years, people have begun to actually understand homosexuality. Homosexuals are not rapists, child molesters, or anything of that nature. Just like in the heterosexual community there do exists rapists and molesters in the homosexual community, but being homosexual does not make you a rapist. And neither does being a pedophile. Let me explain that I do not agree with pedophilia, but that doesn't meant that I'm going to judge those people or think that if I am around them I'm going to get an STD simply by being near them. Pedophiles are just people that are attracted to children. This doesn't mean that they abduct and do horrible things to children. Yes, there are some that do and they are the ones we hear about on the news. But the news gives us the extreme cases because it's more interesting, just like how we hear more about crazy extremist Christian groups than the majority of Christians who live normal lives. Anyways, being a pedophile does not make you a rapist or even a child molester. Molesting children makes you a child molester. Most pedophiles hate the fact that they find children attractive, waking up every day to face the reality that they are unlike nearly everyone else. Personally I can't imagine going through everyday hating and being disgusted by myself because I have an attraction that I don't want. The thing that makes me feel worst about their situation is that they can talk to no one about it. People have begun to be more open to the lifestyles of homosexuals, but pedophiles? Who can a pedophile talk to? Sadly, the most laughable answer is "the church." People have gotten enough judgement already. They don't need more. They need someone who doesn't care about their attractions and will just be their friend, be supportive, and learn about who they are.
So anyways. That's just a little bit about what's going on in my head. Light stuff :)
After dad and Byron got back, dad and I worked on cutting up some old cabinets and things for firewood. That was all sorts of fun! I'm so excited to be a homeowner some day!
For dinner we had rotisserie chicken and mashed potatoes. When dinner was over, we had a half hour discussion on the sentence "It smells horrible." We were trying to determine whether we should be using horrible to describe it or horribly to describe smells. After much discussion and looking up of terms, horrible was the final decision. Oh, I love my family :)
Here are some pictures from mailbox digging on Saturday!
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| The old mailbox |
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| It was a really deep hole... |
Alright. I think that's all for now.
Peace.
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