Homophobia

I saw this on a friend's facebook and thought it was a good illustration of viewing homophobia from another angle.



He's right, though. It seems a bit ridiculous to imagine the world when homosexuals are the majority since it would throw off population dynamics, growth, etc. But, if you do, then the prejudice against gays hits closer to home. I feel that, while we do not live in a world where homophobia is necessarily encouraged, it's rather ingrained in people's minds and needs to be overcome. I think it stems from two reasons: religion, of course, and its general unfamiliarity with the hoi polloi. In the beginning, though, since religion is always influenced by man (whether it is true or not), I think its unfamiliarity triggered homophobia in many faiths.

Most homosexuals were raised in a heterosexual home since that's the basic way to procreate. So, both orientations are not foreign to us once we reconcile our feelings with reality. I do see where it is a foreign idea to individuals growing up in a "straight" home with no exposure to homosexuality and how it can be such a strange concept. However, much of the fault lies with the parents for not raising that awareness.

It is natural for a person to fear what he does not understand. Were it not, there would be many more entrants to the Darwin Awards. I think a very effective way to cure homophobia is to start young in the home or school and lessen the expectations of a child to feel attractions only for the opposite sex. I'm not saying get rid of prom king and queen, but just predent the idea that there is not only one way to live.

The death of Matthew Shepherd, mentioned in the above video, is absolutely awful. I wonder what drove the assailant to do that, though. Where did he learn to hate so much? Is it really hate, or is it actually fear? Honestly, I think that his hate for gays grew out of his inability to understand it, and that frustrated him to no end. I'm sure his home was closed-minded to other ideas outside of the white picket fence and happy heterosexual family. That makes me so sad.

In my opinion, the true source of homophobia or any hate for gays is the initial fear because it was never understood. Even though I am homosexual, I was afraid of it myself and then hated myself for it. I overcame that hate because I came to an understanding of what it is and that it is not necessarily wrong. When one person is no longer homophobic, he is no longer ignorant of what is happening with others. That is a great thing.

It is a terrible thing that some organizations can push people back into the homophobic mindset. Religion can certainly be one of those things if it, also, is misunderstood. I can think of quite a few individuals that were once welcoming to homosexuals, joined a church, began to fear because of the church's teachings of the consequences, and later went on to hate it again. It's interesting, how that was reversed.

"The Kingdom of God Is Inside You"

Today someone quoted Ralph Waldo Emerson to me; the quote that is the title of this blog. "The Kingdom of God is inside you."

When I heard this sentence I fell in love with it. It is exactly what I have been thinking ever since I rediscovered spirituality this semester. I don't feel as though I need a mediator to have a relationship with a Higher Power. While I am still exploring different ideas about Him among the many religions of the world, I am always coming to the conclusion that nothing exceedingly organized is necessary for happiness or spirituality.

It is quite apparent that all religions contain truth, yet culture as well. For some reason, homophobia sprang up in the Arabian Penninsula as well as post-Roman Europe. Why this happened, I am unaware. Yet, the idea of homosexuality being sinful and unacceptable made its way into their religions' doctrines. The line between culture and religion is rather vague, although if one tried hard enough then they could distinguish between the two. I do think that if homosexuality were truly sinful, then the eastern religions would teach against it, too. It has not always been unacceptable to the homosexual in the religious world, especially if one looks back to antiquity.

It makes me angry to hear a Molly Mormon or Peter Priesthood draw a parallel between homosexuality and having tendencies towards drugs or alcoholism. They are absolutely different in every sense. Homosexuality was programmed into my mind insomuch that I can be attracted to another human being by just looking at him. If I had a tendency toward drugs, saw a pill and did not know what it did, I would not necessarily be compelled to want it.

Because sexuality is a major component to a person, built into their schema basically, I do not think it can be considered wrong. Unless the Creator is a cruel being that intends to bring misery and suicide to a select group of people, then it is a tool to bring happiness and growth to individuals. As I said in a previous post, He blessed me with homosexuality. I have grown so much and opened my mind to such a greater capacity than I would have otherwise, and that is not sinful.

I was not created in sin; I was created by God. He built His Kingdom within me, including my homosexuality. It is just a pillar in my being, and there is no sense in tearing part of me down. I don't think He wants that, or he would not have put it there. The Kingdom of God is inside me, and it is inside you, too. What blessings has he given you?

This Is Why I Accepted My Homosexuality

My friend linked me to this site. It is the work of a photographer that takes pictures of a person just before he or she is about to die, and afterwards. It's very interesting, and the comments on the side are often profound. And so I wanted to write this.

These people in his work told very dynamic stories about whether or not they wanted to die, how their life had been, etc. Some realized that they only wanted to live after they became terminally ill, others embraces death as just another part of the process. I wonder what I would say about my life if I were one of the subjects.

Well, I would like to say that life was great to me and every part was a blessing. I want a happy life, and I know I can make one for myself. But until I was 17, I was struggling with trying to change my sexuality. I was unhappy because I felt that God, who created me and how I am, would be disgusted if I acted on my feelings. It was not part of the plan for Eternal Happiness, so if I gave up this life to misery then maybe I'd be happy for the rest of my existance.

Then I broke, and I couldn't handle the struggle anymore. I acted on my feelings for the first time by kissing another boy. I felt liberated. I felt a rush of happiness come over me. I was wary, though, because afterwards I felt shameful for going back on God. But then I realized during a time of internal thought battles I had with myself, God gave me feelings to be happy and to grow. Homosexuality is based in emotion and love just as heterosexuality is, and He gave me this gift. He gave it to me as a tool for happiness and growth in my life, and I am grateful for it.

I choose to live a happy life. I will not surpress love and emotion until I am dead because there is no sense in it. The Creator did not intend to afflict me so I would be miserable for life; he gave this to me to open my eyes, mind, and heart to a fuller life. It is a gift so I would discover myself, help others to do the same, and be happy. Had I been heterosexual, I would be completely different.

If I ever became a subject in this artist's work, I will be able to tell him that life was amazing to me, and my only regret is that I will not be able to experience more. I experienced every emotion my heart can feel, and I discovered happiness can come from accepting those emotions and surpressing none. Doing so would be to deny ourselves what is necessary and good.

I accepted my homosexuality because I want a happy life. There is nothing wrong with that.

Recent Feelings on Religion

Yesterday I read that Islam surpasses Catholicism as the largest religion in the world. Christians, however, still outnumber Muslims if all the different denominations are counted together. Not sure if the objective counter included Mormonism, but it's really not an issue.

I am enrolled in a Survey of World Religions class currently. Last semester the only religion class I took was Book of Mormon first half honors (and it was for RMS, but not labelled, so half of us didn't know); I also was taking general psychology and learning about evolutionary effects on behavior and life processes. I started swinging toward a more atheistic attitude because Mormonism does not really cut it for me and other religions had issues too. The theory of evolution made, and still does make, complete sense to me without being far-fetched. It is based in reason, evidence, and science.

This semester, however, I find myself attracted to religion and spirituality again. As I sat in class and took notes on a religion, I initially wondered what it was that caused these people to go out and preach that they are inspired, enlightened, or know the way to Heaven. They started religions that major players in the world today, but where they schizophrenic? And Hinduism, was it just a culture of people needing to believe in something or did the Rishis really scribe the vibrations of the universe to produce the Vedas?

Then, an idea struck me. Maybe they did hear the vibrations of the universe. Perhaps Mahavira really was a tirthankara to bring the path to enlightenment back to earth. Gabriel could have appeared to Muhammad, Siddhartha Gautama really was enlightened and the Buddha, Guru Nanak really was swept into the presence of God. And in my opinion, each of these histories are even more believable and sensible than God and Jesus Christ appearing to a fourteen-year-old boy in the Sacred Grove, Joseph Smith. Someone who can believe that certainly can believe Lao Tzu's discussion of the Tao.

So, I am coming to a tentative conclusion that all religions contain truth. All of these prophets, messengers, etc. teach a way of self-improvement and post-life happiness through works. Each has its own way of practicing, but the end goal is rather similar. Differences in doctrine do exist, such as Hinduism's way of reuniting with Brahman and becoming one with everything differing from Christianity's desire to return to the presence of God for eternity, but the ideas are similar in an abstract way. Basically, become a better person in order to reach a better outcome.

This is why I am intrigued by Baha'i, a recent movement that seeks to bring together all faith traditions to worship the Creator. Baha'i is interested in the unity of humankind.

But nonetheless, most religions have parallels to each other. Sitting in class, I am always eager to hear of another one, such as Islam's Hajj (once-a-lifetime pilgrimmage to Mecca) and Mormonism's endowment ceremony. Analyzing the Hajj makes one really see the complements of each religion.

Anyway, my recent idea on religion is to study them all and adhere to the basic principles of each. Become a better person, prayer to God, help the needy, etc.

I used to be disgusted by religion because of the conflict of Mormonism and homosexuality. Any religion at all, but especially Christianity. I wanted to believe it was true, but if I did, then I couldn't believe myself to be true. I am glad that I have found a renewed interest in religion.

I am glad I am homosexual. It has open my mind in ways that would never have occurred had I easily fit the mold of the Church. Now, I have much greater and mroe numberous perspectives on how to live my life.