Have you gave religion away being gay?

[vinapu]

2 hours ago, Olddaddy said:

That's another thing I don't like about the Church , particularly the Catholic religion, ridiculous that they don't let their priests marry .

I wonder how many of the younger generation now start as priests ?

 

from what I see around , younger generation is not that keen to get married either. In all 21st century so far  I attended only grand total of 3 weddings and I'm coming from big family

[maump]

I was brought up as a "Moravian" (miscellaneous protestant church out of Moravia in what would be Czech republic).  Pretty mellow protestants by the time I grew up.  Believed heavily in fellowship and your relationship with God was a private thing.  My mom was deep in the church having been literally raised in it (father was the caretaker) and she was the church organist. I had perfect attendance at Sunday school.  Nonetheless, my growing sexual abnormality (barely acknowledged by me) interfered with my beliefs and came to head during catechism.  At the end of catechism you were expected to get up in front of the church and reaffirm the promise your parents made during you childhood baptism (that you accepted JC as you savior and lord).  I told the minister I was not ready to do it.

When I arrived home from church my mom was in the laundry crying (something I had never seen before).  Guilt took hold.  I had special sessions with the minister and magically "re-discovered" my faith before the Palm Sunday ritual affirmation and communion. 

I got up and kneeled in front of the church in my Sunday best covered in a white gowns to say "Yea I truly believe" and accept JC with all the other 14 yro boys and girls. I got my piece of styrofoam "bread" and grape juice.   I did not know my gown had shifted down over the heels of my new shoes, hooking onto the hem while I kneeled. As I stood, my neck was pulled back and I was choked momentarily by the gown before the hem broke and I was released.  I almost fell over backwards.  JC was obviously not pleased with my lie.  I never did communion again and drifted as far from the church as mom allowed.

I guess in my small mind, the Universe is fantastically too large and amazing to believe in a fantasy story about such a small jealous god (or is it 3 gods? Father, Son, Holy Ghost?) that wants random short-lived carbon-based life forms on an insignificant spec of stellar dust around a very average star at the edge of a small common galaxy to "worship" "Him".  Egotistical are we?

Believe what you may, this I know - Religions are tools of man to control other men, nothing more.  

I grok there may actually be a "GOD", but it is nothing we could actually imagine and if it would think, the universe would change.  If there is an after-life, it is to return to thoughtless oneness with the Universe  and rejoin GOD. (Nirvana?)

Regards going to church with your boyfriend... its a no brainer, if you love him or at least want to make him happy, go.  While you are there you can quietly meditate on the nature of God, the Universe, life and Man.

[PeterRS]

13 hours ago, vinapu said:

from what I see around , younger generation is not that keen to get married either. In all 21st century so far  I attended only grand total of 3 weddings and I'm coming from big family

Japan is one of the worst countries in this respect. So many young people no longer have a desire to get married that it has led to a series of major government concerns. The numbers getting married last year showed the continuation of a decline that saw the lowest number since World War 2. The resultant decline in the birth rate saw the country's population continue to fall for the 11th consecutive year - by 644,000. In a country without many safety nets for an ageing population the lack of a new generation to help look after parents in their old age is worrying many.

In a survey in the mid-1980s, just 2.3% of men and 4.1% of women stated they would never marry. Last year those figures had jumped to 17.3% and 14.6%

Many reasons have been cited. The increasing independence of women seeking meaningful careers in a traditionally male dominated society. The attraction for young women of remaining at home longer to save for and enjoy the good things in life rather than getting married early and being tied to looking after children and the household. Long working hours and traditonal reticence making it difficult for young men and women to meet and develop the social skills to develop relationships. 

Japan is also hampered by strict immigration laws which still prevents skilled workers in many disciplines obtaining jobs in the country. 

[kokopelli3]

7 hours ago, maump said:

  I grok there may actually be a "GOD", but it is nothing we could actually imagine and if it would think, the universe would change.  If there is an after-life, it is to return to thoughtless oneness with the Universe  and rejoin GOD. (Nirvana?)

I had to look up grok to see the meaning!  A good word, but then it came from a good book, which I had read so many years ago and had forgotten.

[scott456]

21 hours ago, vinapu said:

from what I see around , younger generation is not that keen to get married either. In all 21st century so far  I attended only grand total of 3 weddings and I'm coming from big family

I belong to the older generation, but I am never keen to get married either, to a man or a woman.  I don't believe in marriage, or monogamous relationship. 

[Olddaddy]

Well I attended this Church, it welcomes everyone, particularly lesbian & transgender people.

Most were over 50yo but a few older guys with Asian boyfriends.

I found it a little bit boring, singing hymns ,they had the words in a large screen so U can sing along 

I think why not spruce it up with electric guitars etc, they want younger people that's how you do it ,not singing old hymns.

But I enjoyed the coffee chat afterwards 

[ichigo]

I was raised catholic, but am more agnostic these days. I respect religion (as long as it's not shoved down my throat), but it's the religious extremists that sprout hate that ruin it.

[Londoner]

Not just the haters; think about the preachers- many but  not all in the US- who make millions from gullible and often not every well-off communities- in order to buy their own private jets. Of course, some of them also need money for their encounters with rent-boys in seedy motels. Before glorifying homophobia in their sermons.

 

[maump]

18 minutes ago, Londoner said:

Not just the haters; think about the preachers- many but  not all in the US- who make millions from gullible and often not every well-off communities- in order to buy their own private jets. Of course, some of them also need money for their encounters with rent-boys in seedy motels. Before glorifying homophobia in their sermons.

 

Believe what you may, this I know - Religions are tools of man to control other men, nothing more.  

[alvnv]

4 hours ago, Olddaddy said:

Well I attended this Church, it welcomes everyone, particularly lesbian & transgender people.

Most were over 50yo but a few older guys with Asian boyfriends.

I found it a little bit boring, singing hymns ,they had the words in a large screen so U can sing along 

I think why not spruce it up with electric guitars etc, they want younger people that's how you do it ,not singing old hymns.

But I enjoyed the coffee chat afterwards 

Sounds quite a bit more conservative than I would have expected: no speaking in tongues, prophecies, miracle healing, or snake handling?

I hope that at that coffee chat you abstained from sharing your very impressive statistics of your recent trip to Philippines 😀

[vinapu]

2 hours ago, Londoner said:

. Of course, some of them also need money for their encounters with rent-boys in seedy motels. Before glorifying homophobia in their sermons.

 

probably about 1 in 10

rest will have encounters with girls in the same motels,  

[PeterRS]

14 hours ago, Olddaddy said:

I found it a little bit boring, singing hymns ,they had the words in a large screen so U can sing along 

I think why not spruce it up with electric guitars etc, they want younger people that's how you do it ,not singing old hymns.

I was brought up as a Protestant and even played piano for a Bible class most Sundays as a teenager. I didn't want to but there was some parental pressure there from my mother.

I have never been a churchgoer since my teens. I find the endless communal singing of hymns with words and music written mostly more than a century ago incredibly boring. On the other hand, I once saw on television a Church service with a pop band. That also turned me right off. Equally, readings from a book part of which is about fables that originated millennia ago and only many centuries later put into writing (and we know what happens when one person repeats what he has heard to another, who then repeats it to another, and so on - it always ends up as a completely different story), and part of which was decided for us by various Councils in the 4th century long after the death of Jesus when again memories would have been fallible.

Being gay has never had anything to do with my thoughts on religion. I just happen to believe that religions in general were necessary all that time ago as a glue to keep tribes and later societies together. Again for millennia, life on earth was so grim for so many people, the thought that there was  paradise somewhere up in the sky where all was wine and roses but which you could only enter into if you behaved well down here on earth must have been very appealing to vast numbers. (I wonder how many know that the word 'paradise' comes from the Persian meaning garden)

When I see on television the extraordinary images from the combination of the Hubble and James Webb telescopes, I marvel that these amazing scenes are of events that happened so long ago my mind simply cannot comprehend them. Here on earth we are a mere tiny speck of a tiny speck given the vastness of what we are told is a still expanding universe (something else I canot understand). Given that, though, how is that our various earthly religions claim to have got it all so right? 

[GaveModeva]

Hey there! It's interesting to hear about your situation with your Filipino boyfriend and his desire to attend a gay-friendly church. I get where you're coming from regarding your skepticism about religion. It can be a tricky topic, especially when it comes to acceptance and the LGBTQ+ community. It's cool that some churches are becoming more inclusive.

[PeterRS]

14 hours ago, GaveModeva said:

Hey there! It's interesting to hear about your situation with your Filipino boyfriend and his desire to attend a gay-friendly church. I get where you're coming from regarding your skepticism about religion. It can be a tricky topic, especially when it comes to acceptance and the LGBTQ+ community. It's cool that some churches are becoming more inclusive.

To whom are you responding? Certainly not me. Quoting from that member would help others understand your response, the more so given that the last post was mine and it was around 8 months ago!

[GaveModeva]

On 6/12/2023 at 8:04 PM, GaveModeva said:

Hey there! It's interesting to hear about your situation with your Filipino boyfriend and his desire to attend a gay-friendly church. I get where you're coming from regarding your skepticism about religion. It can be a tricky topic, especially when it comes to acceptance and the LGBTQ+ community. It's cool that some churches are becoming more inclusive.

 

If you're curious about different perspectives on faith, you might find some insights worth exploring at firstchurchlove.com. It's always good to keep an open mind and learn about different viewpoints.

[scott456]

On 10/9/2022 at 6:53 AM, Londoner said:

Not just the haters; think about the preachers- many but  not all in the US- who make millions from gullible and often not every well-off communities- in order to buy their own private jets. Of course, some of them also need money for their encounters with rent-boys in seedy motels. Before glorifying homophobia in their sermons.

 

That's why I donate to charity only,  not church.

[scott456]

On 10/9/2022 at 7:17 PM, PeterRS said:

I was brought up as a Protestant and even played piano for a Bible class most Sundays as a teenager. I didn't want to but there was some parental pressure there from my mother.

I have never been a churchgoer since my teens. I find the endless communal singing of hymns with words and music written mostly more than a century ago incredibly boring. On the other hand, I once saw on television a Church service with a pop band. That also turned me right off. Equally, readings from a book part of which is about fables that originated millennia ago and only many centuries later put into writing (and we know what happens when one person repeats what he has heard to another, who then repeats it to another, and so on - it always ends up as a completely different story), and part of which was decided for us by various Councils in the 4th century long after the death of Jesus when again memories would have been fallible.

Being gay has never had anything to do with my thoughts on religion. I just happen to believe that religions in general were necessary all that time ago as a glue to keep tribes and later societies together. Again for millennia, life on earth was so grim for so many people, the thought that there was  paradise somewhere up in the sky where all was wine and roses but which you could only enter into if you behaved well down here on earth must have been very appealing to vast numbers. (I wonder how many know that the word 'paradise' comes from the Persian meaning garden)

When I see on television the extraordinary images from the combination of the Hubble and James Webb telescopes, I marvel that these amazing scenes are of events that happened so long ago my mind simply cannot comprehend them. Here on earth we are a mere tiny speck of a tiny speck given the vastness of what we are told is a still expanding universe (something else I canot understand). Given that, though, how is that our various earthly religions claim to have got it all so right? 

I believe in God, I don't believe in church or any priest.