Why Does it Matter?

For many years I remained silent about my deepest convictions. I did not want to upset my family and friends. I allowed them to believe that I was something that, in my deepest heart, I simply could not be. Why should I speak now? I certainly am not the sharpest crayon in the box. God has not spoken some new revelation into my soul. So why not just remain a coward and keep my mouth shut?

Well, the truth is Christian Fundamentalism is dangerous. It produces an incredible amount of unnecessary guilt in young people. People born with sexual orientations other than heterosexual live lives of misery because they cannot change the way they were born, and yet their religious upbringing calls them an abomination to God who should be executed. They are condemned to hell for something that, very often, is out of their control. Many eventually choose suicide as the only way out. High School teens who are gay are 60% more likely to commit suicide than teens who are not.

Teenagers, both boys and girls, face deep guilt over something as natural and universal as masturbation. As they grow older they face yet more self-condemnation over “lust” as their hormones drive them to a perfectly natural sexual attraction to the opposite sex.

Because of the role of Fundamentalist Christianity in the United States, America has a foreign policy that is blatantly unfair toward Arab lands and pro-Israel, even when Israel refuses to obey international law. The United States has vetoed the UN Security Counsel over 30 times when the UN has demanded that Israel obey international law. This obvious Pro-Israel, Anti-Palestinian stand is key to Arab anti-Americanism and terrorist acts against the USA.

Human Beings must evolve out of cultural religions and embrace tolerance or we are going to ultimately destroy ourselves. However, if those who have been awakened to this truth remain silent for personal convenience, then the next step in our spiritual growth will be slow in coming.