The church and its anti-gay agenda has crossed yet another line in the sand that I cannot believe they have the audacity to cross. This is not about the election but it is about the amount of hate that Christian churches now spew in amazingly more and more brazen ways...
I just got off the phone with my daughter and she sounded as if she had been crying. She told me that she just wanted to tell me something and I knew she was upset.
First, I have to introduce you to my second oldest daughter who is a freshman in college. Everybody loves her and she is the most loving person I have ever met. She is a devout Christian and has worked with and for the First Baptist Church for the last four years in the nursery and at summer camps. She has wanted to be a school teacher since she was four years old and would line up her stuffed animals and pretend to teach them. She is an amazing student, hard working, straight young lady who literally loves everyone and shines with enthusiasm. At fifteen, she taught me the most important lesson about the bible anyone has ever said to me which was, "I look at the Bible as a self help manual. It tells me how to live my life. It doesn't tell me how to tell someone else how to live theirs."
All year long, she has been looking forward to this coming summer because she will finally be eighteen and old enough to work at one of the real summer camps. She found the perfect one, a Christian camp that specializes in severely handicapped children. She met them for an interview and they loved her (especially since her major is in special education). She was a lock for the job. They just needed her to fill out the on-line registry, answer a few questions and she had the job. When she read the questions, she knew she had to turn the job down.
They asked her (I am paraphrasing based on memory), "What does the Bible say about Homosexuality and why is it such as sin?" and "Why is the only pathway to Heaven through Baptism?"
Here is her response:
I would love to be a part of this camp. I love ministry. I love
children's ministry. I love children. I have a lot of experience. I
love special education. I have a lot of experience in that field too.
I love teaching children about God and I love everything about it all.
However, the application bothers me on a few parts. I do not believe
that homosexuality should be in the application. I do not think that
is a very important issue for sharing the gospel to young children.
Also, I do not believe that baptism is absolutely required for
salvation. I think that you can still go to Heaven although you
haven't been baptized. I have been and I think it is wonderful and I
encourage it. However, I do not think it is required.
I just do not think if that is (redacted)'s focus, on homosexuality,
and if they are teaching that you cannot be saved if you are not
baptized then this camp is not for me, personally. I am sorry.
If this wasn't the intention, please let me know.
On the other hand, I think you guys are great and I am so thankful for
meeting you! You all were so friendly and nice and it was a blessing.
:) I will be praying for the camp and the staff and that a lot of
lives are changed and blessed this summer. :) Thank you for the
amazing oppurtunity!
Please explain to me why a question about homosexuality is critical to getting a job at a summer camp to help special needs kids? Why is it necessary to tell kids they they or their loved ones will go to Hell if they are not baptised? How fricken crazy and obsessed are these fricken lunatics? They are going to be taking care of children?
The last time I went to church was four months ago when the preacher went on a rant about homosexuality and how he will not accept these people and they put up on the big screen the words "Some people are not worth shooting". I got up, walked out of the service and then got into a heated argument with someone who thought the service was "Great". I thought I had seen enough at that point but for them to include their bigotted views for a job application for a summer camp?
Let me also confess something here. I am not what many would call pro-gay. I have some issues with some aspects of the LGBT platform. My issues are not moral issues mind you, I think love between any two human beings is a wonderful thing. My issues are more logistic. Men and women can be separated for privacy reasons such as showers and sleeping arrangements, it is logistically impossible to do so for same sex orientation. I don't know what to do about it but it and I do not want to discriminate in any way but I believe a legitimate issue. I wouldn't want my daughter sleeping with and getting undressed in front of a boy whether he was attracted to her or not... the same would be true for a gay female. Hopefully you see what I mean. Not a moral concern, a logistics concern. I only added that to qualify my stance on these issues is somewhat centrist if not a little rightwing.
I have raised my family to be open, loving, non-judgemental, regardless of our own beliefs, which is exactly what I believe the Bible says to do. But these extremist read the same Bible I do and get this twisted, hate filled obsession with homosexuality. They don't seem to get so worked up about divorce, working on Sundays, eating lobster, children being disrespectful, lying, stealing, death penalty, war, etc... How did the church of Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace, the Forgiver of Sins, the one who said what you do to the least of my followers, you do also to me... How did these people become the crazy, hate filled, war mangers and judges of all things good and evil? When did the crazy people take over the concept of a peace loving Christ? This is not Christianity as I know it. Jesus was asked how his disciples would know who his followers were and Jesus replied, if you love one another. That, to me is the only criteria; to love one another. How can they reconcile their hatred with Christ's one and only commandment, "Love each other as I have loved you"?
UPDATED: New title from "I no this is not an election issue but..." to the current "Church screens people to make sure they are anti-gay enough to be camp counselors"