Intolerance?

A huge kerfuffle and much drama occurred recently at a forum I visit. Someone posted a text describing signs that the second coming was near. There are lots of signs (over 40) that the rapture is coming, including this part about homosexuality:

35. Homosexuality will be flaunted:

Leviticus 20:13: "If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them."

This is also spoken of in Luke 17:28- 30: "Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded; But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all. Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed."

Although homosexuality is an abomination in the eyes of God, all sin is! I bring up this point because many Christians treat homosexuality as if it is the most unforgivable sin of all. When I told that lie about stealing a candy cane, that is still just as bad as any other sin. Jesus Christ forgives all sins and we, His followers, should be reaching out to all people with love in our hearts that they might be saved! Homosexuality is not an unpardonable sin any more than any other sin is! There is no one alive today that does not have some consistent sin in their life, so why do we pick just one to harp on? Makes no sense.

Needless to say, it didn’t go over too well. The debate was extremely polarized, with the “liberals” on one side completely offended at calling homosexuality a sin, and the Christians stating that its being in the bible was proof enough for them.

Mind you, they weren’t saying they disliked these people, and as the text says, there are other sins. They were simply saying that homosexuals would not be “saved” unless they changed their evil ways. Um, yeah. Alrighty then...

Now personally I wouldn’t want to go to that sort of heaven myself. Happily I believe in neither heaven nor hell nor god so it isn’t an issue with me, but my agnosticism is another story altogether.

One person (a lesbian) was told not to take it personally (how can you not?); another decided to leave the forum, which, I admit sort of annoys me because it’s one less open minded person in there. But I completely understand her position.

The whole incident made me think though. I’ve always thought I was very open minded and tolerant. I realize now that I’m no more tolerant than the “christians” are.

I have zero tolerance for bigotry

I have zero tolerance for closed minds

I have zero tolerance for zealots

I have zero tolerance for people who decide that something genetic is a sin

I have zero tolerance for people who claim anything “bad” in the world is the result of the original sin. Yep, it’s all Eve’s fault.

I have zero tolerance for people who will take a book at face value and base their life on it to the detriment of common sense.

I’m intolerant - and it was quite a wake up to realize it. Of course in this society, it's not seen as intolerance, it's seen as open-mindedness, but it's simply a question of semantics really, and perhaps the society you live in.

Guess that means I’m on the highway to hell as far as they’re concerned. I have only one thing to say to that:

It’s YOUR hell YOU burn in it.

Just sayin’