I think God expects us to develop, grow and evolve to produce spiritual fruits and gifts. He has no need of religious nuts, that phenomena is especially prevalent in today's culture.Jesus said it is not what goes into your mouth that defiles you, it's what comes out that defiles you. He also said out of a good hear comes good things and out of an evil heart comes evil. So what comes out is indicative of what is inside.
Jesus also said by their fruits shall ye know them, meaning good trees produce good fruits and bad trees produce evil fruit. So based on the way you treat people, talk about people, it will be obvious whether you've produced good spiritual fruits or whether you've produced evil fruit or religious nuts.
Those who use their 'religious freedom" to deny civil rights to anyone are not in fact living their self proclaimed Christianity, they have created a false idol who hates the same people and things they do. Whether that be gay people, or the more liberal amongst us or feminists or the homeless and poor.
Jesus said this about the two greatest commandments:
37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
38 This is the first and great commandment.
39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.
40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. Matthew 22:37-40
The love of God and all His children is the whole message of the Gospel. I think it would be safe to say after having gone over this that Jesus is more concerned with how you treat all of God's children than He is about your "religious freedom." Especially when that "religious freedom" looks nothing like what the Gospel of Christ does.
Christ treats all with respect and love, even those the religious elite deem to be lesser than the rest. "As ye have done it unto the least of my brothers, ye have also done it unto me."
Jesus saw every prostitute, every leper, every tax collector, every Roman Centurion, every Samaritan as children of God that He loved. Jesus doesn't seem to care whether or not you believe the historical accuracy of scripture as much as He does whether or not you respect and love even the least amongst you. Like the beggars, sinners and lepers that Jesus spent most of His time ministering to. We should help those that our society deems to be worthless every bit as much as Jesus did the same in His time.
Using this Gospel as Christ proclaimed it to deny gay people their constitutionally protected rights is not what Jesus would condone I think. I'd like to tell you now what Jesus had to say about gay people, I'd like to but I can't because Christ never mentioned it, not even once.
So I don't understand how what so many call "religious freedom" is not to enjoy their faith but to deny the rights, to deny service Jim Crow style to those they do not like is even approaching a Christ-like ethos.
Prop 8, Westboro Baptist Church members picketing furnerals with hateful signs, having children picket with the same type of signs and aren't members of the westboro baptist church, these things are hateful and Christ preached love not hate. So you can't preach discrimination and hate and be intellectually honest in saying you are Christian because you are not.
The thing is God doesn't hate gay people, drug addicts, or whoever it is that you do. He loves everyone, that's kind of His thing, same with Christ.
It is important to tell this to those who do these un-Christian things, to do it with compassion and the understanding they need to have in their lives.
To react with compassion and love to hate and anger is what Jesus meant, I think, when He said to turn the other cheek. And when He said that if you are forced to go one mile go the extra mile instead.
Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that. Darkness cannot drive out darkness only light can do that.
What the Westboro Baptist Church, proponents of Prop 8, and others need is that light of Christ's agape or unconditional love and understanding to soften their hearts and to open their minds. Fighting fire with fire will only lead to disaster.
And by their hateful fruits/acts and speech and deliberated discrimination they make themselves know as the amongst the most Un-Christian in our country.
