I am a Christian. I believe in God, I believe in heaven, but more than anything, I believe in love. I'm not talking about cliche movie love, where boy meets girl and from then on they're the only two people that matter. I am talking about the kind of love in which everyone matters. Unfortunately, there are many churches and Christians in this world who use their religion as a shield from all things unknown. It serves as an excuse for their own prejudice and judgment. Not understanding something is not a reason to hate it. I may not understand or like tattoos, but that doesn't mean I'm going to go protest outside a tattoo parlor or prosecute people with tattoos.
While I will acknowledge that there are passages in the Bible opposing homosexuality, the bible was written thousands of years ago, and that's not an exaggeration. Think about it this way; less than 200 years ago slavery was still a thing. All Americans now know and agree (I would hope) it was an insanely horrible thing. Books of the Bible are believed to have been written as long as 3500 years ago. So why are some still holding on to crude politics from ancient times? Growing up in a wonderful Presbyterian church, we sang songs about the Ten Commandments and loving your neighbor. In no part of my Christian education was I told it was wrong to be different. I was taught it is wrong to spread hate.
Don't get me wrong, the Bible is a wonderful source of life lessons and tales about God and Jesus, and I do believe that Jesus is the only soul to live a perfect, selfless life on this planet, however, Jesus didn't write the Bible. People did. I think everyone can agree, whether Christian or not, that no person is perfect. Thus, parts of the Bible are outdated, just like parts of our Constitution.
In my mind, love is something universally understood. It doesn't matter if you are gay or straight, Christian or Muslim, black or white, boy or girl, or anything in between, you know what it is. Even dogs know what love is and spread it better than most people do. One of my favorite quotes about love isn't from the Bible at all, it's from Kesha's song "Love Into the Light." Yes, the same Kesha who sang about brushing her teeth "with a bottle of Jack." This song, while more crass than a lesson you'd learn in Sunday School, gives the same insights that I was taught as a young Christian. Whoever you are, you deserve to be loved. Ultimately, "Love in this life, it's what really matters" is a quote from Kesha to bear in mind in all that we do.
I could spend hours combing through the Bible to prove why my Christian faith is based off love, but instead I will leave you with just one:
"Let all that you do be done in love." 1 Corinthians 16:14
