Does God Hate Fags?

In my life I have not been a member of a church or organized religion. I'm not an atheist but it's just that religion doesn't play a part in my life. I was baptized a Methodist, Sean is a Catholic. Growing up I did attend church when I was young enough to go to Sunday school but eventually we stopped going and I don't remember much.

In my life I may not have gone to church but have lived a moral life. Meaning that I live by the Golden Rule. Do unto others... I am a kind, compassionate person. I hope that when I rest my head on my pillow at night I've done something to make this world a little better. Two of the best people I know didn't go to church much, my parents.

In my life I have tried to treat people with respect, I feel I'm very tolerant and non judgemental. Growing up I was friends with an Indian girl (middle east Indian). I didn't notice she was different from me until about sixth grade. To me, she was just Ruthie. I realized it when I found out her real name. It was long and unpronounceable, that's why she went by Ruthie.
I have gay friends, went to a gay hairdresser for years, vacation in Provincetown, Mass. a very openly gay destination.

In my life I have tried to raise two sons to respect people, accept people for who they are, to treat people equally and to leave a mark in their world. I think it worked, Number 1 will be a registered nurse in the spring, Number 2 wants to be a teacher.

In my life I've done all of this without religion. Now, am I perfect? Are my boys perfect? Hell, NO! Not by a long shot. But we are good people. Is religion a bad thing? Of course not. I question religions that preach about how good their own is and then turn around and won't let women hold leadership roles within the church., only men are allowed. Religions that are against homosexuals, religions that think theirs is the only right one and are intolerant of others. Religions that make people fly airliners into buildings. Look at the conflicts and wars that have happened throughout history, how many of them were started over religion? Lots.

In my life if you are of any religion that I don't belong to , I'm not going to hold that against you. If you're gay, I'll still be your friend and agree that you have the same rights as heterosexuals. What I don't like is when someone tries to push their beliefs on me. Not interested.
For many people, their faith is very important to them and I respect that.

What inspired this post was this. I don't for the life of me understand this! What kind of religion is this? Westboro Baptish Church out of Topeka, Kansas holds demonstrations at the funerals of military personnel that have been killed in Iraq and Afghanistan. They form picket lines bearing signs with slogans such as "Thank God for Dead Soldiers" and "God Hates Fags". According to Rev. Fred Phelps, "soldiers are dying because the nation is too tolerant of homosexuals". Have you ever heard anything so insulting or crazy? There are children at these demonstrations holding these signs. The youth of our nation. I can only hope that this is a tiny sect that has splintered off and won't get any larger.

Rev. Phelps and his Westboro Baptist Church took a blow when a jury awarded a father, Albert Snyder, almost 11 million dollars when he sued them for invasion of privacy. The group protested at the funeral of his son, Lance Cpl. Matthew Snyder, who was killed in Iraq. Will Mr. Snyder see any of this money? I don't know but it sent a message that this kind of shit is unacceptable and will not be tolerated.