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HomeCommentaryNo hating aloud. Especially after you read my article

No hating aloud. Especially after you read my article

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By Brien Pittman

Maybe my red flags of concern are flying for no reason at all but it seems that in our efforts to be more loving, understanding and forgiving there must also be balance. I know many people, including myself, believe that love has no boundaries and that forgiveness is often for our benefit in the healing process, but in reality are there limitations?

Should there be limitations?

Lately, I have read some comments that, for several reasons, concern me.

On one side, there are people who continue to say that certain things like non-heterosexual marriages are one of the historical causes of the decline and fall of ancient civilizations and will eventually aide in the crumbling of our modern day society. These are the same people who believe anything outside of their interpretation of the status quo will trigger anarchy and return us to the Stone Age. I forgive you.

Also, I don’t pay much attention especially since other than emotional reasoning there is zero historical or scientific facts to support this. Hundred of indigenous American Indian cultures did just fine with their diverse forms of marriage for centuries until Christiancentric European rejects moved into the neighborhood and said “ya all gotta go and so do your gay (two-spirit) marriages.”

As a nation we are actually making progress in some areas that were once widely held (incorrectly) as an abomination. Today, these once upon a time abominations are gradually being viewed as another beautifully diverse part of life. (No offense meant to people who believe otherwise. You have the right to believe as you choose).

One thing that has helped with this is of course, many one time Christiancentric people have realized that the Bible pretty much says everything is bad in chapter three and then says it is good in chapter four and then switches back again several times in chapters eight, nine and 10; an apparent battle with god’s own position on controversial subjects that should have never been a controversy to begin with. Surprise revelation — many people now realize it was the hang-up of the individual authors all a long.

Anyway, that’s not what I want to write about so I digress.

Is it possible that for some, in their efforts to be more accepting, forgiving and loving, they are looking the other way when confronted with real abominations in our society?

We’ve all heard the expression “Don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater.”

Here is a new one “Don’t drink the bathwater.”

Lately, I’ve read comments on FAVS that amount to; “we shouldn’t harshly judge a pedophile”, “we should forgive them just as Jesus does” (While I admire Jesus, I’m not really all that close to him personally, did someone receive an email or Instagram?) “We are being hypocrites for judging a pedophile,” comments like that disturb me the most.

Please indulge me for a moment while I radically exaggerate the issue: Does that mean we forgive and try to be understanding with people such as Jeffery Dahmer, Charles Manson; and yes the ever popular go to man for wild exaggerations, Adolf Hitler and his merry band of nutty Nazis?

All attempts at humor aside, do we as a society really want to go that far with our understanding and forgiveness? Maybe, some acts or lifestyles and behaviours really are an abomination. And should remain so in order to protect our children and our society from actually crumbling apart from within?

Ya I get that no one’s actually condoning pedophilia; I hope.

And yes I get the gross over generalization that has been made about all conservative Christians because of the actions of one pedophile in their midst.

That’s a form of throwing the baby out with the bathwater and is an unfair branding of an entire group. With that said, as a group, conservative Christians c’mon are you really that surprised when so many jump on the band wagon and wrongly condemn your entire group, right or wrong? Think about it. When the majority (notice I didn’t say everyone), at every opportunity, loudly and most times viciously condemns everyone else for doing things that are not abominable and then someone in your group actually does something that is abominable. Think about it.

Suggestion: Both groups stop acting like Christiancentric junior high schoolers and some how some way start working together against our nation’s real problems before they cause a once great country more damage.

Problems all of us equally face together should be the real enemy, not each other.

I guess the true irony of all of this is; while every other abomination and abominable act (real or imagined) will receive understanding and forgiveness, non-believers, like my self and others, will continue to be harshly condemned and judged in the hearts of many (not all) Christiancentrics.

So, while they might bump into Jeffery Dahmer or a pedophile in heaven, the good news is, they won’t have to put up with me.

 

 

Brien Pittman
Brien Pittman
Brien’s articles for FāVS generally revolve around ideas and beliefs that create unhealthy deadlock divisions between groups. He has received (minor) writing awards for his short stories and poetry from the cities of Portland, Oregon and the city of (good beer) Sapporo, Japan. In 2010 he was asked to present several articles for the California Senate Committee “Task Force for Suicide Prevention” and has been published by online magazines and a couple national poetry anthologies in print form.

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MHilditch
MHilditch
8 years ago

Is the title of this article an intentional play on words or did you mean “allowed?”

Brien
Brien
8 years ago

A failed intentional play on words 🙂

Brad Thompson
Brad Thompson
8 years ago

Well put and, like all the truly important ones, a hard teaching.

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