hogs versus homosexuals

On the weekend of August 3rd, the town that I live in is hosting a diversity weekend. During that same weekend, a "Christian motorcycle ministry" has decided to descend upon our town. The diversity weekend has been planned for some time now. The motorcycle club announcement is fairly new.

This is exactly what I can't stand about organized religion, and it is why I haven't been to church for some time. You've got these "religious" people who spread hate in the name of Jesus and call themselves Christians. What did Jesus do when he ran across people like prostitutes and adulteresses whom the Bible referred to as "sinful"? Did he assemble mass hordes of Christian vigilantes to stir up trouble? No, he reached out to them. So much for "love thy neighbor", eh?

The mentality of so many of these groups is so backwards. I don't know if some guy is receiving revelations in his dreams that "instruct: him to take these types of actions, if this is a case of upbringing, or just a lack of common courtesy or common sense. Just the other day, I saw a guy walking along the highway near my home, carrying upon his back a large wooden cross. Apparently, he was trying to make some sort of statement or reminder of the suffering of Christ. However, he had mounted wheels on the bottom of the cross to make it easier to carry. Doesn't that negate the whole point? I can picture Jesus sending out a high five. "Hey, thanks for reminding others of my sacrifice. Glad you had those wheels on the cross so you didn't have to break a sweat..."

I don't have anything against people who want to practice their religion in public. I'm just particularly annoyed by people who feel the need to get in your face about it. Don't even get me started on the Jehovah's Witnesses that come knocking on my door. I look at them as door-to-door telemarketers. If it was so great, you wouldn't have to go door-to-door. Are we a third world country or something? Did I just slip back into the year 1676? What's with the missionary approach? Are there actually people living in the US who haven't already heard of Jehovah's Witnesses?

Why can't people just see past their differences and leave others alone? I know it is an ancient question and to a certain degree one that you could say is also rhetorical, but what kind of intellectual development is it going to take before the human race learns not to hate those with differing opinions or lifestyles? When are we going to understand that just because someone is different doesn't mean that they need to be fixed / saved?