Hear

SHE WHO MUST BE HEARD

FEEDBACK IS REQUIRED!

THIS INTRODUCTORY PIECE WAS WRITTEN ABOUT A MONTH AGO AND THE FIRST PART WAS PLACED ON THE RAINBOW NETWORK SITE. MY INSPIRATION CAME FROM ALL THE FUSS REGARDING THAT WOMAN WITH HER POISONED TONGUE AND HER OWN TV SHOW. HER RELIANCE ON THE BIBLE CAUSED ME TO ACTUALLY OPEN MY RATHER DUSTY COPY AND READ - GRANTED I HAD MY OWN AGENDA- AND THIS WAS THE RESULT:

Religion? What Religion ?

I was brought up to attend an evangelical church, where the Bible was held as God's infallible word. Every page was written under the guiding hand of God and all had to be believed and followed. I left about ten years ago, but can still remember the basic teachings.

At one point I followed it blindly, and would do my best to convince others of their need to be converted. Now, without the blinkers of faith, I see how so much of it is unjust and contradictory.

There are three main areas that cause me problems and they are the following:
Predestination versus free will,
Election versus salvation for all,
The beginning.

If you are not sure what I mean then just think about the following for a few minutes.

I decided that Christianity no longer had any relevance for me, I realised that my "gayness" was not going to go away, and that I should live true to my instincts. As a result of this decision, when I die I will be judged on my actions and sent to hell.

There are a lot of I statements in that above paragraph, and I seem to suggest that my destiny is controlled by me. Therefore I am totally to blame for my future downfall. The Bible would also seem to agree with me (Romans 1 verses 18-end)

However, there is also a recurring theme whereby God knows everything that happens and will happen, due to the fact it has all been predestined by him, (basically, this means that before the world was even created, God had decided every single event on this earth): 1 Peter 1 verse 20, Acts 2 verse 23.

If this is the case then it could rightly be said that my acts of defiance are not my idea, I am simply doing what I have been programmed to do. Is it therefore fair that I should be punished?

My second point about election is closely linked to the first and is just as disturbing, if not more so.

One of the first Bible verses that I learnt word for word is John 3 verse 16, which states that anybody can become a Christian and go to heaven as long as they believe in Jesus as their saviour. Such indiscriminate teaching is to be commended if it were the full story. But it aint, in Romans 8 verse 30 we are told that Christians were chosen before they were born. I suppose it's quite logical if God decided on everything whilst in eternity, then of course he has decided who goes to heaven and who goes to hell. Does this seem fair and just to you?

The third point is a bit more vague but leaves me the most confused and disturbed. I hope you can follow my logic, as I have been told that it veers on the side of perverse.

Anyway God was in heaven on his own when he decided to create angels and archangels, who would spend all day saying how wonderful he was. Heaven was perfect and sin did not exist. Then God, who must have been feeling a bit bored, decides to have some fun. He chooses his most beautiful archangel and decides to give him feelings of jealousy, and plants the idea of rebellion very firmly inside his head. Sin had its foundations in the very place that we are told is pure and holy! As a result of his rebellion Lucifer, or the devil, is kicked out of heaven and thrown down to hell, where along with his followers he vows to get his revenge.

Several years later God creates earth and again there is perfection. Adam and Eve are told not to eat from the tree of life. They obey this, until God puts the serpent in the garden, and hey presto women have agonising childbirth and gardening becomes a chore.

I'm sorry if this sounds very flippant, but the truth behind it is very depressing.

This God who is apparently full of love and totally just, set everything in motion. If he hadn't decided it, there would be no hell, no disease or death on earth. This is not my personal belief anymore, but is simply biblical teaching. No Bible believing Christian can turn around and tell me that all of the above is not true as it is in the Bible as God ordained truth.

Whilst attending church I was also warned about the apostate. This is someone who goes to church, becomes a believer, then suddenly decides to reject the Bible and go his own way. Such a person is not given a second chance, so is guaranteed a place in hell. You can't get a more effective gagging order than that!

I realise that I am not the first person to point out contradictions in the Bible It has been done far more effectively by greater intellects than me.

My reason for doing so is to question the Bibles right to be used as our moral guide. Without the benefit of faith it is nothing short of ludicrous.

We are now able to map out our entire gene makeup, have made numerous technological breakthroughs, yet we still feel unable to determine our own laws. Every single religion on this planet requires faith to be taken seriously. Why then do we still follow antiquated and unjust law systems?

If I am willing to acknowledge my preordained place in hell why do others still hang on to a half hearted belief in God which, on its own is not enough, but just books them the seat next to me.

I am gay, and although I live my life respecting other peoples rights as individuals I am a pervert, the Bible says I am going to hell, therefore I do not deserve to be treated the same as everybody else. It is morally right for my pension to be given to the government at my death instead of to my girlfriend, it is totally just for me to be fired from my job just because of my orientation. Finally any gay child in a school in this land does not deserve to go through life without being both verbally and physically abused. Now you might say that you do not agree with the above statements, yet if you do not see any reason for the laws to be changed then you do.

I still believe that there is a need for law and order. Crimes, such as murder, assault and theft deserve punishment. Also rape or sexual assault can never be justified and is just as repulsive whether it is heterosexual or homosexual. However, there is no moral reason why my partner and I cannot legally commit to each other (not religiously) and be given the same rights as everybody else.

I have now come to the end of this rant. If you disagree with me, just try to prove me wrong without using the phrase "I know it seems unfair to us but we are just human and our inferior brains cannot comprehend the whole picture. We have to have faith in the almighty God that it is in fact totally just and right". As you can probably guess, that was the rather unsatisfactory response that I used to reel out whenever questioned and basically it doesn't wash!

My musical taste is legendary for its diversity and general weirdness. One singer that I do like is Marc Almond and there is a song on one of his albums called "Deaths Diary". I have always found the lyrics very interesting, and I would like to quote them now as they are quite relevant to this topic.

On Monday I took a flower and dried it in my hand,

Covered it in poison and I threw it to the land,

On wasted ground it tried to root but it choked upon the sand.

On Tuesday I took a bird such pain to hear it sing,

I covered it in petrol and I oiled its little wings,

I tainted the breeze as I threw it to the wind.

On Wednesday I took a man he begged please help me die,

For he lived in pain and suffering it made his loved ones cry,

I can be terrible and gentle in the blinking of an eye.

On Thursday I took a woman heavy with a child,

My old friend rape had paid a visit stayed a little while,

In a back street I touched her with a wire and a smile.

On Friday I took a city cursed it with a plague,

Powered crystals smoking pipes to crush and to enslave,

And a row of dirty needles leave a route up to the grave.

On Saturday I took a country praying for the rain,

Parched throats and poisoned lips without a harvest grain,

I wiped out generations and I'd do it all again.

On Sunday I took the world a bomb I did employ,

Seven days to create life and one day to destroy,

Every woman every man and every girl and boy.

Now as I close my diary and I make my final date,

I blow away the ashes and I stoke the smoking grate,

I've no distinction between pain and joy no line twixt love and hate.