Saturday, October 4, 2008

The Bad Reputation of Christians

I know that probably not all of you who read what I write are Christians. Some of you who are not may wonder why I've said the things I've said about faith, religion, the Bible, etc. I really couldn't be an atheist, because when I look at how intricately the world is designed, with all its ecosystems, cycles and processes, there's no way it could have just happened by chance. (If you don't believe a divine being created the world, you can leave a comment explaining what your reasons to back that up are. Don't worry; I won't argue with you. :])
Anyway, so today I was at the library and saw a book called unChristian. The back cover said that it was getting the opinions of people (mostly young adults) and why they look down on Christians. Part of the reason is they only see what Christians are against (i.e., homosexuality, premarital sex, etc.) and don't really see the love that the Bible preaches. I have to confess that I'm guilty of that; several times, I've said that people who bullied or demeaned me are "going to pay at the end of time." While they could, so could anyone else, including me. No one is beyond redemption, and if any of my former bullies find God, then all their sins are washed away, even the ones against me. I've done some things that I knew were wrong before I did them, sometimes even to my friends. (You Facebook friends of mine can attest to that.) It took a while for me to realize that I was wrong and learn from my mistakes. I also did plenty of wrong things before becoming a Christian, but those are all gone.
I realize that I've been too quick to call out people when they were wrong. A friend of mine once said, "I'm glad you're not a cop with the law like you are a Christian with the Bible; otherwise, everyone would be in jail." It's as Jesus said:
"Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye."
Why should I condemn someone for harassing me when I've done the exact same thing to people who were totally helpless (little kids, a dog, even my disabled older sister)? I may feel bad now about doing those things, but the recipients of the harassment never heard an apology from me. So, even though I may be pointing the finger at others, I'm just as bad as they are.
Now, for the topic of homosexuality. The Bible does say that it is a sin. To quote Galatians:
Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.
Now, here's the thing: I know there has been a debate about whether homosexuality is genetic or not. Well, as someone with a mental disability, let me talk about my struggle with another sin. When someone wrongs me, I want revenge. I've imagined more than once about blowing places up, as well as killing people and having someone else face the death penalty for it. However, that is a sin. God says to let Him take revenge on those who hurt His followers and to "love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you." I think it's an autistic thing to want that, and autism is thought to be genetic. You know what, though? I have to overcome it. It's not going to be easy; heck, I know I've plotted hundreds of deaths while bored. Still, I hope that God will understand that it was hard for me, and that I tried my hardest to fight it. So, if homosexuality is genetic (and I'm not saying it is or isn't) and it's a sin, so is being autistic in a sense. You don't like the opposite gender? Well, then, you don't have to get married. In fact, a conveniently and commonly ignored passage in the Bible goes like this:
Now to the unmarried and the widows I say: It is good for them to stay unmarried, as I am.
Just because you're a Christian does not mean that you have to marry and have kids! I may never be married, because I doubt any single woman (Christian or not) would want to marry a disabled person. You know what, though? God is not going to strike me down because I never found a spouse, and He won't strike anyone else down for that either.
I know, I've written a book here. However, I want your opinions. Am I being a stupid autistic in my beliefs? Am I right about the whole "being autistic is a sin" thing? Let me know what you think.

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