A lot of hate on this guy. Not saying it’s not deserved. But it has to start somewhere.
“My exegesis of those half dozen passages, it hasn’t changed. I think the Bible says what it says, and disapproves of gay sex, full stop,” Hays continued. “But there’s a very arbitrary selectivity about picking out those two verses in Leviticus as the foundation for an opinion on this subject.”
I used to be a fundamentalist right wing Christian Republican. I see myself in this sentence.
The love of Christ that Christians say they have was nowhere near their hatred of “the gays”. Jesus says nothing of Homosexuality so Christians hang their politics on two really obscure verses in the Old Testament.
He’s taking steps in the right direction. He still has a ways to go to make amends.
But the fact that he’s publicly “coming out” with his apology should be seen as a good thing because he’s likely going to get bomb and death threats from the fundamentalists.
A Nazi who apologizes for being a Nazi gets an “about time, but not enough” and not a “thank you.”
If it convinces other Nazis to stop being Nazis, then I’ll give a “thank you.” Not that I’m putting them on a pedestal. But I’ll acknowledge that change is hard and admitting you were wrong is hard.
Having said that, I know it’s a contentious issue. The rest of us managed to not be Nazis in the first place.
Why would it convince them?
Honestly, I think there’s a portion of extremists that just don’t feel like they have an option to quit. Either because of embarrassment or that’s their only social network. I support giving these people an avenue to correct themselves and integrate into society as easily as possible, within reason. Similar to how I believe we should make an effort to integrate former convicts, within reason.
Actually, we do celebrate former convicts integrating back into society.
“Where I now stand on the question is that Scripture, read as narrative, offers a vision of a God who is dynamic and personal, and can constantly surprise us by reshaping what we thought we knew as settled matters.”
what a meaningless word salad. God didn’t write a new book - you did. you redefined your personal beliefs, probably based on empathy found in the real world, and you’re now retconning your God to fit. It’s almost like your Bible actually means jack shit. fucking religion man.
“I want to repent of what I wrote before,”
He apologized for what he wrote.
You need to let people change their mind. You want it to be easy for Christians to say “I was wrong”. By attacking them for doing so you raise a barrier to change.
His “word salad” means something to other Christians. If it helps them to also change their minds then that’s great! He’s likely to be far more effective at it than atheists yelling “your bible means Jack shit”.
I’m not criticizing the man, I’m criticizing religion. if you can unilaterally change your moral values, what is the point? That’s exactly how the rest of the secular world works.
and i’m not really concerned with changing conservative christian minds here in the comments section of lemmy. if christians get a little butthurt from reading my comment, so be it.
Our member numbers are dropping, we better change our messages a bit to attract more donations.
Fuck you, asshole. Way too little, way too late. “Sorry I intentionally crashed that plane into that skyscraper. I repent.”
Indoctrination is a very powerful force. I am glad he broke free from some of the chains and saw the error of his ways, but he has a lot of work to do to make amends, especially after being such a hateful asshole for so long, having such reach and such a voice.
Some people manage to break free and it should be celebrated and supported, because often times, especially for teens, trying to break free leads to excommunication, and becoming a pariah, and after your teens, changing becomes way, way harder.
Sincerely, a formerly indoctrinated homophobe, now an atheist, gay and fierce defender of many rights.
No offense, but that does ring hollow for those of us raised to be horrid that didn’t drink that poison down.
The same water that softens the potato, hardens the egg. Not all of us were raised in the same conditions, not all of us had the same factors weighting on us.
It is not about overlooking your strength, it is about having some empathy for those of us who aren’t as strong as you, yet still fought to get out of that vortex of hatred.
Trust me, it was not my intention to overlook your struggles, and I sincerely apologize.
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