Drawing The Line

Religion! Isn’t this how religion has always worked? Read the book, obey the book, believe the book, hit other people over the head with the book if they don’t believe it too? If they don’t believe it, hate them and even kill them? Life by the book, death by the book. Very intelligent indeed.

I have no problems at all with Christianity or Christians who have faith in a loving God, who mind their own business and don’t interfere in the affairs of others where they really do not affect them.


I draw the line clearly however, at people minding my business, passing arbitrary judgment over me, publicly expressing hate against me and those like me, and joining forces to deprive me and those like me of equal civil rights – and then calling any attempt to organize and stand up to them an “evil agenda”!

Let me put this succinctly: I don’t care what faith bigots claim to represent, but as long as they continue to persecute GLBT and vent their hate against us, I will stand against them every single step of the way.

My issues are with the OTHER Christians who make public their bigotry, intolerance and hatred for us simply because we exist and set out to do harm to us by campaigning to prevent us from attaining equal rights, to revoke the ones we already have – and work to exclude us from all social aspects, to criminalize us and even to incite further hatred and violence against us. Some people tend to answer the fanatical drive to criticize, attack and make other people – who have done them no harm in any way – feel like lesser human beings, and even as monsters who "threaten" society, the so-called "family unit" and their conveniently "fragile" religion which seemingly will fall apart because gay people suddenly get treated as equals. This I cannot excuse, and as a former Christian, it shames and sickens me to bear witness to such things which they claim are the will of a God who has never been quoted directly as attacking GLBTIQ people, even in a book which is more corrupted, edited and manipulated than any other in history – let alone unprovable and which cannot be authenticated in any way, manner or form.

Don't get me wrong – I respect others beliefs and the right of others to believe what they choose to believe – which is why I favor a secular state system over any form of religious government. Religion is and should be a private matter for the individual. Trouble is, Christianity doesn't as a whole like to stay private – its supporters – particularly the fundamentalists – seek to "transform" the world around them into little Christian clones of themselves – and many would favor conquest as the means to satisfy that end. (Take the Spanish (Roman Catholic) conquest of South America, or the Crusades as examples.)

What? You thought the Crusades were an accident? It was arrogant pride and greed for riches and land that caused that war – and a large slice of hate too – on the Christian side just as on the Muslim side. This is not the first time, nor will it be the last time that I will maintain that religion is the most blood soaked flag in the world. More crimes against humanity have been committed against peoples out of religious hate and mindless fanaticism than any mere political disputes the world has ever known. Sixty years ago it was the Jews who were convenient targets and scapegoats, forty years ago it was Black civil rights around the world - but along with all that, it's always been us GLBTIQ as well. The gay and transgender went to the gas chambers too, wearing pink triangles among the Stars of David, or were shot “for sport” by camp guards. The hate of some people runs deep, and as long as religious hate speech by bigoted pulpit-pilots is allowed freely in whatever public spaces, we will be the scapegoats and targets for the mad, the vicious and the vile.

People should be able to live side by side without questioning (or judging) each others beliefs or ways of life – or other intrinsic factors which make every individual unique. How else could there ever be peace?

It should be made clear that religious freedom DOES NOT include the right to persecute others, nor the right to take away their humanity and equal treatment before the law. Anything less is not equal!

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If you would like to know more about Christina Engela and her writing, please feel free to browse her website.

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All material copyright © Christina Engela, 2019.

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