Why so much hate in the name of The Lord?

Why so much hate in the name of The Lord?

By Kate Reardon Hutchens, LICSW

A crucial base in the framework of Inner Bonding is connecting with ones’ Spiritual Guidance. Dr. Paul and Dr. Chopich suggest this can be anything that brings truth, love and compassion.  Some call it God, Allah, Jesus, Mary, Angel, Master Teacher, Guide, The Divine or even Joe.  It can be a flower, a tree, an animal but its single purpose is to bring in truth, love and compassion. The subject of equal marriage has been in the forefront of our national media for the last weeks. Should same-sex couples be allowed to marry one other and be afforded the same rights, privileges, obligations and responsibilities that heterosexuals are and it is unlawful to prohibit same-sex marriage? As a legally married lesbian in the state of Massachusetts I can tell you I have heard it all! Those in opposition say that gay marriage will somehow disrupt or tarnish the sanctity of “traditional marriage,” that God says homosexuality is an abomination in the Bible. “God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion (Romans 1:26-27).”

It’s true there are places in the Bible that can be interpreted as God saying homosexuality is wrong and unnatural. There are also references to not eating shrimp, “These shall ye eat of all that are in the waters: whatsoever hath fins and scales in the waters, in the seas, and in the rivers, them shall ye eat. And all that have not fins and scales in the seas, and in the rivers, of all that move in the waters, and of any living thing which is in the waters, they shall be an abomination unto you: They shall be even an abomination unto you; ye shall not eat of their flesh, but ye shall have their carcasses in abomination. Whatsoever hath no fins nor scales in the waters, that shall be an abomination unto you.” Leviticus 11:9-12  Why isn’t anyone going after every major restaurant that serves shrimp in the United States in the name of The Lord? It seems that with His word, there is picking and choosing what is important to follow. So then why is it that most often, the word of The Lord is used to spew hate and discriminate? What is the fear driving the hatred? Why are some people so afraid of homosexuality? Is it self-loathing, internal homophobia?  I could go on for paragraphs trying to guess.

 I’d like to bring to the conversation that all holy books, The Bible, The Torah, The Book of Mormon, The Quran etc., are translations of mortals, human beings. Prophets and Apostles were human. Maybe, just maybe, God didn’t suggest those things at all.

My God, my teacher, the one I have come to know by practicing Inner Bonding for nearly 20 years, is of pure love, truth and compassion.  I am deeply loved and my sexuality is never part of the conversation. I like to imagine a world where everyone practices Inner Bonding, His word would only be spoken with love, in love to one another.

Back to equal marriage:  I’d like to make the distinction between Holy matrimony and marriage. Marriage is NOT holy matrimony. Holy matrimony occurs in a church, it is a religious ceremony and its sanctity defended. Marriage is a social and legal contract that provides certain rights, privileges and protections that those who are unwed do not have. Holy matrimony is not a civil right, marriage IS. Discrimination based on sexuality and denying civil rights to those who are American citizens is frankly, quite un-American and certainly not Christian like. (A combination of my thoughts and those of “Being Liberal and The Reprimand Project.”)

Our souls are here to love and evolve.  We learn and grow with love, compassion and truth. Hate and fear breeds darkness and damages our souls, it prevents us from moving forward in love and learning. The bottom line, I do not believe for one moment that God, The Divine (insert your word here) would ever turn away from, hate or reject one of His children because they were gay. I just know in the depths of my being that God is love, only love. I pray daily that Inner Bonding and SelfQuest reaches all of humanity, quickly.

So as far as equal marriage goes, there really is no debate.  DOMA (Defense of Marriage Act) is unconstitutional and discriminatory. LGBTQ people are not being afforded the same rights and privileges as their fellow heterosexual peers. His word really shouldn’t be part of the conversation, that whole separation of church and state thing. The LGBTQ community is not asking for holy matrimony, we are asking for civil marriage. If you are reading this and are against equal marriage, I ask you to dig deep, to seek the truth in love and compassion for your fellow human being.  Ask questions, how does equal marriage harm you, affect you personally? Be honest with yourself.

I end with words of wisdom from a most wise being, maybe the wisest being of them all, “Fear is the path of the dark side. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering.” -Yoda