A balancing act that appears to be one sided

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The topic of religion has a habit of following many different paths, but if you stop to think about it, our sexual orientation and our sexuality in general is always at the top of the discussion. As Christians we are constantly challenged to match up our religious beliefs with the way we are living, and wouldn't you know it, we are always failing. Our first religious lesson, whether we are Catholic or professed Christians is that we must follow the 10 commandments and the bible. Before we even begin dating we are counseled on how we are expected to behave, with special emphasis on promiscuity and avoiding the choice of same sex relationships. There was a time that our friends could talk to us about our preferences and we would either take their advice or break our friendship with them because we clearly did not see eye to eye.

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I have heard people say that they do not believe that the bible should be taken literally, especially since it was written many decades ago, does that mean that in order for us to experience happiness, all laws should eventually be ignored, especially the ones written before we were born? There are many different kinds of religions on the planet today, and while they tend to differ somewhat, I have come to realize that it is because there is a difference in what humans are prepared to accept as law. I have also heard many people, (mostly non believers) offer their advice that if we simply try to be good people that we are on the right track. The right track for what may I ask? The controversial issue of people living a gay lifestyle, may offend some people and I am here to say that it should be something personal, a decision between that person and God. Some may consider it as a major struggle between the gay community and people who disagree with that kind of lifestyle, yet the struggle seems to be on the side of the gay community, as they try to force everyone else to accept their lifestyle. The same way I agree that the gay community should not be condemned, I also believe that Christians should not be forced to accept that lifestyle either.

Stop picking and choosing

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Frank was the sort of individual who enjoyed traveling a lot, in fact vacation time for him took on many different meanings, most notably to destinations where historical buildings like a cathedral could be visited, and its value could be experienced. One of his favorite destinations was old world Europe, where the architecture had been around for a while, and in some cases, up to and over a century old. At least twice a year, Frank would make his plans and follow through with it, without letting anyone know where he was going, until he returned with pictures. It almost seemed as though Frank had a guardian angel that watched over him and protected him during his travels. Frank always seemed to have a knack for discovering the true meaning, or other side, to the historical sites that he visited.

To call Frank a scoundrel would be reaching, but as far as being considered as a Christian, he was not. That did not sway him from visiting a building that clearly represented one or more religious groups though.   The financial strength for some of these congregations was so obvious in some denominations, that Frank would often wonder why one was doing so well, while another seemed to be suffering financially, due to a lack of followers. When it came to minister to others, Frank would take steps to ensure that he did not visit any religious buildings when he knew that they would be offering a service, because even though he wanted to know about the building, he was not ready to learn about the religion.