[Niall]

Originally Posted by Niamh.

Yeah, see that's the problem I have with organised religions in general, they're out dated and also man made. Religions have had a huge amount of power over people and I think they abused that power to make people do what they want and keep them in line. Personally I don't believe in a God but if there is one I don't see why you need a religion to believe in him properly. Anyway, I guess I'm going a bit off topic with this!

Oh I certainly agree with that. Organised religion has brought copious amounts of what it professes to stop: pain, corruption, greed etc. I think that religion just becomes evil and (ironically) sinful when its an institutionalised thing.

I also hate the self promoting nature of it. The people that irk me the most arre the ones that will try and mention their religion in every conversation. I just can't stand it.

I don't know I just think it should be a private and personal thing kinda.

Originally Posted by joeysteele

Niall,I have to say what brilliant post, it is one of the most thought provoking posts I have read in the 2+years I have been on here.

One of my thoughts as to organised religion is that particularly Christianity,so called because Christians claim to follow the teachings of Jesus Christ.
Taking the New Testament which is presented as devoted to his life and teachings, also removing from the New Testament the rather volatile opinions of Paul,who one day tells us to love one another and another is ranting against all sorts of things, I am sure his writings depended on what mood he got up in a morning.What we then find is one simple fact.

In all of the Gospels which are supposedly attributed solely to the life, words and teachings of Jesus, he himself in all those Gospels speaks about many things both new and from the Old Testament too but nowhere,anywhere, does he mention or condemn homosexuality.Not a single word.
It always amazes me that something he himself seems to have not deemed to give any instruction on or condemn whatsoever should be a basis for so much controversy in Christianity by the hierarchy of Christianity too.

Your post Niall is excellent, really well laid out and said.

Thanks Joey. Thats so sweet of you to say.

But yeah, I totally agree with you. The latter half of your post in particular. I find it incredible that the Christian churches try and hold up that archaic rule, especially when you consider that all other rules from that region of the Bible were discarded for being backward and outdated long, long ago. Its insane.

Like Livia said though, things have changed an awful lot in the past century with regards to homosexuality (and sexuality in general), and the number of new denominations of the faith seing it as a natural and moral thing is encouraging. Change doesn't happen overnight I guess (no matter how much I'd like it to ).