"God Hates Gays"
Rabbi Dude says:
No, he doesn’t.
What? You need more than that? Oh, all right:
As we’ve already said, God created the world in order to have someone else to whom to give. But receiving without earning is meaningless, so he created requirements to earn reward. In order for this system to work, there has to be a desire to do something bad; otherwise, what’s the difficulty? So God created within each person a desire to do the wrong thing. For some it may be cheating on his taxes, for some it may be murder, for some it may be homosexuality; each person has his own obstacles to overcome in life, and it is the surmounting of one’s own desires that earns him his reward.
It’s axiomatic, though, that any system which rewards good actions much have punishment for wrongdoings.
Now, the truth is that God really wants us all to earn our reward; we were only created in the first place because of God’s infinite capacity for love and giving. As such, when God punishes a person for doing something wrong, it’s not because of a vengeful desire to make someone pay; God’s not a two-year old. It’s done with the intent that a person should learn his lesson and return to the proper path. If a father sends his young son to bed early because he ran into the street by himself, you can be sure it’s not because the father feels hatred over his son’s action; it’s because the father loves the son and wants him always to be safe; he feels a burning need to impress upon his dear boy the importance of waiting for a grown-up to take him across the street. Maybe he’ll think about when he went to bed early the next time he gets the idea to run into the street on his own again.
God wants only what’s best for us, and always gives us exactly what we need to help us achieve our best. We may not always understand why what God wants is what’s best, but the child doesn’t get why he can’t cross the street on his own, either. We, as adults, realise that we know better than our children; so too does God know better than we do. We need only trust him and follow his directions and we will do well.
No, he doesn’t.
What? You need more than that? Oh, all right:
As we’ve already said, God created the world in order to have someone else to whom to give. But receiving without earning is meaningless, so he created requirements to earn reward. In order for this system to work, there has to be a desire to do something bad; otherwise, what’s the difficulty? So God created within each person a desire to do the wrong thing. For some it may be cheating on his taxes, for some it may be murder, for some it may be homosexuality; each person has his own obstacles to overcome in life, and it is the surmounting of one’s own desires that earns him his reward.
It’s axiomatic, though, that any system which rewards good actions much have punishment for wrongdoings.
Now, the truth is that God really wants us all to earn our reward; we were only created in the first place because of God’s infinite capacity for love and giving. As such, when God punishes a person for doing something wrong, it’s not because of a vengeful desire to make someone pay; God’s not a two-year old. It’s done with the intent that a person should learn his lesson and return to the proper path. If a father sends his young son to bed early because he ran into the street by himself, you can be sure it’s not because the father feels hatred over his son’s action; it’s because the father loves the son and wants him always to be safe; he feels a burning need to impress upon his dear boy the importance of waiting for a grown-up to take him across the street. Maybe he’ll think about when he went to bed early the next time he gets the idea to run into the street on his own again.
God wants only what’s best for us, and always gives us exactly what we need to help us achieve our best. We may not always understand why what God wants is what’s best, but the child doesn’t get why he can’t cross the street on his own, either. We, as adults, realise that we know better than our children; so too does God know better than we do. We need only trust him and follow his directions and we will do well.
posted by Rabbi Dude at 7/27/2007 09:12:00 am
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