Living Proof

"Well what do other Christians say about the Bible?"  "Oh, you mean 'other people' and their book of rules?"  At the age of 19, I walked into a confessional booth, guilt-ridden and ashamed that I was dating another person of the same gender. The palm of my hands were sweaty as I entered into the small confessional booth, which had a tiny bench and a black mesh in between the priest and myself. I knelt down before the mesh and told him how long it had been since my last confessional (eek) and then poured out my heart, especially now that I was dating girls. "What do you mean you are dating girls?" "Well, I'm dating 'a' girl." "What do you do with her," he asked as silence followed. I didn't know what to say, other than tell him it was no different than dating a man, in some sort of innocent 'dating' way. I didn't want to describe my sex life with the priest, but he kept on asking me detail...

"Why are you mad at God?" It was a question asked while I was going through a horrible night of seizure-like episodes which kept me from sleeping for more than five days in a row. Why would God let this happen? Doesn't He want me to be productive in the daytime? Does He need me to help other people? Doesn't He need me to take care of my family if they need me? Doesn't He? Yes. As I tried to make my way across the day's fatigue and exhaustion, I thought to myself, "Well, my body's gotta shut down sometime, right?" And it did for about four hours. But then it was back to zero sleep. I could've gotten angry at God again, but what exactly am I expecting my imperfect and vulnerable body to do? Are we meant to live in perfect health all the time with no aches, pains, ailments or issues? Are we supposed to float through life without problems and distress? So when they say, "If He brought you to it, He'll get you through it," -- t...

There's something to be said about Good Friday. It's not about fasting or sustaining from meat of any kind, but it's more about observing the day itself. If you choose to avoid meat on this day, then great. That's a personal choice in my opinion, just as giving something up for Lent is. Today is one of the most precious days of all -- the day Jesus died for us. He knew he would die today. I can't even fathom that. I think about all of my imperfections as a sinner: I drink too much, I curse too much and I can be cranky at times -- and although I am learning day by day what's best for me and what not to do in life, He still forgives me anyway. He has given me the gift of life just by what He did for all of us today. One on one, we talk about my challenges as a Christian and let me tell you -- it's amazing how much He has blessed me with overcoming certain problems in my life. By faith, I am saved. By faith, you are saved. And it's all because of tod...

There is no truth. There is no proof. There are no concrete answers to anything. People claim "the truth" as if it were the end all be all. There are many sectors of Christianity that believe in totally different things (other than the trinity) - ie: rules and "sins". How can you be so sure you're doing the right thing when the Christian right next to you is calling you a sinner? Your Bible says it's ok. His Bible speaks differently. Why are there so many misconstrued, misinterpreted, misunderstood, mis-mis-mis- misinformed scriptures? Slavery is okay. Two people of the same gender in a loving relationship is not. Killing children is okay. Divorcing your wife and remarrying someone else years later down the road is not. What about the scriptures about how much of an abomination eating shellfish and shaving off your beard is? Sitting next to a woman who happens to be menstruating is sinful and considered "unclean". How do we know she's menstru...

For the longest time I have hesitated to attend any type of church services. I’ve always said, “My relationship is with God and I can pray anywhere” - and I still stand by that statement, however lately I feel more of a pull - more of a need to be around more Christians, even if they disagree with my lifestyle. For one, I don’t have to say a word. I prefer Assembly of God churches, so it can be difficult for someone of the LGBT community to be “accepted” or taken seriously as a Christian. I have had so many positive experiences attending these types of churches, which makes me want to go back. What makes anyone think that their life is “cleaner” than my own? We’re all messy - we have our own little issues to deal with, but isn’t that how God made us? Or is it an intentional evil choice to be sinful? That depends I guess. What makes a divorcee with her ex-spouse still living, less sinful than the happily married homosexual sitting next to her? What makes a perceptual liar any less sin...

As Christians, we’re taught at a very young age how to be a “good person”. We’re taught not to be “bad” and the consequences of bad behavior. What “religion” defines as “bad” can have various meanings. First of all, “the spirit of religion” is a total contradiction. To me, religion has no spirit. It’s rigid teachings of what people expect others to do, in the name of God. They don’t go by the spirit of God; they go by what they were taught as a child. It becomes robotic and redundant. There’s no “life” in their teachings. Many people are turned off by what religion has taught them. They’re scared and terrified of being human, which results in eventually drawing away from God out of pure fear. In my beliefs as a Christian, God brought His only Son down to earth to experience what it means to be human and to save all sinners – which means – all people. He suffered just like us, He was tempted just like us, and he knew what it meant to be oppressed and hated …just like us. People, who...