I am not a fan of religion.
That should not be news to anyone. I’m a gay guy from Mississippi who was raised in the Southern Baptist church, went away to a liberal arts college, read some Sartre, came out of the closet, and never darkened the door of a church again. My story is not only typical, it’s stereotypical–so stereotypical, in fact, that other people have already written
(NB #1: There are two exceptions to my “no churches” rule–weddings and funerals–but they still make me nervous and angry and occasionally give me gas. Which, as I recall, is kinda how Linda Blair reacted when she got that visit from her parish priest. Just sayin’.)
None of this is to imply that I don’t respect religion or the people who’ve got it (even though some would argue
Needless to say, I was pretty happy to see this editorial in today’s New York Times:
This Father’s Day, one of most popular pastors in America will open his megachurch to homosexual dads, an event that would usually signal an extreme weather alert from old guard Republican evangelical leaders.
But by welcoming gay fathers into his Southern California flock, Rick Warren, author of the “The Purpose Driven Life,” is not just living up to the highest standards of Christian fellowship, he’s turning the page on a particularly embarrassing part of our politics….
The good tidings from Warren’s Saddleback Church come at a time when Barack Obama has ditched his incendiary ex-preacher, and John McCain has separated himself from the apocalyptical Hagee.
It’s a start, but how about a clean break? Let’s go Godless for the rest of the campaign…..
Of course, it’s all pie in the sky, but given the godtalk filling our airwaves and the internetz, it’s a nice break. At least for me.
sturtle [dot] com 