April 6, 2010.
The idea that religions do not change is nonsense. And the fact that, for instance, Mormons did change their idea on polygamy or Black members is only one example.
The fact that Black Americans and white Americans today in my home town, Bossier City, LA, are not legally separated is proof that society can change — no matter the motive.
I grew up in a racially segregated town and heard vicious racial slurs by preachers and politicians, including my own kin, who said we would have segregation forever — all the time knowing that was a lie.
Today I hear these latter day preachers — quoting the same Bible the segregationists did — and politicians saying homosexual Americans will never have equality in marriage, military service, etc. They will change their sermons and votes soon.
The more the bigots talk about honoring the Constitution or the Bible, the more they show their ignorance of both. Both accepted slavery. I want them to say that we should go back in time and have slavery here. This nation’s founders were smart and brave, but they also lived in the real world. They compromised on some issues. There is no longer a reason to compromise on the dream that all men are created equal.
The reason why the churches/religions will not find it hard to change and admit they were wrong is that, like slavery, homosexuality is not a basic teaching of religion. It is a tangential issue. And a few wise and good men in each religion will step forward and point this out. The Catholic Church and Islam, for instance, are suffering bad PR. While Catholicism will not die over such issues as pedophilia and hatred of Jews, they will be harmed until such issues go away they get back to the basics — why they exist.
