This illumination from a 13th-century manuscript shows the apostles writing the Creed, receiving inspiration from the Holy Spirit.

Recently I wrote an article in a magazine about my experience of Christianity as a gay man. It prompted a tirade from another gay man, who attacked Christianity (or religion in any form.) The following is a summary of my response.

Yes, much damage has been done by people in the name of religion. In the most basic terms, organized religion is a collective search for God -- our way of describing an entity outside of and larger than ourselves. The trouble occurs when people chose the freedom of choice that God gives us, even to make the wrong decisions. That metaphor started in the Garden of Eden with the Tree of Knowledge.

The Jewish tradition believed in a wrathful God (like most early religions of the time) that required a sacrifice to appease him. Jesus taught a different version of a Loving God. Of course, when we try to apply personifications to describe God, we go off track. That thinking is just too small. Theology is just one aspect of religion, and most people get beyond dogma. We each have a mindset of personal beliefs that include not only religion, social norms, economic theory, and types of governance. That constitutes who we are as individuals. Even people who belong to the same church may have varying beliefs when you get down to specifics.

I don’t believe in the theology of Atonement, and I don’t believe in heaven or hell. I don’t think in terms of a specific place, such as Sheol. I do believe in the world of the spiritual. Our physical reality is just based on our senses. Radio, TV, airplanes, and the Internet are realities that people had no knowledge of for thousands of years. We are part of the Universe, and we can make a connection beyond our senses. I believe in a 6th sense. Jesus said that he would send the Holy Spirit to be with us and to comfort us. I guess that people have different versions of what (or who) that is.

The Methodist Church spent 50 years arguing about LGBTQ+ issues, and they split into two denominations last year. The other mainline denominations worked it out a lot quicker. Why do we have 700+ Protestant denominations? Because we can’t agree on the minor details and get lost in the weeds. We are part of organizations comprised of humans, who are fallible. The Roman Catholic Church tells you what you believe, no questions asked. Most Protestant Churches have a set of policies, practices, rites, and rituals according to their origin. The basic theology is covered in the Apostle’s Creed, the Nicene Creed, and the Lord’s Prayer. John Wesley had a set of Social Principles that we still observe as Methodists.

I write not in defense of Christianity, but to summarize my basic personal beliefs.

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