Bad Religion

Why I don’t believe in organized religion? I remember a childhood friend’s mother’s experience with a priest. She went to confess that she had slept with her boyfriend and the priest asked if she was going to do it again. She answered that she didn’t know but probably yes and so the priest said he could not forgive or absolve her. So, she turned away from Catholicism and never looked back.
Religion is used to manipulate us with promises of rewards in the Sweet Hereafter, with fear, with anger, and with guilt. Otherwise, it doesn’t have much hold over us.
It’s too bad that what starts out as part of our inner life, as our very spiritual nature ends up getting all twisted around.
I believe in religion, it’s organized religion that poses the problems.
I know someone I call my friend who feels the sting of rejection because he is gay.
Love should not be dictated, it is a natural function that happens between people.
Certain individuals, for whatever combination of reasons, namely, nature/nurture theory fall in love with someone of the same sex. One’s sexuality can not easily be changed so I assume that people conduct themselves in their private lives as they see fit, according to a code of ethics.
It’s wrong for the pope to come out against birth control or condom use. It is misguided for bible-pounding preachers to teach eternal damnation for what they arbitrarily, out of their own hang-ups, or in their ignorance deem wrong and "sinful." Issues such as masturbation, sexual relations outside of marriage or for other reasons than for procreation, abortion or a woman’s right to choose what happens to her body and her life, and homosexuality are matters that should not be policed either by religion or by the medical profession unless they are there in compassion and understanding of human nature.
Parents and teachers are agents of civilization. Hopefully, for the survival of the species and to maintain social order they are very influential in the socialization of the child and carry on their influence into an individual’s adult years. Unfortunately, due to being human beings with their own problems they may give mixed signals to the impressionable young. They are supposedly loving and protecting without prejudice but they do have biases. They may preach love and equality in one breath and spout hatred and condemnation in the next.
It is sad indeed, when a loving human being grows to think that the Almighty disapproves of him or her and does not take him or her into the fold. But this is people shunning or attempting to control, not what God wants or teaches IMHO (In my humble opinion).