Box Turtle Bulletin
News and commentary about the anti-gay lobby“Now you must raise your children up in a world where that union of man and box turtle is on the same legal footing as man and wife…”
News and commentary about the anti-gay lobby"Distrusting Science When It Doesn't Agree With Your Faith"
October 8th, 2009
Here is today’s installment of my series looking at my childhood church’s harmful teachings which ultimately lead me to seek out ex-gay therapy.
What does refusing to believe in evolution have in common with ex-gay programs? A willingness to ignore the vast body of scientific evidence in favor of your faith.
I should add that in middle school youth group we were once shown an apologetics video about creation/evolution. This inspired me to ask numerous pesky questions during my 7th grade science teacher’s short and basic lesson on evolution to the point where she actually lost her cool and near well yelled at me during class. Writing this post prompted me to track her down on facebook and apologize and let her know that after additional and more advanced lessons in evolution later in my academic career I came to see how intellectually bankrupt “creation science” is.
Part I, “What My Church Taught Me About My Sexuality”
Part II, “The Harm Of Trying To Fit Into Someone Else’s Mold”
Part III, “Distrusting Science When It Doesn’t Agree With Your Faith”
Part IV, “Gender Conformity And Giving In To Peer Pressure”
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Tom
October 8th, 2009
Daniel – this is such a great series – I’m really sorry it’s only for 4 days – you must have SO MUCH MORE to say on this and other subjects.
Thanks for sharing this series BTB.
tom
Timothy (TRiG)
October 9th, 2009
I’m afraid my work computer has no sound, so I’ve not seen any of these yet (though I’ve enjoyed the text around them). I’ll have to get my laptop sorted out.
I was brought up as a Witness.
TRiG.
Denise
October 12th, 2009
What does refusing to believe in evolution have in common with ex-gay programs? A willingness to ignore the vast body of scientific evidence in favor of your faith.
This is one of the most distressing things about fundamentalist Christianity to me, and something which should concern a lot more people than it does. The sky is blue, but they go around saying it’s green or pink as if reality changes by what you call it.
I am sure there are legitimate compromises in terms of reconciling belief in a god (or a specific version of the Christian one) and in the legitimacy of self, inquiry, and science. Sadly, a biblical literalist congregation is not likely where you’ll find it. I hope you find a spiritual path that;s healthy for you (mine is godless, but it works for me).
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