No one listens to the stories of thousands and thousands of gay individuals or hears their cry or tries to understand their honest pleas for acceptance. Tolerance is a poor substitute. As gays state emphatically that they were born gay, the religious cling to the words in the Bible, not understanding the entire historic context in which this book was written. The male writers had an agenda, regardless of the inspiration they supposedly received from God. A society was being built, a populace created and power structures honored at a time when women and minorities were considered non-persons.
Traditionalists lament the passing of simpler times.
The dreaded phrase family values has caused more torment than any single mantra, now barely an issue because of the flawed human nature of its messengers. The righteous ringing their bells for morality, have more times than not, been caught in their own net, causing a collective chuckle from the masses who know better. People can smell the stench of hypocrisy a mile away. Though we may strive for the moral high ground, we are often seduced along the way. Instead of teaching us all the lessons of reverence, forgiveness and compassion, religion now teaches hypocrisy, intolerance and ungodly judgment.