God Loves You
Feature, By paul martin, 8th July, 2008
http://www.samesame.com.au/features/2685/God-Loves-You.htmThis month, in honour of the Pope's imminent arrival, we're taking a look at religion from a number of different angles. This week psychologist Paul Martin asks us to remember that there are many paths to spiritual fulfillment.
The imminent arrival of the Pope is likely to conjure up a great deal of emotion for most of us in the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender communities – and it goes well beyond the fact that his red Papal shoes clash badly with the detail in those high camp robes!
The outdated, black and white, homophobic beliefs that are regularly espoused as 'God's words' have directly led to a great deal of unnecessary human suffering. They've contributed to a society where for many of us there is much self-loathing, depression, suicide and other psychological conflicts. These are torturous issues for many gays and lesbians who have been brought up in religious environments. A great deal of the fundamentalist religious propaganda attempts to manipulate people through negative emotions, like shame and guilt. It's a very effective way of getting people to believe in stuff that is unbelievably stupid.
