Thus, an exorcism.
Yes, I grew up in a small, conservative rural community on a small horse and cattle ranch, graduated from a public school (with my class of 20), and was raised by my extremely fundamentalist Baptist parents. As a gay man, I was diagnosed with severe depression and borderline personality disorder after being admitted to the mental ward of a hospital for attempted suicide.
[ ... ]
After a two-hour drive, while, of course, listening to my “non-gay” Celine Dion CD, I showed up at my family’s ranch to see the entire family and church board parked in the drive.
With much anticipation and fear, I stepped inside the house to find deacons, deacons’ wives, the minister, the minister’s wife with her Tower of Babel beehive, and all my family ready to intervene and cleanse me of my sin of homosexuality.
[ ... ]
Looking through the tears at my parents, I said, “Sorry.” My dad said, “I’d rather hear you’re dead than gay.”
Christian marketing is some of the slickest in the world. Think about it: The ‘family values’ crowd throws away kids who are gay; the religion of love-love-love says you can’t join the club till you agree you’re so rotten you deserve to die; the religion that claims to champion human dignity says all humans ought to be on their knees wailing piteously at the prospect of the justice they deserve; the religion that claims to cherish life teaches that things don’t get good till you’re in the grave.
Seriously: If people had sense enough to listen to and think about what is actually taught in the churches, instead of their self-aggrandizing marketing claims, they’d empty out overnight.
