Des Downunder On Sundays

By Des Rutherford, Adelaide, Australia- Rapture or Raptor?

By this time next week we should have a fair indication which of us has been raptured, if that is, anyone has been raptured at all.

It seems that some parts of Christendom haven't bothered to prepare for the Rapture in any way whatsoever, whilst other sects have gone overboard, water-boarding themselves to make sure they are sufficiently baptised so that they qualify for the rapturing thingy.

Given the recent attack by Christian Street preachers on the LGBTQ community in Adelaide, South Australia, during the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia, one could be forgiven for thinking that the Rapture had arrived early.

However this is Adelaide and the local Christian fundamentals probably won't hear about the Rapture until after it hasn't happened.

I am astounded at the Christians' impatience. The Rapture is less than a week away and they have to go and try to convert LGBTQ people to Christianity. Didn't they know about the seating limitations for the Rapture? We can't all be raptured even if it is possible for us all to be 'bankraptured' for the sake of the Church.

Remember their brand of Christianity operates on making you feel guilty for being alive.

They replace the love of living with the fear of dying in sin. Well, that is their idea, their sin, and in my opinion they can keep it. In other words they must not transgress my intrinsic human rights to find my own answers, to be myself, or for you to be who you are.

Our human rights must be given a fair go, so we can all advance Australia fair, and that means without being told which religion, if any, we must obey.

When a religion demands we should obey it without question, it has enslaved us.

When a religion denies the expression of love between consenting adults, it has transgressed the personal space of each of us, but when a religion asks us to deny reality so as to believe in myths and superstitions with no foundation except its own writings, then it is asking us to adopt its insanity; to become as in denial of reality as the rest of the followers of that religion.

One thing is for certain, the Adelaide and Australian people will not be happy about any possibility of American loopy fundamentalists trying to turn Australia into another Uganda.

It's bad enough that the whack-a-doodles have Televangelist broadcasts. At least they can be switched off...so far.

The truth of course, is that Adelaide has always had its unfair share of zealous prudes, and bigots, ready to enforce their beliefs on others. The Australian variety of the Bible thumpers seek funds for furthering their metaphoric lobotomies, which are just as obnoxious as those death sentences in other religions or nations.

Because we do not have the protection of a Bill of Rights in Australia, our separation of church and state is somewhat tenuous, especially when you consider the apparent religious affiliations of many of our politicians from the left or right factions of both major parties.

So we are largely left to fend for ourselves when the fundamentalists demonstrate their desire for us to submit to their beliefs, to their condemnation and misrepresentation of our good and wholesome nature. They do this in the name of their religion's Love, and thereby devalue their religion, love and themselves. They have not questioned their own indoctrination, as they should have done, like any responsible human being does when searching for truth. They have in my view sinned against the truth of life in all its varieties throughout the universe.

Whilst we may pity such conditioned ignorance, we need go no further than to attempt to reason with them from logical and rational standpoints, using facts to demonstrate reality.

If they are unwilling to permit us the unhindered right to live our lives in public without their harassment, then they cannot expect respect from those whom they condemn.

In the case of the above clash in Adelaide, the Gospel Australia website, (you may look up the link if you want to be exposed to what I consider vile misrepresentation of truth), claims that they, as loving Christians, were attacked by the LGBTQ community during a pride march for gay marriage. The report at Gospel Australia is, I believe, meant to be a provocation through its language. It's stated desire for the LGBTQ marchers to “...repent of their sins and put their trust and surrender in Jesus Christ...” is repugnant in its assumption that they have a right to tell other people they have sinned, and demand surrender to someone they hold as a saviour.

Clearly we cannot expect a rational dialogue with these people. Their beliefs are a travesty of human love and sanity. There is but one way to handle these people and it is not to ignore them; they will not go away. It is not to debate them, for they are not able to discuss without appeal to unsubstantiated texts. And it is not to enter into violent confrontation with them; that is a path back to the Dark Ages of persecution and Inquisition, and we know how loving and respectful of humanity that was in Christ's name.

The only effective answer is to laugh at them, openly, at great length and as loudly as possible.

Every time they raise their voice to condemn us, we should just laugh louder, as if it is the funniest thing we have ever heard. There's a good chance it will be.

Neither do you need feel any guilt or shame for laughing at these cultists. Most of them are beyond assistance to appreciate the reality of life, of human existence. They have lost their mental equilibrium, and most likely they had never developed the capacity for critical rational thought, or its rider, intellectual honesty.

The next time these extremist Christian cults rear their heads, no matter whether in the US, UK, OZ, or anywhere else, we should just sit down on the footpath, and laugh out loud, long and with great gusto.

No matter how they try to provoke us we should laugh even louder.

I'm not saying we don't have to maintain our political presence to have our human rights recognised; that is a given we all must observe. But the enemy has demonstrated that it wants the LGBTQ people to submit to its laws, or adopt the love the Christianists promoted in Uganda.

Their weapon of choice is fear, and we must not succumb to it.

Fear can give way to reason when reason is admitted to debate, but there is a quicker way to disarm the bigots we could use a raptor... or, laughter.

Laughter is the one weapon they cannot use. They have no sense of humour.

If they did have a sense of humour they would be laughing at the preposterous tales and ceremonies of their own religion, but with a clear idea of its message of love for all humanity.

As for the Rapture event, I recommend laughing now, and never mind the date. Laugh, and we have a good chance of getting the rest of the world to laugh rapturously with us, and more importantly, laughing at those religious extremists who have confused rapture with raptors, as well as love and hate.

Has someone done a Rapture Rap yet?

(much more fun than trying to please the local raptor.)

RELATED:
By Adam Cantley | Adelaide, Australia -- A rally through the streets for the International Day Against Homophobia and marriage equality on May 15 2011 in Adelaide, South Australia.
The peaceful gathering was crashed by a a group of extremist christians, spewing their hate: