Above the doorway of my childhood home is a small, wooden plaque. It is very old, having belonged to my late grandmother, with painted letters on the stain and a heavy coat of lacquer over all. "God is Love," it states to everyone walking out of our house.
As a boy, I paid little attention to those words. They meant little to me. Even as an older child, when I was actively religious, the words still meant little to me. I never felt an overwhelming sense of love from God.
Now, as something resembling a grown-up, I know that there is no God. But I also know that whatever Love was supposed to have come from him certainly doesn't show itself in the attitudes of his followers. In fact, Love seems to be vilified by the religioso, unless it falls within their definition of acceptability.
We've heard the phobic voice of the masses as it gasped audibly at the concept of same-sex marriages. What possible reason could there be for not allowing two human beings who love each other to marry? There are no reasons given that hold any weight. The most common reasons given are nothing more than religious indignation. "It's against God's plan," say some.
The blind faith of the religious supports the homophobia or xenophobia of the masses. Whether it is two men wishing to marry one another, two women wishing to, or even a group of three or more people who wish to form a family, religion will be a tool in the obstruction of it. It's against the personal morality of the religious zealots, therefore it is deemed "wrong." And, of course, whatever they feel is "wrong" is universally "wrong." There are no exceptions.
This isn't really surprising, though. It's obvious that "God is Love" has no real meaning to them, either.
