I want to pull this whole thread back on topic and end the bunny trail of relgion. It's getting out of hand.
I got another email from my mom today, and she was basically saying the same thing my dad said, except her words to me were, "I can't live without you in my life" so I'm guessing that even though she may disagree with my life choices, she emotionally cannot just let me go like she thought she would be able to do when the two of them kicked me out.
Things are getting more positive, and hopefully the future is bright for us as a family.
Merry Christmas everyone.
James,
Congratulations on finding your soulmate! That's an amazing feat and one that not everyone manages. Hooray for you!
Re: religious upbringing: I was raised Southern Baptist (VERY Southern Baptist). I never formally "came out" to my parents--kind of my own version of "don't ask don't tell". Eventually, they came to realize something they had always probably suspected--that I was "different"--and eventually I wound up telling (in almost an accidental way) my Dad. He was very accepting and loving about the whole situation. I tend to think if I had told him when I was in my 20's (and he his 50's), the discussion might have been different.
I hope your parents will be able to get past their religious beliefs and realize that you are still their son, and still the same person--just happier, because you've found love!
Re: religion. Having studied all this relatively extensively, and having thought about it a lot; having graduated from a large private Baptist university, having had lots of counseling and talks with various pastors, priests (I became Episcopalian in college and have been one since; most Episcopal churches are very welcoming), I have come to the conclusion that:
The Bible was written at different times by different people to different audiences living in a different world. As Mme. Rouge points out above, the Levitican law simply can't be taken literally by modern Americans. If you think it can, better re-read it. Some of the items are just bizarre, and, as Mme. Rouge also points out, were aimed primarily at increasing the health, well-being, and numbers of the Jews.
Once you realize that the Bible contradicts itself in the very first chapter of the very first book (there are two creation stories in Genesis, back-to-back, fused together by the "author", and they are incompatible--it's one or the other if you take it literally; go read it), then you arrive at the conclusion that the Bible is NOT meant to be taken literally, but more a "guide". At that point, you stop worrying so much about what the various religions and denominations--none of which, in my view, have it totally "right"--and start living a good and decent life, without fear or worry about what others think, or how they interpret the Bible, etc.
You'll be a lot happier.
I hope your parents are able to overcome their problems--and these feelings are THEIR problems, not YOURS; YOU are the one who has kept his wits about him and been "normal"; THEY are the ones flipping out. I think perhaps they might calm down and come around--and that would be a good thing for both you and them.
Meanwhile, again, congratulations on your beloved!
And...where are the pictures?!?!
