Reclaiming Love

"By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit." (Matthew 7:16-17)

I honestly can't understand American-style conservative / fundamentalist Christianity. Not all conservatives are like that (I hope), but it seems that no matter where I look - in Wattpad or in the wider Internet -, there's some supposedly biblical justification for hurting LGBT people, abusing women and children, crushing the poor, attacking anything resembling science and condemning everyone who thinks differently to Hell. The more I look into things, the deeper the rabbit hole gets.

After several hundred hours of research, I decided to write down my arguments against this "toxic Christianity" and some thoughts how the focus could be brought back to what Jesus himself thought was most important. Love.

Disclaimer: I'm not a Christian. I like Jesus a lot and seek to follow his example in my own life, but I don't need him as my savior. Overall, I don't like Pauline theology very much.

And since it's Pride Month now, I'll start with what the Bible actually says about homosexuality. Debate is welcome, but I expect you to have done your homework. If you can't provide at least one article by a genuine biblical scholar, please don't bother to tell me I'm twisting the scripture. FYI, Answers in Genesis and similar sites don't qualify.