Disclaimer: This isn’t an article to convince you to read the Bible. This is an article for those who already trust its words, and use it as a guide to their everyday lives. The purpose of this article, therefore, is to demonstrate why it is not a tool for hate and bigotry, using it as authority on itself.

I, Tracia Banuelos, am an extremely spiritual person. I refuse to call myself religious, because I do not attach the core and power of my belief to a religion, I attach them to God. I will not die simply for a religion; I will die for my beliefs in God, and His people.

As all of my friends and family know, I am a Jehovah’s Witness. We get a lot of flack for being “overly-conservative,” but this doesn’t really bother me (eh, sometimes it does, but that’s another story). Being a realist, I view this stereotype as an advantage, as it allows me to sympathize with others in the Bible-belt state.

How so?

First and foremost, the Bible is real to me. What I read in scripture is the final outcome. I do believe that the Bible is the inspired word of God, and that it holds authority to dictate my actions. When I read the Bible, these are not dusty words by random men. When I read the Bible, these are divine words, prophecies, stories, struggles of humankind, all written for our instruction and benefit (2 Timothy 3:16).

When I’m talking to others who believe in the Bible’s authority, we do not have to wonder if the words we read are real – we know they are, and it is up to us to correctly apply the principle’s to our lives, with the Hope of gaining God’s love and mercy.

And as any person who believes strictly in what the Bible states, we share similar beliefs. One popular one is the view of homosexuality as a sin.

I, too, view homosexuality as a sin and as something that violates the original purpose of a male to female relationship (Romans 1:24-27).

But does this passage, which calls homosexuals unnatural, have any bearing on how I, a devout Christian, should treat them?

We treat them as normal people with the same right to believe and act how they choose. We treat them as Jesus treated others, with kindness, tenderness, humility, and love (All of the Bible).

We do not treat them as less than humans. We do not treat them like charity cases. We treat them impartially, as our Heavenly Father treats all people (Deuteronomy 10:7). Further, we do not infringe on their right to existence, as we are to not “pervert justice” (Deuteronomy 16:19).

God gave all humans free will. How they choose to act and exist is up to them. Our God gave them that right. And based on this firm truth, I am a firm believer, that my beliefs should never infringe of the rights or well-being of another human being, just as I would not want anyone else’s beliefs to put me in danger. My use of free will should never interfere with your use of free will (as long as one is dying or being abused).

The Bible dictates that we treat all with loving-kindness, whether they share our beliefs or not. We are to love our fellow humans, and be moved to help them and care for them as in the parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:29-37).

We are not to treat others how the Scribes and Pharisees of Jesus’ day did. We are not to be hypocrites, people who preach love and kindness, and then in the next breath, treat others with disgust because they don’t view the world the same way that we do (Matthew 23).

If we are truly Christians, and imitators of Jesus, then we head this word to remain “no part of the world” (John 6:15, 18:36). It is Satan’s system that is exclusionary.

Sociology 111 told us that people need groups. People like to have things in common with other people, and this is usually the basis of their group. But what gives Group A the right to try to annihilate Group B, whether with blunt force, or use of institutional or political systems, simply because the Group B isn’t the same, or believes that same things that Group A believes?

Many people try to argue that Christianity is under attack. That the rights of homosexuals are infringing upon the rights of Christians. I view these as excuses. These same people who truly believe that they are being persecuted, are the same individuals who are making it hard for homosexuals to exist in a world that they a right to exist in.

Our faith is not under attack when we see an abortion clinic open. Our faith is not under attack when homosexuals are given safe spaces. Our faith is not under attack when we do not get our way, or things are not done as we would have done them. Our faith is under attack when we are told that we do not have a right to exist and practice our faith (sound familiar?).

While we view ourselves as representatives of the God we serve, we are not Him. We do not have the wisdom that he have, and we do not have the authority to truly say what is righteous and what is unrighteous, as we, due to the sins of Adam and Eve, are born out of sin (Psalms 51:5).