Easter.....The promise of new life. You know....It’s complicated for me. I was born into Christian fundamentalism. In that world, God killed his son Jesus, then raised him from the dead, because...otherwise God’s plan included throwing me into everlasting, unquenchable fire. 1)

To escape that inevitable torment, one must embrace their version of *being saved*. 1) I’m fully traumatized by that version of *love*. A vindictive, sadistic god, who hates me because I’m gay, cannot be loving, no matter how humans try to twist it. 2)

I escaped that world 5 years ago. Christian fundamentalists mock my new authentic way of living. They say it leads to death. I now wholly reject that idea. Instead, I choose to embrace life, how God made me. 3)

Easter means the promise of life for me, not because I believe the *right things*, but because Emmanuel (God with us) is on my side. I definitely don’t understand it all; my theology isn’t settled. But unlike before, I now have hope of new life. Happy Easter friends. end thread