Recalling the early days in my twenties, it seemed like my vision (the ability to see) was quite blurry, because I had no ideas what was going on around me and the world. After graduating high school, I wanted to live my life independently by taking a full responsibility, like a grown-up. The first thing I wanted was to see the world clearly and know how it works. Unfortunately, the lens I had seen the world through had an old filter with some distortion, which made me quite confused and not able to understand the world as it is. I decided to get rid of the distortion and see what it is as it actually is. As replacing the filter with a brand new one that can give me a clearer view without substaintially reduced distortion, I am now able to see the world as it quite really is. The new filter is called “Science”.

Getting closer to truth, by scrutinising my old beliefs had not been always quite enjoyable. Instead, it had brought me such huge agonies, because I had to struggle between my old worldview and the new one being installed in my belief system. Nevertheless, I was convinced that this journey would take me somewhere I would be able to see the world way clearer and wisely. While bearing this such great pain that tortured my inner self quite severely, I felt rewarded as stepping through each step. It was quite addictive and I could not stop getting rid of the old filter. I destroyed my world myself without knowing what I was doing then. When I realised most of my thoughts and beliefs influenced by the religion were outdated and somewhat obsolete, a heavy hammer smacked my head and made me feel such a great pain cuased by the hit and a much greater rewarding inner satisfaction at the same time. The paradigm shift was successfully done then and now I am equipped with good both the old and new ones as well as the difference between them.

I have no intention to degrade any religions or people at all, but just want to talk about what I have experienced and felt so far. One of the biggest difference between the two worlds is how one makes sense of the world. My favourite example for this difference is the perception of homosexuality as it has been highly issued across the world. I used to be strongly against it because simply the religious script judges it wrong and evil and my intuitive feeling did not go with it well. However, as a result of having read scientific journals and watched sexuality-related documentaries, I started thinking, even though the book stays still without any new statement, that it was not that simply to judge as being taught.

Shortly speaking of science, it gives us not only statements about something discovered, but also evidence; the underlying facts that scientists put most of their energy to figure out something that has been unknown or long questioned. As a result, Back to the example, what struck me first was that the homosexual behaviour is also found in other species. Hence, another counter-punch that hit me afterwards was that relationship is not all about having sex even though it plays an important role. It is rather a identity about oneself. If somebody thinks of him/herself as homosexual, what matters here is not our imagination how the one has sex with a same-sexed partner but how his/her sexual identity has been established. According to recent scientific studies, it is neither nature nor nurture but both of them.

I will not make any conclusion here but leave it up to you. My point here is not to talk about homosexuality itself but how people reason, or make an argument on a certain issue. Is it just simply determined by your religious belief without having any other questions and listening to what others say? or are you capable of making a sound argument by collecting reliable facts?

I was quite impressed by my chruch minister’s thoughts about homosexuality the other day when having a long hour conversation with him. He cannot deny the authority of the Bible and I totally understand it. But he criticised people who are strongly against gay-marriage and humiliate them. It is not how to make peace with others as Jesus taught people back then. He ate and drank with sinners. Even if homosexuality is evil in their eyes, it is one of the uncountable sins we commit every day.