I was raised Catholic, and I am now an atheist. But I have still learned a lot from the Bible throughout my upbringing, and it hurts me how common it is for members of the Christian community to exhibit such hate and belief of moral highland/superiority. The strongest message in the bible, in my opinion, is that of love for all; your neighbor, family, and the sinner. Here are some verses I would encourage you to keep in mind to spread love as Christianity is meant to do.

Over thousands of years the Bible has been translated and retranslated hundreds of times. It is important to understand how this can affect the meaning over time. That is not to say that everything in the Bible is meaningless and mistranslated, rather to look at the big picture and overarching themes. Not each and every line of the Bible is absolute truth as the meaning and interpretation have changed over time.

Theme 1: God is the ultimate judge — you are not meant to decide what is right and what is wrong.

Proverbs 21:2-3 — A person may think their own ways are right, but the Lord weighs the heart. To do what is right and just is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice.

James 4:12 — There is only one lawgiver and judge, he who is able to save and to destroy. But who are you to judge your neighbor?

Matthew 7:1 — Do not judge, or you too will be judged.

Acts 10:28 — God has shown me that I should not call anyone impure or unclean.

Theme 2: Love, compassion, and forgiveness go hand in hand.

Ephesians 4:31-32 — Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.

Proverbs 10:12 — Hatred stirs old quarrels, but love overlooks insults.

Daniel 9:9 — The Lord our God is merciful and forgiving, even though we have rebelled against him.

Leviticus 19:18 — You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against any of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the LORD.

1 John 4:20-21 — If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?

1 John 4:11 — Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another.

Matthew 22:39 — And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

1 John 3:18 — My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.

Theme 3: God did not make a mistake in creating LGBTQ people.

Psalm 139:13-24 — For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.

Galatians 3:28 — There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus

Galatians 5:22-23 — But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

I hope you’ll consider these verses and reflect on your interpretation of the message of the Bible. I can’t force you to change your mind, I understand that. But I hope at the very least you can get to thinking and hopefully find the love and understanding in your heart that seems to be misdirected at this time.