Dear Cousin Butchie,

I am very scared right now, and none of my friends let me talk about it. As soon as I lead into a discussion, they tune me out.

Here's what happened. My parents weren't home and I answered the door for two of Jehovah's Witnesses. They were pleasant enough and the one dude was a fox. I let them come in and they told me that the Bible points to the fact that the world will end very soon. They had all kinds of passages which scared me because I haven't really read the Bible. They left some literature and asked if they could come back and do a Bible study with me.

Some of the things which make me believe them are President Trump, ISIS, all types of violence. Lest I forget-- they also told me that LGBTQ people are part of the immorality and sin which fill the world and will contribute to its destruction.

Please help!

Soo Scared


Hi, Soo Scared!

According to most major religions the end of the world (apocalypse/ armagedon) is going to happen sooner or later. It is the intensity and credibility of their reasoning which must be considered. In the sects like Jehovah's Witnesses and the Evangelicals people have been predicting the end of the world as we know it at various times. Some followed misguided "prophets" and stopped paying mortgages and rents, bought very little food, and home schooled their children so they were always close to their families.

Uncle RJ has told me about countless dates that the JW's have predicted. When those dates came and went, they just claimed to have miscalculated or misunderstood the doomsday date. Some Roman Catholics believed that 1960 was going to be the last year based on the claimed "apparitions" of three children in Fatima, Portugal in 1917. There was a letter the surviving child gave to the pope at the time and told him that Mary didn't want to have it read to the people until 1960. According to some people, several popes have read the letter and fainted (how credible is that?) I know that the Jewish people await the coming of the Messiah, but I'm not familiar with any who believe this will occur at any specific time.

As for the immorality of the LGBTQ community-- Could we expect to be excluded from the "prophetic zealots"? We have been blamed for so much throughout the years. Few of us even recall the fact that the Nazis had a special part of their death camps for gay people and made them wear a pink triangle on their prison clothes so they would be singled out for even worse tortures than others. Take some time and read about the way A.I.D.S. was/is considered by many ignorant people to be God's punishment for gay men. Of course, they never consider the straight people who were drug users or the babies of mothers with the A.I.D.S. virus (H.I.V.).

Having written all that, I also am very much afraid of Donald Trump. I am also very concerned about the Islamic terrorists, the violence in our big cities, the immorality of some of our better known Americans, et al. In most respects Congress can keep him sane.

Dude, live your life as the best gay person you can be.  Be kind and loving with your family, your friends and people in general. If you believe in God pray to that God. At this time, the best petition would be the seeking of peace of mind.  You might also be positive in your actions and words. If you go to a church or temple which often speaks against homosexuality and sodomy let it go in one ear and out the other OR change to one of the LGBTQ affirming congregations all over the country.

Realizing that this response to your question might have missed the mark on some issues, PLEASE take a few minutes and reply to state your feelings and beliefs.

In the meantime, Uncle RJ and I wish you a Happy Passover and a Happy Easter and for some, just a joyful holiday week or two.