A Christian man got a real Bible lesson after asking if she should exclude his kids from gay sister's wedding.

Not all religions are homophobic, but a sizable number of religious people still abide by homophobic interpretations of their text of choice. Having a devotion to that text, while still navigating a world full of diverse people you love can create some fairly clear contradictions. For example, if you love her sister and she's gay, then the logical step for most people would be to support that relationship and stand up for your sister's rights.

However, for someone who genuinely believes the Bible prohibits and discourages LGBTQ relationships, then a certain level of cognitive dissonance arises.

In a recent post on the subreddit Am I The Asshole a man asked if he's an asshole for not wanting his daughters to be in his sister's "gay wedding."

"AITA for not wanting my young daughters in my sister's gay wedding?"

"Throwaway for pretty clear reason.
I am a brother to a pretty awesome little sister (24) and also a dad of three beautiful little girls (2, 5, 9). My sister dated men throughout her teenage years and I'd always assumed that's how it'd stay. However she is now engaged to be married to a woman. Her soon to be wife is a really cool person and my own wife and I have enjoyed having her over and the kids enjoy her company. We haven't told them they are dating."

OP kicked off the post by clarifying that him and his wife really do enjoy his sister's fiance, but they haven't told the kids the women are romantically involved.

"My sister came to me recently as the wedding planning has begun and she wants my wife and I in the wedding party and also wants our oldest daughter as a bridesmaid with the two younger ones as flower girls."

OP's sister recently told him she wants him and his wife in the wedding party, as well as their three daughters.

"Here is my dilemma.. I have a very Christian family. My wife and I take our girls to church every Sunday and to me, homosexuality isn't in gods word. I feel that having my daughters go to church and then be a part of a gay wedding is only going to create confusion and questions for them. I have yet to discuss this with my wife. It's not that I intended for any of our family to miss my sisters wedding, but I hadn't even thought that far up until she told me she wants us to be a part of it."

While he fully intends on attending the wedding, OP wrote that he feels uncomfortable having the kids in the wedding since he hasn't told them their aunt is gay yet, and "homosexuality isn't in God's word."

"I spoke with our mother who is completely against the wedding happening at all. She says I should tell her no, in hopes she won't go through with the wedding. That's fucked up and I told her absolutely not. Like I said previously, I never made plans to not attend the wedding. I was hoping to maybe have the girls be babysat but I also struggle with that as they adore their aunt. Now that she wants them in the wedding, I can't get a babysitter and decline her offer. That would break her heart."

OP's mom doesn't support the wedding at all, and thinks he should tell her no in hopes it'll cause her to cancel the wedding.

While OP has no plans on doing that, he still doesn't want to have a conversation about gay marriage with his children.

"But again this wasn't a conversation I wanted to have with my girls. I don't want to give them the wrong idea.
I'm so torn here. WIBTA to tell my sister I don't want the trouble of small kids at her wedding even though it's a lie?"

Now, OP is considering avoiding telling the truth to both his sister and daughters by creating a lie about not wanting small children at the wedding.

"TLDR: sister is marrying a woman and wants my whole family involved in the wedding but I don't want to have the conversation about homosexuality with the daughters I've raised Christian. I want to tell her that I planned on having them babysat as I don't like bringing them to weddings despite it being a lie."

Since he feels generally conflicted all around, OP brought the situation to people on the internet, most of whom think he's an asshole for lying about his sister's sexuality.

Rabid-Sqrl got straight to the point with their assessment of the situation.

"YTA. Don't teach your kids to treat gays differently, no matter how your pastor interprets the Bible.
"Be careful who you hate, it could turn out to be someone you love"

Wuellig pointed out how the Bible itself doesn't actually condemn LGBTQ relationships, so OP's supposed excuse of faith doesn't even properly apply.

"YTA Not ignoring the irony of "should I bear false witness because I'm too Christian to be okay with the gays?" to begin with. Secondly, lots of passages in the bible often used to justify the viewpoint you espouse here don't hold up to scrutiny when considered in the larger context of the stories they are within. If you're on a journey of discovery, please take time to consider the points raised in the article and video here. https://www.upworthy.com/homosexuality-in-the-bible-here-s-what-six-passages-say-and-how-to-interpret-them"

Songofwaterandheat pointed out that no Christian follows the Bible perfectly, so why pretend to now?

"YWBTA. Let's not pretend you follow every one of "God's" words. You can ignore this one for one evening too.
You may want to find a more tolerant church."

AnimalLover38 gave OP advice on how to have the talk with his daughters.

"When ever I see people asking for advice on how to tell their young children about the LGBT+ and such it reminds me of what my parents said I asked about after they gave lil' ol' 5 yr old me that talk."
"They explained how sometimes a man loves a man and a woman loves a woman just like they love each other, and that's ok, there's nothing wrong with that."

And that sometimes little boys are born little boys, but they feel like they should have been born as little girls and when they grown up the can get surgery to become girls . And vise versa.
Apperantly I sat there thinking long and hard and finally asked "so does that mean if I feel like I shouldn't have been born as a little girl... I can get surgery?"

My parents had "oh fuck she's only 5" moment and panicked because they thought I was too young to have those thoughts, but being the awesome parents they are they just went "yes, of course you can"

"Then I elaborated, "cause sometimes I feel like I sh-shouldnt (starts crying) have been born a little girl. Sometimes I feel like I should have been born a baby bunny" cue my parents holding in laughter and thinking on their feet."

"Um sweetheart, I'm so sorry but doctors can't do that yet, but maybe when you're older they will have the technology to be able to do that! Or maybe you can become a doctor and figure out how to do that yourself!"
I stopped crying and said ok. 12 yrs later and I have no desire to convert to a bunny"

fruskydekke pointed out that children have far less hangups than adults in general, so it shouldn't be that complicated.

"Unless you've already taught your daughters that homosexuality is wrong, which I sincerely hope you have not, they have no preconceived notions. Just dress them up nicely, take them to the wedding, and if they have questions, just tell them that your sister and her girlfriend love each other and are getting married."

"Present it as natural and unremarkable, because, you know, it actually is. Humans can love each other in all gender constellations, and the sooner your daughters learn that, the sooner they can learn to be loving and accepting towards all people. I'm not a Christian, but isn't charity the greatest of all virtues among you lot?"

This article originally appeared on SomeeCards. You can read it here.

From Your Site Articles

4 simple hacks to help you meet your healthy eating goals

Trying to eat healthier? Try these 4 totally doable tricks.

Photo by Anna Pelzer on Unsplash

Most of us want to eat healthier but need some help to make it happen.

True

When it comes to choosing what to eat, we live in a uniquely challenging era. Never before have humans known more about nutrition and how to eat for optimal health, and yet we’ve never been more surrounded by distractions and temptations that derail us from making healthy choices.

Some people might be able to decide “I’m going to eat healthier!” and do so without any problem, but those folks are unicorns. Most of us know what we should do, but need a little help making it happen—like some simple hacks, tips and tricks for avoiding pitfalls on the road to healthier eating.

While recognizing that what works for one person may not work for another, here are some helpful habits and approaches that might help you move closer to your healthy eating goals.

man pulling chip out of a chip bag Our mouths loves chips. Our bodies not so much.Photo by Bermix Studio on Unsplash

Goal: Snack on less junk food

Tip: Focus your willpower on the grocery store, not your home

Willpower is a limited commodity for most of us, and it is no match for a bag of potato chips sitting on top of the fridge. It’s just a fact. Channeling your willpower at the grocery store can save you from having to fight that battle at home. If you don’t bring chips into your house in the first place, you’ll find it a lot easier to reach for something healthier.

The key to successful shopping trips is to always go to the store with a specific list and a full stomach—you’ll feel much less tempted to buy the junky snack foods if you’re already satiated. Also, finding healthier alternatives that will still satisfy your cravings for salty or crunchy, or fatty foods helps. Sugar snap peas have a surprisingly satisfying crunch, apples and nut butter hit that sweet-and-salty craving, etc.

slice of cake You can eat well without giving up sweets completely.Photo by Caitlyn de Wild on Unsplash

Goal: Eat less sugar

Tip: Instead of “deprive,” think “delay” or “decrease and delight”

Sugar is a tricky one. Some people find it easier to cut out added sugars altogether, but that can create an all-or-nothing mindset that all too often results in “all.” Eating more whole foods and less processed foods can help us cut out a lot of ancillary sugar, but we still live in a world with birthday cakes and dessert courses.

One approach to dessert temptation is to delay instead of deprive. Tell yourself you can have any sweet you want…tomorrow. This mental trick flips the “I’ll just indulge today and start eating healthier tomorrow” idea on its head. It’s a lot easier to resist something you know you can have tomorrow than to say no to something you think you’ll never get to have again.

Another approach when you really want to enjoy a dessert at that moment is to decrease the amount and really truly savor it. Eat each bite slowly, delighting in the full taste and satisfaction of it. As soon as that delight starts to diminish, even a little, stop eating. You’ve gotten what you wanted out of it. You don’t have to finish it. (After all, you can always have more tomorrow!)

A naturally colorful meal is a healthy meal.Photo by Anna Pelzer on Unsplash

Goal: Eat healthier meals

Tip: Focus on fresh foods and plan meals ahead of time

Meal planning is easier than ever before. The internet is filled with countless tools—everything from recipes to shopping lists to meal planning apps—and it’s as awesome as it is overwhelming.

Planning ahead takes the guesswork and decision fatigue out of cooking, preventing the inevitable “Let’s just order a pizza.” You can have a repeating 3-week or 4-week menu of your favorite meals so you never have to think about what you’re going to eat, or you can meal plan once a week to try new recipes and keep things fresh.

It might help to designate one day a week to “shop and chop”—getting and prepping the ingredients for the week’s meals so they’re ready to go in your fridge or freezer.

Organic foods are better for the Earth and for us.Photo by andrew welch on Unsplash

Goal: Eat more organic/humanely raised food

Tip: Utilize the “dirty dozen” and “clean 15” lists to prioritize

Many people choose organic because they want to avoid pesticides and other potentially harmful chemicals. Organic food is also better for the planet, and according to the Mayo Clinic, studies have shown that organic produce is higher in certain nutrients.

Most people don’t buy everything organic, but there are some foods that should take priority over others. Each year, researchers from the Environmental Working Group (EWG) analyze thousands of samples of dozens of fruits and vegetables. From this data, they create a list of the “Dirty Dozen” and “Clean 15” fruits and vegetables, indicating what produce has the most and least pesticide residue. These lists give people a good place to start focusing their transition to more organic foods.

To make organic eating even simpler, you can shop O Organics® at your local Albertsons or Safeway stores. The O Organics brand offers a wide range of affordable USDA-certified organic products in every aisle. If you’re focusing on fresh foods, O Organics produce is always grown without synthetic pesticides, is farmed to conserve biodiversity, and is always non-GMO. All animal-based O Organics products are certified humane as well. Even switching part of your grocery list to organic can make a positive impact on the planet and the people you feed.

Healthy eating habits don’t have to be all or nothing, and they don’t have to be complicated. A few simple mindset changes at home and habit changes at the grocery store can make a big difference.

health

Education

3,700-year-old Babylonian stone tablet gets translated, changes history

They were doing trigonometry 1500 years before the Greeks.

via UNSW

Dr. Daniel Mansfield and his team at the University of New South Wales in Australia have just made an incredible discovery. While studying a 3,700-year-old tablet from the ancient civilization of Babylon, they found evidence that the Babylonians were doing something astounding: trigonometry!

Most historians have credited the Greeks with creating the study of triangles' sides and angles, but this tablet presents indisputable evidence that the Babylonians were using the technique 1,500 years before the Greeks ever were.

Keep ReadingShow less

education

A Christian man got a real Bible lesson after asking if she should exclude his kids from gay sister's wedding.

In a recent post on the subreddit Am I The Asshole a man asked if he's an asshole for not wanting his daughters to be in his sister's "gay wedding."

OP kicked off the post by clarifying that him and his wife really do enjoy his sister's fiance, but they haven't told the kids the women are romantically involved.

OP's sister recently told him she wants him and his wife in the wedding party, as well as their three daughters.

While he fully intends on attending the wedding, OP wrote that he feels uncomfortable having the kids in the wedding since he hasn't told them their aunt is gay yet, and "homosexuality isn't in God's word."

OP's mom doesn't support the wedding at all, and thinks he should tell her no in hopes it'll cause her to cancel the wedding.

Now, OP is considering avoiding telling the truth to both his sister and daughters by creating a lie about not wanting small children at the wedding.

Rabid-Sqrl got straight to the point with their assessment of the situation.

Wuellig pointed out how the Bible itself doesn't actually condemn LGBTQ relationships, so OP's supposed excuse of faith doesn't even properly apply.

Songofwaterandheat pointed out that no Christian follows the Bible perfectly, so why pretend to now?

AnimalLover38 gave OP advice on how to have the talk with his daughters.

fruskydekke pointed out that children have far less hangups than adults in general, so it shouldn't be that complicated.

Trying to eat healthier? Try these 4 totally doable tricks.

Goal: Snack on less junk food

Tip: Focus your willpower on the grocery store, not your home

Goal: Eat less sugar

Tip: Instead of “deprive,” think “delay” or “decrease and delight”

Goal: Eat healthier meals

Tip: Focus on fresh foods and plan meals ahead of time

Goal: Eat more organic/humanely raised food

Tip: Utilize the “dirty dozen” and “clean 15” lists to prioritize

Humanity at its best.

Embarrassing stains on your T-shirt, sniffing someone's bum to check if they have pooped, the first time having sex post-giving birth — as a new mom, your life turns upside-down.

Embarrassing stains on your T-shirt, sniffing someone's bum to check if they have pooped, the first time having sex post-giving birth — as a new mom, your life turns upside-down.

1. Pee-regnant.

2. How (not) to sleep.

3. Cry baby.

4. The new things that scare you...

5. ...and the new things that give you the creeps.

6. Being a new mom can get a little ... disgusting.

7. And every mom has experienced these postpartum horror stories.

8. There are many, many memorable firsts.

9. Getting to know your post-baby body is an adventure.

10. Pumping ain't for wimps.

11. You become very comfortable with spit-up. Very comfortable.

12. Your body, mind, and most importantly, heart, will expand in ways you didn't know possible.

They were doing trigonometry 1500 years before the Greeks.

Making them sit in the discomfort of their own filth is an excellent way to shut that garbage down.

Why do people even know this stuff?

Muhammad is statistically the most common first name on the planet while Wang is the most common last name on the planet. But I still haven’t met anyone named Muhammad Wang.

The only word in the English language with all vowels+Y in alpha order is “facetiously”

Queen Elizabeth is one of the only people in the world who doesn’t need a passport to travel. Everyone else in the royal family does.

NYE goes hard

In DNA, mushrooms are more similar to animals than they are to plants.

London Tube platforms have different tilings because when the Tube was originally built, a lot of people who used it were illiterate, and the different tilings helped them know what station they were at.pic.twitter.com/Yw8e04zCJA

You've never seen your own face. You've seen a reflection, and you've seen pictures, but you've never actually seen your own face!

Elephants are the only animals other than humans who have something like funerals. They cover the dead elephant gently with leaves and branches, then stand around in a circle for hours making sad noises.

There was a day when your parents put you down and never picked you up again.

Humans have a coccyx (aka a tailbone) which is the remnant of, you guessed it, a vestigial tail. One of our several vestigial features.

The act of touching glasses to cheers comes from medieval suspicions of poisoning each other, so youd slam mugs together to spill each others drinks into your own to show trust you werent trying to kill them. Europeans man...

Male dolphins can ejaculate as far as 10' and with such force it can kill a human if that human was foolish enough to attempt zoophilic relations with dolphin.

Artificial raspberry and strawberry flavoring comes from the anal glands of a beaver.

If you are attacked by a gator and your arm is in its jaws, push, don't pull. If you can push the flap open at the back of its throat, water rushes in and it starts to drown and will open jaws, hopefully releasing you.

The Phenomena: "The Doorway Effect" When you forget the reason you enter a different room. To retrieve the reason, walk backwards w/o turning around. It can trigger the memory.

Breathe easy.