Wish it wouldn't have cut off there. Glad he recorded it. That is some horribly rough shit.

I'm glad we live in a world today where he at least has cultural support for such things. I hope he has a wonderful life away from his ignorant family.

"it's a choice"... GOD that irritates me, it's just so damned stupid

This poor guy. Fuck his goddamned, red neck, intolerant, piece of shit arsehole family. FUCK them.

Not only am I disgusted at the way this mother and father are treating their son, I'm shocked at the comments on YouTube supporting them.

Christians wonder at why atheists won't embrace their religion. This is why. How can any person choose the "Word of God" over the love of their own children? These parents are not following their God's teachings, they are using the bible to support their own fears and bigotry.

There is something genetically wrong with people like this. Would it be wrong to to suggest they go to a camp and get psychiatric help to correct their ways of life, because I think hate, violence, judgement, bigotry and child abuse are far worse crimes than than being Gay in the eyes of their God.

http://www.gofundme.com/dnoqgg
If you want to help him

Another fine example of unconditional Christian love.

this is not christianity.
this is bigotry disguised as being christian.

I'd love to agree with you, but technically they are acting within the tenets of the christian faith.

Of course, it's wildly hypocritical, since I'm sure there's plenty of other old testament nonsense they ignore for the sake of convenience.

You beat me to that point. Would they disown him for wearing a cotton poly blend? They should, it's just as bad as eating shellfish, or sleeping with another man, or mowing your lawn on Sunday (really Saturday, Christians use the wrong Sabbath, The commandments were given to Jews, so referenced THEIR Sabbath to keep 'holy')....and on and on. It is only those tenets that allow them to act as they wish to, with all the bigotry and hate involved, that are ever 'followed' by 'Christians'.
I would also point out that, anyone following anything in the old Testament, especially to separate, chastise, ostracize, degrade, judge, hate, or just not love others is a Jew that's a fan of Jesus, not a FOLLOWER of Jesus, he taught inclusion, forgiveness, and love. In that sense, @enoch is right, this is not Christianity, but by that description, Christianity is a dead religion.

Yes and no. On one hand, he did preach inclusion and forgiveness, but he also said that the Law still applies. So technically, homosexuality is still against the Christian faith (along with eating shellfish, rabbit, pork, etc and thinking for yourself)

"Do not think that I [Jesus] have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke or a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. (Matthew 5:17-18)"

I stand corrected.
I do recall reading that he did say, at one point, that aside from 'putting God above all else', the golden rule (treat others as you would have them treat you) is the most important thing to learn from religion...this seems to be at odds with supporting the bigotry and hatred of the 'law' (of god), although as I read it (what little I've read of it) the bible should be for telling the reader how they should act, not how they should force everyone else to act. I guess I ignored those parts that said you have to stone the infidels and such. :-)

EDIT: And what happened to 'he died to absolve us of our sins'? If that's supposed to work, then there's no sin after the crucifixion, no? Is that something else I'm mistaken about, or was it a one time absolution only for those present at that time, with everyone else still hosed? If sin is gone, why care if your son is 'doing it' wrong, he'll still go to heaven, right?

To be fair, I believe it is a matter of some debate even among theologians.

My fundamental issue with it (and religion in general) is that ultimately you must decide for yourself what is right and wrong, and as soon as you have to do that, then clearly the "word of god" (at least as delivered to humans) is not infallible, and therefore clearly not divine.

Most Christians / Jews / Muslims / Hindus / whatever are good people, but that is in spite of their religion not because of it. Their inner moral compass leads them to ignore the aspects of their faith that are offensive to modern sensibilities (slavery, racism, etc).

Ironically, the people who actually follow their religion to the letter of the law are called fundamentalists and generally shunned by society.

I find this hilarious.

Agreed, if the 'word of god' is debatable, it can't be infallible, can it?
Once you think for yourself, you have suddenly become philosophic, not religious, in my eyes. For some, many don't realize the transition happened and continue on with the trappings of religion while not really 'following' it.
It's those (and they are many) that look to religion for their moral compass that bother me. Since it is interpretable to mean near anything, it can't be a moral compass (or it's the kind of compass that Jack Sparrow had, that just points to whatever you want at the time).
I find it funny that many are called 'fundamentalist Christians' yet I haven't heard of a Christian stoning for a while now, and it is the clearly prescribed treatment for infidels. Clearly even the fundies pick and choose what to follow.

In some ways, I find I have sympathy with the fundamentalists. They may be wrong and in some cases even evil, but at least they're honest.

Ever read Terry Pratchett? One of his characters, a witch who is often the authorial voice, has a great line about religion

Now if I’d seen him, really there, really alive, it’d be in me like a fever. If I thought there was some god who really did care two hoots about people, who watched ‘em like a father and cared for ‘em like a mother…well, you wouldn’t catch me sayin’ things like ‘there are two sides to every question’ and ‘we must respect other people’s beliefs.’ You wouldn’t find me just being gen’rally nice in the hope that it’d all turn out right in the end, not if the flame was burning in me like an unforgivin’ sword. And I did say burnin’, Mister Oats, ‘cos that’s what it’d be. You say that you people don’t burn folk and sacrifice people anymore, but that’s what true faith would mean, y’see? Sacrificin’ your own life, one day at a time, to the flame, declarin’ the truth of it, workin’ for it, breathin’ the soul of it. That’s religion. Anything else is just…bein’ nice. And a way of keepin’ in touch with the neighbors.

Sometimes I mentally compare being bullied / picked on as a kid to growing up gay. ...But at least a kid that gets bullied probably has parents who want to support and help them through that.

I feel very sorry for this guy. That comes first, but I guess my second reaction is dismay at how fucking inhuman his parents/family are. No "reasons" can justify that. Just tragic all around, I hope he extricates himself from that whole mess as cleanly as possible and with as much of a positive outlook on life as possible.

/internetHug

God sacrificed His Son too.

And that God's a fucking psycho too...so what's your point?

I'd rather spend eternity in hell than pay homage to any being as monstrous as the Judeo-Christian god.

And what a cunt he turned out to be

A terrible family confrontation get out of hand. Should have been kept private.

There are no winners/losers, only shame.

wrong (and stupid) again bobbo!

The son is the winner here.

We already know you're a homophobe. Don't try to whitewash it.

I disagree, making their abhorrent behavior public is a good way to stop them from repeating it. It would have been better if the parents were on camera though, so they could easily be identified as the homophobic, judgmental, hate filled bullies that they apparently are.
I do agree, there's no real winner here except in morality. There, the son's a winner, but in life he has those people as parents. Those parents are definitely losers.

You're kidding right?

It "got out of hand"? By your logic, paedo's are just giving kids hugs and it "get's out of hand".

It's would be so easy to write you off as a troll, but you honestly believe the bullshit you peddle, don't you? You poor sad fuck.

*controversy, *dark

Adding video to channels (Controversy, Dark) - requested by Zawash.

When I get to 250 stars, I'll make a *sadness (or *sorrow) channel, and this video, amongst others, will be in it.

wow, it's up to $57,775 after 1 day. (average donation ~$25).

I hope in the future some actors don't get the idea to create a fake video replicating this kids situation, then use it to (fraudulently) raise money.

You expect the parents to be tolerant of their son's predilection, but you have no tolerance for their predilection.

Yes, they too are victims of a belief system that has made them substitute the love for their son for a master-slave relationship with an abusive father-god. If we shout loud enough they might start to dismantle their self constructed prison. No matter how long, or loudly you and your fellow cultists bellow, this young man will still be gay.

But ok. We are basically the same as the bigots because we are intolerant of their bigotry. Certainly no brain will have a problem parsing that sentence!

Yes, you are correct, but....
The son's predilection is about who he loves.
The parents predilection is about who they hate and intolerance.
Love is more tolerable to most than hate.
(did you really need to have that explained?)

This is not a kid, he is a young man at 19 years old. Why is everyone so sad for him that he has to go live on his own? $60K on the go fund me site is ridiculous.

When I was 18, a few months after graduating high school, my mom asked me to move out because I was coming home to late. (Fortunately it wasn't quite the heated discussion this guy had to endure) Should I have been crying to everyone I knew about how unfair it was and that my mom didn't love me?

I agree that this guy's parents are horrible and ignorant, but I don't feel bad for this guy. He is an adult and needed to get away from those people if he was going to have any chance of not being like them. If anything being gay will help him move away from the ignorance that he was raised with and hopefully make him a better human than his parents.

To me it's not about his having to move out, it's that his family is angrily disowning him forever because of who he is (what kind of idiocy is it to think people choose to be ostracized, disowned, discriminated against, degraded, attacked, etc....?).
When your mother asked you to move out, did she also tell you to never come home, not to call or contact her or the family, and that there will be no support or contact from your parents or siblings from here on out? If not, it's a different situation.
I was thrown out during my senior year in high school (got my GED and went on to college while I worked) for being behind on one homework assignment. I didn't even cry to my family about it, I just went to work and lived on a friends couch for a year. Even with that animosity, my family didn't disown me, and was there for me later in life, so my situation was also not as bad as his.
That said, I also don't understand him getting funding.

The thing that is scary is that this conversation frequently happens to younger teens. I think it's telling when somebody like Dan Savage hesitates to encourage young people to come out of the closet before they are able to be independent. That's sad, and I think this video is a lot of peoples worst nightmare.

news flash, we don't tolerate lots of things anymore. We don't tolerate slavery. We don't tolerate killing for trivial offenses we don't tolerate stoning people either (all ok in the bible though)

It's not a predilection, it's who he is. Though I will give you credit for using such a big word..and using it correctly. You're still wrong, but I'll give that much.

Of course you could easily prove us all wrong. Be gay for a year. If it's a choice. It should be easy.

Mostly you don't tolerate an opposing viewpoint.

back your viewpoint up with evidence instead of strawmans, ad homs, anecdotes. and other fallacies and we might reconsider.

again, stop pretending you're a victim. You didn't just get physically assaulted like the kid in the video.

I can't believe how utterly disgusted this video made me feel. I REALLY wish these vile, poor excuses for human beings' faces were visible so THEY can be shunned and shamed every time they try to go out in public. God knows they deserve at least that. (ha!!! See what I did there??!!!??)

As for me, I love opposing viewpoints....unless they are based in BS and/or intended to 'win' a 'debate' by confusing a subject rather than enlightening. Those aren't viewpoints, they are 'talking points'.

I stand corrected.
I do recall reading that he did say, at one point, that aside from 'putting God above all else', the golden rule (treat others as you would have them treat you) is the most important thing to learn from religion...this seems to be at odds with supporting the bigotry and hatred of the 'law' (of god), although as I read it (what little I've read of it) the bible should be for telling the reader how they should act, not how they should force everyone else to act. I guess I ignored those parts that said you have to stone the infidels and such. :-)

There are three parts to the Old Testament law, civil, ceremonial and moral. The civil and ceremonial laws were given to nation of Israel only, not to Christians. The ordinances God gave to Israel regarding civil judgments, food and drink and the like are not applicable to Christians.

EDIT: And what happened to 'he died to absolve us of our sins'? If that's supposed to work, then there's no sin after the crucifixion, no? Is that something else I'm mistaken about, or was it a one time absolution only for those present at that time, with everyone else still hosed? If sin is gone, why care if your son is 'doing it' wrong, he'll still go to heaven, right?

Jesus provided what is called the "substitutionary atonement". Meaning, that Jesus took your place (and mine) on the cross and received the punishment for sin that we both deserve. He took the entirety of the punishment on Himself and through His sacrifice we can receive forgiveness for sins. He suffered and died vicariously for us, and through faith in Him we receive a blank slate and attain a perfect standing before God. His righteousness is credited to our account as if it were our own, though there is nothing we could do to earn it; It is only received through faith.

Jesus provided the atonement for all sin, but it isn't universally applied; It must be received by faith. When you stand before God and account for your life, you will be judged for your sins in one of two ways; either by your righteousness or Christs.

Agreed, if the 'word of god' is debatable, it can't be infallible, can it?
Once you think for yourself, you have suddenly become philosophic, not religious, in my eyes. For some, many don't realize the transition happened and continue on with the trappings of religion while not really 'following' it.
It's those (and they are many) that look to religion for their moral compass that bother me. Since it is interpretable to mean near anything, it can't be a moral compass (or it's the kind of compass that Jack Sparrow had, that just points to whatever you want at the time).
I find it funny that many are called 'fundamentalist Christians' yet I haven't heard of a Christian stoning for a while now, and it is the clearly prescribed treatment for infidels. Clearly even the fundies pick and choose what to follow.

The word of God is infallible but human beings are fallible. We all struggle with a sinful nature and are subject to futility. There is one truth, and many flawed individuals trying to grasp that truth through their own peculiar biases and weaknesses of character. No scripture is of private interpretation, but holy men of God spoke as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. It is the Holy Spirit who teaches men to understand the word of God, but since men are imperfect and ignore or suppress the truth, they will not always listen to the Holy Spirit and come to differing interpretations. There is only one true interpretation, but often that in itself has various facets as you examine the text for different contexts, such as spiritual connotations and applications.

So, you're saying god made 'his word' perfect, but made man so imperfect they can't possibly understand that perfect word?...unless we 'know the mind of god', but I recall the bible stating that anyone claiming to have knowledge of god's mind/plan is a liar or insane (or both). That seems like a terrible methodology for Him to use.
I think if 'god's word' was perfect, it could not be ignored or misunderstood, ever, under any circumstance, by anyone. No? That's my idea of perfection, not an easily questionable, morally bankrupt (slavery, stoning, raping, etc.), debatable, confusable, ignorable, changeable 'word'.
How to reconcile that logical Mobius loop?
..and who are you to question your god's wish that I not believe in him?! ;-)

Thanks for answering my questions.

Hey Newtboy, what's your background in reading and understanding scripture? I believe this is the scripture you were referring to, and if it is there is more to it:

1 Corinthians 2:11 For who knows a person's thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.

Through the Holy Spirit, man is capable of understand Gods word:

1 Corinthians 2:12 Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God.

1 Corinthians 2:13 And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual.

1 Corinthians 2:14 But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

This can come through the hearing of the word, the exposition of the word by a believer, or other means..but in all cases God must intervene directly with revelation:

John 6:44 No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day.

It is the Holy Spirit who will teach us how to understand and interpret the word of God:

John 14:26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.

It is not that men are incapable of understanding the truth that God reveals, it is that they deliberately turn away from that truth and harden their hearts towards God:

Romans 1:18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.

Romans 1:19 For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them.

Romans 1:20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.

We have a choice to accept or reject God; He makes His will known to each one of us, but we have the choice of rejecting His will and doing what we would like to do instead:

John 3:19 And this is the condemnation, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than the Light, because their deeds were evil.

Thanks for answering my questions.

Sure thing

But what if the 'holy spirit' tells me clearly that I don't need to believe in any supernatural insanity to be a good person (which is the most important, and often missed lesson of religion)? Or that my 'heavenly reward' is in life, in knowing I'm a decent person to others, no afterlife required?
It seems that should be just fine, according to some scripture (not that I care about or believe in scripture) and should be enough to get proselytizers to let me be, but it's not.

But what if the 'holy spirit' tells me clearly that I don't need to believe in any supernatural insanity to be a good person (which is the most important, and often missed lesson of religion)? Or that my 'heavenly reward' is in life, in knowing I'm a decent person to others, no afterlife required?
It seems that should be just fine, according to some scripture (not that I care about or believe in scripture) and should be enough to get proselytizers to let me be, but it's not.

It depends on what you mean when you use the word good. I'll venture that you are using a relative standard of good, but that isn't the standard that God uses. Usually, when we call ourselves good it is in comparison to other people. You might think, I've never raped or murdered, and I am certainly no Adolf Hitler or Ted Bundy, so I am good by basis of comparison. Yet, what God calls good is moral perfection, and everything that falls short of that He calls evil. His standard is an absolute standard, not a relative one, and so our relative standard of good is not good enough.

When people call themselves good, generally, what they really mean is that they have good intentions. In our hearts we want to do right and think good things about people, yet the reality is usually starkly different. If you examine yourself in the light of the 10 commandments, even just four of them such as do not lie, do not steal, do not covet, do not take the Lords name is vain, you probably find them that you've broken them hundreds if not thousands of times in your life. Jesus took the standard even higher and said that if we hate anyone, we've murdered them in our hearts, and if we look at a woman with lust we have committed adultery with them in our hearts. If our lives were an open book and people could see not only what we've done but also what was going on in our hearts, would anyone call us good? I can say for myself it would be an open and shut case.

This is why we need a Savior; we will be judged for what we do in this life and our goodness isn't good enough. That is why Jesus came; to pay the price that we cannot pay so that we can be forgiven for our sins and have eternal life. Whether you care about the scripture, think about whether you would ever jump out of a plane without a parachute. That's exactly what you are prepared to do by entering into eternity without Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior.

Teen Disowned by Family for Being Gay Raises Nearly $100,000 http://mashable.com/2014/09/03/daniel-ashley-pierce-teen-gay/?utm_cid=mash-com-fb-main-link

Daniel Pierce: Over $90,000 raised for gay teen after video of him 'disowned' by family goes viral
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/daniel-pierce-over-90000-raised-for-gay-teen-after-video-of-him-disowned-by-family-goes-viral-9701182
.html

What I call "good" is acting according to the golden rule...treating others as I would have them treat me. That means always honestly, even when it's uncomfortable. You don't need to know the 'truth' to not lie. It also means thinking before acting of the possible consequence to others as well as myself.
I agree, if thought crime is the same as real crime, I'm a terrible person, but I prefer to judge people's actions as I think it gives better insight to who they are.
If judged by the 10 commandments, I'm still hosed simply by not believing in the unbelievable. I would guess that if thought crime counts on that front, heaven is an empty, lonely place filled only with Asperger's sufferers and other abnormaly brained people, as those requirements are not possible for normal humans.

Heaven is filled with people just like you and me, who absolutely cannot qualify to get into Heaven on account of their own righteousness. When you stand before God you will be judged one of two ways, either by your righteousness or the righteousness of Jesus Christ, which is credited to your account through faith. No one has what it takes..I screw up all the time but God is always there to help me. Through His help I am doing a lot better than I did, but I have a long way to go. I didn't and still don't deserve anything God has done for me. Put your trust and faith in Jesus and you will be prepared for eternity.

Your plane analogy doesn't hold water. Instead of jumping from a plane, I think it's more like being led, blindfolded and deafened, to a doorway, being told by dozens of people the differing things they are CERTAIN are on the other side of the door (but not one of them has ever seen it open) and deciding to trust one line of belief and putting that parachute on because your guy said you're on a cliff and need a parachute, but you might as easily be underwater and need scuba gear instead, then your parachute is a trap, or in space and it's just useless, etc.. Since there's no way to know what's beyond the door, many prefer to go unencumbered by anything, accepting it's likely there's absolutely nothing there, but ready for what may come. In the unlikely event that in the end there is a just god there judging my life, I feel I'll be fine unless ritual is more important than action. It's not a possibility I feel is likely.

Only God can reveal Himself to you. It won't be because you feel the possibility is likely that suddenly you will start to believe. I didn't believe it was likely either; the last thing in the world I imagined would happen was that I would become a Christian. It is only because God gave me personal revelation that He is real and Jesus is His Son that I became a Christian. God is knocking on your door right now, and if you choose to open yourself to what He wants to show you, He will reveal Himself to you as well. That's what happened to me; He didn't just make it clear, He made it crystal clear and He'll do the same for you too. Ask Him to show you what the truth is so that you do not have to deal with possibilities. Pray and ask God to show you whether He is there and Jesus is His Son. Read the gospel of John and pray and ask God to show you whether it is true or not. God isn't hiding from you, it is simply a matter of whether you are willing to repent of your sins and turn to Jesus, or not.