The following post is an edited version of a post I wrote a few years ago:
"Cultural prejudice has not only succeeded in making most heterosexuals
hate gays; it has succeeded in making most gay people hate themselves"
-- Randy Shilts
I wholeheartedly agree with this quote from the late Randy Shilts, but I would add that it is cultural prejudice, fueled and reinforced by religious prejudice against LGBT people, spewed by all too many clergy who have vilified Gay people from their pulpits, that has spawned this hate by their justification of that hate and discrimination, that frequently leads to vilification, bashings and murders of LGBT people.
As I've written and spoken of before: Every single drop of blood shed by LGBT people, either through suicide, bashing, or murder, is on the hands of homophobic clergy, professing Christians who in any way support them, and those who remain silent in the face of such ungodly, hateful rhetoric and discrimination, that has others loathing Gay people, and has even many Gay people loathing themselves.
This self-loathing either causes many Gays to lead lives of quiet or not so quiet desperation, some going so far as to kill themselves, believing the lie that they have been told by these clergy and many other professing Christians, that God doesn't love them, or approve of their relationships. Also, many LGBT people commit suicide on the installment plan by engaging in risk-taking behaviors, drug abuse, alcoholism, and the like, as manifestations of their shame and self-loathing.
Always remember that just because someone calls him/herself a Christian, or has his/her collar turned around, doesn't necessarily make that person a Christian! Just because one goes to church every single day doesn't necessarily make him/her a Christian!
Hear Jesus, the Prince of Peace: "A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them." (Matthew 7:18-20)
Simply put, Jesus is a behaviorist! You are what you do, and you do what you are! If you spew hate, be it falsely claimed in the name of God or not, you have proven yourself to be none of His! There are many wonderful people who, whether or not they know it, belong to God! And, unfortunately and conversely, there are many wolves in clergy and other "Christian" attire, in sheep's clothing, who who spew their hate, even in sanctimonious terms, falsely claiming to speak for God, who are not "good trees" but who are evil.
Only a good tree will bring forth good fruit that manifests the grace and love of God, and homophobic clergy and other professing Christians who align themselves with their lying rhetoric and discriminatory behavior, either actively or by their silence, show themselves to be bad trees who bring forth corrupt fruit that cause untold damage and hardship to LGBT people and their families.
And, by so doing, these "corrupt trees" are liars! They lie about Gay people and their relationships (They bear false witness, contravening one of the Ten Commandments!); they lie about being spokespeople for God, the God of grace Who has unconditional love for ALL of His children, be they Gay or Straight!
Homophobic clergy and their followers are liars! And, being the "corrupt trees" they are, they are none of His! The Apostle Paul has rather harsh words for those who preach any other gospel than the Gospel of God's grace. He says, "God damn them!" (Galatians 1:8-9)
So, don't listen to them! Ignore them, and never let them, or any other "corrupt tree," define your worth, the validity of your relationships, or your standing with God!
Always remember, as my friend Rev. Troy Perry, Founder and 37 year Moderator of the Metropolitan Community Churches, and a tireless fighter for LGBT rights, wisely said, "God didn't create someone whom He could sit around and hate!
Believe me: If you are Gay, God made you just as He wanted, and He loves you, and don't ever let anyone else tell you differently!
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
OBAMA'S SHIFT IN POSITION REGARDING DOMA
UPDATE 2/24/11.
President Obama, in a major legal policy shift, has directed the Justice Department to stop defending the Defense of Marriage Act — the 1996 law that bars federal recognition of same-sex marriages — against lawsuits challenging it as unconstitutional.
Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. sent a letter to Congress on Wednesday saying that the Justice Department will now take the position in court that the Defense of Marriage Act should be struck down as a violation of gay couples’ rights to equal protection under the law.
“The President and I have concluded that classifications based on sexual orientation warrant heightened scrutiny and that, as applied to same-sex couples legally married under state law,” a crucial provision of the act is unconstitutional, Mr. Holder wrote.
[For the full article, see here.]
Regardless of Obama's possible motives for his shift in his position regarding DOMA, this is very good news.
President Obama, in a major legal policy shift, has directed the Justice Department to stop defending the Defense of Marriage Act — the 1996 law that bars federal recognition of same-sex marriages — against lawsuits challenging it as unconstitutional.
Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. sent a letter to Congress on Wednesday saying that the Justice Department will now take the position in court that the Defense of Marriage Act should be struck down as a violation of gay couples’ rights to equal protection under the law.
“The President and I have concluded that classifications based on sexual orientation warrant heightened scrutiny and that, as applied to same-sex couples legally married under state law,” a crucial provision of the act is unconstitutional, Mr. Holder wrote.
[For the full article, see here.]
Regardless of Obama's possible motives for his shift in his position regarding DOMA, this is very good news.
Friday, February 18, 2011
RACISM AND HOMOPHOBIA
According to conservatives, because women in the so-called civilized world are not producing enough white Christian babies, the West will be swamped by "godless Muslims bent on world domination."
Yes, this sounds racist and downright laughable, but this argument is slowly spreading into mainstream thought.
The solution, say the demographic winter proponents, is to eliminate extramarital sex, ban contraception and bring back the old-fashioned "natural family." Under the guise of being "pro-family," they envision a world where fathers lead and mothers honor their biological destiny by producing lots of children. In this world, families are the only fundamental unit that society and government should promote, and all policies should be geared toward this.
At the same time, they say the generation that grew up believing in the dangers of an overpopulated world and who value women's rights, gay rights and environmentalism - those who reject religious fundamentalism - are doomed to extinction.
[For the full article, see here.]
Racism and homophobia are two sides of the same coin, so I marvel at the blatant idiocy and blindness of people of color who align themselves with homophobes who wouldn't spit on them on their best day! They align themselves with people who wouldn't want their daughters to marry one of "them."
In the U.S. there is a cultural divide, a culture clash, that pits those who believe in the value of diversity against those who seek a homogenized so-called "Christian" culture as they understand that term; that understanding aligns Christianity with Americanism, patriotism, militarism, and a politics of exclusion that seeks to codify the symbolic equivalent of the Monroe Doctrine into the lives of people, and weave that xenophobia into the very fabric of society.
Those lives, and that fabric, are seen by those geared to racism and homophobia as being in line with the professing "Christian" fundamentalist mind-set that pits "us" against "them," the "them" being non-White, non-fundamentalist Christians.
And the hope for the perpetuation of White "Christian" hegemony lies in the heterosexuals who are to propagate the species that guarantees the cloning of "White Fundamentalist Christian Americans" who possess the traits mentioned above.
And it is held that Gay Americans have no part in the saving of our society from all threats to this hegemony; indeed, Gay Americans are viewed as the enemy, as are all people and groups that are viewed as enemies that threaten the comfort zones of the power elite, and all those whose false consciousness leads them to believe that they are among the elite.
The bottom line here is that if you are not a White fundamentalist heterosexual Christian American you are held in disdain by most all religious homophobes!
Therefore, if we don't fight for full and equal civil rights for our LGBT sisters and brothers, we are aligning ourselves with the most dangerous elements in our society, and it's high time that all of us recognized that fact!
Yes, this sounds racist and downright laughable, but this argument is slowly spreading into mainstream thought.
The solution, say the demographic winter proponents, is to eliminate extramarital sex, ban contraception and bring back the old-fashioned "natural family." Under the guise of being "pro-family," they envision a world where fathers lead and mothers honor their biological destiny by producing lots of children. In this world, families are the only fundamental unit that society and government should promote, and all policies should be geared toward this.
At the same time, they say the generation that grew up believing in the dangers of an overpopulated world and who value women's rights, gay rights and environmentalism - those who reject religious fundamentalism - are doomed to extinction.
[For the full article, see here.]
Racism and homophobia are two sides of the same coin, so I marvel at the blatant idiocy and blindness of people of color who align themselves with homophobes who wouldn't spit on them on their best day! They align themselves with people who wouldn't want their daughters to marry one of "them."
In the U.S. there is a cultural divide, a culture clash, that pits those who believe in the value of diversity against those who seek a homogenized so-called "Christian" culture as they understand that term; that understanding aligns Christianity with Americanism, patriotism, militarism, and a politics of exclusion that seeks to codify the symbolic equivalent of the Monroe Doctrine into the lives of people, and weave that xenophobia into the very fabric of society.
Those lives, and that fabric, are seen by those geared to racism and homophobia as being in line with the professing "Christian" fundamentalist mind-set that pits "us" against "them," the "them" being non-White, non-fundamentalist Christians.
And the hope for the perpetuation of White "Christian" hegemony lies in the heterosexuals who are to propagate the species that guarantees the cloning of "White Fundamentalist Christian Americans" who possess the traits mentioned above.
And it is held that Gay Americans have no part in the saving of our society from all threats to this hegemony; indeed, Gay Americans are viewed as the enemy, as are all people and groups that are viewed as enemies that threaten the comfort zones of the power elite, and all those whose false consciousness leads them to believe that they are among the elite.
The bottom line here is that if you are not a White fundamentalist heterosexual Christian American you are held in disdain by most all religious homophobes!
Therefore, if we don't fight for full and equal civil rights for our LGBT sisters and brothers, we are aligning ourselves with the most dangerous elements in our society, and it's high time that all of us recognized that fact!
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
UGANDA: THE WORLD'S WORST PLACE TO BE GAY
Some hateful professing Christian clergy, and some other professing Christians in the U.S., have encouraged draconian consequences and punishments for Gay people in Uganda.
Please watch the following four part video entitled, Uganda: The World's Worst Place To Be Gay:
Part 1:
Part 2:
Part 3:
Part 4:
Please watch the following four part video entitled, Uganda: The World's Worst Place To Be Gay:
Part 1:
Part 2:
Part 3:
Part 4:
Monday, February 14, 2011
SISTER PAULA'S FEBRUARY SERMON
PLEASE CLICK ON THIS LINK TO HEAR FEBRUARY'S EDITION OF SISTER PAULA, TRANSGENDER EVANGELIST WHERE, AMONG OTHER THINGS, SHE DEALS WITH THE LIBERATING VALUE OF LIVING AUTHENTICALLY.
She also shows how we can learn from both the "liberal" and "conservative" approaches to living a Godly life, and she typically conveys the excitement she has for the things of God.
She also shows how we can learn from both the "liberal" and "conservative" approaches to living a Godly life, and she typically conveys the excitement she has for the things of God.
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
HOMOPHOBIC PROFESSING CHRISTIANS DEFAME CHRISTIANITY
A couple of years ago, I received the following email from the American Family Association. It read as follows:
Dear Rev. Dr. Jerry S.,
ESPN and its parent company, ABC, have refused to take any action against ESPN anchorwoman Dana Jacobson for her hateful, slurring remarks against Jesus, saying "F-- -- Jesus."
On January 11, Jacobson was speaking at a celebrity roast in Atlantic City, N.J., when she unleashed a profane tirade, saying, "F--- Notre Dame," "F--- Touchdown Jesus" and finally "F--- Jesus."
"Touchdown Jesus" is the popular moniker for a statue of Jesus raising his arms, located on the Notre Dame campus.
Catholic League president Bill Donohue spoke with ESPN about the attack and received an e-mail from Jacobson which basically treated the incident as a non-event. The statement said, in part, "I respect all religions and did not mean anything derogatory by my poorly chosen words."
Jacobson's comments were at a public event where she was representing ESPN.
The fact that neither ESPN nor ABC has taken any action against Jacobson indicates they have a bias against Christians. Donohue said that Jacobson should be fired.
This anti-Christian bias of the networks is becoming commonplace. Actress Kathy Griffin used her appearance on the Emmy Awards program to tell Jesus to "suck it," responding to athletes who thank Jesus when they achieve certain levels. No action was taken against Griffin.
Although I find the "popular moniker" for the statue of Jesus at Notre Dame to be defamatory, as it trivializes Jesus, I also find the defamatory statements made by Dana Jacobson and Kathy Griffin, as reported by the AFA, to be defamatory, showing the contempt that they may well have for Christianity; their having no apparent qualms that their defamatory statements would offend their listeners.
And, the unfortunate fact is that it is very likely that increasing numbers of people would not be offended by their statements as reported. And that likelihood is due to the fact that we have allowed as spokespeople for Christianity to be what used to be until recently "the fringe" within the Christian community.
What was the fringe a mere thirty years ago has largely overtaken much, if not most, of the institutional Church and most all clergy, and other professing Christians, have not condemned the hate-mongering and hateful rhetoric that has been spewed from all too many pulpits against LGBT people. Indeed, the history of the institutional Church is replete with its being enmeshed with the most reactionary forces within secular society, being their spokespeople, affirming their hatred and exclusion of assorted minority groups, and being in the vanguard in the oppression visited upon LGBT people.
This reality has caused untold numbers of intelligent, sensitive, and decent people to distance themselves not only from the institutional Church but from Christianity itself, as these people falsely believe that the fringe, the haters, the homophobic clergy speak for Christianity and speak for God. Indeed, many Christians have distanced themselves from the institutional Church and, as in my case, do not even go to church any longer, unless it is a church that embraces all of God's children.
Christianity is largely held in contempt by many people because clergy and other professing Christians have not confronted the homophobic clergy for not only preaching the false gospel of legalism, perfectionism, and exclusion, but for perverting Christianity to be in accordance with their own prejudices and, frequently, hate-filled hearts.
Moreover, those who profess to be Christians, by their mere attendance in churches that have homophobic clergy as their pastors, have lent credibility to those clergy, and have affirmed and encouraged the homophobic hatefulness that has been spewed for all too many years. And such clergy have also emboldened assorted politicians and others to either to engage in homophobic rhetoric themselves or, just as hatefully and cowardly, helped prevent almost all politicians to be against full and equal civil rights for Gay people.
The image of Christianity has come to such a sorry, distorted, state that it is very likely that if you even mention the word "Christian," the first word that would likely come into another person's mind would be the word "sin." The crying shame is that the word "love" would not likely be the first word that would come into people's minds when the word "Christian" is used.
I don't merely blame the homophobic clergy for this state of affairs, but I also blame cowardly professing Christians for allowing these clergy to speak for Christianity, for the Church, and for God, and to do so with impunity!
The very fact that homophobic clergy and others know that most people will not confront them for the anti-Christian sentiments they express partakes of the same dynamic as the defamation of Jesus by some people in the media. Both groups of people fail to know what Christianity truly is, and that is because the living out of the Christian life is so infrequent; the exposition of the Gospel of Christ is similarly infrequent; they know that their target audiences are likely to view their hateful sentiments favorably.
The only Gospel to be found in Christianity is the Gospel of grace (God's unmerited favor), faith (trusting God over and above seen circumstances), love, peace, reconciliation, and inclusiveness. Anything else is not of God and is, indeed, a distortion and perversion of Christianity!
That's why the word "Gospel" means "good news!" The Christian is liberated from legalism and from the yokes of bondage imposed by mere fallible human beings.
Jesus tells us that we are free! Hear Him: "If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed." (John 8:36)
The homophobic clergy and their blind followers, uttering words and frequently acting in discriminatory ways diametrically opposed to the Gospel, show by their rhetoric and actions the facts that they, themselves, are not free, and that they don't seem to have a clue concerning the Gospel of Christ.
Moreover, they also seek to impose yokes of bondage onto others so that other people can be as warped in their theology and in their lives as they are; by so doing see to it that intelligent, sensitive, decent people aren't likely to even consider Christianity as "a reasonable faith" and as a viable way by which to navigate their lives in this world.
Indeed, homophobic clergy and other homophobic professing Christians are doing the devil's work!
And if professing Christians remain silent in this matter, and don't speak out against the perversion of the Gospel and the demonizing of LGBT people, they are not only aligning themselves with these homophobes, but they are showing themselves to be every bit as culpable in doing the devil's work!
Dear Rev. Dr. Jerry S.,
ESPN and its parent company, ABC, have refused to take any action against ESPN anchorwoman Dana Jacobson for her hateful, slurring remarks against Jesus, saying "F-- -- Jesus."
On January 11, Jacobson was speaking at a celebrity roast in Atlantic City, N.J., when she unleashed a profane tirade, saying, "F--- Notre Dame," "F--- Touchdown Jesus" and finally "F--- Jesus."
"Touchdown Jesus" is the popular moniker for a statue of Jesus raising his arms, located on the Notre Dame campus.
Catholic League president Bill Donohue spoke with ESPN about the attack and received an e-mail from Jacobson which basically treated the incident as a non-event. The statement said, in part, "I respect all religions and did not mean anything derogatory by my poorly chosen words."
Jacobson's comments were at a public event where she was representing ESPN.
The fact that neither ESPN nor ABC has taken any action against Jacobson indicates they have a bias against Christians. Donohue said that Jacobson should be fired.
This anti-Christian bias of the networks is becoming commonplace. Actress Kathy Griffin used her appearance on the Emmy Awards program to tell Jesus to "suck it," responding to athletes who thank Jesus when they achieve certain levels. No action was taken against Griffin.
Although I find the "popular moniker" for the statue of Jesus at Notre Dame to be defamatory, as it trivializes Jesus, I also find the defamatory statements made by Dana Jacobson and Kathy Griffin, as reported by the AFA, to be defamatory, showing the contempt that they may well have for Christianity; their having no apparent qualms that their defamatory statements would offend their listeners.
And, the unfortunate fact is that it is very likely that increasing numbers of people would not be offended by their statements as reported. And that likelihood is due to the fact that we have allowed as spokespeople for Christianity to be what used to be until recently "the fringe" within the Christian community.
What was the fringe a mere thirty years ago has largely overtaken much, if not most, of the institutional Church and most all clergy, and other professing Christians, have not condemned the hate-mongering and hateful rhetoric that has been spewed from all too many pulpits against LGBT people. Indeed, the history of the institutional Church is replete with its being enmeshed with the most reactionary forces within secular society, being their spokespeople, affirming their hatred and exclusion of assorted minority groups, and being in the vanguard in the oppression visited upon LGBT people.
This reality has caused untold numbers of intelligent, sensitive, and decent people to distance themselves not only from the institutional Church but from Christianity itself, as these people falsely believe that the fringe, the haters, the homophobic clergy speak for Christianity and speak for God. Indeed, many Christians have distanced themselves from the institutional Church and, as in my case, do not even go to church any longer, unless it is a church that embraces all of God's children.
Christianity is largely held in contempt by many people because clergy and other professing Christians have not confronted the homophobic clergy for not only preaching the false gospel of legalism, perfectionism, and exclusion, but for perverting Christianity to be in accordance with their own prejudices and, frequently, hate-filled hearts.
Moreover, those who profess to be Christians, by their mere attendance in churches that have homophobic clergy as their pastors, have lent credibility to those clergy, and have affirmed and encouraged the homophobic hatefulness that has been spewed for all too many years. And such clergy have also emboldened assorted politicians and others to either to engage in homophobic rhetoric themselves or, just as hatefully and cowardly, helped prevent almost all politicians to be against full and equal civil rights for Gay people.
The image of Christianity has come to such a sorry, distorted, state that it is very likely that if you even mention the word "Christian," the first word that would likely come into another person's mind would be the word "sin." The crying shame is that the word "love" would not likely be the first word that would come into people's minds when the word "Christian" is used.
I don't merely blame the homophobic clergy for this state of affairs, but I also blame cowardly professing Christians for allowing these clergy to speak for Christianity, for the Church, and for God, and to do so with impunity!
The very fact that homophobic clergy and others know that most people will not confront them for the anti-Christian sentiments they express partakes of the same dynamic as the defamation of Jesus by some people in the media. Both groups of people fail to know what Christianity truly is, and that is because the living out of the Christian life is so infrequent; the exposition of the Gospel of Christ is similarly infrequent; they know that their target audiences are likely to view their hateful sentiments favorably.
The only Gospel to be found in Christianity is the Gospel of grace (God's unmerited favor), faith (trusting God over and above seen circumstances), love, peace, reconciliation, and inclusiveness. Anything else is not of God and is, indeed, a distortion and perversion of Christianity!
That's why the word "Gospel" means "good news!" The Christian is liberated from legalism and from the yokes of bondage imposed by mere fallible human beings.
Jesus tells us that we are free! Hear Him: "If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed." (John 8:36)
The homophobic clergy and their blind followers, uttering words and frequently acting in discriminatory ways diametrically opposed to the Gospel, show by their rhetoric and actions the facts that they, themselves, are not free, and that they don't seem to have a clue concerning the Gospel of Christ.
Moreover, they also seek to impose yokes of bondage onto others so that other people can be as warped in their theology and in their lives as they are; by so doing see to it that intelligent, sensitive, decent people aren't likely to even consider Christianity as "a reasonable faith" and as a viable way by which to navigate their lives in this world.
Indeed, homophobic clergy and other homophobic professing Christians are doing the devil's work!
And if professing Christians remain silent in this matter, and don't speak out against the perversion of the Gospel and the demonizing of LGBT people, they are not only aligning themselves with these homophobes, but they are showing themselves to be every bit as culpable in doing the devil's work!
Sunday, February 6, 2011
THE MYTH OF SEXUAL FLUIDITY
But many other formerly hetero-identified women do jump the fence and partner with women, as I share in my anthology, Dear John, I Love Jane.
They happen to be sexually fluid. That means that they can spend the first 25, 30, 40, 50 years of their lives identifying as straight. They aren't bi, or closeted. But bam...one day they meet a woman and have hot sexy feelings about her. Or maybe they have a wonderful, close friend, and something shifts; a sexual dimension enters the relationship and they fall in love and/or lust.
This often happens as a woman's hetero relationship is winding down, or when a woman is already divorced. When everything you took for granted has gone up in smoke, it's a lot easier to imagine new possibilities and see where they lead.
It happened to me. I did some same-sex experimenting in college, but nothing lasting came of it. I dated men in my twenties and happily settled down with the man who became my husband. But seven years later, when we both admitted that our marriage was over, I was ready to really explore being with a woman. I put my profile on match.com, clicked "woman seeking women" and began to go to women's dances and events. A year later, I met my partner, Laura, and I've never looked back.
[For the full article, see here.]
To speak of, or allege, one's "sexual fluidity" falsely shows sexual orientation to be a choice; an allegation that is used by homophobes as attempted justification to prevent the acquisition of equal rights for Gay people and same-sex couples.
The fact is that although each of us can engage in sexual activity with people of the same-sex or opposite sex, that doesn't make us Gay or Straight! Rather, what makes us Gay or Straight is innate and partakes of emotional/romantic/sexual attraction, whether or not that attraction is recognized and/or articulated from childhood.
Frequently, the recognition that one is Gay is not realized until rather late for some Gay people as there are few if any role models within the cohort for that person. In this sense, Black people had an easier time affirming themselves, as both their families and their churches, to one degree or another, were there to support them.
Tragically, most all Gay people have neither their families nor their churches to affirm them! Indeed, those institutions often demean them and drive them away, often irreparably damaging their sense of self and self-esteem.
Hence, many Gay people define themselves as "Straight," as that is the norm in society, the family, and in churches, and it is only until later on in their development that many, though not all, come to recognize that they are Gay, and were Gay, all the time.
The above cited article is tragic on a number of levels, and distorts the reality of what it means to be Gay. As my friend Don Charles stated in reference to this article:
This article is insulting on several levels. First, it revives that long-discredited myth about bad relationships with men turning women into Lesbians. Second, it plays the reader for a fool by saying "I had no Gay feelings before" even while admitting to earlier sexual experientation with women. That's another myth: That all heterosexual women are "bi-curious"(not)! Third, it assumes that being LesBiGay is about nothing but sex. Fourth, she compares sex with women and men as if she were comparing Chinese food to Thai food . . . really offensive! Fifth, she's engaged in subtle fearmongering. In effect, she's telling everybody: "Look! I'm exotic. I switched from heterosexual to homosexual. It's weird and spooky. Maybe it could happen to you, too!" Finally, she's reinforcing the old lies that homosexuality is a deviation from heterosexuality, and that it can sometimes be "chosen." Why does she feel the need to do this?
The author may feel the need to allege her perceived sexual fluidity because she may have been confused about her sexual orientation all of her younger life. A lot of Gay people date and even marry members of the opposite sex, both to hide or deny their orientation, or falsely think that by so doing they will become Straight.
Yet, despite all of their machinations and rationalizations, they are still Gay, were always Gay, and will always be Gay, and no amount of dating or marrying members of the opposite sex will change that God-given reality!
Gay people who allege their perceived sexual fluidity are giving ammunition to strident homophobes to convince potential Straight allies that sexual orientation is a choice! This damn lie is a major vehicle for denying equal rights to Gay people and to same-sex couples, and that lie must be brought to light for all to see it and its dangerous consequences.
And for Gay people to perpetuate this lie is nothing short of traitorous to the struggle for equal rights for LGBT people!
They happen to be sexually fluid. That means that they can spend the first 25, 30, 40, 50 years of their lives identifying as straight. They aren't bi, or closeted. But bam...one day they meet a woman and have hot sexy feelings about her. Or maybe they have a wonderful, close friend, and something shifts; a sexual dimension enters the relationship and they fall in love and/or lust.
This often happens as a woman's hetero relationship is winding down, or when a woman is already divorced. When everything you took for granted has gone up in smoke, it's a lot easier to imagine new possibilities and see where they lead.
It happened to me. I did some same-sex experimenting in college, but nothing lasting came of it. I dated men in my twenties and happily settled down with the man who became my husband. But seven years later, when we both admitted that our marriage was over, I was ready to really explore being with a woman. I put my profile on match.com, clicked "woman seeking women" and began to go to women's dances and events. A year later, I met my partner, Laura, and I've never looked back.
[For the full article, see here.]
To speak of, or allege, one's "sexual fluidity" falsely shows sexual orientation to be a choice; an allegation that is used by homophobes as attempted justification to prevent the acquisition of equal rights for Gay people and same-sex couples.
The fact is that although each of us can engage in sexual activity with people of the same-sex or opposite sex, that doesn't make us Gay or Straight! Rather, what makes us Gay or Straight is innate and partakes of emotional/romantic/sexual attraction, whether or not that attraction is recognized and/or articulated from childhood.
Frequently, the recognition that one is Gay is not realized until rather late for some Gay people as there are few if any role models within the cohort for that person. In this sense, Black people had an easier time affirming themselves, as both their families and their churches, to one degree or another, were there to support them.
Tragically, most all Gay people have neither their families nor their churches to affirm them! Indeed, those institutions often demean them and drive them away, often irreparably damaging their sense of self and self-esteem.
Hence, many Gay people define themselves as "Straight," as that is the norm in society, the family, and in churches, and it is only until later on in their development that many, though not all, come to recognize that they are Gay, and were Gay, all the time.
The above cited article is tragic on a number of levels, and distorts the reality of what it means to be Gay. As my friend Don Charles stated in reference to this article:
This article is insulting on several levels. First, it revives that long-discredited myth about bad relationships with men turning women into Lesbians. Second, it plays the reader for a fool by saying "I had no Gay feelings before" even while admitting to earlier sexual experientation with women. That's another myth: That all heterosexual women are "bi-curious"(not)! Third, it assumes that being LesBiGay is about nothing but sex. Fourth, she compares sex with women and men as if she were comparing Chinese food to Thai food . . . really offensive! Fifth, she's engaged in subtle fearmongering. In effect, she's telling everybody: "Look! I'm exotic. I switched from heterosexual to homosexual. It's weird and spooky. Maybe it could happen to you, too!" Finally, she's reinforcing the old lies that homosexuality is a deviation from heterosexuality, and that it can sometimes be "chosen." Why does she feel the need to do this?
The author may feel the need to allege her perceived sexual fluidity because she may have been confused about her sexual orientation all of her younger life. A lot of Gay people date and even marry members of the opposite sex, both to hide or deny their orientation, or falsely think that by so doing they will become Straight.
Yet, despite all of their machinations and rationalizations, they are still Gay, were always Gay, and will always be Gay, and no amount of dating or marrying members of the opposite sex will change that God-given reality!
Gay people who allege their perceived sexual fluidity are giving ammunition to strident homophobes to convince potential Straight allies that sexual orientation is a choice! This damn lie is a major vehicle for denying equal rights to Gay people and to same-sex couples, and that lie must be brought to light for all to see it and its dangerous consequences.
And for Gay people to perpetuate this lie is nothing short of traitorous to the struggle for equal rights for LGBT people!
Saturday, February 5, 2011
ON THE NEED FOR REPENTANCE
The following is a slightly edited version of an article that I wrote several years ago that I'd like to reprint here. It was written just prior to that Lenten season of that year, but I feel it's message that is relevant for every day of the year for all who are true disciples of Christ:
During the Lenten season, we are called upon to repent of our sins in preparation for the Easter season where we celebrate the Crucifixion, Resurrection, and Ascension of Jesus into heaven, which enables our salvation, the fulfillment of our ministries, and the consequent living of the “abundant life.” Indeed, Scripture enjoins us to repent of anything and everything that places God on the back burner of our lives.
Nowhere is this admonition put more forcefully than when Jesus says, “Whoever comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and even life itself, cannot be my disciple.” (Luke 14:26) Each and every day we are to struggle to keep our priorities in order by putting God first in our lives, even ahead of those we love in this temporary, sin-cursed world.
Only God is eternal; only God is worthy of our worship! Everything that gets in the way of worshiping and obeying God’s call on our lives, regardless of how seemingly noble those things and people are, must take second place to our relationship with God! Lent is that designated time where we formalize as a season that need for repentance as a means of ushering in the miracle of Easter.
The term “repentance” is dealt with in both the Old and New Testaments! In the former, there are two words that are used that are translated as “repent”: naham, and sub. The first word connotes the need to be sorry, and to change one’s mind. The second word connotes the need to turn back or return. Clearly, we are called upon to change our ways by feeling sorry for the direction our lives are headed and, therefore, change our minds as to the direction of our lives and return to dependence upon God.
In the New Testament, the words translated “repent” are metanoeo and metamelomai. They usually mean, “to change one’s mind,” and also “to regret, to feel remorse” over the previously held view. Here, “…repentance is not just as a feeling sorry, or changing one’s mind, but as a turning round, a complete alteration of the basic motivation and direction of one’s life.” (New Bible Dictionary, p. 1018) In the Book of Acts, Luke uses the word, “epistrepho,” which can mean both a turning away from sin as well as a turning to God.
In this connection, Baptism can be seen as symbolic of one’s turning away from one’s old way of life and focusing every aspect of one’s life on God and His will for one’s life. Baptism, therefore, can be seen as symbolizing “a death to self,” and is reflected in the Apostle Paul’s assertions: “…I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” (Galatians 2:19b-20); “…for you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.” (Colossians 3:3)
So, repentance may actually best be viewed, not as the need for penance, but as the need to change one’s focus, or orientation, of life and thought “from” the things of this world that get in the way of our relationship with God “toward” God and His unique call on our lives! This reorientation requires a death to self!
Although Scripture usually deals with repentance as it relates to nations and individuals, I think we have reached a point where much of organized “Christianity,” the institutions and people that claim to represent it and the “Church,” as well as self or institutionally proclaimed spokespersons for God, especially need to “repent.” I can think of no better time than during this Lenten season that “repentance” or “conversion” of much of organized “Christianity” be considered and enacted.
During this election year in the United States, most Christians have viewed with alarm how the Gospel of grace, faith, love, reconciliation, and inclusiveness has been perverted by assorted proclamations and actions by those who preach a false exclusionary gospel of legalism and perfectionism, and who seem to monopolize the media, and who have the temerity to claim to speak for God, for Christianity, for the Church, and for the Prince of Peace. Compounding this tragedy has been the enmeshment of this false, perverted gospel with the demagoguery of much of the political right wing in this country that has gained ascendancy due in no small part to the undeserved credibility afforded to those who preach this perverse gospel.
People have been inundated with the big lies that Jesus is in favor of capital punishment and hates gays; that God is on our side when we preemptively invade another country based on faulty intelligence and/or downright lies; “morality” is discriminating against same-sex love but favoring the mass murder of hundreds of thousands of innocent men, women, and children; Christians are harsh, censorious, judgmental people who inordinately care about others’ sex lives; Christians are in favor of capitalism and the free market at the expense of the poor in this country and in developing nations. I could go on, but you get the point!
Because of the strident fundamentalists who seem to have taken over much of the organized Church, Christians are viewed by many non-Christians as one-dimensional people who care little, if at all, about Jesus’ admonitions to us to have love, mercy, and compassion for others. In this connection, it should be noted that it is likely that not an inconsiderable amount of money is made by many of these “religious” leaders when they pursue their policies of exclusion “in the name of God.” I’d like to know how much money is garnered by them when, for example, they mail out letters to their constituents soliciting contributions to “fight the homosexual agenda.”
If any person or institution, claiming to speak in the name of God or not, seeks to deprive others of civil liberties and basic human rights that they, themselves, enjoy, and/or supports aggressive actions against innocent people, and/or favors the rich and has contempt for the poor and marginalized among us, that person or institution has absolutely nothing to do with Christianity or Jesus! The Holy Spirit Who embodies love and caring for others (Galatians 5:22-23), will not allow such perversions of the Gospel!
It is impossible for Christians to be hate-mongers, or in any way seek to hurt or prevent others from enjoying the same sacramental and civil rights and liberties that they, themselves, enjoy! Those who preach a false gospel, and the people and institutions that justify them, are not Christians; if they wish to be in fellowship with God, they must repent or as surely as there is a living God, they will suffer the wrath of God at the Final Judgment!
“…he will say to those at his left hand, ‘You that are accursed, depart from me into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not give me clothing, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ Then they also will answer, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not take care of you?’ Then he will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.’” (Matthew 25:41-46)
“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thorns, or figs from thistles? In the same way, every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus you will know them by their fruits. Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven. On that day many will say to me, “Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many deeds of power in your name?’ Then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; go away from me, you evildoers.’” (Matthew 7:15-23)
Before the Final Judgment by God, increasing numbers of Christians are likely to leave these moribund, corrupt churches and denominations that measure Christianity on the basis of the people they exclude from their fellowship, and either go to churches and denominations that embrace all of God’s children, or form their own worship communities where they can truly worship God and also embolden each other to face the dual tasks of fighting the corruption endemic in this sin-cursed world and, more importantly, fight the corruption that has invaded God’s Church, and cut that corruption out like the cancer it is, lest Jesus be cursed by the perverters of the Gospel even more than has already occurred.
The strident fundamentalists, and many other professing “Christians,” those inextricably linked with the politics of exclusion at both the corporate and individual levels, besmirch Jesus’ name and Jesus Himself! It is up to Christians to stand up to those who pervert the Gospel, and reclaim the true Gospel of grace, faith, love, reconciliation, and inclusiveness, and show these attributes to the world in Jesus’ name and for His sake. In so doing, we may well help usher in a climate where much of the organized Church sees itself as called upon by God to repent of its embracing of a false, perverted gospel, lest its leaders and blind followers suffer the equivalent fate of the swine filled with the unclean spirits that Jesus cast out of the demoniac (Mark 5:13).
In His time, just as assuredly as He treated those swine, Jesus will cast out the unclean spirits from His Church!
During the Lenten season, we are called upon to repent of our sins in preparation for the Easter season where we celebrate the Crucifixion, Resurrection, and Ascension of Jesus into heaven, which enables our salvation, the fulfillment of our ministries, and the consequent living of the “abundant life.” Indeed, Scripture enjoins us to repent of anything and everything that places God on the back burner of our lives.
Nowhere is this admonition put more forcefully than when Jesus says, “Whoever comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and even life itself, cannot be my disciple.” (Luke 14:26) Each and every day we are to struggle to keep our priorities in order by putting God first in our lives, even ahead of those we love in this temporary, sin-cursed world.
Only God is eternal; only God is worthy of our worship! Everything that gets in the way of worshiping and obeying God’s call on our lives, regardless of how seemingly noble those things and people are, must take second place to our relationship with God! Lent is that designated time where we formalize as a season that need for repentance as a means of ushering in the miracle of Easter.
The term “repentance” is dealt with in both the Old and New Testaments! In the former, there are two words that are used that are translated as “repent”: naham, and sub. The first word connotes the need to be sorry, and to change one’s mind. The second word connotes the need to turn back or return. Clearly, we are called upon to change our ways by feeling sorry for the direction our lives are headed and, therefore, change our minds as to the direction of our lives and return to dependence upon God.
In the New Testament, the words translated “repent” are metanoeo and metamelomai. They usually mean, “to change one’s mind,” and also “to regret, to feel remorse” over the previously held view. Here, “…repentance is not just as a feeling sorry, or changing one’s mind, but as a turning round, a complete alteration of the basic motivation and direction of one’s life.” (New Bible Dictionary, p. 1018) In the Book of Acts, Luke uses the word, “epistrepho,” which can mean both a turning away from sin as well as a turning to God.
In this connection, Baptism can be seen as symbolic of one’s turning away from one’s old way of life and focusing every aspect of one’s life on God and His will for one’s life. Baptism, therefore, can be seen as symbolizing “a death to self,” and is reflected in the Apostle Paul’s assertions: “…I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” (Galatians 2:19b-20); “…for you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.” (Colossians 3:3)
So, repentance may actually best be viewed, not as the need for penance, but as the need to change one’s focus, or orientation, of life and thought “from” the things of this world that get in the way of our relationship with God “toward” God and His unique call on our lives! This reorientation requires a death to self!
Although Scripture usually deals with repentance as it relates to nations and individuals, I think we have reached a point where much of organized “Christianity,” the institutions and people that claim to represent it and the “Church,” as well as self or institutionally proclaimed spokespersons for God, especially need to “repent.” I can think of no better time than during this Lenten season that “repentance” or “conversion” of much of organized “Christianity” be considered and enacted.
During this election year in the United States, most Christians have viewed with alarm how the Gospel of grace, faith, love, reconciliation, and inclusiveness has been perverted by assorted proclamations and actions by those who preach a false exclusionary gospel of legalism and perfectionism, and who seem to monopolize the media, and who have the temerity to claim to speak for God, for Christianity, for the Church, and for the Prince of Peace. Compounding this tragedy has been the enmeshment of this false, perverted gospel with the demagoguery of much of the political right wing in this country that has gained ascendancy due in no small part to the undeserved credibility afforded to those who preach this perverse gospel.
People have been inundated with the big lies that Jesus is in favor of capital punishment and hates gays; that God is on our side when we preemptively invade another country based on faulty intelligence and/or downright lies; “morality” is discriminating against same-sex love but favoring the mass murder of hundreds of thousands of innocent men, women, and children; Christians are harsh, censorious, judgmental people who inordinately care about others’ sex lives; Christians are in favor of capitalism and the free market at the expense of the poor in this country and in developing nations. I could go on, but you get the point!
Because of the strident fundamentalists who seem to have taken over much of the organized Church, Christians are viewed by many non-Christians as one-dimensional people who care little, if at all, about Jesus’ admonitions to us to have love, mercy, and compassion for others. In this connection, it should be noted that it is likely that not an inconsiderable amount of money is made by many of these “religious” leaders when they pursue their policies of exclusion “in the name of God.” I’d like to know how much money is garnered by them when, for example, they mail out letters to their constituents soliciting contributions to “fight the homosexual agenda.”
If any person or institution, claiming to speak in the name of God or not, seeks to deprive others of civil liberties and basic human rights that they, themselves, enjoy, and/or supports aggressive actions against innocent people, and/or favors the rich and has contempt for the poor and marginalized among us, that person or institution has absolutely nothing to do with Christianity or Jesus! The Holy Spirit Who embodies love and caring for others (Galatians 5:22-23), will not allow such perversions of the Gospel!
It is impossible for Christians to be hate-mongers, or in any way seek to hurt or prevent others from enjoying the same sacramental and civil rights and liberties that they, themselves, enjoy! Those who preach a false gospel, and the people and institutions that justify them, are not Christians; if they wish to be in fellowship with God, they must repent or as surely as there is a living God, they will suffer the wrath of God at the Final Judgment!
“…he will say to those at his left hand, ‘You that are accursed, depart from me into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not give me clothing, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ Then they also will answer, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not take care of you?’ Then he will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.’” (Matthew 25:41-46)
“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thorns, or figs from thistles? In the same way, every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus you will know them by their fruits. Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven. On that day many will say to me, “Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many deeds of power in your name?’ Then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; go away from me, you evildoers.’” (Matthew 7:15-23)
Before the Final Judgment by God, increasing numbers of Christians are likely to leave these moribund, corrupt churches and denominations that measure Christianity on the basis of the people they exclude from their fellowship, and either go to churches and denominations that embrace all of God’s children, or form their own worship communities where they can truly worship God and also embolden each other to face the dual tasks of fighting the corruption endemic in this sin-cursed world and, more importantly, fight the corruption that has invaded God’s Church, and cut that corruption out like the cancer it is, lest Jesus be cursed by the perverters of the Gospel even more than has already occurred.
The strident fundamentalists, and many other professing “Christians,” those inextricably linked with the politics of exclusion at both the corporate and individual levels, besmirch Jesus’ name and Jesus Himself! It is up to Christians to stand up to those who pervert the Gospel, and reclaim the true Gospel of grace, faith, love, reconciliation, and inclusiveness, and show these attributes to the world in Jesus’ name and for His sake. In so doing, we may well help usher in a climate where much of the organized Church sees itself as called upon by God to repent of its embracing of a false, perverted gospel, lest its leaders and blind followers suffer the equivalent fate of the swine filled with the unclean spirits that Jesus cast out of the demoniac (Mark 5:13).
In His time, just as assuredly as He treated those swine, Jesus will cast out the unclean spirits from His Church!
Thursday, February 3, 2011
WARPED THEOLOGY AND HYPOCRISY
Four new bills filed in the Utah Legislature promise to have significant impact on government policies affecting gay and transgender Utahns -- and the gay community is alarmed about that proposed legislation.
At issue, according to gay rights advocates, is a series of measures passed recently which provide protections against discrimination. The sponsor of those bills is Rep. Lavar Christensen, R-Draper, who also helped craft Utah's constitutional ban on gay marriage.
One bill, House Bill 270, would define marriage in state law as existing between one man and one woman and supported by God....
Christensen maintains his bills simply codify existing laws and are not intended to target protections for those who are gay and transgender.
[For the full article, see here.]
The last sentence above is hypocritical on its face! Hateful bigots often spew their venom couched in unctuous and sanctimonious rhetoric, all the while being wolves in sheep's clothing who use God as attempted justification to deprive LGBT people of full and equal rights.
That article also states, The bill says laws, government services and publicly-funded programs should strengthen the traditional family wherever possible. For the LDS Church to now begin championing traditional marriage" is both ludicrous and bizarre!
Given the LDS Church's checkered marital and sexual history, as well as its history of institutional racism, it is the height of chutzpah to now extol the traditional family that has taken many forms throughout history.
When most people are prejudiced, they are rarely up front about their motives and/or actions. Rather, they couch their prejudices, and externalize their discriminatory actions, in sanctimonious terms so that homophobes (and all who want to exclude others from mainstream society) can feel that it's appropriate to seek to deny others from the same civil and sacramental rights that they, themselves, enjoy.
This hypocrisy and warped theology is not unique to the LDS Church, but they can be seen to craft these traits into a high art.
At issue, according to gay rights advocates, is a series of measures passed recently which provide protections against discrimination. The sponsor of those bills is Rep. Lavar Christensen, R-Draper, who also helped craft Utah's constitutional ban on gay marriage.
One bill, House Bill 270, would define marriage in state law as existing between one man and one woman and supported by God....
Christensen maintains his bills simply codify existing laws and are not intended to target protections for those who are gay and transgender.
[For the full article, see here.]
The last sentence above is hypocritical on its face! Hateful bigots often spew their venom couched in unctuous and sanctimonious rhetoric, all the while being wolves in sheep's clothing who use God as attempted justification to deprive LGBT people of full and equal rights.
That article also states, The bill says laws, government services and publicly-funded programs should strengthen the traditional family wherever possible. For the LDS Church to now begin championing traditional marriage" is both ludicrous and bizarre!
Given the LDS Church's checkered marital and sexual history, as well as its history of institutional racism, it is the height of chutzpah to now extol the traditional family that has taken many forms throughout history.
When most people are prejudiced, they are rarely up front about their motives and/or actions. Rather, they couch their prejudices, and externalize their discriminatory actions, in sanctimonious terms so that homophobes (and all who want to exclude others from mainstream society) can feel that it's appropriate to seek to deny others from the same civil and sacramental rights that they, themselves, enjoy.
This hypocrisy and warped theology is not unique to the LDS Church, but they can be seen to craft these traits into a high art.
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