As I sit here writing this I think of the great activist who have gone before, are here now, and will come. I believe the queer community needs a central figure to associate it's self with and rally around. The USA touts itself as the land of freedom, but yet we deny basic human rights simply on the basis of sexual orientation. Any thoughts?
Homosexuality is a serious sin and the Bible says they will not enter the Kingdom.
God Bless, Grey Yates
Whoa there, Mr. Y. Seems a little harsh to me. I find it hard to believe that that's what the Bible "says".
If you believe it to be so, I would suggest that you are, at the least, cherry picking biblical verses. Certainly these merciless messages are overshadowed by the more essential messages of love and forgiveness. Would you agree?
Begun this flame war has...
You, Rev., are watching too much SpikeTV
Couldn't resist weighing in on this one!
My feeling towards the homosexual issue has always been based on the proposition that homosexuality is in no way a sin. I have yet to find any good justification that it is. I do not view the Bible as infallible, and I accept the authority of science and human experience along with the Scriptures. As a result I can easily see the arguments against homosexuality in Scripture from the perspective that the book was written by mortals and thus a product of its times and subject to error, while also accepting psychological/scientific studies of today.
I do not pretend to understand human sexuality perfectly but I have never seen any really compelling argument against it other than the "God says its wrong argument" (easily rectified if you have a more progressive mindset!) Jesus's instructions on judging the tree by the fruit come to mind here. Are there any "fruits" from homosexuality (no pun intended!!) that really indicate it is wrong?
You can't produce children obviously but most of us now agree that isn't the sole purpose of love, sex and marriage; it goes against tradition but then again so did the equality of blacks and women (spare me the "This is different" rhetoric); yes there are sexual sins committed in that community (promiscuity, harrassment, etc) but these sins have are identical to their counterparts within the straight community. All in all I see no compelling reason that homosexuality could possibly be a sin-on the contrary, it appears to be a perfectly natural condition that we have only recently begun to understand as a true orientation (a perspective entirely absent from the Bible).
I think many of the liberal churches have bungled this issue by allowing it to dominate their agendas and constantly putting it front and center, encouraging a victocrat mentality and in general, failing to take a strong stance when it comes to sexual ethics (they frequently come across as being somewhat permisive). IMHO the homosexuality issue should be no issue at all-people of all sexual orientations should be approached and engaged as authentic human beings, not as members of classes, as all of humanity is one. Regardless of whether homosexuality is a choice or not, discrimination, harassment and abuse are wrong. I think religion should not differentiate and that people of all sexual orientations are entitled to basic human rights by virtue of being...human beings.
End rant!
PIcture what God's KIngdom will look like. Picture a world without sin, without crime. A world without death, or hunger. A world full of happy families man and his wife and children living in peace. And you will picture God's Kingdom, God's restored earth.
Grace and Peace , Grey yates
I've been struggling, trying to think of a way to respond to this thread, Grey, but haven't figured it out. We have different pictures, Grey, see things differently--sin, God, the Bible. I just can't see why being gay is such a big deal religion-wise and have trouble believing that God would make it such a big deal, either. Seems to me He would make room for gay folks in his Kingdom.
We all know it is pointless to argue the matter of Homosexuality in the bible. The bible rarely if at all touches on the pure topic of Homosexuality. I think it is silly to consider it a sin, simply because some few people in the past stated that having sex with women was the right thing to do. Grey you must understand that the authors of the bible were worried about surviving in the world and they needed to create laws to help their society live. Man and Female relationships was the way to reproduce, and so they wanted to focus on carrying that out. But time has changed, and we no longer need to stick with this law and not to mention people that are of any sexuality will always be of that seuxality for life, It cannot be changed or chosen. Although, I do not have to worry about my sexuality being wrong according to any religion, since I am Asexual and a parpahilia
.
Indeed it may seem harsh but this is exactly what the word of God says.
I have to agree with the others. Most people here do not agree with your assessment of homosexuality my friend.
The bible also leads one to believe that the world is flat and the universe is geocentric but we all KNOW this to be false. IF I depend on the bible wholeheartedly and literally I could have my stubborn children stoned and would be forbidden to wear a wool sweater with cotton pants. The bible is literally full of mistakes, discrepancies and contradictions - as such I find it unsatisfactory to pick homosexuality out of the mix and say that it is a sin deserving of damnation (IF I believed in Hell OR damnation that is).
"Paraphilia: One of several complex psychiatric disorders that are manifested as deviant sexual behavior. For example, in men the most common forms are pedophilia (sexual behavior or attraction toward children)
In cases where the behavior is potentially criminal, as in pedophilia, treatment is usually offered within the penal system."
IF pedophilia is the case I could recommend several forms of treatment from a penile standpoint as well...