Not for the close minded or faint of heart..........

OK, so before I start this rant, which might end up being pretty long, I want to say that if you are easily offended by foul language, stop now. I'm pretty passionate about this subject, and I tend to lose sight of tact and propriety when I launch into one of these things. I also know that some the people who read this will be offended or angered by the references I make to the bible, and what it says, doesn't say, and how men have altered and interpreted it for their own gain and/or justification. If this is you, please read on, and I hope this gives you a few things to think about, and maybe even inspires you to further study the scriptures to better your own understanding of them. That being said, read on at the risk of being offended.



First, I have something personal to say to a particular lady, and if you have elected to read this, I am sure you will know who you are. My boyfriend, who I love every bit as much as you love your husbands and wives, has been dealing with a couple of members of his family using the bible and the scriptures to condemn him, me and about 35 million other American men, based on texts and ideals that are over three thousand years old, and not only are disregarded a few chapters and a few hundred years into the same book, but are surrounded by other arcane rules, laws and traditions that these same ladies choose to ignore or think do not apply any longer. I say this with the utmost respect, as I have only met one of these ladies, and only very briefly at that: We, as human beings, as a large section of society and as your sons, daughters, brothers and sisters, do not wish any more form you than to simply live our lives. We want the same things as you - to be happy, stable and secure in our lives, our relationships and our faith. Yes, faith. As Christians, it is our duty, no, our obligation to follow the teachings of Jesus Christ - to clothe the homeless, feed the hungry, love one another, REGARDLESS OF DIFFERENCE, refrain from hurting others through malicious acts, and above all, to withhold judgement, as that is for God alone. That being said, I welcome the chance to sit down with these ladies and discuss any issues they have with anything I say, and again, I mean absolutely no disrespect.



One of the things that I have to say to all the people out there who use the bible to condemn anybody else's behavior, lifestyle, skin color or religious practices is that you truly have no understanding of the intent of these passages. I refuse to believe that God, who I understand to be a God of love, compassion and forgiveness, would endorse the kind of cruelty and exclusion that we are forced to deal with all of our lives. If you truly believe that a person chooses to be gay or lesbian, then ask yourself this: Why would anyone choose to live a life of persecution, seclusion from family and loved ones, exclusion from our faith and open hatred in the street. Why? For lust or pleasure? I seriously doubt that. I have never gotten an answer to that question from anyone that I have asked - I wonder why that is? In Leviticus, it does say "You shall not lie with a male as one lies with a female. It is an abomination" A few verses later, it says "A man who sleeps with another man is an abomination and should be executed." Also in the same book, within a few chapters, and sometimes a few verses, it says that every child who curses his parent shall be put to death, that round haircuts, eating shellfish, tattoos, wearing garments of mixed fabric and playing with the skin of a pig are all abomination, and punishable by death. So I guess if we decide to go by the literal verses for everything (as some claim to do, but never actually do), then football, shrimp, lobster, rayon, polyester, and the chili bowl cut should also be abolished, right? Does this mean that the probable 90% of us who have ever cursed their parents should be killed? Should school and pro football teams be execcuted en masse? Should we, as followers of these teachings, seek out and destroy everyone on Earth that has ever commited one of these sins, or any of the dozens of others listed in the same book? No, of course not. That would be ridiculous, right? What the folks who use these passages never say ( or do not know) is that these laws were written for the Jewish priests, to set them above and against priests of other cultures, for at the time, the Greek and Roman priests were worshipping multiple Gods, buying and selling children as sex slaves, sacrificing animals (and people, in some cases), and prior to these laws, there was no specific code for the priests to follow. These same good, upsatnding Christians also fail to acknowledge that in the New Testament, man is told that these laws no longer apply, and are given a new set of laws and guidelines to live by, most of which are no longer practiced, and seem arcane, outdated, sexist and offensive. For example, did you know that not only is divorce forbidden, but it is also forbidden for anyone who IS divorced to remarry? Also, according to biblical law (Mark 12:18-27), if a man dies childless, that mans wife is REQUIRED to have intercourse with each of his brothers, in turn, until she bears her deceased husband a male heir? Try to enforce that one, I dare you. There are literally hundreds of examples just like this. But according to those who use this book to justify hatred, exclusion and even murder, we must follow every verse, in its literal translation, to the letter, right? In Genesis, for example, it says that it is an abomination, punishable by death, for any man to spill his seed on the ground (masturbate), or to interrupt intercourse (pull out) as a means of birth control. Every man I know would have to be killed. Every single one. I think I'm just about done with this rant for now, but I suspect there will be more to come. I encourage you to do some research, study these texts, and decide if the commonly accepted interpretation applies to anything you can think of in today's world. I also suggest that you read some of the articles on the website that is lnked at the bottom of this, and anything else you can get your hands on that might help you understand the intention and context of the verses quoted here a little better than I can. I look forward to your comments, as I know this is a controversial and passionate issue for many people on both sides of the wall.

Groverat