THE BIBLE AND THE GAY COMMUNITY~

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Most Christians don't know this about the bible:

Jesus says nothing about same-sex behavior.

The Jewish prophets are silent about homosexuality.

Only six or seven of the Bible's one million verses refer to same-sex behavior in any way -- and none of these verses refer to homosexual orientation as it's understood today.

- Rev. Mel White (Soulforce)

Proof that fundamentalists selectively quote the Bible:

A lesson about the book of Leviticus . . .

Homophobic fundamentalists often quote two particular verses that seem to be against gay people. These two verses, both of which appear in the book of Leviticus, are . . .

"You shall not lie with a male as with a woman. It is an abomination." (Leviticus 18:22)

and . . .

"If a man lie with a male as he lies with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination. They shall surely be put to death. Their blood shall be upon them." (Leviticus 20:13)

Below, we'll take a look at other scripture verses that are in the exact same book (Leviticus) as the above verse. This exercise proves that those preachers who are so enthusiastic about quoting the book of Leviticus to affirm their personal prejudice against people who are gay or lesbian become awfully quiet when it comes to other verses that appear in the very same book.

Remember, this isn't about faith whatsoever. It's about people who have pre-existing anti-gay prejudice in their hearts. They choose the Christian Bible as the tool which which they attempt to affirm and legitimize that pre-existing prejudice.
Sadly, the truth is that they just don't like gay people.

"For everyone who curses his father or his mother shall surely be put to death. He has cursed his father or his mother. His blood shall be upon him." (Leviticus 20:9)
Imagine what would happen today if we killed every child who was disrespectful to his parents. Fundamentalists explain this verse away, saying that it is part of the Old Levitical Holiness Code and is not meant to be taken literally.
But the above verse is just a mere 3 verses before Leviticus 20:13, one of their favorite anti-gay scriptures which, of course, they do choose to apply literally.
It's just incredible, isn't it?

Fundamentalists change their entire methodology of scriptural interpretation when it suits their purpose, even when dealing with verses that are a just couple of sentences away from each other!

"If a man lies with a woman during her sickness and uncovers her nakedness, he has discovered her flow, and she has uncovered the flow of her blood. Both of them shall be cut off from her people." (Leviticus 20:18)

Imagine what would happen today if we deported every man and woman who had ever had sex together while the woman was having her period. Fundamentalists decline the opportunity to take this verse literally, which is merely 5 verses after Leviticus 20:13.

"Your male and female slaves are to come from the nations around you; from them you may buy slaves. You may also buy some of the temporary residents living among you and members of their clans born in your country, and they will become your property." (Leviticus 25:44-45)

Did you ever wonder where racist, uneducated Southerners in the 19th century got the idea that slaves were just property and not people? Directly from the above verse, which fundamentalists do not, of course, take literally.

"Do not cut the hair at the sides of your head or clip off the edges of your beard." (Leviticus 19:27)

"Bible-believing" fundamentalists never preach against the evils of shaving, as they do not take this verse literally for our day. Of course, they most certainly would do so if they had a personal bias against shaving, but apparently, they do not.

"...and the swine, though it divides the hoof, having cloven hooves, yet does not chew the cud, is unclean to you." (Leviticus 11:7)

As you can see, the book of Leviticus also prohibits the eating of pork (a swine is a pig). Of course, fundamentalists do not choose to use this verse to preach against eating pork. Sadly, however, they have no problem abusing the Bible to condemn gay and lesbian people. Remember, it's about their personal prejudice against gay people, not about a true desire to understand what the Bible actually says.

"...do not plant your field with two kinds of seed. Do not wear material woven of two kinds of material." (Leviticus 19:19)

Farmers in this country almost always grow more than one kind of crop in their fields. In fact, they often must do so for ecological reasons. Fundamentalists do not apply this verse literally. If they were to preach against farmers, there would be an uproar, and rightfully so.

Fundamentalists also ignore the Biblical command to not wear clothes that have two different kinds of material. The shirts that many fundamentalists are often seen wearing must be a cotton/polyester blend, the most common in the United States of America.

They may be "Bible believing" Christians, but this is yet another verse that they don't believe should be applied to today.

~Author Anonymous

Following are a few more quotes "just for your reading pleasure" ......

DEUTERONOMY 22:13-21
If it is discovered that a bride is not a virgin, the Bible demands that she be executed by stoning immediately.

DEUTERONOMY 22:22
If a married person has sex with someone else's husband or wife, the Bible commands that both adulterers be stoned to death.

MARK 10:1-12
Divorce is strictly forbidden in both Testaments, as is remarriage of anyone who has been divorced.

LEVITICUS 18:19
The Bible forbids a married couple from having sexual intercourse during a woman's period. If they disobey, both shall be executed.

MARK 12:18-27
If a man dies childless, his widow is ordered by biblical law to have intercourse with each of his brothers in turn until she bears her deceased husband a male heir.

DEUTERONOMY 25:11-12
If a man gets into a fight with another man and his wife seeks to rescue her husband by grabbing the enemy's genitals, her hand shall be cut off and no pity shall be shown her.

HYPOCRISY THRU THE AGES ~

The first edition of the English Bible commonly known as the "King James Version" was printed in 1611.

King James VI of Scotland & I of Great Britain had sponsored the project, and the translators appropriately dedicated the new Bible to him."

Throughout his youth, James was praised for his chastity, since he showed little interest in women; and although he preferred the company of males and showed a special fondness for the Duke of Lennox; a suitable marriage, was necessary to reinforce his monarchy, and the choice fell on the fourteen-year-old Anne of Denmark (born October 1574), younger daughter of the Protestant Frederick II. The couple produced three surviving children: Henry, Prince of Wales, who was to die, probably of typhoid, in 1612, aged 18; Elizabeth, later Queen of Bohemia; and Charles, the future King Charles I of England.

Shortly after his marriage to Anne, King James having already been involved in a love affair with the Duke of Lennox; took as his current lover in England, a young man whose special relationship with the king would earn him the Earldom of Somerset.

By 1615, however, Somerset's fortunes declined and James succeeded in luring his most famous lover, George Villiers, later Duke of Buckingham, into bed. What are we to make of these relationships between King James and his so-called "favorites?"

in 1617 James addressed the venerable Privy Council with an official affirmation of his right to love men:

"I, James, am neither a god nor an angel, but a man like any other. Therefore I act like a man and confess to loving those dear to me more than other men. You may be sure that I love the Earl of Buckingham more than anyone else, and more than you who are here assembled. I wish to speak in my own behalf and not to have it thought to be a defect, for Jesus Christ did the same, and therefore I cannot be blamed. Christ had John, and I have George."

Quote from a letter written by James I to the Duke of Buckingham: "I desire only to live in the world for your sake, and I had rather live banished in any part of the world with you, than live a sorrowful widow-life without you. And so God bless you, my sweet child and wife, and grant that ye may ever be a comfort to your dear dad and husband."

Théophile de Viau did not mince words in describing the king's relationship. In his poem, Au Marquis du Boukinquan, (1623) de Viau writes:

Apollo with his songs
Debauched young Hyacinthus
Just as Corydon fucked Amyntas,
So Caesar did not spurn boys.

One man fucks Monsieur le Grand de Bellegarde,
Another fucks the Comte de Tonnerre.
And it is well known that the King of England
Fucks the Duke of Buckingham.

Assasinated in 1628 the Duke of Buckingham's body was entombed in the Henry VII Chapel at Westminster Abbey, hitherto reserved for royalty, where it now resides beneath a recumbent bronze effigy near the tomb of his beloved King James who died in 1625. On a tablet facing the tomb is the famous (Latin) inscription describing him as "THE ENIGMA OF THE WORLD."

The magnificent Buckingham tomb is on James's left; on his right is the tomb (with bronze figures representing Hope, Truth, Charity and Faith) of his other lover, Ludovic Stuart, Duke of Richmond and Lennox.

King James was responsible for the restoration and remodelling of the Henry VII Chapel—presumably to celebrate for eternity his love for two men.

Many earlier historians treated the subject of James' homosexuality with shock, disdain, and denial. Only recently has the subject been treated more seriously and fairly by scholars such as Caroline Bingham, Jonathan Goldberg Roger Lockyer, and David Bergeron.

FAREWELL FALWELL

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On the day of his funeral, a tribute to Jerry Falwell; in his own words.....

"The idea that religion and politics don't mix was invented by the Devil to keep Christians from running their own country."

"The ACLU is to Christians what the American Nazi party is to Jews."

"I hope I live to see the day when, as in the early days of our country, we won't have any public schools. The churches will have taken them over again and Christians will be running them. What a happy day that will be!"

"AIDS is the wrath of a just God against homosexuals. To oppose it would be like an Israelite jumping in the Red Sea to save one of Pharaoh's charioteers ... AIDS is not just God's punishment for homosexuals; it is God's punishment for the society that tolerates homosexuals."

"Nothing will motivate conservative evangelical Christians to vote Republican in the 2008 presidential election more than a Democratic nominee named Hillary Rodham Clinton - not even a run by the devil himself ... I certainly hope that Hillary is the candidate. She has $300 million so far. But I hope she's the candidate. Because nothing will energize my [constituency] like Hillary Clinton. If Lucifer ran, he wouldn't." --at a "Values Voter Summit"

"Grown men should not be having sex with prostitutes unless they are married to them."

"Billy Graham is the chief servant of Satan in America."

"He is purple — the gay-pride color, and his antenna is shaped like a triangle — the gay pride symbol." –from a "Parents Alert" issued in Jerry Falwell's National Liberty Journal, warning that "Tinky Winky," a character on the popular PBS children's show, "Teletubbies," may be gay.

"You've got to kill the terrorists before the killing stops. And I'm for the president to chase them all over the world. If it takes 10 years, blow them all away in the name of the Lord."

"The abortionists have got to bear some burden for this because God will not be mocked. And when we destroy 40 million little innocent babies, we make God mad. I really believe that the pagans, and the abortionists, and the feminists, and the gays and the lesbians who are actively trying to make that an alternative lifestyle, the ACLU, People for the American Way -- all of them who have tried to secularize America -- I point the finger in their face and say 'you helped this happen.'" --on the 9/11 attacks.

A TIME TO DANCE

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"Dance, Tinky Winky; his name calling can't hurt you anymore. 'Jerry Falwell is dead.'"


Falwell created a furor in 1999 when one of his publications suggested that the purse-carrying "Teletubbies" character Tinky Winky was gay.

The Catholic Obsession with Sexuality!

In calling church leaders "arrogant", Catholic Theologian Daniel Maguire informed the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops that they are overly fixated on contraception, abortion and same sex marriage and neglecting justice issues including poverty, racism and environmental degradation.

Maguire, a graduate of Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome who teaches religious ethics at Marquette University, a Jesuit school has been challenging the church's views on sexuality for years.

Last year he distributed pamphlets to all U.S. bishops titled, "The Moderate Roman Catholic Position on Contraception and Abortion" and "A Catholic Defense of Same-Sex Marriage."

The response from the bishops' doctrine committee was that Maguire gave his views wide distribution "as if they were a valid alternative to the teaching of the Catholic Church." The prelates publicly denounced his arguments.

Meanwhile the National Review Board for the Protection of Children and Young People, established by the same US Conference of Catholic Bishops published the following statistics on abuse by catholic clergy.

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US clerics accused of abuse from 1950-2002: 4,392.
Individuals making accusations: 10,667.
Victims' ages: 5.8% under 7; 16% ages 8-10; 50.9% ages 11-14; 27.3% ages 15-17.
Victims' gender: 81% male, 19% female

Known cost to dioceses and religious orders: $572,507,094 (does not include the $85 million Boston settlement and other expenses after research was concluded).

These figures are widely suspected to be grossly underestimated. For example, the late Fr. Tom Economus, former President of the Linkup, a national survivors' advocacy group, said back in the mid-90s that he knew of "1,400 insurance claims on the books and that the Church has paid out over $1 billion in liability with an estimated $500 million pending."

He also said that over 800 priests had been removed from ministry and that there might be as many as 5,000 with allegations against them.