To Be or Not To Be - Part II

I thought this second part would be easy to write. The pent up anger and frustration in me would come out so easily I thought. However, I am faced with a dilemma. In talking with a friend about the nature of this post, she cautioned me about crossing the line of imposing my own beliefs onto those I don’t agree with or vice versa. I respect that. Before going any further though, I think I need to give a little background into my own experience with organized religion.

By the time I was thirteen, I had been to many different churches. Southern Baptist, Pentecostal, Seventh Day Adventist, Catholic and The Church or Christ all claim to belong to the greater faith of Christianity but differ dramatically in their interpretation of the Bible. I have seen this first hand. I guess this is why, as an adult, I have rejected all things pertaining to organized religion. In MY opinion, I believe religion is nothing more than a belief system designed by man to control the masses. People since the dawn of time have always been afraid of the unknown. Through a system of gods and beliefs, they have managed to soothe their worries and calm their fears because they have an answer. Sometimes this answer is that there is no answer or we are not to know the answer. I have always been amazed that a group of people can honestly say to another group of people that their belief system is not only superior but the ONLY belief system thereby, damning the other group to some gruesome fate. Likewise, I find it appalling that this same group of people can interpret their bible anyway they see fit to fit the agenda of the day.

In attempting to interpret the Bible, the extremist right of the Christian faith will stop at nothing to persuade the gullible that homosexuality is such a grievous sin that God would condone an automatic death sentence to all homosexuals. It is my understanding that a sin is a sin is a sin. While there are many “commandments” listed in the Bible, only ten are highlighted and of those ten, only two are actual laws in the US. This persuasion comes in the form of a mere recitation of a few versus scattered throughout the Bible. The arguments also call on the question of nature saying that homosexuality defies the natural law of how we are created.

The most brandied about verse come from the book of Leviticus. Basically, it states that a man shall not lie with another man as with a woman. The problem I have with this verse being used as “proof” that God disapproves of homosexuality is that this verse is taken out of context. If we are to follow this verse then why do we not follow the verses surrounding it, mainly the ones that talk about not eating shellfish or stoning a child who talks back to their parents? Supposedly, these rules are negated in the New Testament by Jesus Chris himself, therefore, I don’t see how we can pick and choose which ones to ignore and which ones we revere. Next, we must look at the context in which these were written. In the time of Moses, women were not seen as equals. They were second class citizens at best and more likely treated as possessions. The verse talks about in battle or war where upon conquering the enemy, it was customary to defile them by basically raping them thereby treating them as women. A couple of other verses condemning homosexuality are also interpreted according to what the interpreter wants the verse to say. In the end though, the Bible clearly states that all sins can be washed away with the acceptance of Jesus Christ as your savior. In addition, as also preached, let thee without sin cast the first stone and ye shall not judge lest ye also be judged. I think that pretty much clears up the whole Homosexuality issue.

Next, the most compelling argument against Homosexuality occurring naturally comes in the argument that God created man in his image in his image he created man. Next, God created woman to compliment man and to give him companionship. The whole idea of man and woman was to populate the world. So the fact that homosexual relationships can not produce offspring makes this coupling “unnatural.” In recent decades we have seen heterosexual relationships form where no offspring can be produced “naturally” thus creating a method through science to make this possible. I don’t hear the religious fervor over this “unnatural” producing of offspring. Additionally, we have seen many cases in the animal kingdom where same sex partners come together and shun the opposite sex. We have even seen cases where the same sex couple will “adopt” another’s offspring and raise it as their own. Funny, how in a world without the influence of God, this phenomenon can happen so naturally.

In 1973, the American Psychological Association declassified Homosexuality as a mental disorder. Debates ensued and accusations flew against the board accusing them of caving in to outside activists influence or claiming it the result of an inside job. Next, reparative therapy or conversion therapy cropped up claiming to “cure” homosexuals of their deviant behavior. I personally had an email exchange with one of the subjects cited in a study where the results showed a significant number of participants converted over to heterosexuality. There were certain degrees though, a certain number had not yet had sex with a member of the opposite sex while another group had gone so far as to develop a sexual relationship with someone of the opposite sex. The individual I spoke with was lumped in with the group not yet inducted into their heterosexuality. I asked if any follow up study was conducted. You know, to see if there was any backsliding or if the middle group had graduated to full blown heterosexuals. He stated no, there was no follow up. I asked him if he still lusted after members of the same sex, he said that yes, he did. However, these thoughts were more and more becoming less frequent. I finally told him I thought he was a homosexual living a heterosexual’s lifestyle. He never wrote back. The point of this being, there is no conclusive evidence that someone can alter their sexuality. Most of the participants in this study came from a family rooted in religion. To conduct a fair and accurate study, it has always been my understanding that you have to include a control group and that all participants must be free from biases or any other factor which could taint the results. This was not the case. Furthermore, it is my opinion, that the reason these religious zealots fight to show that conversion therapy works or that the APA made a mistake by declassifying homosexuality as a mental disorder is so that they do not have to admit that GOD made us this way. Because if GOD made us homosexuals, how can he make a mistake?

So there you have it. The real reason these fanatics twist the truth, spread lies and choose to convey their message through fear tactics is to protect their own faith. To cover up the fallacies which exist in their texts is the only way to further their own agendas. I will state that I don’t care what you choose to believe. You can choose to believe whatever you want, just don’t expect me to believe the same. I also call out to all the Christians who believe that God loves everybody and that Jesus Christ truly died for our sins so we don’t have to pay for them to come out and call out these bigots for their shameful behavior. I find it appalling that these liars are not held accountable for their words of hatred and condemnation under the false approval of God! I find it sad that their words carry such weight and succeed in spoiling the minds of millions blinding them from seeing the true message of their God! A message of acceptance and love.