Imagine meeting your soul mate. The person you have always dreamt about finding. The one that knows the things that make you happy, your deepest fears and the secrets you've never told anyone else. Out of all of the people in the world and after years of searching, you have finally been blessed enough to find your true love.
Now imagine being told that your feelings for that person weren't real, were wrong or that it is an abomination against God.
For as long as I can remember, I have been attracted to guys with dark hair and dark eyes. Whether it was Jeff, the boy in my 2nd grade class, Chris, my high school crush, my movie star fantasy men (Johnny Depp, Colin Farrell, George Clooney in case anyone wants to pass the word along to them) or baseball's all around good guy, Mike Lowell (Go Red Sox!), I just always preferred the boys with dark locks as opposed to the fair haired ones. I couldn't help it anymore than those that like someone with a little junk in the trunk, go crazy for a red head, or lean towards girls with the body of a supermodel or guys built like professional wrestlers. It was just simply my taste.
Sure I dated a blond or two. But the primal attraction from within always drew me towards the brunettes. Anything else, with maybe the exception of Brad Pitt, felt forced and unnatural.
For millions of men and women being attracted to the opposite gender is forced and unnatural. Don't think that gay men haven't tried to like girls or that most lesbians have never dated a man. They have. It's not like they chose to be gay because it would be easier. After all, it would have been much simpler to be what society dubs as "normal."
No one wants to be considered abnormal. It doesn't make for an easy plight. When someone is different, they are often ridiculed, teased, even shamed. The reason for this is because people have a hard time embracing what they don't understand.
For years religions, countries and nationalities have fought wars because they simply don't understand the other's views or beliefs. They view them as too contradictory to their own and believe their own views are the only ones with any validity.
Christopher Columbus was ridiculed for going against what people had believed for hundreds of years: The world was flat. Italians used to believe that eating eggplant caused insanity. Christians are taught to believe in the theory of Creation: God created Adam, then He took a rib from Adam and Eve was created and from them spawned Humanity.
It took one trip for the masses to realize Christopher Columbus was right and follow along. Eventually, enough Italians ate eggplant without going crazy for the population to realize hey, maybe we were wrong about this eggplant thing and Viola! Eggplant Parmesan was born.
Unfortunately, religion has not been so open minded, especially when it comes to homosexual relationships. For years, I have heard individuals use religion as a platform against homosexuality. "God says it is an abomination for a man to lay with another man" or the ever popular "It was Adam and Eve. Not Adam and Steve."
These people, most that have never read the Bible, jump on the bandwagon and spout this religious propaganda. Surely, if they are accusing others of blasphemy, then they must be living their lives in full accordance with the Bible. I mean after all, those that live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones, right?
Just for fun, let's check.
Let's start with any easy one:
First, let's delve into two of the Seven Deadly Sins. Gluttony is defined by Wikipedia as the over-indulgence and over-consumption to the point of waste. Have you ever eaten out of boredom? Gone to a buffet and taken more than you could finish? What kind of car do you drive? Is it an old clunker that gets you from point A to point B or is it shiny and pretty complete with air, a GPS, and six CD changer?
Sinner!
Now let's look at another Deadly Sin. Have you ever looked at someone's physique and thought, "I work out constantly, eat nothing but celery and water and look like this and she eats anything she wants and never works out and looks like that? Or thought, I work twice as hard as (insert name here), yet he makes more money than me. Congratulations, you are guilty of Envy.
Shame on you.
I know. I know. Most people are guilty of that, so we should probably overlook it. I mean if everyone does it, they probably aren't really important Commandments. But the Bible says…
The Bible also says: Fornication, the illicit sex acts of unmarried persons which is likewise forbidden (I Corinthians 5:1; 6:13, 18; Ephesians 5:3). Good thing none of us had sex before we were married, even with our husband/wife to be, eh? Seriously, nowadays, most people wouldn't get married without first, ummm… how should I put this, sampling the goods.
Now let's review some of the Commandments: Honor thy Father and Mother. Ever talk back to your parents or fail to become a lawyer or doctor like they imagined?
Have you ever missed church on Sunday or done yard work, clean the house, etc?
Blasphemous!
(Notice the part about slaves? That is in the Bible, yet we are intelligent enough to condemn that as being wrong and even recognize it in the Constitution.)
Then there is my personal favorite: Though shall not murder.
Why is this my personal favorite? Because often, the same people that fight so vehemently against homosexuality are the same people that have ribbons on their doors in "Support of the Troops" and favor the death penalty. Don't get me wrong. I support our troops wholeheartedly, but we are fighting a war forged out of greed and envy (which we have already learned are two of the Deadly Sins), and a murder is defined as anyone that takes the life of the innocent. We have all heard the term "casualty of war." Are all of the soldiers destined to a life of hellfire?
And for those that defend the death penalty saying it is not considered wrong in the Bible. Answer me this: How big were Moses' stone tablets? Was there room for asterisks?
Did God put: "Thou shall not commit murder *unless someone really deserves it"?
My objective isn't to tear apart the Bible. However, even the Bible has been amended over the years. You have the Old Testament that speaks of a mean, vengeful, "eye for an eye" God and even describes Him as being a "jealous" God and therefore you are not allowed to worship any other Gods. Jealous…Envy…hmmmm.
Then you have the New Testament where God is much kinder and forgiving. More like a hippie. Maybe he started taking Zoloft.
The Bible was originally passed down orally, and then eventually documented in Hebrew with some parts in Aramaic. Have you ever played operator? Things tend to get exaggerated when spread by word of mouth(Heck, my family usually can't even get a simple phone message right). Plus, even after it was documented, it still had to be translated. Isn't there the slightest chance something could have been misinterpreted or translated wrong?
The point that I am trying to make is that you cannot condemn someone without condemning yourself. You cannot take the parts of the Bible that you prefer and cast aside the ones that you do not like or that don't gel with your own life.
Heterosexuals have been screwing up marriage for years, just check today's divorce rate, which, by the way, is against Catholic beliefs. Why not give homosexuals a chance to get it right? And PLEASE don't cry about how it affects the economy, medical benefits, etc. To those people I say, eat another doughnut, smoke another cigarette, or sit on the couch watching television instead of exercising.
Also, break your arm, go to the hospital and get your bill. Then tell them that you don't have insurance. See if they change the price. I bet they lower it a few hundred or thousand dollars. Yet they would have billed the insurance company the higher rate.
Illegal aliens receive health care benefits. Medicaid provides for those less fortunate. It also provides for those that continue to have children to get more Welfare money.
But I'm sure it is the working, married homosexuals that are raising the rates.
And speaking of children, studies have proven that children raised by homosexuals tend to do better in school and be better adjusted than children brought up in a more "traditional" manner.
We need to stop looking for reasons to hate and discriminate. If you don't understand someone's ways or beliefs, ask them about them. If you still don't get it, don't worry about it, but don't condemn them for something you don't comprehend. There is word for that: Ignorance.
The Bible says: "Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thine heart; thou shalt in any wise rebuke thy neighbour, and not suffer sin upon him. Thou shalt not revenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the Lord."—Leviticus 19.17, 18.
Why not focus on that? Love your fellow man. And while you may claim to "know" God, my guess is you have never sat, had a cup of coffee or a glass of wine with Him and said, "So God, what are your thoughts on divorce, sexuality, and war?" So, until you have, stop judging what other's do and how they live. If someone is lucky enough to find true love, let them enjoy it. After all, aren't we all just a bunch of souls? When we die, our body does not go with us. Therefore, if we are going to pass judgement, shouldn't we do it based on a person's soul, not whom they date?
And to the poets that still spout out, "Adam and Eve. Not Adam and Steve," congratulations, you are sleeping with you sister, brother, mother, cousin, etc. I suggest you either practice abstinence or quit worrying about everyone else's sex life. And I promise…you "can't catch it" either. And trust me, even if you could, homosexuals wouldn't want you on their team. Truth is, we don't want your ignorant ass on our's either.
Have fun in your Heaven. I guess I will enjoy Hell with the soldiers, the homosexuals and anyone that has a different religion or set of beliefs than you. Although, to be honest, that sounds like Heaven to me.
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