Sunday, September 30th 2007
Posted by Johnny
We were raised Catholic but that did not seem to last long. We did the Sunday School thing and I remember being totally consumed with fear in and out of Sunday School. I was afraid to touch the walls or do anything without permission for fear of going to hell; from an early age the nuns and priests took great strides to make it painfully clear that all us children knew about hell and what a terrible place it was. We were all promised that if we did not obey our parents or them for that matter that that hot, terrible and frightening place down under would be our home for all eternity. I get sick thinking of how many children had been abused and were forced to keep it secret under the threat of hell. Had they known that what they were experiencing was in fact hell itself in its most terrible form, perhaps they would have the chance and strength to speak up and rid them selves of the evil dressed in contradiction, lies and white collars.
My Father never went with us. As we got dressed and complained he sat silently in the kitchen or on the sofa. I do not remember whether or not we asked why or even if we got an answer but later I learned the my Father had been married before and had gotten divorced; it was a very bad thing to do in the church those days. I doubt that my Father had chosen not to go based on religious respect and saw it more as a perfect excuse.
Before I could really grasp the religion and form my own opinion about it, we seemed to have stopped going. But not before I received communion. It was a real whoop-de-doo in my school as it was in any Catholic school.
There was lots of preparation; classes, rehearsals and lots of drilling home the idea that this was a great spiritual gift and we should be happy and grateful. There was of course the underlying threat of eternal damnation that was always lingering behind the chalice, before the prayer, after rehearsals and all throughout that year at St. Pius X in Bedford, Ohio.
I do not think I was nervous as much as I was excited. A large portion of my family had showed up in suits and fancy dresses to the church. There was going to be a great party at my house after the ceremony and I was stoked to hear that money would be given to me in lieu of presents; it was later that day I learned it would be put into an account far from my reach.
I do not remember much about the party, the ceremony or how much money I got. But man do I remember that suit and how much I liked it.
Filed in Ancient History, It's All Relative, Photos, Religion | 11 Comments »
Wednesday, June 13th 2007
Posted by Boy Wonder
People that are threatened by homosexuality often seek justification from the Bible. It’s a common strategy to align yourself with scriptures to gain support in a fight against those that challenge your way of life. People that operate outside the lines of your convenient constraints aren’t likely to be controlled by your condemnation so why not enlist the assistance of the lord? Of course, this tactic is immediately shattered by the fact that the words used to condemn are not, in fact, the words of the lord at all. Unfortunately for many of us, that particular fact is of little importance to the greater part of the Christian world, which is why it is so shockingly simple for a few insecure individuals to secure legitimacy for their ridiculous claims about the detrimental effect of homosexuality on their world.
From religioustolerance.org:
This is almost identical to Leviticus 18:22. In transliterated Hebrew, the verse is written: “V’ish asher yishkav et zachar mishk’vei ishah to’evah asu shneihem mot yumatu d’meihem bam.” However, it adds a compulsory death penalty to the participants. In various translation the passage has been translated:
- ASV: (American Standard Version, 1901) “And if a man lie with mankind, as with womankind, both of them have committed abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.”
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- Darby: (J.N. Darby Translation, 1890): “And if a man lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall certainly be put to death; their blood is upon them.”
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- ESV: (English Standard Version): “If a man lies with a male as with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination; they shall surely be put to death; their blood is upon them.”
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- HNV: (Hebrew Names Version): “If a man lies with a male, as with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.”
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- KJV: (King James Version): “If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death. Their blood shall be upon them.”
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- LB: (Living Bible): “The penalty for homosexual acts is death to both parties. They have brought it upon themselves.”
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- NASB: (New American Standard Bible): “‘If {there is} a man who lies with a male as those who lie with a woman, both of them have committed a detestable act; they shall surely be put to death. Their bloodguiltiness is upon them. “
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- Net Bible: “If a man has sexual intercourse with a male as one has sexual intercourse with a woman, the two of them have committed an abomination. They must be put to death; their blood guilt is on themselves.”
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- NIV: (New International Version) “If a man lies with a man as one lies with a woman, both of them have done what is detestable. They must be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads.”
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- NKJV: (New King James Version) “If a man lies 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.”
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- NLT: (New Living Translation): “The penalty for homosexual acts is death to both parties. They have committed a detestable act, and are guilty of a capital offense.”
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- RSV: (Revised Standard Version): “If a man lies with a male as with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination; they shall be put to death; their blood is upon them.”
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- Webster: (Noah Webster Version, 1833): “If a man also shall lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood [shall be] upon them.”
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- Young: (Robert Young Literal Translation, 1898) “And a man who lieth with a male as one lieth with a woman; abomination both of them have done; they are certainly put to death; their blood [is] on them.”
Death is sometimes required by the Hebrew Scriptures as the punishment for ritual transgressions. These included the worshiping of other Gods, gathering sticks on the Sabbath (Numbers 15:32-36), improper eating of ritual offerings (Numbers 18:32), ineligible persons acting as priests (Num 3:10).
Over the last few centuries, most Christians and Jews have rejected Leviticus 20:13. They no longer call on the death penalty for homosexuals. Only Christian Reconstructionists and a few Christian hate groups wish to revert to mass executions of gays and lesbians today.
I do not wish to condemn Christians with this post. Rather, I would like to applaud the Christians, Jews and all other faiths that have discarded the anti-homosexual parts of their religion.
Filed in Politics, Religion | 9 Comments »
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