The Shuffling Of Feet

Is being gay or trans a sin? After all it is how we are born and if you believe God made everything, including humans then you have to believe that He made us as well. How is being born gay a sin any more than being born straight? Either way, sex still comes into the equation because of our innate human nature, but that is another matter for another day.

Needless to say, if it is a sin, well then - most good things in life are and have been called "sinful" - so what?

Branching Off

For a long time I have been interested in scientific studies of our distant relatives, the apes. Aside from the interesting genetic discoveries that indicate less than one gene actually determines whether we swing from branches or manage them, it has been most gratifying to see that come of them make and use primitive (but still clever) tools and have social orders not unlike some of our own.

Bricks And Mortar

According to Christ, all have sinned, and that includes you and me, and everyone else here on this world. While I am the last person to claim to be perfect, I think it is rather funny how some sinners seem to think they are better than other sinners, innit?

This group of political parties claiming to be Christians supposedly representing all followers of Christ also say they do not hate gay people, but act out of love for us - and that it only SEEMS as if they hate us. Often they even claim we are acting out of hate for them and their religion by daring to stand up to them.

Hmm. Interesting concept.

Bang, Bang - My Pastor Shot Me Down...!

I used to call myself a Christian all of my life, having being born into a loving Christian family and been "born again" when I was 12. I spent all my adult life believing in a loving god - until I saw people say and do things I could not believe came from a heart supposedly changed by the living god - especially against people like me - in the name of this same god. 

 

While I do not believe that this God feels the way they do about GLBT people, this inexcusable HATE has most certainly set me against this contradictory fundamentalist sector of Christianity - and any religion - that chooses to persecute.

Curiouser And Curiouser

Today in India, homosexuality is illegal and punishable by laws and social stigmas inherited from British rule and Victorian conservatism.

We all remember the Victorians - people who were so severely religious, they were afraid to see even themselves naked in case it caused them to think sinful thoughts.

Of Grated Carrots And Canned Fruit

During a 'spirited' (no pun intended) debate with a supporter of the ACDC - I mean P, I suggested those "loving Christians" watch the documentary "For the Bible tells me so". For those who do not know, it is a documentary which exposes the motives and misinformation used by the religious right and biblical literalists to try and justify the persecution of GLBT people. It does not attack Christianity, but uses religious argument along with scientific facts to reveal the flaws and faults in the religious rights' attack on innocent people based on misinterpretation, mistranslation and prejudice.

People have been expressing hate under the guise of religious clothing for so long they do not even see the wrong in it anymore.

WDJD (What Did Jesus Do) ?

Happening upon another debate on a religious political party Facebook group hate wall, I noticed somebody posted the following in a debate about GLBT and their party's dicriminatory policies:

"God gave us freedom of choice so if you want to be bisexual, be bisexual; if you want to be a pedophile, that is your choice;"

So who's a hypocrite now?

COPE Lied To Us!

Late last year I was part of a group that lobbied the new party COPE to include GLBT rights in its policies and manifesto. COPE was then making all the right human rights noises and astonishingly even invited GLBT to the table. It seems in hindsight, that it may well have been just another ploy to win as much support as they could, at almost any cost. Almost.

- Next!

Today the rights, dignity and equality of gay and trans people are under relentless attack from people who use religion - and even the same religion of their victims - against them as a weapon. It is not just the rights we seek to be equal to them that they assault - but us as people as well. Gay-haters make physical attacks on hapless outnumbered victims, those thinking of themselves as "christian soldiers" have even bombed gay establishments around the world. America launched a war against terror for just one incident, horrible as it was - and yet for decades, GLBT have been on the receiving end of a largely ignored, publicly condoned and silent War OF Terror.

There Is No Fence!

A feminist friend pointed out to me the other day that men seem to be the root cause of all of women's - and society's ills:

We have MENstruation, MENopause, MENtal illness, deMENtia,

...and it seems now we can add fundaMENtalism as well.

She may have a point.