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An essay on homophobia
Same sex marriage and religious liberties
An essay on homophobia
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Gays and Lesbians are forever engulfed in the battle of Religion vs. our “lifestyle”. We subject ourselves to everything, including exorcisms to assist our becoming “normal again” or at least tip back into that closet. When it was my turn to come out, or should I say – be “outed”, family and some friends outright disowned me. In one hour, I went from being a God-fearing youth leader that was an example for the children I worked with, to an evil abomination before God, demonic and contagious, all because my sexuality has a clause that states, “No men allowed”. Sadly, my story is not my own, many that come out face daily judgment and condemnation by people who feel superior. To be gay and still in love with God, can be complicated (and sometimes fatal) when trying to maintain your spirituality while being judged by your sexuality, and your sexuality alone.
Recently, the question was posed on Facebook, “would you allow a gay couple to join your church?” After a lengthy discussion (which I shied away from because it seemed like a breeding ground for discord), a pastor replied, “I wouldn't let a gay couple join, but they can attend all they want. My Pastor(s) preach & teach only the word of God so membership for a gay couple is not an option. Bottom line is, one's lifestyle have to line up with the word of God. The gay lifestyles are an abomination to God. Honestly, if a church does accept a gay couple to join, my advice is to stay away from that church because they are compromising the word of God. Judging is not the case, but holding one accountable for their acting’s are. I am a Pastor! In addition, I would not allow a couple with a gay lifestyle to join my church and if my Pastor did allow someone of that lifestyle to join I...
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... Christianity. I believe, years ago, ignorance was a result of sin and knowledge and understanding came as a gift from God to move us from our ignorant beliefs. God loves and accepts many kinds of people and I believe Heaven will be a paradise filled with all types of people! Some even I may never have imagined to be there.
While there are those who use homosexuality as a free pass to promiscuity, there are those of us who have passionate relationships that are products of love and devotion rather than sex. Anything done out of love is pure because God is love, and in love, there is no sin. God invites us all to strive to know Him better, to know Him personally, and to grow as a person to help others experience His joy, not just some. God does not place limitations on His love, mercy and grace but our own prejudice does; and souls are suffering because of it.
God has declared through His loving kindness and His righteousness how He enjoys heterosexual relationships, as Creator of man and woman. God created a woman from Adam’s rib so that Adam would not be alone. Upon completion of God creating woman, God asked Adam to name her; Adam declared she would be called woman as she was created with man’s rib, but her name will be Eve as she is the first woman. Therefore, that pleased God, and we have the first marriage. A marriage where to people man and woman come together. They were creatively designed by God to fit each other. God did not create man to lay with another man, as their bodies are not designed to fit or complement each other. Adam was given instructions from God not to eat from the tree of knowledge and as head of the marriage; it was his responsibility to enforce God’s command. Yet he failed and ate with Eve from the tree. And later that day, as God was walking in the garden in the coolness of the day, He called out to Adam. Adam and Eve were hiding from Him, as they knew they blew it. When God questioned Adam why did he eat from the tree, Adam blamed Eve. God is fair and just and He loves us all. Even when they had sinned against God, God loved them and clothed them with animal skins. In order for Him to provide the animal skins, He had to kill the animal.
In the rural, Catholic village that I grew up in, there were a total of 3-5 gay people ranging in age from teenagers to adults. When we would go out of town and see a presumed member of the LGBT community, I often heard homophobic comments. Most of the residents in my hometown were born and raised there, for at least two generations. Be it that homosexuality used to be considered a mental illness or the fact that everyone is Catholic, the community was moderately homophobic. This played a large role in the formation of my identity over the next several
In the past decades, the struggle for gay rights in the Unites States has taken many forms. Previously, homosexuality was viewed as immoral. Many people also viewed it as pathologic because the American Psychiatric Association classified it as a psychiatric disorder. As a result, many people remained in ‘the closet’ because they were afraid of losing their jobs or being discriminated against in the society. According to David Allyn, though most gays could pass in the heterosexual world, they tended to live in fear and lies because they could not look towards their families for support. At the same time, openly gay establishments were often shut down to keep openly gay people under close scrutiny (Allyn 146). But since the 1960s, people have dedicated themselves in fighting for
"That is why God gave them up to disgraceful sexual appetites, for both their females changed the natural use of themselves into one contrary nature and likewise even the males left the natural use of the female and became violently inflamed in their lust toward one another, males with males, working what is obscene and receiving in themselves the full recompense, which was due for their error." (Romans 1:26-27)
People’s different values and morals play a role in defining what they believe. Many people find homosexuality to be not natural, and it goes against many people’s views. However, there is also a lot of people who argue in favor of homosexuality and find nothing about it unnatural. For those people who do think it is not natural they normally use the argument that this kind of sex can not reproduce, therefore it is not right because the point of sex is to reproduce. Many times the Bible will also be used to refer to verses that condemn acts of homosexual sex. People who favor the morality of homosexuality find many things wrong with these arguments. To say that the only purpose of sex is to reproduce would be wrong because there are many examples of heterosexual couples who have sex without the intention of conception. Medical problems, protected sex, and just sex for fun are all reasons why
The American debate on homosexuality reveals an unquestionable, though awfully uninvited, fusion between religion and politics, revealing a dangerous lack of separation between the church and state. The concern is not about the presence of spirituality in American politics, but the implications institutionalized religion has on the lives and rights of human beings. Nothing hinders the political and social progress of lesbian women and gay men quite like the complexities of religion. Dating back to the beginning of literature itself, homosexuality is far from modern. Nonetheless, homosexuality is currently the most divisive and fiercely debated topic in recent religious discourse. While most Christians maintain allegiance in labeling same-sex relationships as morally wrong, the church is dramatically divided on the proper place for gays and lesbians in American society and of course, American politics.
The acceptance of “abnormal” sexualities has been a prolonged, controversial battle. The segregation is excruciating and the prejudice remarks are so spiteful that some people never truly recover. Homosexuals have been left suffering for ages. Life, for most homosexuals during the first half of the twentieth century, was mostly one of hiding: having to constantly hide their true feelings and tastes. Instead of restaurants and movies, they had to sit quiet in the dark and meet each other in concealed places such as bars. Homosexuals were those with “mental and psychic abnormalities” and were the victim of medical prejudice, police harassment, and church condemnation (Jagose 24). The minuscule mention or assumption of one’s homosexuality could easily lead to the loss of family, livelihood, and sometimes even their lives. It was only after the Stonewall riots and the organization of gay/lesbian groups that times for homosexuals started to look brighter.
Every Sunday at six in the morning in my entire life I was always told to believe that the church is one, holy, catholic [universal], and apostolic. One of the traditional beliefs that was passed down to me from the church and my family, is that I must serve and love GOD from Jesus Christ to gain access to heaven. Catholics believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God who teaches us through the word of the Church, which is why am always accompanied by my family to attend church. the entire right side of the church is occupied by my extended family. My family and I follow Gods ten commandments, especially to “And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might” (Deuteronomy 6:5) and “You shall not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the LORD” (Leviticus 19:18). And then there’s the views of Homosexuality, the church “The Catholic Church opposes gay marriage and the social acceptance of homosexuality and same-sex relationships, but teaches that homosexual persons deserve respect, justice and pastoral care” (http://www.americancatholic.org/News/Homosexuality/default.asp). Because am catholic, my views on gays is that is wrong, which is why my sexual orientation is heterosexual. In high school, I had two friends that were gay. I remember thinking how wrong it was because "marriage
In the text above, I have explained how religion is used to persecute LGBT persons, how personal views can differ from religious opinions, and how the LGBT community and a religious society could coexist. LGBT people have appeared in recorded history for ages, and long before the dawning of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In the past, these societies had roles for LGBT persons that allowed acceptance, and in our global society where Abrahamic religions are widely influential, we can draw back on our ancient histories to create a environment where LGBT persons are accepted while continuing to have a religious and spiritual society.
In today's society, there exists a mixture of issues which tend to raise arguments with people all over. There are a handful of topics that always seem to escalate these differences between people to the point where one who earnestly participates in discussion, debate and argument can direct their anger towards their feelings on the person themselves. Some examples of such delicate subjects are the death penalty, abortion, and euthanasia. An issue that has in recent years, begun to increase arguments, is the acceptability of homosexuality in society. Until recently, homosexuality was considered strictly taboo. If an individual was homosexual, it was considered a secret to be kept from all family, friends, and society. However, it seem that society has begun to accept this lifestyle by allowing same sex couples. The idea of coming out of the 'closet' has moved to the head of homosexual individuals when it used to be the exception. Homosexuality is nothing to be ashamed of and we should all come to realize this.
I will begin first with the idea that sexual behavior should not be granted its own moral code. Sexual ethics only makes sense if sexuality plays a unique role in human life. If procreation has significance precisely because it is a contribution to God's ongoing work of creation, sexuality is supremely important and must be governed by restrictive rules, which would therefore prohibit sexual acts that are not for procreative purposes. This justification of sexuality as a unique aspect of human life, however, is dependent on a theological claim that there exists a God who micro manages the sexual lives of individuals. Without the presence of such a God, there can exist no separate restrictive rules on the nature of sexual acts. Even if we grant that there is a God, most people will agree that sex is more often used as a way to intensify the bond between two people and therefor sex is the ultimate trust and intimacy that you can share with a person.
These questions arise from our own desires as Christians to reflect a biblically sound attitude towards sexuality and relationships. That same desire to act according to biblical scriptures is subject to opposition from today’s culture and views about sexual relationships, gender, and roles. A new definition of marriage, sexual orientation, and sexual practices is challenging our relationship with God and our view of human sexuality. Bishop John Spong defines sex and its impact on relationships: “Sex can be called at once the greatest gift to humanity and the greatest enigma of our lives. It is a gift in that is a singular joy for all beings and enigma in its destructive potential for people and their relationships.” (Spong, 1988)
There are individuals that live in fear of showing their true identity to the world because they simply fear that society won’t accept them for having a different sexual orientation. Society advocates that individuals should be able to be proud of who they are, but yet they judge homosexuals for being different. People are taught not to judge others based on their race or religion, so why do they still discriminate against homosexuals? The homosexual subculture is not accepted by society, looked down upon, and misjudged; however, they are human beings and deserve to be treated equally.
Homosexuality today is widely accepted by a majority of the world, but there are still many different views about homosexuality. Many of these views come from a religious point a view, and regard homosexuality as a sin against god. Another view is from a natural stand point, or a biological view of the subject, and is a genetic mistake. Lastly there are the views that accept homosexuality just as it is, and see nothing wrong with it.
There is a group of people who are only attracted to the same genders. They still haven’t been completely accepted and approved by society. The world regards them as abnormal; the Bible defines being homosexual as a sin. The homosexuals have been fighting for their right of being treated equally for many years, and so have some others who support and embrace ones who have different sexuality. Their only aspiration is to prove to the world that homosexuality is not a sin. There’s a great deal of factors resulting in homosexuality. And they all demonstrate that there’s nothing wrong with being a gay; instead, it’s just a different way to live a life.