Catching up.

Well Thanksgiving has come and gone, and Christmas is on it's way. Christmas songs are pouring through speakers in the stores and malls across America. People are adorning their houses with bright colored flashing lights and other items. Hanukkah begins on Wednesday, so Jews are pulling out their Menorahs and planning their meals and who will be coming over or if they are going to the community center. Galas, plays, pageants, concerts, and parades are all drawing closer. Parents are rushing around trying to get that must have toy. Lovers are squabbling over who's parents to go spend the Holidays with. Salvation Army workers shiver in the cold while ringing bells next to their recognizable red buckets. Oh yeah, in all of the commotion of the Holidays, we sometimes tend to forget about those who are unable to have a holiday dinner due to financial needs. However, the homeless and needy will be at the top of the list for end of year donations for most people. I do not begrudge them this position, but I do ask one thing, this year if you are able to make charitable donations, please remember the organizations that are fighting for equality.

Ummm....ok.....

Read this article first and watch the included video before reading this.

http://www.lgbtqnation.com/2010/11/pentecostal-minister-calls-on-christian-faithful-to-use-the-word-fag/

Here is the video separate of the article.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_PLaJpviuX8&feature=player_embedded

Now my response. I think all people should have the right to express their opinion, no matter how ignorant, or badly formed, or fallacious it is they have the right to express it. That being said, this man forms his argument badly: he uses words that do not exist and he makes a humongous fallacy that one can not ignore: if homosexuality is excepted then bestiality will be excepted. Ok so lets break these two things down so that we better understand them: homosexuality is when two consenting human beings (homo sapiens) of the same gender engage in sexual (or romantic) relations together. Bestiality is when a human engages in sexual relations (rarely romantic) with an animal. Um...ewww gross. Ok now that I resisted that urge to barf, let us continue. One can safely say that these are completely different, right? That's what I thought, but I've been wrong before. Well Mr. James Manning of ATLAH World Missionary Church says differently, as the video demonstrates. Homosexuality, in his mind, being excepted as a viable lifestyle by the public, will lead to bestiality being excepted also. This is a fallacy: it creates a false dilemma. The Bible does say that homosexuality is an abomination; however, Jesus himself never deals with the topic. He does however say that the second greatest commandment is to love thy neighbor. (Mark 12:32) Since Jesus, the center of Christianity, never said anything about it, does that mean he was ok with it? I think it does. The only person in the New Testament who brings the topic up is Paul. Paul seems to have a lot of problems with a lot of things and he mainly teaches that Christians should maintain the teachings of Judaism. However, Paul later says in Hebrews (I believe, do not quote me on this) that we should not cause people to falter in their worship/following of Christ. Now, I am going to depart from the realm of logic and research and fact and enter into the land of my suppositions and opinions. I do not believe that Jesus is going to damn someone for eternity for loving someone. If God created everything and created man and woman, than God created the ability for man to love man and woman to love woman, in a romantic way. I realize that this would be where my opposition would take the chance to say that I believe God created rape, murder, incest, genocide, etc because they believe these malicious acts (sin) are equivalent to the "sin" of homosexuality. I believe he did: he created human beings, free will, instinct, love, passion, etc; he gave us the ability to create incredible good and incredible evil. Homosexuality is not one of these evils: how could someone loving someone with every part of their existence be bad? We say that when a man and woman love each other this way, that it is expectable. Why then the double standard? Why is the heterosexual right wing christian afraid of homosexuality? Is it because they think we can "pervert" their children? Or is just because that with the homosexual comes the essential questioning of ancient beliefs and ideals that religious groups have long held to be the end all authority on love and relationships? I do not propose retaliation against the hate but instead do as Jesus taught and turn the other cheek and keep on teaching love and acceptance. "Lord make me an instrument of thy peace. Where There is hatred, let me sow love." St. Francis of Assisi