Thursday, June 2, 2011

GodHates......Whoa! Wait just a minute!

Gay Pride Weekend. Gay Pride parade. Cage in the corner? WTF? Oh I see. It's not to keep them from us...it's to keep us from them. To protect them from us radicals. And just who is them? Them are the Christians. Now don't get me wrong. I love the Lord. God comes 1st. The Gayness comes 2nd. so I am not going to bash them in any sense of the word. I understand their hardfelt beliefs. But I just have a few questions. A few Questions that I'm sure will ruffle a few panties. Maybe snap a few jock straps.

I would like to start off by asking them where in the Bible does it say to pick whatever scripture you chose to accept and ignore the rest? What part of God do you accept and what part stays on a shelf? SNAPPP! Hear that? Jock straps are starting now. OK Ready? Here we go.

1. Exodus 21:7..I would like to sell my daughter into slavery. Whats a fair market value at todays prices?
2. Leviticus 15:19-24..I'm not allowed contact with a woman during her menstral uncleanliness. How do I tell? May I ask her? Will it risk me getting a slap in the face?
3. Exodus 35:2..My neighbor works on the Sabbath. How shall they be put to death? Am I oblgated to do it?
4. Leviticus 21:20..I can not approach the alter of God if I have a defect in my eye. Does my wearing glasses count? Will He know if I wear contacts? Maybe if I use the blue ones.
5. Leviticus 19:19..Do not wear garment of mixed cloth. WHAT? That screws me. I'm a child of the 70's. I have a closet full of polyester/cotton blends.
6. Leviticus 24:10-16..regarding the above, is it really that necessary to call the towns people together to stone me? It'll take some time. Long Beach is a big town.
7. Leviticus 11:6-8..Touching the skin of a dead pig makes me unclean. Oh boy. Does this mean I can't play football anymore. And those poor teams out of business. Wait! That's a good thing. Games are on Sunday.
8. Leviticus 19:7..What do all my male friends and I do now? todays hairstyles are short. We all have our hair trimmed around the temples.

One of my biggest issue with Fundamentalist Christians will always be in New Testament Scripture. Romans Chapter 13. In a nutshell...."Let everyone be subject to governing authorites: for there is no authority except what God has established. Rebelling against the authority is rebelling against God." How many of you drive the freeways and keep up with the traffic? Authority says NO! You are to do the posted speed limit. How many of you park close to the church and cut acrossed the street? Authority says NO! You are to walk to the nearest corner as to not jaywalk. How many of you have taken one extra straw at the counter when the sign says one per customer? Crossed on a flashing red hand? Crossed on a solid red hand when the light for cars was green? We can go on and on and on. If you can't follow the rules and laws of the authority you can see (MAN), how can He expect you to follow the rules and laws of one you can't see (GOD).
Jesus, in scripture, says that He has not come to change the law but to add to it. "Love one another as I have loved you."

And while we're on this subject.....Westboro Baptist Church.
One of the greatest violators of one of the harshest warnings Jesus the Christ ever preached.
With their signs of "God hates Fags." Jesus preached as recorded in Matthew 5:22...
"But I say to you, that whosoever is angry with his brother without cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother raca, shall be in danger of the council."
Raca is only used here this one time. Never seen in scripture again. the Jewish people used it as a word of contempt. It's root meaning is "to spit". It means vain, empty, worthless.
For those of us who belive on the Lord Jesus the Christ...pray for Westboro Baptist that they soon come to the full understanding of the Bible.
And now?.....I do believe I hear the sound of people yelling all around the world as those jockstraps snap and those panties bunch.

Now unto Him who is able to keep you from falling and present you faultless before His kingdom with exceeding joy. To the only wise God our Savior be glory and majesty forever. Amen.

America,Christian Nation. Or is it?

LGBT Pride month. Gave me pause to think. Christians don't like me. They seem to think that because I live in a Christian nation..OH WAIT! Do I? Is this a Christian nation or a nation built on Religious Freedoms? America's founders believed religious freedom to be the "First Liberty". The 1st. amendment to the Constitution and the 1st. Bill of Rights both state that: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the exercise thereof."

James Madison wrote in his "Memorial and Remonstance": "The religion then of every man must be left to the conviction and conscience of every man; and it is the right of every man to exercise it as these might dictate. This right is in it's nature an unalienable right."

The Williamsburg Charter states: "The First Amendment religious provision has a logical and historical priority to the Bill of Rights. Logical because the security of all rights rest upon the recognition that they are neither given by the state, nor can they be taken away by the state. Such rights are inherent to the inviolability of the Human Person. History demonstrates that unless these rights are protected, our Society's slow, painfull process towards freedom would not have been possible."

Let's do a small minute history lesson. Puritans and Quakers were the first to form the original 13 colonies. They actually were looking for a place to practice their own beliefs. Fleeing state run religions in their homelands. Suddenly there was persecution here in the colonies. Who knew that the same Puritans that fled Mother England would be the cause.
They wanted people to worship their way. Those not conforming were fined, banished, whipped, or imprisoned.{Hmm..sounds familiar}. Eventually, though, this came to an end. More and more people coming to America had their own beliefs. Baptist, Roman Catholics, Lutherens, Prebyterians, Judaism, Buddahism, etc. Yes, even the slaves of Africa brought their own beliefs.

People from all over the world wanted the freedom that was found in America. As a result, religious persection was ending and religious freedoms was beginning. I am proud to live in a country where one is allowed to practice their beliefs. Be it Christian, Mormonism, Shintoism, and yes, even Islam. We were built on the belief that we are the melting pot of the world. Not the clay mold of Puritanism. Today we would call that Fundamentalism.

We may have been founded by Christians, but it was these same Christian that gave the ForeFathers pause to think. To think on freedoms. As they were a mixed bag of beliefs themselves, they wanted above all else to let every man, woman, child to have the same mixed bag of beliefs. Whatever they believed.

"All men are created equal. And they are endowed by their Creator with certain....." One singular word. One word shows that we are not a forced Christian America. Their. Their Creator. Not the Creator. Whatever Creator they believe in. Not just the Christian God.

As I stated in he beginning. Christians don't like me. I'm Gay. But that's another blog. For now? God bless you..Shalom...Inshallah...May the force be with you...Live long and prosper.

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

President proclaims LGBT Pride month

Well, so our President has proclaimed June 2011 as LGBT Pride month. Yes, I do belive we have had many strides since he has taken office. What with the repeal of DADT, no discrimination in the Federal workplace or Federal housing and all. But, Pride? To be proud?
Since taking office, state after state has taken or passed constitution bans on our rights. Take the right to marry for instance: Arkansa, Georgia, Kentucky, Michigan, Montana, North Dakota, Ohio, and yes even the most liberal of all...OREGON, have all passed constitutional ammendments against gay marriage. Louisianas ban has been proclaimed unconstitutional by a Federal court.
Lawsuits persuing to gain these rights have been filed in: California, Connecticut, Florida, Indiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, Washington, and yes the most liberal of all...Oregon. Courts in favor of marriage are Massachusetts, Vermont, Alaska, and Hawaii. The latter two being overridden by their own state constitutions.

Now to the right of adoption: Florida and Utah have both passed laws that state Gender Specific. ie: no same sex couples. North Carolina says that no unmarried shall adopt. We know what that means. Hooray for the states that do not care. California, Connecticut, Illinois (Which just adopted civil unions), Indiana, Maine, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Vermont, Washington D.C. and yes that liberal of state...Oregon.

Since the repeal of DADT (Thats Dont ask Dont tell for those who dont like initials) the military still hasn't implemented it. It has, to the time of this post, been 163 days since President Obama signed it. Lawyers still aren't sure if "I'm a Homosexual" will still be admitted into service. If passed Dischargees will be readmitted. I was under the impression that our President was Commander in Chief? Hmmm, disobeying an order are we? The Navy institutes marriage on bases where states allow it, then strips that away one week later. Confused? I know I am.***see below

Now to the biggest one of all. At least to me. BULLYING. In his proclamation, the President mentions great strides. Great strides? Sir, the rate of teen suicides is on the rise. When will it end? More and more kids are being bullied on a dailey basis. Bullies are getting away with it. More and more teachers and principles are turning a blind eye. We send our kids to school to be taught not taunted. It ends when laws are passed to make it illegal. Illegal to bully, illegal to ignore. Bullies and their accomplices ( teachers, principles, any adult that ignores it) need to be held accountable for any teen or child committing suicide from being bullied.

Pride? To be proud? Yes I'm proud of my passed LGBT communities for standing up for their rights. Harry Hay and the Mattichine Society in the 1950's. Stonewall Drag queens in the 1960's. Harvey Milk in the 1970's. But as of late? It's time to take up a battle cry and reclaim the rights and fight for new rights that we are garaunteed as Americans.

As our Forefathers said, " All men are created equal. And they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights. Among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness".
***Footnote.....As of July 22, 2011 President Obama and the Military leaders of the United States have formalized the repeal of DONT ASK DONT TELL.