Today President Obama announced that' "same sex couples should be able to get married." Hmmmm I guess I'm still processing this. :) As I was driving home this evening I was listening to the gospel radio station and the commentator asked if the move by President Obama was political. I decided not to listen to the broadcast primarily because I elected not to listen to the political opinions of "religious" folk.
Well duh! Of course the move and statement is political! He is the President of the United States and everything, and I do mean everything, he does is political and/or it has political ramifications. So that question was in essence senseless, in my opinion. The question should have been, what does this move do for gay marriage or marriage equality for all people?
While I applaud President Obama for finally taking a stance on gay marriage, it is somewhat late. Its almost as if he needs to vote of the LGBTQ community, he knows it, and is now throwing a bone to them. Kind of makes me wonder if he assumes he has the LGBTQ vote. You know, like the Democrats assume they will get the Black and Latino vote. While true in many instances, its absolutely not true with LTBTQ Independents. I don't think President Obama, any other Democrat, or Republican for that matter, can assume they have a vote from anyone these days.
If the move was political, it wasn't impressive. I'm personally not impressed by words. I will be impressed when federal legislation is passed which surpasses personal opinions and biases. I will be impressed when I can know that my partner will receive my veteran benefits when I pass without question. I will be impressed when my partner has the right to make medical decisions because of who she is and not because of a contract between the two of us.
So no, I'm not impressed or moved. Its great, don't get me wrong, but actions speak louder that words.
I'm listening and waiting for action.
Lt Col (Retired) (Dr.) Meredith
Author of "Didn't Ask Didn't Tell"
Thursday, May 10, 2012
Monday, April 23, 2012
Lot, Sodomy, Homosexuality, and the Bible???
Recently, I was a part of a dialogue where the subject of homosexuality and the history of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah came up. The basis for the conversation was the idea that God is the one entity that can create a stable marriage. One of the individuals commented that gay marriage was not of God or of the Bible and was therefore a transgression. His basis for the comment was rooted in the story of Sodom and Gomorrah. The gentleman suggested that the city was destroyed because of the “desire” of the men of the city to have sex with the men (angles) who came to the city to destroy it as The Lord had commanded. While some of his position is true, there is a great deal of history that perhaps wasn’t taken into account before sharing his opinion.
In my response to the gentleman I stated that I believed the reference he spoke of is found in Genesis 19 on the story of the city of Sodom and Gomorrah’s destruction. If I read the scripture correctly it does not specifically state the men wanted to sodomize the angles. It does, however, state that the men wanted to have sex with them. The scripture further states that Lot offered his daughters to the men and said they could do anything they wanted to them. Is the latter justified over the former? Was it ok for the women to be raped in this or any situation? Further, my understanding is that when Jesus died for the sins of all believers, the law became void because of the New Testament. I believe Paul speaks of this in his writings in the New Testament.
In order to fully understand the context of the story of Sodom and Gomorrah one must recognize the context of the time and significant events in history. While conducting research on the Jewish history and interpretation of the story of Sodom and Gomorrah I found, “The Talmud and the book of Jasher also recount two incidents of a young girl (one involved Lot's daughter Paltith) who gave some bread to a poor man who had entered the city. When the townspeople discovered their acts of kindness, they burned Paltith and smeared the other girl's body with honey and hung her from the city wall until she was eaten by bees. (Sanhedrin 109a.) It is this gruesome event, and her scream in particular, the Talmud concludes, that are alluded to in the verse that heralds the city's destruction: "So[25] said, 'Because the outcry of Sodom and Gomorrah has become great, and because their sin has been very grave, I will descend and see...'"[Gen 18:20-21].”[i] So was the story truly about homosexuality or the potential act or was it about something else altogether. I doubt that many people do the necessary research prior to giving their opinions on such matters.
What are your thoughts on this subject matter?
Do you believe that people are fully knowledgable when giving such opinions?
Does it really matter? If so, why? If not, why not?
Please share your thoughts...
Be Blessed
DADT Story
In my response to the gentleman I stated that I believed the reference he spoke of is found in Genesis 19 on the story of the city of Sodom and Gomorrah’s destruction. If I read the scripture correctly it does not specifically state the men wanted to sodomize the angles. It does, however, state that the men wanted to have sex with them. The scripture further states that Lot offered his daughters to the men and said they could do anything they wanted to them. Is the latter justified over the former? Was it ok for the women to be raped in this or any situation? Further, my understanding is that when Jesus died for the sins of all believers, the law became void because of the New Testament. I believe Paul speaks of this in his writings in the New Testament.
In order to fully understand the context of the story of Sodom and Gomorrah one must recognize the context of the time and significant events in history. While conducting research on the Jewish history and interpretation of the story of Sodom and Gomorrah I found, “The Talmud and the book of Jasher also recount two incidents of a young girl (one involved Lot's daughter Paltith) who gave some bread to a poor man who had entered the city. When the townspeople discovered their acts of kindness, they burned Paltith and smeared the other girl's body with honey and hung her from the city wall until she was eaten by bees. (Sanhedrin 109a.) It is this gruesome event, and her scream in particular, the Talmud concludes, that are alluded to in the verse that heralds the city's destruction: "So[25] said, 'Because the outcry of Sodom and Gomorrah has become great, and because their sin has been very grave, I will descend and see...'"[Gen 18:20-21].”[i] So was the story truly about homosexuality or the potential act or was it about something else altogether. I doubt that many people do the necessary research prior to giving their opinions on such matters.
What are your thoughts on this subject matter?
Do you believe that people are fully knowledgable when giving such opinions?
Does it really matter? If so, why? If not, why not?
Please share your thoughts...
Be Blessed
DADT Story
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