[Arktwo] A Glad Day

[Bruce Beach]

May be a bit early to tell.
Depends in part
on how the Shuttle Launch goes
this afternoon around 4:30 p.m. EDT.

And then there is the matter
of the end of Sabbath
and the two day lull in Israel,
that ends at sunset in Israel,
around 2:00 p.m. EDT.

Here are some upcoming events -
that I see of significance.
Actually the first one:

June 29th,
is now past.
It was the deadline that
Bush gave Iran
to stop enriching uranium.

July 5th,
is the deadline Bush
(and the EU and the G-8)
has given to Iran
to reply to the EU proposal
that Iran stop enriching uranium.

July 12th,
the top G-8 ministers meeting
with Rice in Moscow -
regarding Iran.

July 15th,
the G-8 Meeting in Moscow.

And here is a neat one -
should the world wait that long -

August 6-12,
http://tinyurl.com/ehwkm
International Jerusalem World Pride Convention

Glad Day
is a so-called 'gay' expression.
But for me it will be a 'sad day'.

If they wanted to do it
in the face of God
they might as well have picked
Sodom or Gomorrah.

Mark:
6:11
And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear you, when ye depart thence,
shake off the dust under your feet for a testimony against them. Verily I
say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrha in the day
of judgment, than for that city.

I really doubt that Jesus was talking about
the gays and lesbians being received,
but He says:

Luke:
17:28 Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank,
they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded;

17:29 But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and
brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all.

17:30 Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed.

Today -
I received the following
very kind email.

"I get it. And then you lose me. You talk about love and yet..you won't
accept Gay/lesbian because of "your" religion. Though you speak of love and
man's inhumanity to man..of which i totally agree with you and have worked
with the poor, the ill, children, seniors and see that there is much to be
done in this country/world to make it better.

I know that the Gay/lesbian community has been murdered, lynched not only
physically, but emotionally, psychologically, economically because of
religionists and others who take it upon themselves to interpret the bible.
Jesus never uttered, as far as we know, anything negative about
homosexauls..and certainly God hasn't, God is love.
so all that you said in this e-mail is true and you are part of the evil as
well.

Lovingly, ...'name'... Lesbian, Jew, senior,mother(6), grand mother(19) and
great grand mother(2), and sweetheart friend for 31 years without the rights
of civilly married couples to share in our economic, be there in time of
need at a hospital, not be able to be buried together..on and on. That's
also inhumanity."

Wow! -
that I am
"part of the evil as well".
While I certainly hope not -
I felt that I should make
a sincere attempt to reply.

Homosexuality Is No Sin
Says New US church leader

http://tinyurl.com/kc53y

WASHINGTON (Reuters) (June 19, 2006) - Newly elected leader of the U.S.
Episcopal Church Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori said on Monday she
believed homosexuality was no sin and homosexuals were created by God to
love people of the same gender.

I guess we can get it on
no better authority than that.
Bring on the gay Bishops -
she says.

Still, I would have some questions.
Here I will put them in the form
of Socratic dialogue between
BS - Bishop Schori
and myself
DS - Dawn Sayer

Such dialogues are of course unfair
because, as with Plato,
one is writing both sides -
of the argument.
But at least you will see what
is in my mind -
and if Bishop Schori wishes to
clarify her stance -
I will be happy to publish her corrections :)

DS - Well, Bishop,
I see that you say -
Homosexuality is not a sin.

BS - "I don't believe so. I believe that God creates us with different
gifts. Each one of us comes into this world with a different collection of
things that challenge us and things that give us joy and allow us to bless
the world around us."
"Some people come into this world with affections ordered toward other
people of the same gender and some people come into this world with
affections directed at people of the other gender."

DS - Don't you think
that is different, however,
as saying that it is good?
Some people may come into the world
with a proclivity towards alcoholism,
or being a homophile,
or a necromaniac,
or a pyromaniac.

BS - God creates only good, and while we may in our limited human wisdom,
not be able to understand that, - it is our spiritual task to be loving and
accepting towards all. That is true whether they are born blind, deaf,
paralysed or whatever. Each one of us has our own gifts and capabilities.
God's creation is infinite and varied and we should learn to accept that.

DS - But still,
I don't think that we should
allow pyromaniacs to go around
setting fires.

BS - No, not randomly, but society needs to create socially acceptable
outlets for all needs and activities. We need to control those outlets and
not simply punish people who have those needs. People, no matter what their
God given nature should be allowed to live life to the fullest. To have
jobs, to live in close association with others as in families, and so forth.

DS - It may be that
we differ on what is
'socially acceptable' outlets.
I see that you find Homosexual Bishops
to be quite acceptable.

BS - Yes, individuals should be permitted to progress as far as they can
without any artificial restraints being placed upon them by society.

DS - Well, it seems
that the Catholic Church
has had a problem with that very issue.
To become a Bishop -
one first becomes a priest -
and there have been many cases
where parents have sent their children
to confession and to participate in the choir -
where unbeknown to them
the priest guided the children
into a homosexual relationship.

BS - Of course I don't advocate that - but people of any sexual orientation
are capable of overstepping the bounds of propriety. We shouldn't condemn
all because of the actions of a few.

DS - Couldn't that be equally well said,
of alcoholics, drug addicts,
and every other categorization
that most parents
wouldn't want their children
being affected by.
Are you saying -
that just because someone is
an alcoholic, drug addict,
homosexual, or whatever -
they shouldn't be excluded from
becoming a scout leader,
priest, military first-sergeant,
school teacher, or any other
office of influence over our children?

BS - That is true. We must not be so judgemental about other people's
attitudes. While we oftentimes have need to control actions, we still need
to allow all people freedom in their thoughts and private lives. As to their
influence on children -
we no more allow heterosexuals to prey upon children than we do homosexuals.
The standard today is that sexual activities should be between 'consenting
adults'.

DS - Many parents are concerned
that their children have
'proper role models'.

BS - Parents have the best opportunity to be 'proper role models' in their
own homes. But to think that their standards are necessarily the only
acceptable standards is just a form of prejudice. As adults, their children
will be exposed to all sorts of other view points, and they should be
exposed to them in the process of growing up. It is an extreme bias to think
that only one's own point of view, or one's own interpretation of the Bible
is the only possibly correct one.

DS - I supposed that is what
it comes down to.
One's interpretation of the Bible.

BS - "The Bible was written in a very different historical context by people
asking different questions. The Bible has a great deal to teach us about how
to live as human beings. The Bible does not have so much to teach us about
what sorts of food to eat, what sorts of clothes to wear -- there are rules
in the Bible about those that we don't observe today."

DS - Well, I went a Christian Church
a few weeks ago -
that had up on its front -
"We are a Bible based church".
I mentioned to a lady there
that the Bible says
women are to wear a hat to church
and none of the women were.
The lady replied -
the Bible says:

1 Corinthians
11:5 But every woman that prayeth
or prophesieth
with her head uncovered
dishonoureth her head:

She continued that she used
to be a Catholic
and when they didn't have
a hat or veil -
they would just put
a piece of Kleenex on their heads.

Well, I said,
"I don't see any Kleenex either."

BS - I presume you weren't invited back. But, that is exactly what I mean
about tolerance and inclusiveness. We are living in changed times and the
old rules no longer apply.

DS - So we are going to permit
sex between two males -
or between two women.
How about between
an unmarried man and woman,
when Jesus said:

Matthew:
15:19 For out of the heart
proceed evil thoughts, murders,
adulteries, fornications,
thefts, false witness, blasphemies:

15:20 These are the things
which defile a man:
but to eat with unwashen hands
defileth not a man.

BS - Exactly. It is our thoughts about these things and those who do them
that is important. We must be concerned about our own attitudes rather than
the actions of others because the purpose of Jesus' teachings was that we
learn to love.

---------
I could see that this discussion could go on forever. That is the problem
with Socratic Discourses. There is really no end - unless the writer decides
to make an end. But that decision is made for me by the server's newsletter
limits.

Peace and love,
Bruce
DawnSayer@webpal.org