Bible backs up idea of same sex marriage

The Bible supports the idea that gays could become clergymen and that their church should perform gay marriages.

In an article that appeared in The Detroit News back in 2006, We can find this very interesting account of how a Presbyterian minister changed his mind about the views he had on homosexuals being accepted in society and in his church:

I n 1993, Jack Rogers grudgingly agreed to serve on a task force studying whether his local Presbyterian church in Southern California should ordain gays. Quite frankly, he wasn't interested in giving the topic serious thought. "I opposed homosexuality reflexively -- that was just what I thought Christians were supposed to do," he recalls. But once he did embark on a scholarly journey, the Presbyterian minister found that his views changed 180 degrees: He's become a vocal advocate of ordaining gays and marrying gay couples in the church. "I am so convinced that Jesus and the Bible, rightly understood, support the equality of all persons, including gays and lesbians, and that the church cannot continue going against its central values," says Rogers, 72, a former Presbyterian Church U.S.A. "moderator," the denomination's top leader.

"We can't keep making a group of people pariahs. Jesus would never have stood for it," he stresses. How an evangelical Christian's views changed so dramatically on an issue that has divided his church since 1976 is mapped out in fascinating detail in "Jesus, the Bible and Homosexuality: Explode the myths, heal the church." His thoughtful new book, which recounts "how the church changed its mind on other moral issues," couldn't be more timely: Presbyterians will again weigh the place of gays in the church at their June 15-22 General Assembly. Rogers' turnabout came in part from his scholarly reading of the Bible verses mentioning homosexuality.

Presbyterian theologian Robert Dabney, laying out the slippery slope argument of his day, warned soon after the Civil War that allowing black men to be ministers would lead to race mixing. He later called the push for women's rights "a new attack on God's Word." Society - and the church - of course changed, not the Bible. "We changed our minds because we changed the way we read the Bible -- from proof-texting to looking at the Bible as a whole and especially through the lens of Jesus' life and ministry," Rogers says. "Most people don't pay attention to history. They say, 'Oh, that was different.' No, it is the same." Jack Rogers' Bible study led him to see the light about gay people. He has faith his beloved church will soon have a similar revelation. - The Detroit News

Am I white, brown or what?

I know where I come from

Shortly after my graduation from college I worked briefly for an electronics firm in Dallas, Texas as advertising coordinator. My job was to design and produce advertising and placing it in publications. I had one very large project which required a presentation and I worked on it for weeks.

Finally the day came and I was prepared. I had charts and figures. I had facts and samples of the ads. If you were to ask me now what it was about I couldn’t tell you because of the incident that followed overshadowed all memories of this project.

I was articulate and very convincing. I finished the presentation and all around the conference table were sitting all the heavy hitters for our company. Applause followed my ending and then it happened: The sales manager, a forty something man who was portly and arrogant said to me: “You know railool, (he couldn’t pronounce Raul) you are beginning to think more like a white man everyday”.

I looked at the CEO and I see him sinking in his chair and his hand was now covering his eyes as if to hide the terrible shame. I suppose he was thinking “DISCRIMINATION LAWSUIT”. I was still standing so I inched towards the edge of the table, placed both hands on it and got a hold of myself. I took a deep breath, looked down then raised my proud forehead, looking straight at Austin the sales manager and said: “You know Austin, you are probably right, but at least I know where my grandparents came from AND I AM WHITER THAN YOU WILL EVER HOPE TO BE AND I DON’T THINK YOU ARE INFERIOR FOR THAT”

I looked at him and he went from flushed red face to a blue then to a charcoal. The man changed colors right in front of our very eyes just like a chameleon. I realized right then and there that I was not going to go anywhere in that company and started to look for another job. I have dozens of incidents that are similar during all my working years.

Shortly after that incident I agonized over whether I should become an American Citizen. I finally made up my mind and thought that I should not let some bigot like him make up my mind for me, that I should consider the millions of other kind and accepting folks that compose this great land of ours. Now I am proud to be an American. I am still a Cuban by birth and will never be able to change that nor do I want to. I retain some of the best from my culture and have embraced some of the best that America has to offer but have made it my quest to fight bigotry and discrimination because there are many people like Austin still there. There are just far too many Tom Tancredos in America.

No profanity in California

The state Assembly passed a resolution Thursday that would establish the first week of March as "Cuss Free Week" throughout the state. If approved by the Senate next week, the measure would take effect immediately.

The resolution includes no enforcement mechanism and is simply meant to promote greater harmony and connectedness, said Assemblyman Anthony Portantino, a Democrat from La Cañada.

Now it does not have an enforcement mechanism but just you wait. Next thing you know we are going to get fined if we interject a “FUCK” or a “SHIT” in our everyday speech. This is one more example of how far government can interfere with the rights of the individuals to free speech while ignoring the more serious issues like health care.

Government is hell bent on passing laws that moralize, stigmatize and pass judgement according to what the prevailing majority deems to be the norm. It is particularly disturbing when it comes to the intrusion by government into our bedrooms.

When it comes to profanity; I have always said that “profanity is the salt and pepper of an otherwise bland and unsavory language; it is what makes the language stew tasty.” So I say: FUCK YOU, SHUT THE FUCK UP YOU GOODIE GODDIE TWO SHOES”

IN THE NEWS:

Cuban dissident dies in hunger strike

Chavez and Uribe go at it at the Rio Group Summit

This is what Venezuelans have to look forward to with Chavez copying the Cuban model.

Orlando Zapata Tamayo, a 42 year old dissident died Tuesday in the health clinic of the Combinado del Este Prison. He had been on a hunger strike and in prison since 2003. He was first sent there for “disrespecting authority” when he was sentenced to three years in prison to be lengthened later to 25 years because authorities wanted to further repress him for his political activism.

This in my opinion is just but one of many examples of the repression against persons advocating the respect of basic human rights. It is only one more way the Cuban government shows contempt for anyone who dares to voice an opposing view.

A former Cuban Ministry of Interior Chief arrived in Venezuela recently to help them with their energy crisis (?) that is difficult to comprehend because Venezuela is one of the major oil producing nations of the world. What this fellow is there to do is to help the Chavez regime to institute repression as it is done in Cuba; nothing else.

In the meantime, at the Rio Group Summit, when Colombian President Alvaro Uribe said that Venezuela had halted the commercial relations with Colombia and it was similar to the U.S. embargo against Cuba; Chavez stood up and started throwing insults at Colombia’s President.

“Why don’t you go to hell?” Chavez screamed as he was leaving the conference room. Uribe, who maintained his composure and very calmly replied to Chavez: “”Be a man and stay to discuss this face to face.”

Chavez’ behavior is appalling and if it had not been for the intervention of some of the people present in the room it would have been a more serious incident. Chavez can’t take the slightest criticism nor is he willing to have somebody else exposes a point of view.

CUBA BLACKLISTS PRESIDENT OBAMA (and you say he is a socialist?)

Raul Castro

Barack Obama

The government of Raúl Castro has blacklisted U.S. President Barack Obama. It’s no tasteless joke. Havana considers that after a year in the White House the first African-American president of the United States has demonstrated to be an “enemy” of the revolution just as his predecessors and that rapprochement with Washington has ended. Yesterday, the Cuban government demanded of the Obama administration its “immediate exclusion” of the list of state sponsors of terrorism and condemned the initiative as “unjust and arbitrary” of submitting Cuban travelers to stricter security measures. (via El País)

(Images: Terra; Politico)

PHOTO SOURCE: http://www.islamtimes.org/images/docs/000009/n00009375-s.jpg

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Prince Harry

His Royal Hotness Prince Harry

If you kiss one of these, you might get one like him

PHOTO SOURCE: http://www.readthehook.com/kids/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/frog-or-toad-paulb4uk-flickr.jpg

Some good has come out of this partisan fiasco

People are getting more involved

I like to look at some of the positive consequences of this issue. The negative are obvious to most everyone: That it has become divisive, that nothing gets done in the Legislative branch, that special interest groups have more power than the individual constituents because of their money persuasive powers and so on…

But I will say this: before, I considered myself to be well informed and somewhat active in politics. I never missed an election and believed the right to vote one of the most precious of all the rights given to me by our Constitution.

But I never wrote a letter, nor did I sign any petitions because it was not necessary. It was a given that all our elected officials would go and represent their constituents who elected them and fight for their well being and concerns. Not any more is this true. Now we elect officials and they turn around and represent the interests of those who contribute heavily to their campaign treasure chests.

But you know what? Now the general public is becoming a lot more involved on both sides of the political spectrum. They are more passionate and they interface with their politicians. They are writing blogs, they are sending letters, they are joining “grass-root movements” and they are going to demonstrations and rallies. Good grief, in my youth only radicals went to demonstrations. Only the political activists went to rallies; but the majority of the American public sat out all these and they would only participate when Election Day arrived.

So if anything this whole grid lock and Republican do nothing tactics is causing a reaction and it is for the good of the country because there are unthinkable numbers of people who are getting involved and they are going to be heard.

Even those like the Tea Baggers who speak in generalities and do not offer logical, common sense solutions are being drawn into this whole new fangled participatory democracy. Even the ignorant and uninformed are getting in the act. Whether it is on the right or on the left, the base of the party is not the only segment that is energized. What is really too bad and alarming at the same time is that with a recent Supreme Court ruling all this is going to be wasted and those who are participating will be drowned out by the heavy contributions from the very wealthy and the corporations.