What is the deal with men and their penises? If they're not walking around with their pants halfway off, then they're walking around holding onto their penises. Or penii, or whatever the plural of penis is. Maybe I'm old, but I think the whole pants off the butt thing is just nasty. I don't want to sit down behind someone who's been sitting on a seat in their underwear. If you'll walk around like that, who knows what kinds of infectious diseases you may be carrying? And the whole holding on to the penis thing makes me never want to shake hands with another male. Ever.
This was all prompted when I passed by an elderly gentleman with white pants on and a big stain indicating some sort of leak. I just wondered what was going on with him that he was standing in public like that: was he sick, was he in need of help? He showed no outward signs of instability, and I didn't stop to ask him; I just wondered.
So I posted before about my response to my CME brethren and sistren. I just have issues with people who take it upon themselves to quote Scripture which supports their personal points of view. I believe the Scriptures are best understood in the context of the complete Bible. Whenever we start pointing out other people's shortcomings, or the fact that they are not in compliance with some Biblical law, I'm reminded of Matthew 22:36-40. "Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?" 37Jesus replied: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.'[b] 38This is the first and greatest commandment. 39And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'[c] 40All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments."
I'm no Biblical scholar -- oh, wait. Yes, I am! So as a teacher and student of the Bible, it occurs to me that Jesus only got really upset when people took unfair advantage of those going to worship. He got angry at the moneychangers, took a whip and beat at them, telling them that they had turned God's house into a den of thieves. Yet we have thieves and hustlers in the church all the time. We constantly have people trying to sell us stuff in conjunction with our religious practice, or we have people asking us for money every time we worship. It seems to me that Jesus spent most of his time teaching against social and economic injustice.
On the other hand, when people were caught in places of sexual compromise, Jesus was forgiving. He always met them where they were. He did usually tell them not to sin any more, but He never condemned them. So I don't understand how we "Christians" get off passing judgement on people, and suggesting that other Christians need to publicly show repentance -- maybe I'm mistaken, but I just don't recall Jesus doing any of that. I DO recall Him saying that we should forgive our brothers who err, and that we should forgive them seventy seven times. He said that if your brother sins against you that you should confront them. But how is someone being gay a sin against someone else? By what authority does a straight Christian confront a gay person about their sexuality?
Even if you think their behavior is sinful (which I don't), isn't the Christian mandate to share the Good News of Jesus Christ? And doesn't that Good News have to do with everyone's ability to have access to God? How does that translate into judgement? I guess I've become a bit of a Universalist -- I haven't gone so far as Carleton Pearson; I don't believe that the Blood of Christ is meaningless. I do believe that the Blood of Christ was shed for the sins of the whole world -- for those who believe as well as for those who do not believe. I think salvation has been assured for the entire world, and our choice is whether or not we'll accept it. I think that accepting it has to do with conforming our thoughts, hearts, and actions to the will of God, and to begin to behave in such a way that we actually reflect the love of God.
I hope that the "Christian" hate mongers will make it into the same God's heaven that I want to make it into. If I'm wrong, then I pray God will forgive me. But I just think we have enough to do with managing the body and the spirit over which God gave us dominion, without trying to go out and manage other people's bodies and spirits....
OK, that was on my mind, and I've done my writing for the day.
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