For many of us who rely on society and books for our answers it is easy to hate homosexuals or any group of people outside the norm. However if you want to find out your truth about homosexuals or any subject at all you need to do the research. Then after doing the research you need to think about it and make up your mind. My understanding of homosexuality began after some research. I went through a learning process or a re-learning process with my research and exposure to homosexuality discussions. First was at Indiana University of Pennsylvania where a gay person spoke to us in our sociology class emphasizing how he tried to be heterosexual and even got married but failed. Later I read about some of the research studies on the subject and after studying the teachings of Buddha Amitaba I realized that it was not my place to judge. Currently the issue of homosexual marriage has been settled by the US Supreme Court. On June 26, 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court held in a 5–4 decision that the Fourteenth Amendment requires all states to grant same-sex marriages and recognize same-sex marriages granted in other states.
However we are also hearing about the end of civilization because of gay marriage. One thing I know about cultures and groups who make absolute statements about the world is that it never happens. It never happens because a group of people are using their values as universal standards, which of course is not true. So we can readily ignore the doomsayers or any culture that pretends to use their values as the values of the universe. It is however important to note that homosexuality has been a national issue and one of the organizations at the fore front is Soul Force, a non violence movement. I didn’t know that any organization existed in support of homosexuality until I checked out a DVD titled Sole Journey, A Film by Kate Burns & Sheila Schroeder. Two clips caught my attention in this film. One of them concerns a family trying to make sense of homosexuality. Here is a quote from the mother:
“When Jake came out to us we knew nothing about homosexuality. We had to educate ourselves. We read many books but more important we talked to psychologists and psychiatrists about understanding homosexuality. We were told to love and accept Jake as a Gay Man”
What this experience is telling us is that we need to re-educate ourselves about being gay and the earlier we did that the better it would be for us so that when it happens in our families we would be better prepared to handle it.
The other clip concerns a woman and her grandson at a Walmart Pro Marriage between a man and a woman stand. One of the participants in the film talked about his experience with the woman and her grandson. The grandson was about 4 to 6 years old and was telling the grandmother that
“they are going to burn” and the grandmother agreed. “Tell them baby, they are going to burn”.
At that point the man tried to draw her attention to the fact that American Africans went through similar discrimination in the 1960s. The woman ignored his statement and said “You are queer but I love you baby”. What bothers me in this clip is that our children are taught to hate and calling anyone queer goes against all Universal Spiritual Teachings.
Homosexuality in Sacred Texts
The most cited verse for the condemnation of homosexuality is in the Bible, Leviticus 20:13
‘If a man has sexual relations with a man as one does with a woman, both of them have done what is detestable. They are to be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads.
Generally no sacred text actually condemns homosexuality. Many scholars argue that the condemnation of homosexuality in the Bible is taken out of context. They contend that when you take the cultural background into consideration you might feel differently about the biblical condemnation of homosexuality. Please go to the following website for more information on this subject: https://sacred-texts.com/lgbt/index.htm#intro.
I understand why many people look up to sacred texts for answers on how to live in this world but sacred texts are the least source of information for anyone who wants to improve the world. For starters sacred texts divide us and what divides us is not good for our cooperation. Further sacred texts are dead or they are stuck in time; it is foolish to try to figure out what dead writers of an ancient document meant in any situation. You are in a better position than any ancient text to provide a solution to the problems the world faces because you are alive.
Lastly sacred texts are not the words of GOD. The Almighty GOD has given you everything you need to triumph over the challenges you face on this planet. Humans compiled some of the sacred texts mostly to control and to deceive. Actually given human wickedness and human corruption the Almighty GOD will never trust any human being to put together GOD's words in a book. Instead the word of GOD pervades the Universe and it is there for everyone to observe and interpret according to his or her understanding. The UNIVERSE or GOD can never be defined by all the cultures put together let alone by just one culture. You have been deceived!
Until we take responsibility for our lives we will always fall for the scams of our fellow human beings. The writers of some of these texts provide answers to existential questions because many people do not want to face life. But the worst thing that could happen to you in this life is to have answers! The preachers and the religious functionaries give you the answers in order to discourage you from thinking. If you do not think you lock the door of inspiration; if you do not think you can never find out new ways of looking at the world; if you do not think you will always recycle old ideas of slavery, colonization, apartheid, discrimination, segregation and every evil committed by the human mind; if you do not think you are stuck and you are dying at a very rapid rate.
The most important thing you should note about statements in sacred texts is that they cannot save you in our courts. You may have a lot of your fellow believers supporting you when you violate another person's human rights based on your religious beliefs like stoning a homosexual to death, but our court system does not recognize your beliefs. You may sing hallelujah and die if you are convicted and sentenced to death but is it really worth it to die for another person's idea of what it means to be alive when you have been give the opportunity to make a difference in the world? I know you think you are carrying out GOD'S word like the people who stormed the capital in the United States; they thought they were carrying out the words of the president. In the same way you will also be prosecuted for carrying out the so called words of GOD. The word of GOD is not in any book created by humans! Just take a minute and consider how the word of GOD could fit into any text created by humans. Can you really fit the INFINITE into the finite? The word of GOD pervades the Universe and it is there for each of us to observe and interpret according to our understanding; there is no need to read a cultural text! You have been scammed!
It seems easier for people to hide under a book than to face life with open eyes because the book helps you so shift responsibility from yourself to the book. When people say “it is in the Bible” or it is in the Qur’an” they are shifting responsibility! The truth is that you are still responsible because you committed the act. And when you refuse to 'bake cake' for a homosexual it was your decision so you are also responsible. But this singular act of refusing to 'bake cake' for a homosexual could translate into destroying the bridge that would have helped you to cross to the other side. At the crossroads of life no sacred text will come to save you. Sacred texts have no legs, so they cannot walk; sacred texts have no emotions, so they cannot relate to you; in short sacred texts are dead! No one with a functioning mind takes orders from a book more especially dead books!
What Would Jesus Do?
I really do not care so much about what anyone would do about my life even if the person is a savior or a God. As far as I am concerned the saviors did what they needed to do when they were alive and this is my turn to use my life in whatever way I want to improve what was left for us. The same is true for you. It is really very foolish to listen to saviors or Gods of long ago for things that are happening in our lifetime. As for the Gods...they are cultural and I have nothing in common with them because I am from a different culture. However there are many people who live their lives based on what cultural Gods and Saviors said in their books so I am going to use the deeds of Christ to address the fire and brimstone in homosexuality.
Once upon a time Jesus went to the temple and he taught the people who came to meet him. Meanwhile the Scribes and the Pharisees brought an adulterous woman to Jesus. They told him that the woman was caught in an adulterous act and that according to the Law of Moses the woman ought to be stoned to death. They wanted to know what he thought in an attempt to trap him but Jesus pretended not to have heard them and instead stooped down and began to write on the ground. As he wrote they continued to ask the same question and at a point he lifted up himself and asked any of them without sin to throw the first stone. Jesus stooped down and began to write again. Knowing that they have all sinned they dropped their stones and left the place one after the other until only Jesus and the woman were left. When Jesus lifted up himself and saw that the woman’s accusers have all left he asked her if no one condemned her? The woman replied that no one had condemned her because they all left. “And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.
Humans have always been quick to judge their fellow creatures in order to feel superior but beneath their judgment are lots of corpses. The preaching against homosexuality mostly centers on human wickedness and humans have been known to kill, lynch, mutilate, enslave, colonize, dehumanize, demonize, exploit, torture, deceive, rape and cause unimaginable atrocities. The next time you judge your fellow creature first take a look at yourself and when you do that you will realize that you are really not different from the person you are judging!
Teenagers
Adolescence is a period of developmental changes. The most noticeable changes are physical. Girls begin to grow breasts and have a regular menstrual cycle. Boys begin to develop facial hairs, have a deep voice and begin to produce semen. So for the first time in his or her life the teenager begins to wonder what is happening to him or her. Parents are encouraged to be closer to their children at this time to answer their questions, to support them and to allay their fears and concerns. One of the most important concerns is their sexuality. Most teenagers would reflect or fantasize about the opposite sex only while a few teenagers may consider same sex relationship as an option. But the truth is that you are not developed enough to make a decision about your sexuality. We encourage you to make that decision when you are an adult. Meanwhile you may be friends with the opposite sex but that is where it ends…just friends and no ulterior motives.
The way to manage your sexual fantasies is to concentrate on what interests you like music, drawing, computing, entrepreneurship, public speaking, leadership, or writing. These creative outlets are more stimulating than sex if you could give them a chance to manifest in your life. However, for a fulfilling life you need the complete package and at the apex of the complete package is LOVE. I am not a professional but I do not think I need to be one in other to guide a teenager that is battling with his or her sexuality. A family member of about 19 years old once posted on Facebook that he was gay. In consultation with my wife we advised him to remove the posting and he did. Our reasoning was that he was not old enough to determine his sexuality. We found out later that it was his way of coping with a recent breakup with his girlfriend. Today he is a father. There is help everywhere if not from your family members and we advise you to seek counseling if our recommendation does not work for you. But by all means do not keep the challenges you face to yourself.
Adults
I first met a gay person in my sociology class in Indiana, Pennsylvania in the eighties. At the time I did not know what to make of it. I could not believe that anyone would prefer the same sex as a life partner and coming from Nigeria did not prepare me for that experience. For me it was natural to be attracted to the opposite sex and that any other tendency was abnormal. But after reading more and more of these stories I have come to accept that we may be connected on a spiritual level but our tendencies might be different. However, my caution centers on respect and human dignity. Let your relationship be based on Love and love alone and if you are a bisexual decide and define where you belong. For those who oppose homosexuality because it is a sin against their Gods I encourage you to learn from our teaching story. And for those who think that homosexuality is an illness here is a quote from Sigmund Freud:
"Homosexuality is assuredly no advantage, but it is nothing to be ashamed of, no vice, no degradation, it cannot be classified as an illness." Sigmund Freud (1935).
Finally for those who want more information on the subject I encourage you to read about homosexual behavior in animals. The study is not conclusive but that did not prevent the American Psychiatric Association and other groups for citing it in the brief to the United States Supreme Court in Lawrence Vs. Texas which removed sodomy laws from 14 states. In conclusion what is at stake is about freedom, individual freedom within the limits of our laws and if you support individual freedom learn from the following quote originated by Martin Niemöller:
They came first for the Communists, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Communist.
Then they came for the Jews, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Jew.
Then they came for the trade unionists, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a trade unionist.
Then they came for the Catholics, and I didn't speak up because I was a Protestant.
Then they came for me, and by that time no one was left to speak up.
Homosexuality is not a sin and homosexuality is not a disease. However if you really want to change let it be your choice and not because a religious person wants to heal you or a medical doctor wants to cure you. None of them have the stuff for your life; your life is in your hands! Finally it is very important for you to know that you are not a homosexual and I am not a heterosexual; you are not a Christian and I am not a Moslem; You are not a sinner and I am not faithful; you are not black and I am not white; instead both of us are human beings. When next you meet another person manage the separateness in you mind and welcome him or her as a fellow human being; anything that divides us separates us!
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