Religious Left

The Bush administration is funding sexual health projects that teach children that HIV can be contracted through sweat and tears, touching genitals can result in pregnancy, and that a 43-day-old fetus is a thinking person. There are more than 100 abstinence programmes, involving several million children aged nine to 18, and running in 25 states since 1999. They are funded by the federal government to the tune of $170m, twice the amount when George Bush came to power. The money goes to religious, civic and medical organisations as grants. To qualify they may only talk about types of contraception in terms of their failure rates, not about how to use them, or the possible benefits. The survey was conducted by the staff of congressman Henry Waxman of California, a longstanding Democratic critic of the Republican administration's approach to sex education. His team concentrated on the 13 programmes that are most widely used, and found only two of them were accurate. "It is absolut...

CHRISTIAN bookshops are refusing to stock copies of a new Bible study guide that challenges standard New Testament translations that describe gay sex as sinful. Mainstream Christian churches claim practising homosexuality is a sin based on several biblical verses and stories. In 1 Corinthians 6:9 and Timothy 1:10 Paul sets out examples of Jewish law including admonitions against fornication, idolatry and drunkenness, as well as the much disputed word "arsenokoites" which has been taken to mean homosexuality. But in her study guide, Dr Nyland says the word has been wrongly assumed to mean homosexual. Its range of meanings includes one who anally penetrates another, whether female or male, a rapist, a murderer, or an extortionist. When used with the meaning anal penetrator, it does not apply exclusively to males, Dr Nyland says. The word does not appear in any Greek literary source until the poets of the imperial period, when the Greeks wrote at length on male-male sexual relat...

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — On the first day of July (2007), Satender Singh was gay-bashed to death. The 26-year-old Fijian of Indian descent was enjoying a holiday weekend outing at Lake Natoma with three married Indian couples around his age. Singh was delicate and dateless — two facts that did not go unnoticed by a party of Russian-speaking immigrants two picnic tables away. According to multiple witnesses, the men began loudly harassing Singh and his friends, calling them “7-Eleven workers” and “Sodomites.” The Slavic men bragged about belonging to a Russian evangelical church and told Singh that he should go to a “good church” like theirs. According to Singh’s friends, the harassers sent their wives and children home, then used their cell phones to summon several more Slavic men. The members of Singh’s party, which included a woman six months pregnant, became afraid and tried to leave. But the Russian-speaking men blocked them with their bodies. “We don’t want to fight you either,” one ...

Baltimore Presbyterians are calling for a change in the religion’s definition of marriage in order to extend equality to gays and lesbians. The executive presbyter for Baltimore’s presbytery, Rev. Peter Nord said, "It’s a vote that provides real sustenance and hope for those who want same-sex couples to be treated with respect and equality." Said Nord, "One of the things I’m committed to is keeping the family together and recognizing that it is only in diversity that we are able to fully understand the desires and will of God, and if any party removes itself from the discussion, we all suffer from that." full article

Vredenburg South Africa: Morne Stickling said his partner, Johan de Klerk, had booked a night at the luxury Villa Vita Nouva guesthouse by email, and sent a final email asking for a king-size bed and confirming the couple's arrival time."Please note, I hope you are a gay-friendly guesthouse," De Klerk stated in his email. Villa Vita Nouva owner Marion Botha responded: "We are certainly not gay-friendly, this is a Christian household. We have never had a gay couple staying in the house and we prefer to keep it that way. We hereby cancel this order and exercise our right of admission." The West Coast town's municipal manager, Hendrik Snyders, says this "isolated" incident does not suggest the town is homophobic. The region's tourism head, Andre Kruger, says "all visitors" are welcome. full story

As part of a mission of working toward full inclusion of LGBT people into communities of faith, the Kansas City Coalition of Welcoming Ministries (KCCWM) convened its first Academy of Welcome on Nov. 10 at First Lutheran Church in Mission Hills, Kan. KCCWM is a network of inter-faith welcoming organizations. Keynote speaker Dr. Robert Minor, a professor in the religious studies department at the University of Kansas, addressed the question, “Why welcome?” He said that many churches have had a reluctance to adopt formal welcoming statements, even though doing so can be an element of spiritual growth. Congregations’ fears stemming from homophobia and an altered reputation often send some looking for a verse to conceal their personal prejudices. Their concerns, he said, include: “Will we be considered to be a ‘gay church?’ How will outsiders treat us? Will members leave? And if they leave, will they take their money with them?” After all, many churchgoers like tradition, he said – and bi...

Ken Hutcherson of Watchmen of the Wall tell Microsoft he will be their worst nightmare if they don't stop degrading society by supporting gays.

Hate e-mail condemning Thomas J. Brennan, S.J., Assistant Professor of English and an open homosexual, was sent to him as well as to select Saint Joseph's University faculty and administrators. Sent by a doctor of Family Practice in San Ramon, Ca., the hate e-mail was a response to Fr. Brennan's homily on Sunday, Nov. 3, in which he described his homosexuality as one of "the worst kept secrets" on campus. In the e-mails, which had subject lines that read "There is nothing 'gay' about S.A.D. (Same-sex Attraction Disorder)" and "Moral relativism trumps Catholicism???" the doctor said "homosexual behavior is a curable choice" and the "danger of homosexual choice" is clear to him though his "first-hand" experiences with the "victims of sodomy rape by priests and other homosexuals." "I think he is a very troubled person - a mean person," said Fr. Brennan. Fr. Brennan, who said he paid little atte...

The North Carolina Baptist Convention voted this morning to expel the Myers Park Baptist Church for welcoming and affirming gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender (GLBT) Baptists in their congregation. Last year, the North Carolina Baptists decided to expel any member church that openly accepts and affirms GLBT persons and same-sex relations from the Baptist community.

Coming from a gay man in a church whose members are, for the most part, conservative, my announcement will surely cause discomfort among many because of the tension that exists between science and religious policy on this issue. My predicament is not unique in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. By some estimates there are as many as 500,000 gay Mormons. For us, the church has erected a crippling series of obstacles which have driven many gay Mormons to suicide. Utah has the highest rate of suicides among males age 15-24. Hardest hit by church policies are younger gay Mormon men who have had to create “anti-suicide pacts” to help each other live until they can eventually cope with a church that denies them life-affirming relationships. Many of us are living a life of closeted denial and secrecy as our leaders and fellow members compare our “condition” to Down syndrome, autism, alcoholism or drug addiction. After being in denial my whole life — denial which was encouraged ...

As a gay man I have memories of days gone by when "gay bars" had "signals" of warning. The signal would be something like a certain light flashing on and off or some such. When the signal was activated you would switch dancing partners (hopefully there were enough women present to facilitate this). Everyone in the bar would try to give the "appearance of normalcy". Many things have changed since that time. But through it all the Metropolitan Community Church has been there. If you are in search of an inclusive church you might want to visit the Metropolitan Community Church website: http://www.mccchurch.org/

Below are links to official statements concerning homosexuality from professional organizations, and their official policies relative to " reparative therapy ." American Academy of Pediatrics American Counseling Association American Medical Association American Psychiatric Association American Psychological Association National Association of Social Workers The term "reparative therapy" refers to psychotherapy aimed at eliminating homosexual desires and is used by people who do not think homosexuality is one variation within human sexual orientation, but rather still believe homosexuality is a mental disorder. The most important fact about "reparative therapy," also sometimes known as "conversion" therapy, is that it is based on an understanding of homosexuality that has been rejected by all the major health and mental health professions. The American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Counseling Association, the American Psychiatric Association...

Capping a race that drew worldwide attention, Rev. Jeffrey Lee, a Midwest native, was overwhelmingly elected Saturday as the next Episcopal bishop of Chicago. Lee, 50, is rector of St. Thomas Church in Medina, Wash., but was born and raised near Kalamazoo, Mich., and ordained in northern Indiana. He becomes Chicago's 12th Episcopal bishop and leader of 41,000 Episcopalians. When asked about his stance on gays in the church, Lee said he supported full inclusion. "I believe God is calling us to full inclusion of gays and lesbians in ministry of this church. ... There is a place for everyone in the church, and the church has to catch up with God's vision," he said. Since Gene Robinson, of New Hampshire, was consecrated as the Episcopal Church's first openly gay bishop four years ago, 65 of the more than 7,000 U.S. parishes have started to break away from the national church. They contend the national church has abandoned Scripture, which condemns gay sex. "All ...

The religious right are screaming and yelling about "special rights" being considered for gays. These "special rights" are currently in place and active for these religious folks . So I find it quite interesting they don't want to share! This seems like a very selfish attitude, especially since they are loving religious folks . Religion (a group of people who already enjoy these "special rights") wants to deny those very same rights to others. The deterioration of religion is apparent. I recently saw an article about David Ott . The religious right claims David Ott was within his rights. Firstly, David Ott is religious. Secondly he is an ex-gay. Thirdly this "news" is from 1999 . It's apparent the religious folks are really reaching and will say anything. I'm not at all surprised since they place so much emphasis on a single book which contains many contradictions. Personally, I don't understand how these religious...

Winner of the Audience Award for Best Documentary at the Seattle International Film Festival, Dan Karslake's provocative, entertaining documentary, For The Bible Tells Me So , brilliantly reconciles homosexuality and Biblical scripture, and in the process reveals that Church-sanctioned anti-gay bias is based almost solely upon a significant (and often malicious) misinterpretation of the Bible. Rev. Bob Graetz, friend of Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King, Jr., has criss-crossed the country, preaching and teaching, including in the heartland of America, the Midwest, which is mis-touted by some as a bastion of conservatism that is purported to condemn and freeze-out anyone who doesn’t conform to a narrow principle. Rev. Graetz and his wife have served as instructors at The Soulforce Institute for Nonviolent Change, also held in the supposedly ‘closed’ Midwest. Soulforce is an interfaith movement which uses the nonviolent principles of M.K. Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr. to end s...

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia : Police in Malaysia, where sodomy is a crime, broke up a gay sex party and arrested 37 men , including a Briton and a Chinese national, a senior official said Tuesday. Police, acting on a public tip-off, raided a fitness center in northern Penang island Sunday while a sex party was in progress and arrested the 37 men, aged between 20 and 45, said local police chief Azam Abdul Hamid. Homosexuality is not specified as a crime in predominantly Muslim Malaysia but it is covered under a law prohibiting sodomy, which is punishable by up to 20 years in prison and whipping/caning.

Blurred Vision When one looks at the anti-gay rants about gays it is humorous and sad. For instance, the day before the restroom incident Larry Craig was heterosexual and married. The day of the incident he’s instantly tagged “gay”. I guess the distinction of bisexual isn’t a possibility? For the anti-gay I suggest you find it very easy to toss everyone into the same barrel despite differences. If a person isn’t heterosexual they are gay! This substantially shows your sight and conceptual limitations. It’s a shame the optometrist can’t fix this visual impairment. But a professional might be able to help you with your internal deficiencies of acceptance. Or - gasp – your own sexual insecurities. As a open gay male, it offends me when someone compares a “sexuality challenged” individual to me. I worked long and hard to accept my sexuality. I am proud of who I am and don’t participate in anonymous public sex. Never have! People who participate in anonymous sex are usually m...

WASHINGTON, DC October 30, 2007 ( LifeSiteNews.com ) – The president of prestigious Georgetown University, the oldest Catholic university in the United States, has promised homosexual activists that the school will fully fund a center for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and “questioning” (LGBTQ) students by next fall. The pro-homosexual nature of the center is rejection of what is considered a serious Catholic moral teaching. President John DeGioia told media, “How do we respond to legitimate requests for a more supportive environment? We can continue to do this in a somewhat informal manner … or we can move forward in a more organized way, through more formal and institutional structures and processes. In this case, it is time for the latter.” The announcement comes in response to an upsurge of pressure from homosexual activists on campus that began after a Georgetown sophomore was arrested for assaulting another student early on the morning of September 9. The incident is being...

I found a coming out story online from a 19 year old. I'll warn you now, he didn't proof read his writing. But the issues and points are still valid. So I'm starting to feel good about my sexuality, when I begin to feel pressure from my church. I should first state that I was forced to go to church every Sunday since freshmen year. Its a really fundamentalist church. No gay allowed. Its seems like every time there was a sermon it was about gay. "Gay to Hell" sermons. I felt like I was being pushed back into the closet. I becoming depressed. Suicidial even. Then two weeks ago I decided that I just could not go any more. And I'm feeling happier than even.

Maybe you've heard the story of Matthew Shepard, the unwilling martyr of the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community. Nine years ago this month, Shepard, a college freshman in Laramie, Wyo., was pistol-whipped, robbed and tied to a fencepost along a Wyoming back road. Savagely beaten and barely alive, Shepard died five days later as a result of severe head trauma. Although Shepard's murder was a clear example of homophobia-driven violence, local law enforcement in Laramie lacked the funds to prosecute the a ttack as a hate crime, furloughing five officers to cover the costs of the case. Had Shepard been killed as a result of his race or religion, the Laramie law enforcement could have requested federal assistance in prosecuting his murder as a hate crime. As it was, such federal intervention was not an option. Why? The answer is both simple and simply maddening: Crimes committed as a result of victim's sexual orientation, no matter how brutal, are ineligible for f...