Did Apostle Paul actually accepted Christian homosexuals?

Maybe yes, just was able to share this as so many other stuff have been happening here in Jamaica as you may have realised by the posts. In November 2011 this news came and also  a book (photo below) with accompanying YOUTUBE videos to explain the legal paradox and the supposed unsolved Romans text on homosexuality. 

For the last 2,000 years, Christians have been taught to believe that Apostle Paul condemned homosexuality. But a new discovery documents that he deliberately acknowledged that it does not prevent anyone from entering heaven. This discovery by internationally acclaimed cryptographer Michael Wood removes the final barrier to full societal acceptance of gays and lesbians.


“Michael Wood’s discovery is remarkable because it solves a colossal paradox regarding Paul’s Greek that has baffled scholars for 2,000 years,” says Dr. William Berg, former professor of Greek and Roman Classics at Stanford University, UCLA, and other academic institutions.


Paul’s only unequivocal reference to homosexuality is found within Romans 1:18-3:20, a Biblical passage that has mystified scholars for two millennia. “The interpretation of Romans 1:18-3:20 has been notoriously difficult for almost every commentator,” Richard Longenecker, a distinguished New Testament scholar, writes in his book ‘Studies in Paul.’ “Earlier interpreters such as Origen, Jerome, Augustine, and Erasmus wrestled with this issue and it continues to plague commentators today.”’


The passage is riddled with paradoxes. It says that “only the doers of the law will be vindicated by God,” and “by the works of the law no one will be vindicated.” The passage also mysteriously separates idolatrous, homosexual, orgy fests from transgressions worthy of spiritual death. “In finding the definitive solution to Paul’s legal paradox, I inadvertently discovered why he separated the idolatrous, same-sex orgies from the things he considered worthy of spiritual death,” said Wood.


Dr. Berg has spent many months examining the linguistic and historical basis of what he describes as Wood’s “remarkable” discovery. “Michael Wood reveals to the public a well-kept secret, namely that the apostle Paul, like the rest of his contemporaries, divided the commands of the Jewish law into two groups demarcated by Leviticus 19:18—‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the commandments based on loving your neighbor were ‘Justices of the Torah.’ Those not based on Leviticus 19:18 were ‘Jobs of the Torah.’” Dr. Berg explained.


Wood’s solution is definitive, elegant, and verifiable. Romans 2:13-26 teaches: Only the doers of the ‘Justices of the Torah’ will be vindicated before God. Romans 3:20 says, “By the ‘Jobs of the Torah’ no one will be vindicated.” Not only is there no contradiction, but the two teachings have always been simple restatements of each other; the “Great Paradox” is no paradox at all! MORE


meanwhile

Monumental Cryptography Discovery Reveals Homosexuality Not Forbidden in Bible

Apparently Paul’s paradoxes laid out in the book of Romans in the Bible have plagued theologians and historians for thousands of years. A classic argument against cultural permissiveness toward homosexuality stems from Romans, in which Paul appears to say homosexuals need not apply for an all-inclusive pass to Heaven – because they will be denied.


But Wood’s discovery has turned the entire scripture upside down, and it appears that the Bible has had a welcome mat out for the gays all along.


“Michael Wood’s discovery is remarkable because it solves a colossal paradox regarding Paul’s Greek that has baffled scholars for 2,000 years,” says Dr. William Berg, who taught Greek and Roman Classics at Stanford University.


Paul’s only unequivocal reference to homosexuality is found within Romans 1:18-3:20, a Biblical passage that has mystified scholars for two millennia. “The interpretation of Romans1:18-3:20 has been notoriously difficult for almost every commentator,” Richard Longenecker, the Distinguished New Testament Scholar at Wheaton College, writes in his book Studies in Paul. “Earlier interpreters such as Origen, Jerome, Augustine, and Erasmus wrestled with this issue and it continues to plague commentators today.”


The passage is riddled with paradoxes. It says that “only the doers of the law will be vindicated by God,” and “by the works of the law no one will be vindicated.” The passage also mysteriously separates idolatrous, homosexual orgy fests from transgressions worthy of spiritual death. “In finding the definitive solution to Paul’s legal paradox, I inadvertently discovered why he separated the idolatrous, same-sex orgies from the things he considered worthy of spiritual death,” said Wood.


Wood’s solution is definitive, elegant, and verifiable. Romans 2:13-26 teaches: Only the doers of the “Justices of the Torah” will be vindicated before God. Romans 3:20 says, “By the ‘Jobs of the Torah’ no one will be vindicated.” Not only is there no contradiction, but the two teachings have always been simple restatements of each other; the “Great Paradox” is no paradox at all!


This legal solution fully explains Paul’s treatment of homosexuality. Paul’s passage excludes idolatrous, homosexual orgy fests from things which he considered worthy of spiritual death, things such as “bad-mouthing others,” “deceiving,” and “inflicting pain.” Those engaged in idolatrous, homosexual orgies weren’t violating the Justices. (They weren’t violating the precept “Love your neighbor as yourself.”) Therefore, Paul was obliged to separate this from his list of things which did violate the Justices.


The finding is significant because it documents that Paul purposefully separated the same-sex acts; it was a conscious, deliberate decision consistent with the rest of the passage. In fact, it was demanded by the rest of the passage. The resolution of the paradox empirically proves that Paul’s view on homosexuality was very different from what Christians had thought for 2,000 years.


Although Romans 1 contains the only unequivocal reference to homosexuality, anti-homosexual statements have been introduced into other passages in newer versions of the English Bible. As for these modern changes to the Biblical text: “Michael Wood has gone the extra mile in being faithful to Paul’s Greek,” said Dr. Berg. “He shows, time and again, that the words traditionally mistranslated as ‘homosexual,’ ‘effeminate,’ ‘impure,’ and so forth, are really targeting selfish, unloving, unjust activity and have nothing to do with sexual orientation. He shows that once again Paul was condemning those who violate the Justices of the Torah, and nothing more.”

the book can be had at AMAZON

Could you kindly deliver this letter to Mr Mullings ........ from an Average, Straight, Christian, Labourite.

Here is an interesting piece that has been making the rounds in social networking pages and groups, this is not new in terms of a response to the Leviticusal rebuttals from the church on homosexuality normally leaving out the other abominations and dishonestly zooming in on the same sex reference while also leaving out the historical context the book was written. In light of the Bible totting MP Clive Mullings at a recent JLP function. See for more on that here with the Sodom trope:

Mullings slams Simpson Miller over buggery law review plan
'No nation that seeks to move away from God's words can succeed'

If sin is sin then why is homosexuality made to be a greater sin than others? 

And since we have no record of Jesus himself condemning homosexuality are we sure that it is a sin in certain contexts?

Have a read of the piece and arrive at your own conclusion.

Dear Mr Mullings,

 

Thank you for doing so much to educate people regarding God's Law. I have learned a great deal from your speech, and try to share that knowledge with as many people as I can. When someone tries to defend the homosexual lifestyle, for example, 

I simply remind them that Leviticus
18:22 clearly states it to be an abomination... End of debate.

I do need some advice from you, however, regarding some other elements of God's Laws and how to follow them.

1. Leviticus 25:44 states that I may possess slaves, both male and female, provided they are purchased from neighbouring nations. A friend of mine claims that this applies to Haitians, but not Cubans. Can you clarify? Why can't I own Cubans?

2. I would like to sell my daughter into slavery, as sanctioned in
Exodus 21:7. In this day and age, what do you think would be a fair price for her?

3. I know that I am allowed no contact with a woman while she is in her period of menstrual unseemliness
- Lev.15: 19-24. The problem is how do I tell? I have tried asking, but most women take offence.
4. When I burn a bull on the altar as a sacrifice, I know it creates a pleasing odour for the Lord - Lev.1:9.. The problem is my neighbours. They claim the odour is not pleasing to them. Should I smite them?

5. I have a neighbour who insists on working on the Sabbath. Exodus 35:2. clearly states
he should be put to death. Am I morally obligated to kill him myself, or should I ask the Police to do it?

6. A friend of mine feels that even though eating shellfish is an abomination - Lev. 11:10, it is a lesser abomination than homosexuality. I don't agree. Can you settle this? Are there'degrees'of abomination?

7. Lev. 21:20 states that I may not approach the altar of God if I have a defect in my sight. I have to admit that I wear reading glasses. Does my vision have to be 20/20, or is there some wiggle- room here?

8. Most of my male friends get their hair trimmed including the hair around their temples, even though this is expressly forbidden by Lev. 19:27. How should they die?

9. I know from Lev. 11:6-8 that touching the skin of a dead pig makes me unclean, but may I still play football if I wear gloves?

10. My uncle has a farm. He violates Lev.19:19 by planting two different crops in the same field, as does his wife by wearing garments made of two different kinds of thread (cotton/ polyester blend). He also tends to
curse and blaspheme a lot. Is it really necessary that we go to all the trouble of getting the whole town together to stone them? Lev.24:10-16.
Couldn't we just burn them to death at a private family affair, like we do with people who sleep with their in-laws? (Lev. 20:14)

I know you have studied these things extensively and thus enjoy considerable expertise in such matters, so I am confident you can help.

Thank you again for reminding us that God's word is eternal and unchanging.

Yours Truly,

The Average, 

Straight, 

Christian, 

Labourite.
**COPIED**

ENDS

Raymond Pryce ridiculed by JLP supporters on the strength on the queen of Jamaica comment made by Mrs Simpson Miller during the leaderhsip debate recently. 

What little LGBT support for the JLP has been dwindling fast and with photos like that above just by observation since the pronouncements by Daryl Vaz on Adam on Steve, also mayor of Kingston and candidate for West Kingston taking Bruce Golding's place also joined the fray and the recipient of this letter enclosed Clive Mullings also joined in. Very serious thinking is missing though in regards to the proposed conscience vote, while Mrs Simpson Miller may have our interest at heart on the face of it I continue to say there is method to madness and a conscience vote may very well put a complete stop to the agitation on LGBT rights etc. Of course the JLP has been attempting to capitalize on the stance taken by Mrs Miller, will it lead to a victory for them? Here is a video remix of both leader comments and a digitally voiced commentator suggesting a theocratic stance in governance:

also see: Has PNP received financing from gay community?- Vaz says JLP confident of securing 34-38 seats in Dec 29 poll


Mullings slams Simpson Miller over buggery law review plan - 'No nation that seeks to move away from God's words can succeed'


from Mark Wignall: PNP to review buggery law when?

‘Idiot plan that!’ - Many Jamaicans against Buggery Law review ...............

Peace and tolerance

H

Rev Clinton Chisholm on "Consensual Sex Revisited"

Another entry from Reverend, Blogger, Talk show host and columnist Clinton Chisholm touches on homosexual sex and the public discourse surrounding consent. Although aged it was brought to my attention on the strength of an editorial in the Gleaner earlier this year when the debate had commenced in a sense on gay issues. It was also published as a letter in the same paper. The Editorial was entitled: "

End Discrimination Towards Gays Now

(Excerpt)

Entrenched homophobia

We understand why the various commissions, committees and legislators who drafted the charter failed to expressly declare people's rights to freedom from discrimination based on sexual orientation.

It has do with the receding, but still-entrenched homophobia in Jamaica that caused Mr Golding to declare, more than three years ago, that gays would not be welcome in his Cabinet. Politicians fear that any perception that they embrace or are soft on homosexuality will cost them votes and open them to discrimination and stigma.

The attitude, we insist, is cowardly, retrogressive, socially dangerous and offensive to human rights.

Serious concerns for all

To be clear, our position is neither an endorsement nor rejection of homosexuality. Frankly, we do not care. How consenting adults choose to live their lives is none of our business. There are, however, a couple of things that concern us and which we believe should be the concern of all Jamaicans.

First, while we note and commend the advances in individuals' rights contained in the charter, we are aware that the possibility of discrimination against any group is a toehold for the erosion of the rights of others, notwithstanding the cover of constitutional protection.

Moreover, the fear of stigma, discrimination and violence pushes many people into the closet. Their talents are often underutilised, to the detriment of the society and economy. There is evidence, too, of the health problems faced by gays, many of whom prefer to live without treatment for their illnesses, including HIV/AIDS, for fear of discrimination. The public-health risks are obvious.

It is nearly 50 years since the promulgation of the Constitution; waiting a few more months to get a better charter won't hurt.

Improving the charter will require that it lie in the legislature for months in accordance with the time stipulation for amending the Constitution. In the meantime, legislators should expunge the buggery law, the main bit of existing legislation that makes homosexuality illegal.

Here is the response from Reverend Chisolm let us juxtapose it to the recent comments, concerns and rhetoric by other religious leaders or fanatics however you want to label them, see the post immediately following this one that has several of those responses or 

Anti Sodomy Decriminalization/Repulsion action intensifies from the Christian Community

Consensual Sex Revisited

“To be clear, our position is neither an endorsement nor rejection of homosexuality. Frankly, we do not care. How consenting adults choose to live their lives is none of our business.” (Jamaica Gleaner editorial, April 1, 2011)

To some the above sentiment of the editorial is progressive, politically correct and defensible. To me it is dangerous and disingenuous. I say the editorial’s posture is disingenuous because it seems to reflect a neutral position about homosexuality but this veneer of neutrality is blown to pieces by the realization that the position of the editorial is not neutrality but indictable moral ambivalence/indifference about homosexuality summed up in the words “…we do not care.” How can a responsible and prestigious media organization (which influences public opinion) claim it is none of its business “how consenting adults choose to live their lives…”?

The editorial’s posture is societally dangerous in that how people live their lives sexually is critical to the society’s health concerns and even continued existence. Mathew Staver is correct when he says “It is a truism frequently forgotten by large complex societies: only societies that reproduce survive.” (Same-Sex Marriage, 2004, p.8) Ponder the societal consequence of universalizing homosexuality as the sexual norm!

Can one be really socially responsible but ambivalent about consensual homosexual sex, consensual adultery, consensual incest, consensual sadomasochistic sex given the relational implications of such acts beyond even the health costs of dealing with AIDS and other STIs? Has the editor given thought to the social cost of pregnancies deemed ‘unwanted’ by putative parents and especially the impact of absentee father figures on the lives of our young men?

Let us get it clear in our minds, consensuality even along with privacy and age-maturity does not constitute adequate moral justification for sexual behavior, without more, as the lawyers would say. If we hold the view that a certain sexual behavior is morally defensible let’s have the moral courage to be upfront and say so and not hide behind a thin veneer of neutrality. Homosexuality may indeed need to be decriminalized and the buggery law expunged but the reasons for doing so must be more convincing than simply moral ambivalence or apathy about what consenting adults do sexually.

Reverend Clinton Chisholm on Clarifying Sexual Orientation, Homosexuality and Homophobia

Reverend Clinton Chisholm host of that new new current affairs program on the religious station Love 101FM, controversial Pastor, Theologian and blogger has been writing on homosexuality and commenting on gay marriage issues among other things.

Here he published the excerpted piece below from his blog/site named the Chisholm Source

Clarifying Sexual Orientation, Homosexuality and Homophobia

There is a general belief that conceptual clarity exists re the terms ‘sexual orientation, homosexuality and homophobia’. This belief is dead wrong as I hope to show now.According to the therapeutic manual of the American Psychiatric Association there are upwards of at least twenty distinctive sexual variations of ‘sexual orientation’. This goes way beyond the traditional orientations of heterosexuality, homosexuality, bisexuality and bestiality and includes the ‘paraphilias’ like incest, necrophilia, etc. Would all of these more than twenty sexual orientations qualify for protection in our charter of rights? And after all what really is sexual orientation, predominant inclination, predominant sexual desire, practice or what?More importantly because of the seeming fluidity of sexual orientation (people’s sexual appetites can and do change over time) how defensible is it as a protected right within a nation’s charter of rights?


The criterion of immutability usually associated with protected rights is not applicable to sexual orientation at all.There is a growing concern among clinicians and behavioural scientists about what qualifies as homosexuality. Law and Bioethics Professor Lynn Wardle has raised some interesting questions towards a definition of homosexuality. For instance he asks whether thoughts about engaging in same-sex intercourse qualifies as homosexuality or is sexual behavior required as well. Whether the definition is based on feeling/inclination or behavior, questions of level, intensity, frequency and historical timeline are relevant in Professor Wardle’s view. Then Wardle raises the thorny issue of a man who was a practicing heterosexual for 15 years but two months ago abandoned that practice for same-sex intercourse (cited in Mathew Staver, Same-Sex Marriage: Putting Every Household at Risk, 2004, 76).

 What really is homophobia?


As a student of languages I find this coinage very weird, etymologically and conceptually. As the word is popularly used it seems to mean at least dislike or disgust for homosexuals. If this is the dominant ethos of the word it is a poor coinage etymologically. Phobia is Greek for fear and the homo part of the word (similarly for homosexual) is not Latin-derived but is drawn from the Greek word homoios, meaning same. Nobody really fears homosexuals but a goodly number of us are repulsed at some of the practices associated with homosexuality.I know homosexuals for whom I have the profoundest respect as persons and as talented professionals be they lecturers, journalists, musicians, politicians or parsons but I maintain that the act of eating a person’s faeces or showering in a person’s urine, even once, is downright sick, pathological and disgusting. Indeed such practices pose public health challenges.As we foster public dialogue on our charter of rights let us seek clarity on the key terms and concepts that are central to the charter or deemed to be missing from the charter.

ENDS

My two cents 


To limit his view of homosexuals to just the professional class is precisely the major issue I have in how we have discourse on the subject it's as if we are teetering on the perception that it is an import from the foreign mostly Caucasion middle to upper middle socio economic classes. And  what the hell does he mean by? - but I maintain that the act of eating a person’s faeces or showering in a person’s urine, even once, is downright sick, pathological and disgusting. Indeed such practices pose public health challenges. 


As if to loop all male homosexuals (while conveniently leaving out lesbians when the word as he tries to sway us means persons attracted to the same sex) want is anal sex and we are so urgently desperate for a battyhole to enter therein with our dicks. Oh please Reverend Chisolm if you do not know how we fuck then just ask for clarification this just goes to show that even as a reverend gentleman you too are covered under the highly sexualized mental psyche of the nation to think all we do is wade in shit. 


And what health challenges does that pose in today's modern world of safer sex gadgetry and cleansing items on the market? Same gender loving men are no longer exposed to excretory matter in or around the body and contrary to popular belief sexual practices of bare-backing and penetrative sex were not as popular for gay men as now, Greek and Roman men mostly practiced intercrural sex or our version of missionary where the penis was placed between the legs to reenact or fake the feeling of penetration similar to when a woman who is seeing her menstrual cycle may do the same with her legs. Enemas such as the ones in the photo are readily available locally at popular pharmacies and reasonably priced as well for up to $300 a bottle for a single use bottle. As more and more men demand cleaner sex these items are now the rage so I do not know what health risk the goodly reverend speak of plus many of these products contain sodium based mixes that help to clean and protect the linning of the rectum.


Why does everyone feel that they have to find something in that realm from their figment of their imagination to condemn homosexual acts between men? Just leave it alone if it does not please you, simple!


Besides the word homosexual was only formally introduced into the English language by a Dutch Hungarian gentleman named Mari Kert Benney on May 6 1868 when at that time in the very ultra progressive Prussian version of parliament this forward thinking man led a bill now known as Paragraph 145 across the floor arguing the same points we are arguing today which are consent, privacy and tolerance. His mix of the Greek and Latin to form this new word did not sit well with the intelligencia of that as it was considered an anathema to mix the more superior legal Latin with the second tiered Greek in any lexicon.


Please Reverend Chisholm judge not and ye shall not be judged all this pontificating and intelligent masturbation will get us nowhere just love and let God do the rest.


What are we scared of in this matter, do we feel homosexuals are here to make everyone else gay?  Utter rubbish.


Peace and tolerance


H

"Tell Me Pastor" cautious on Down Low complaint ...

As we continue to track some of the disucssions relating to same gender loving issues today's Star has another letter that seems edited to reflect a stance on a down low husband who after getting married did not want sexual contact with his wife. "He never displayed any signs of homosexuality" was quoted in the letter suggesting profiling of sorts as if same gender loving men are to exude some trait that makes them gay or this letter writer is naive as they come or are we the readers being taken for a ride? as I have concluded in some instances that these letters seem will fabricated at best or edited to create a spin.

Certainly many possibilities lie here but as before we have seen his biphobic stance as well so if the man was indeed bisexual we may never know as he would have probably not tolerated a letter of that type of a man attracted to both sexes and marrying one of the genders, for a psychologist I am amazed at his stance on homosexuality in general however and how quickly he calls on biblical references to abominations to substantiate his arguments while stressing that it is a sin and is wrong when he must have been tutored in recognising the orientation issues and that of sexual identity. That swapping of ideology where convenient is disturbing to me and to many of you my readers who have expressed such in previous rants on the man and his positions taken in letters.

Have a read of the latest piece and see the short but cautious response from Psychologist/Pastor Aaron Dumas.

Deceived by my gay husband

LETTER

Dear Pastor,

I am writing you to express the shame and hurt that I am feeling right now. I met this man a few years ago in Jamaica and fell in love with him. We both shared mutual feelings at that time and we decided to get married. We had a very small wedding in front of a few family members. He was very loving and attentive towards me before getting married, but once we said "I do", everything went downhill after that.



Immediately after we got married he seemed to be displaying some awkward behaviour for a newly-wed. He wouldn't wear his ring and would shy away when I would attempt to have intercourse. I found his behaviour to be odd, but I thought he just had a bad experience with a girl from his past. I attempted to question him, but he would get aggressive and angry towards me. His behaviour started to get more and more bizarre to the point where we were arguing constantly. Even through the arguments I still stood beside him and did my job as his wife. He was very abusive emotionally towards me.



About one year later, I ended up finding out that he is a homosexual and desired not to be with me. He never displayed any signs of homosexuality. He was on the 'down low'. I was very hurt and saddened by my findings. I am still having a hard time dealing with the fact of how I dedicated my time, energy and money on this man and he deceitfully used me. I am also very much embarrassed as I never thought in a million years this would have happened to me.



I am trying to deal with this emotionally even up to this day. How can I get through this pain? Please help me.



Deceived By Husband

RESPONSE

Dear Deceived,



You have not stated whether you are still living with this man. If you are still living together, you need to get out because by continuing to live with him you are subjecting yourself to more abuse and humiliation.



Second, you need to find a psychologist and have sessions so as to learn how to deal with the past, present and future. It is indeed unfortunate that you made the wrong choice, but please forgive yourself for the mistake you have made. Be assured of my prayers and please let me hear from you again.



Pastor

ENDS

Two cents continued:

Will this argument between the LGBT lobby and the sections of the evangelical community ever end anytime soon as recent publications and responses to the ad campaign though heavily critiqued by myself and others and a barely luke warm response from the community itself ever end? Check out this article from the Jamaica Observer on the pastoral responses to the video JFLAG launched,

Gay TV advert angers clerics

Some quotes include:

".................associate pastor of the Tower Hill Missionary Church in Kingston, Mark Dawes, suggested that the church needed to be more vocal in denouncing the homosexual lifestyle.



“I am prepared to be loving and compassionate to all persons, irrespective of their class or creed or persuasion, but that love and compassion to all and sundry will not stop me from speaking the truth in love as I see the truth,” said Dawes, a former journalist.



“As innocuous and as innocent as that public service announcement might appear, it is part of a wider plan by militant homosexuals to gradually desensitise Jamaicans to homosexuality, so that homosexual behaviour and practice can become mainstream in Jamaica,” asserted the pastor.



Rev Monsignor Kenneth Richards, rector at Holy Trinity Cathedral in Kingston, was just as sceptical of the message of the PSA, pointing out that the Catholic church did not embrace homosexual unions since they were not in keeping with religious principles.



“I don’t think we should tolerate it, we should object to it. I don’t think it should be broadcast,” said the priest when asked his views on the PSA."



Peace and tolerance



H

Pro-Gay Not Same As Pro-Progress says letter writer .......

In response to yesterday's Gleaner editorial here is a writer who clearly is out of touch with reality, I had commented on my sister blog GLBTQ Jamaica on Wordpress juxtaposing it to the political fortunes and otherwise.

Here is an excerpt of my two cents regarding that:

"This article seems timely as the Jamaica Labour Party is regaining momentum following the Manatt issues and the protracted wage negotiations that at one point looked as if they were about to be the ruin of the party now all seems clearer, a reshuffled cabinet but a disgruntled former Minister and General Secretary of the party who had crossed the floor before question is will he cross again? Meanwhile the opposition PNP has its set of issues where a Sharon Hay Webster may very well be courted to cross the floor as well given her recent resignation due to the dual citizenship matter that she is being blamed for the recent fall in ratings of the party. She did not disclose earlier that she was a US born politician.

The surprise news of a marriage on the weekend by the council member from the Jamaica Labour Party who earlier this year was accused of same sex activity is also leaving questions in the minds of a few, why marry now? was he under pressure from the party’s hierarchy as is believed to “straighten up” his public image following the damning accusations? There is never a dull day in the life of Jamaican politics"

See the rest HERE

Here is the Editorial the letter writer is responding to:

"WE WONDER what background checks, if any, Prime Minister Bruce Golding caused to be conducted on the members of his new Cabinet, and whether prospective ministers were required to provide the PM with any assurances about their lifestyles.

Or, perhaps it is that Mr Golding has changed his mind since his May 2008 “not in my Cabinet” remark to a BBC interviewer about the capacity of homosexuals to serve in Jamaican governments.

Mr Golding’s homophobic bigotry, of course, was largely a populist play to the political gallery – a cheap and easy grab for votes that would tax neither leadership nor the imagination.

By now, however, Mr Golding, and the administration more broadly, must be aware that such declarations as the prime minister’s, giving legitimacy to anti-gay discrimination, not only fly in the face of the respect for human rights, but have negative social and economic impact on communities and run counter to the direction of progressive societies.

Division with New york

New York, the city and the state, are places to which many Jamaicans would like to emigrate, as several thousands do every year. Indeed, tens of thousands of Jamaicans live in the state. Last month, the New York state legislature, with the backing of the governor, Andrew Cuomo, who is married with two daughters, passed a bill approving same-sex marriage in the state.

New York, in the process, joined six other states – Iowa, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Vermont and Washington, DC – that allow same-sex marriages. Significantly, with New York’s population of 19 million, its law more than doubled to 35 million the number of Americans who live in states that recognise such marriages. Additionally, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois and Rhode Island recognise civil unions between gay couples.

Such moves not only expand the right of individuals, but have other benefits, such as the estimate by many informed observers that New York’s decision will lead to the inflow of upwards of US$400 million of business to that state.

Ja losing out

It is attracting this kind of economic activity that Jamaica has limited, if not proscribed by the global projection of its homophobic stance. For instance, in the United States the buying power of the gay community is estimated at US$743 billion. And gays tend to have a greater capacity of discretionary spending. Few, for instance, have children to support, which means, calculating based on a singular child, around US$20,000 a year of discretionary cash.

In that regard, gays are in a better position than heterosexual couples to spend on leisure, including on travel, which can benefit tourist economies such as our own. It is not surprising that American businesses are now openly targeting the gay community, such as the the wealth-management podcasts and symposiums promoted by the investment bankers Morgan Stanley Smith Barney.

For Jamaica to attract some of this wealth, people have to be assured of a greater level of tolerance, especially from the Jamaican state. In that context, archaic laws, like the one against buggery, have to be repealed.

But as we noted before, this is not purely an economic issue, but respect for individuals’ rights, which is what the Obama administration recognises with its repeal of the ‘Don’t ask, don’t tell’ stipulation for gays entering the military, and in ending its defence at the federal level of the Defence of Marriage Act.

The opinions on this page, except for the above, do not necessarily reflect the views of The Gleaner. To respond to a Gleaner editorial, email us: editor@gleanerjm.com or fax: 922-6223. Responses should be no longer than 400 words. Not all responses will be published."

ENDS

Here is the letter in response to the Editorial:

Pro-Gay Not Same As Pro-Progress

THE EDITOR, Sir:

I feel compelled to give my opinion on yesterday's Gleaner editorial on the issue of homophobia in Jamaica, and the repealing of laws against buggery.

If Jamaica considers itself a Christian society, then homosexuality is indeed a moral issue, and must continue to be frowned upon and not embraced here.

Jamaica is an independent country and we do not need to be copycats of what First World nations are doing to become developed. If we stand by the doctrines of the Bible, we need to be steadfast. It takes one to make a change in the right direction.

Personally, I do not care how many developed countries want to embrace homosexuality for the sake of their economy. I look at it the same way I would see a woman who decides that she is so much in need of money that she will put her morals and values on the shelf, and embrace prostitution so that she can relieve her financial burden. Does that make her actions right?

There are many aspects of development, and we as a nation need to stand on our own two feet and decide what we will venture into. The Muslim nations stick to their principles, so what are we afraid of?

These developed countries have become so secularised and demoralised because the world has lost all values and morals, and we have become too accommodating.

I love that Jamaica has stood up to the trials and temptations of legalising buggery and validating homosexuality, as rampant as it may be in our society, and with all the threats to our benefits.

We do not have to follow other countries to be noticed. We make our own mark and should continue to do so by being different. Kudos to Jamaica and all those who speak out against the legalisation of buggery.

CONCERNED CITIZEN

"Kill Gays" Jimmy Swaggart and knowing fruits ....

So as the strong criticisms delivered recently by Liberty Advocate on fallen from grace and one time the biggest televangelist on international television Jimmy Swaggart makes the rounds the critics have been weighing in. Lest we forget he stumbled pretty badly with the case of the prostitute and the hotel room which saw him loose his grip on the multi million dollar commercialized Christianity industry only at the time surpassed by Oral Roberts ministries, even I used to listen to him on local television here in Jamaica with one of my favourite singers the on his team leading the worship sessions.

Then in 2004 on his comeback trail as America loves when a fallen persona returns he committed the ultimate infraction during a sermon where he said “I'm trying to find the correct name for it...this utter absolute, asinine, idiotic stupidity of men marrying men.” Then he added, “I’ve never seen a man in my life I wanted to marry. And I’m gonna be blunt and plain: if one ever looks at me like that, I’m gonna kill him and tell God he died.” Swaggart apparently got a positive response from the congregation. (photo from sermon above)

What is also disturbing is how much money these preachers make on the grounds of collecting offerings and preaching hate in some instances. According to a recent documentary For The Bible Tells Me So some preachers who are described as biblical literalists while being capitalists make hundreds of millions of dollars a charge that has not been refuted to date. The Sodom and Gomorrah story is used to continue the hate against same gender loving people while failing to read bible within it's context and original culture or using selective reading picking out what works and ignoring or discarding what doesn't.

Swaggart now has a new ministry named SonLife and is one of the fastest growing commercial christian entities out there now. Liberty Advocate has been very strong in their criticisms such as

Note, it is possible for men to have a great name for piety, and yet to be workers of iniquity; and those that are so will receive the greater damnation.


Judging Jimmy Swaggart: Evil Fruits

Irrefutably, God’s Law gives us the authority and duty to judge sinners in the church, including false preachers. So, let’s look at some of Swaggart’s evil fruits…

1. Adultery

But I say unto you,
That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her
hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.
Matthew 5:28

Swaggart committed acts of adultery by a-whoring after pornography and prostitutes and refuses to repent. In 1985, before his fall, Swaggart wrote Rape of a Nation openly condemning pornography. O ye hypocrite!

Why does Swaggart idolize Dake who confessed to sexual sin with young girls?

4. Wickedness

Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness,
covetousness, maliciousness:
Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which
commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same,
but have pleasure in them that do them.
Romans 1:29, 32

While Swaggart was committing adultery with whores, he hypocritically pointed his finger at Marvin Gorman and Jim Bakker condemning and exposing their adultery. He did this with malice and mischief in his evil heart, not to bring them to repentance. Gorman and Bakker were ministry rivals. So, Swaggart methodically set out to destroy his competition.

Read the rest HERE

plus

In regards to the killing gay comment Swaggart said he has jokingly used the expression "killing someone and telling God he died" thousands of times, about all sorts of people. He said the expression is figurative and not meant to harm.

"It's a humorous statement that doesn't mean anything. You can't lie to God -- it's ridiculous," Swaggart told The Associated Press. "If it's an insult, I certainly didn't think it was, but if they are offended, then I certainly offer an apology."

To joke about something as serious as this knowing how literal persons take action against same gender loving people is grossly irresponsible. Yet these are the persons who hold positions of leadership in religion, can the blind lead the blind?

Peace and tolerance

H

Downlow at the pulpit: Pastor Flees after same sex scandal .... says Star News

Sensationalist at the Star News is known to have become over these many years especially when it comes to same sex allegations here is another entry from them that appeared in the February 7th edition entitled Pastor Flees after Sex Scandal, these days however the language from the previously well respected evening version of the Gleaner turned tabloid trash is improving it seems as the story as excerpted below will bring to bear. This also is another in the series of stories from the press and elsewhere that forces us to look at clandestine homosexuality, downlow or secret bisexual love amongst our Jamaican brothers, it was only a week before the Star News also carried a more hyper masculine or thug involved episode of naked "heaviot" also known as "trade" in the United States thugs allegedly caught in the act who pulled guns at their possible homophobic attackers who demanded they leave the community, they have since done so but vowed if anyone tried anything funny to harm them they would suffer the consequences.

See the post below for further readings on the entry.

have a look at the article in question in relation to this post:

PASTOR FLEES AFTER SEX SCANDAL

A Portmore, St Catherine pastor is the subject of controversy after rumours began circulating that he was seen in explicit photos with another church brother.
This was added to claims that earlier this year he was heard in the church's office engaging in an alleged sex act with another brother.

These accusations are said to have caused the pastor and his wife to flee the church leaving the remaining flock to search for a new leader.

When THE STAR visited the community yesterday, we were informed that the pastor, who has several children, is probably overseas. We were also told that since the incidents the wife no longer attends the church and they are looking a new pastor.

"Mi hear seh him gone a foreign, but mi nuh know what happen to the wife," a source said.

In the case of the incident which allegedly happened in the office, it is said that when the pastor's wife was given a description of the sounds that were being made during the alleged sex act she confirmed it was her husband.

groan and moan

"Mi hear seh dat di pastor did a groan and moan and a mek some noise wid one next man inna di church one early morning and dem call di wife and tell her and she seh a so him gwaan when him make love," the source said.

THE STAR understands that despite some persons being shocked, most of the congregation was not surprised when they heard the allegations.

A community member, when asked about the incident, told THE STAR that "Mi hear seh a not too long ago the pastor who always a gwaan like him holy did have a big repentance service dat him tell everybody to repent and confess dem sins."

The source further stated that he has heard several theories about what has happened to the pastor since the incident. "Dis minute you hear seh dem suspend him for two years and dat him leave the island and the next minute you hear seh that him gone a one secret island with a Nigerian lover."

Meanwhile, efforts to make contact with the church has proven futile. One church member, Brother Paco, when contacted, told THE STAR that he has changed his mind about disclosing any details on the matter as the church wants to move on from the incident.

*Name changed to protect identity

ENDS

So as we continue to wrap our heads around this whole change in the Jamaican landscape or can we call it change? but more so exposure to the real deal going on more men in general and men of the cloth in particular seem to be hitting the sack. Of course the homo negativity is still driving same sex acts and relationships underground which could justify the advocates complaints of unsafe sexual behaviours when persons have to hide and lick so to speak. In this instance it seems the congregants were already aware or suspicious of the pastor's sexual tastes which also brings into focus how "fass" or inquisitive persons can be in a church setting and makes one wonder what are we to go to church for? are we there to win souls for the kingdom no matter the condition or "sin" of said soul? or are we there to pry into people's affairs and make it the hot topic before Sunday service?

see older entries such as:

What is the church really about ??

Christianity and Homosexuality from 2009

Is There a Greater Sin (Newspaper Letter) from 2008 following the BBC hardtalk debacle and Bruce Golding's "Not in my cabinet" rant

I think by now we all now that there are gays everywhere question is are the ones behind the pulpit really going to face up to reality and stop living double lives until they are found out or outed the hard way?

Will we ever forget the Eddie Long mess from last year and what that caused internationally? fortunately it finally brought the issue into the African American community or downlow lives amongst men of the cloth and by extension caused many to question their own faith and pastoral leadership in the outside world apart from the paedophilia problems of the Catholic Church.

Peace and tolerance

H

for further examination here is a Pastor in Atlanta who years ago came out of the closet and now runs a church opens to all as he hosts a discussion on other pastors hiding in the closet.

Trinidad happenings: Coalition Advocating for the Inclusion of Sexual Orientation (CAISO) on "His Way Out Ministries" tour there .......

When Phillip Lee (left) gets on a plane on October 29th and leaves our shores, the story of the His Way Out Ministries’ visit to multireligious T&T will not be about a “reformed” American gay man who came to combat growing acceptance of homosexuality here…to deliver a message that homosexuality is acquired…reinforce the Lordship of Christ and the authority of scripture, which says homosexuality is a sin…and spread the news that no one has been delivered from homosexuality except through Christ.

UN Right to Education Special Rapporteur Vernor Muñoz said sex education is a human right

It will instead be about three other stories:

that the GLBT community in T&T is ready to organize and advocate visibly for equality; that public opinion in T&T is that gay people should be able to live their lives; andthat young people care about something other than themselves, and that they hold a vision for citizenship that is about taking care of each other and standing up for what they believe in.

The mainstream media hasn’t been very interested in this last story. Even when the young people organizing to demonstrate an alternative local vision to Lee and his hosts’ visited media houses to tell their story, except in the case of Power 102, they didn’t think young people’s agency and vision that newsworthy. But a few journalists did.

Please follow this story on CAISO/GSPOTT Blog: HERE

Let us not forget that this same Ministry along with Phillip Lee was in Jamaica some time ago

Stokeley Marshall, then President of the Lawyers' Christian Fellowship and Pastor Phillip Lee, (centre in the photo on right) Executive Director of His Way Out Ministries based in California, USA outside of Kings House just before paying a courtesy call on the Governor General of Jamaica His Excellency Sir Patrick Allen on May 26, 2009. His Way Out Ministries is a Christian based ministry that supposedly provides support for men and women who seek freedom from unwanted same sex attraction.

Peace and tolerance

H

Las Vegas COGIC Pastor Arrested on 11 Sexual Abuse Counts

This is becoming a sadly familiar story. Yet another pastor in the rabidly anti-gay Church of God in Christ—the largest Pentecostal denomination in the United States and the second largest African-American denomination—is accused of sexual misconduct against teenage boys. A Las Vegas pastor was arrested on 11 sexual abuse charges ... five years after a similar case against him was dropped, reports the Las Vegas Sun.

Billy Eckstine McCurdy, 57, pastor of the Revival Temple Church of God in Christ, was taken into custody at 1 p.m. Friday at his home in North Las Vegas without incident, police said.

The alleged victims say they were forced into a sexual relationship with McCurdy, police said. They allege he used his position in the church and biblical scriptures to control them and force them into sex acts, police said.

Police said McCurdy spent a great deal of time with young people, including on youth trips to Arizona and California. Police said he conducted events at his home with young men, including sleepovers, and allowed teenagers — two victims involved in the case, among them — to live with him for extended periods. According to the criminal complaint, the alleged crimes happened between April 2007 and October 2009.

The teen boys testified at a grand jury, which indicted McCurdy last Thursday on six counts of sexual assault and five counts of open or gross lewdness. McCurdy is being held at the Clark County Detention Center without bail, adds the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

Detectives believe "other victims" have not come forward.

Similar charges were dropped in 2005, after North Las Vegas Police arrested McCurdy after a teenage boy told investigators the pastor fondled him while they slept in the same bed. Will McCurdy's congregation stand by their pastor ... again? Or will they blame the boys for coming forward?

This becomes only the latest charge of sexual misconduct within the Church of God in Christ, which is well known for attracting many closeted black gay men and rivals the Catholic Church for the many sexual predators within its leadership.

COGIC is embroiled in numerous lawsuits and criminal investigations around clergy sexual abuse—there is a micro-site on the Church website—and has been accused of covering up sexual misconduct cases for decades.

On January 30, a former COGIC pastor was sentenced to 20 years on charges he raped a teenage girl some 25 years ago.One church reportedly has four convicted pedophiles on its payroll. And in March 2010, an Alabama COGIC bishop was also accused of sexual misconduct.

In November 2010 at the Church of God in Christ's Holy Convocation Youth Service in Memphis, the infamously "ex-gay"—or should we say merely "re-closeted"—

Grammy Award winning gospel singer Donnie McClurkin delivered an incendiary rant against gays and gay youth and compared them to vampires.

Glass houses, stones, etc.. ENDS

notes:

So where will this really end? well finally the black church is now seeing its own unraveling of sexual abuse and all this time it kept quiet about the Catholic Church mess over the years. What is even more disturbing is the both major accusations now in the public domain are from Pentecostal denominated or affiliated churches and one wonders with their insistence on having or being "filled' with the "Holy Spirit" one should have discerned these problems when having certain "gifts"

What is happening here?

Are these men of the cloth really there to lead or to enrich themselves and impose their "sick" desires as a result of drunkenness of power from having such influence of congregants' minds?

Are there more stories like this to come from other Black churches elsewhere?

What about the Jamaican context and why we haven't heard a peep about this type of behaviour in Jamaica?

Then again given our unique set of sensitivities involved we may never get this forced "cleansing" or outings happening anytime soon, as for the victims' sake I hope we do and by extension the nations' so we can finally discuss these and related issues and their separation from consensual adult gay relationships thus helping to dispel the misconstrued information that has heavily influenced our most active and caustic homophobia with in some instances disastrous consequences.

Think on these things folks.

UPDATE: 5:48pm

After going over this blog I found a story I posted earlier this year of a Seventh Day Adventist Pastor here in Jamaica who was accused of seeking sex from a teenage boy and was said to have been recorded soliciting the youth - an excerpt reads:

"A deacon at a Seventh Day Adventist church in Kingston, who was taped trying to make sexual advances to a teenage boy recently, left the place of worship after he was disciplined. Steven Benjamin*, a member of the church, told THE STAR that everyone was shocked when the tape was played for a pastor..."

Continue to the rest of the article here: Deacon Seeks Sex from boy says The Star

Peace and tolerance.

H