10 hours later...
Nov. 9th, 2002 05:05 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
gangrel_priBefore I get into my thoughts for today, I must remember to inform ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
gothic_oreo that I wasn't hibernating, I was in torpor. There is a difference;)
Ok, what has made me really irate today, besides drunken college students, itchy eyes, and a roommate with Whooping Cough? (BTW, I'm not mad about the cough. I'm more irritated with the doc and the pharmacy for taking so long.)
Start small. Boy Scouts. I thinkfanboi82 is another of the gay Eagle Scouts I know, so he may or may not be upset about today's rulings as well. Yeah, I'm an Eagle Scout. Yeah, I'm gay. Yeah I've belong to a minority religion. So anyway, A court of Appeals in DC decided that two gay adult leaders, both Eagles, were not discriminated against by BSA. And over in Washington State, they expelled an Eagle who professes Atheism.
Um, yeah. Yes the 12th point of the Scout law says A Scout is Reverent. However, most troops make accomidations for a variety of religions or lack thereof. At the risk of sounding a bit too Hindu for some, G-d wears many faces. Yes, the last line of the Oath is "to keep myself physically strong, mentally awake, and morally straight". I don't see where that implies gay folk are bad adult leaders. Hell, the gay scouters I know are better leaders than some of the str8 folk...at least gay leaders don't ignore property theft and tell fart jokes. But on the other hand, BSA is a private organization, and does have a right to set its own policy, no matter how stupid, reactionary, and downright inane. Besides, the "2 deep" statute was set in place to avoid any "morally questionable" activity among the adults.
Now, let's have more fun. Religions. The Columbus Dispatch ran a big article about how evangelical Xtian churches are the largest growing religion in the US. I laughed, particularly when it mentioned Xenos, one of my favorite cults here in Cap City. And also, I had a long talk about religion withlotussilverfire and our Druid friend Paul at Hounddog's last night.
See, I grew up Presbyterian, which comes as a big shock to a lot of people when they meet me. (Most people assume I was born Jewish, particularly when they meet my mother. In fact, my bitch sis-in-law's Aunt, a Reform rebbe, thought we were Jewish when she met mom.)
My problems with the fundies stem from several points of theological debate. Same reasons I agree more with the Reform Jews than I do the Orthodox. For starters, any passage is subject to interpretation. Even if you say you believe in the Bible (any version, Xtian or Jewish) as it is written, you still are making an interpretation based on your filters and beliefs. Second, I don't buy the idea that G-d said "Let there be a book", and the Bible miraculously appeared. I'll grant the Big 10, but again, most of the Judaic law was oral for a while. I'm not ready to take the leap of faith saying that "The law was written down as it was given by G-d to Moses, with no margin of error, and the Law is just as valid today as it was when G-d gave it to Moses." While I don't believe that the Law should be totally ignored, I do believe it is and should be subject to interpretation by those who struggle to understand it. As for Paganism, this could be translated to "Just because Silver RavenWolf wrote it, that doesn't mean she was right". Or for the Xtians, "Jesus said very littlke about a lot of issues. Paul kind of went loopy there and went way off on things that he felt. Again, Paul was a man. If you truly believe Jesus was the fulfillment of the Messianic prophecies, then follow his teachings, not those of an insane lunatic who underwent sudden conversion."
That is my other problem with the Fundies. The entire concept of sudden conversion goes against everything I hold dear. Something Chris Rock said a while back comes to mind about how people say they shouldn't be executed sinec they found Jesus. "Where was he? In the back of the squad car?" It's taken me nearly 27 years to find my way to a place I feel comfortable being. I went to one revival in High School. I underwent the whole "Accepting Christ" routine. Guess what. I'm still gay, I'm still human. I still feel really uncomfortable among the "floaters" who are so convinced of the rightness of their belief that they exclude anything that runs contrary to it. I'm not saying my approach to religion is the only correct choice. What I am saying is that I resent people telling me that my choice is invalid, incorrect, or insane. Swallowing that drivel requires believeing that Paul wasn't a deranged lunatic.
Hmm, religion and Boy Scouts. Lovely.
gothic_oreo that I wasn't hibernating, I was in torpor. There is a difference;)Ok, what has made me really irate today, besides drunken college students, itchy eyes, and a roommate with Whooping Cough? (BTW, I'm not mad about the cough. I'm more irritated with the doc and the pharmacy for taking so long.)
Start small. Boy Scouts. I think
fanboi82 is another of the gay Eagle Scouts I know, so he may or may not be upset about today's rulings as well. Yeah, I'm an Eagle Scout. Yeah, I'm gay. Yeah I've belong to a minority religion. So anyway, A court of Appeals in DC decided that two gay adult leaders, both Eagles, were not discriminated against by BSA. And over in Washington State, they expelled an Eagle who professes Atheism. Um, yeah. Yes the 12th point of the Scout law says A Scout is Reverent. However, most troops make accomidations for a variety of religions or lack thereof. At the risk of sounding a bit too Hindu for some, G-d wears many faces. Yes, the last line of the Oath is "to keep myself physically strong, mentally awake, and morally straight". I don't see where that implies gay folk are bad adult leaders. Hell, the gay scouters I know are better leaders than some of the str8 folk...at least gay leaders don't ignore property theft and tell fart jokes. But on the other hand, BSA is a private organization, and does have a right to set its own policy, no matter how stupid, reactionary, and downright inane. Besides, the "2 deep" statute was set in place to avoid any "morally questionable" activity among the adults.
Now, let's have more fun. Religions. The Columbus Dispatch ran a big article about how evangelical Xtian churches are the largest growing religion in the US. I laughed, particularly when it mentioned Xenos, one of my favorite cults here in Cap City. And also, I had a long talk about religion with
lotussilverfire and our Druid friend Paul at Hounddog's last night. See, I grew up Presbyterian, which comes as a big shock to a lot of people when they meet me. (Most people assume I was born Jewish, particularly when they meet my mother. In fact, my bitch sis-in-law's Aunt, a Reform rebbe, thought we were Jewish when she met mom.)
My problems with the fundies stem from several points of theological debate. Same reasons I agree more with the Reform Jews than I do the Orthodox. For starters, any passage is subject to interpretation. Even if you say you believe in the Bible (any version, Xtian or Jewish) as it is written, you still are making an interpretation based on your filters and beliefs. Second, I don't buy the idea that G-d said "Let there be a book", and the Bible miraculously appeared. I'll grant the Big 10, but again, most of the Judaic law was oral for a while. I'm not ready to take the leap of faith saying that "The law was written down as it was given by G-d to Moses, with no margin of error, and the Law is just as valid today as it was when G-d gave it to Moses." While I don't believe that the Law should be totally ignored, I do believe it is and should be subject to interpretation by those who struggle to understand it. As for Paganism, this could be translated to "Just because Silver RavenWolf wrote it, that doesn't mean she was right". Or for the Xtians, "Jesus said very littlke about a lot of issues. Paul kind of went loopy there and went way off on things that he felt. Again, Paul was a man. If you truly believe Jesus was the fulfillment of the Messianic prophecies, then follow his teachings, not those of an insane lunatic who underwent sudden conversion."
That is my other problem with the Fundies. The entire concept of sudden conversion goes against everything I hold dear. Something Chris Rock said a while back comes to mind about how people say they shouldn't be executed sinec they found Jesus. "Where was he? In the back of the squad car?" It's taken me nearly 27 years to find my way to a place I feel comfortable being. I went to one revival in High School. I underwent the whole "Accepting Christ" routine. Guess what. I'm still gay, I'm still human. I still feel really uncomfortable among the "floaters" who are so convinced of the rightness of their belief that they exclude anything that runs contrary to it. I'm not saying my approach to religion is the only correct choice. What I am saying is that I resent people telling me that my choice is invalid, incorrect, or insane. Swallowing that drivel requires believeing that Paul wasn't a deranged lunatic.
Hmm, religion and Boy Scouts. Lovely.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Re:
Date: 2002-11-09 12:57 pm (UTC)Re:
Date: 2002-11-09 01:00 pm (UTC)Re:
Date: 2002-11-09 01:03 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2002-11-09 06:23 am (UTC)no subject
no subject
Date: 2002-11-10 02:08 am (UTC)Re:
Date: 2002-11-10 03:08 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2002-11-10 03:47 am (UTC)Re:
Date: 2002-11-10 12:55 pm (UTC)Re:
Date: 2002-11-10 07:00 am (UTC)Re:
Date: 2002-11-10 12:58 pm (UTC)Re:
Date: 2002-11-09 12:56 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2002-11-10 02:20 am (UTC)Re:
Date: 2002-11-10 02:27 am (UTC)no subject
Dost tho beieveth that El Papas version is more accurate?lol
Re:
Date: 2002-11-10 12:56 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2002-11-26 05:39 pm (UTC)Re:
Date: 2002-11-26 11:56 pm (UTC)