LEFT WING LOONS
See other LEFT WING LOONS Articles
Title: LEFT WING LOON:Was Jesus Gay? Probably
Source:
AlterNet
URL Source: http://www.alternet.org/story/15511 ... d=8639.260530.yHLN-e&rd=1&t=16
Published: Apr 26, 2012
Author: By Paul Oestreicher
Post Date: 2012-04-26 15:19:50 by Brian S
Keywords: None
Views: 3017
Comments: 20
Preaching on Good Friday on the last words of Jesus as he was being executed makes great spiritual demands on the preacher. The Jesuits began this tradition. Many Anglican churches adopted it. Faced with this privilege in New Zealand's capital city, Wellington, my second home, I was painfully aware of the context, a church deeply divided worldwide over issues of gender and sexuality. Suffering was my theme. I felt I could not escape the suffering of gay and lesbian people at the hands of the church, over many centuries. Was that divisive issue a subject for Good Friday? For the first time in my ministry I felt it had to be. Those last words of Jesus would not let me escape. "When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing near, he said to his mother, 'Woman behold your son!' Then he said to the disciple. 'Behold your mother!' And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home." That disciple was John whom Jesus, the gospels affirm, loved in a special way. All the other disciples had fled in fear. Three women but only one man had the courage to go with Jesus to his execution. That man clearly had a unique place in the affection of Jesus. In all classic depictions of the Last Supper, a favourite subject of Christian art, John is next to Jesus, very often his head resting on Jesus's breast. Dying, Jesus asks John to look after his mother and asks his mother to accept John as her son. John takes Mary home. John becomes unmistakably part of Jesus's family.
Jesus was a Hebrew rabbi. Unusually, he was unmarried. The idea that he had a romantic relationship with Mary Magdalene is the stuff of fiction, based on no biblical evidence. The evidence, on the other hand, that he may have been what we today call gay is very strong. But even gay rights campaigners in the church have been reluctant to suggest it. A significant exception was Hugh Montefiore, bishop of Birmingham and a convert from a prominent Jewish family. He dared to suggest that possibility and was met with disdain, as though he were simply out to shock.
After much reflection and with certainly no wish to shock, I felt I was left with no option but to suggest, for the first time in half a century of my Anglican priesthood, that Jesus may well have been homosexual. Had he been devoid of sexuality, he would not have been truly human. To believe that would be heretical.
Heterosexual, bisexual, homosexual: Jesus could have been any of these. There can be no certainty which. The homosexual option simply seems the most likely. The intimate relationship with the beloved disciple points in that direction. It would be so interpreted in any person today. Although there is no rabbinic tradition of celibacy, Jesus could well have chosen to refrain from sexual activity, whether he was gay or not. Many Christians will wish to assume it, but I see no theological need to. The physical expression of faithful love is godly. To suggest otherwise is to buy into a kind of puritanism that has long tainted the churches.
All that, I felt deeply, had to be addressed on Good Friday. I saw it as an act of penitence for the suffering and persecution of homosexual people that still persists in many parts of the church. Few readers of this column are likely to be outraged any more than the liberal congregation to whom I was preaching, yet I am only too aware how hurtful these reflections will be to most theologically conservative or simply traditional Christians. The essential question for me is: what does love demand? For my critics it is more often: what does scripture say? In this case, both point in the same direction.
Whether Jesus was gay or straight in no way affects who he was and what he means for the world today. Spiritually it is immaterial. What matters in this context is that there are many gay and lesbian followers of Jesus – ordained and lay – who, despite the church, remarkably and humbly remain its faithful members. Would the Christian churches in their many guises more openly accept, embrace and love them, there would be many more disciples.
Post Comment Private Reply Ignore Thread
Top • Page Up • Full Thread • Page Down • Bottom/Latest
#1. To: Brian S (#0)
Much more could be said about what Paul was struggling with ! Jesus was w / o fault - sin ! Any personal sin on Jesus ... no atonement - no resurrection - everything collapses --- no savior - no universal forgiveness - no christianity either ! He only had the weakened - fallen nature of man that he overcame - contended with - that we all do ! He also had the Divine nature ! Despite ... what these liberals think --- we don't ! I don't think that the actual sin that people do is nearly the problem compared to what the denying - lying about it is !
If you ... don't use exclamation points --- you should't be typeing ! Commas - semicolons - question marks are for girlie boys !
Now this is a seriously dumb-fuck article.
Yeah, yeah... and the Gnostics believe that he was married to Mary Magdalene. It's like students who don't want to take a class so they pass around stories attacking the teacher's credentials. Take the class, then see if you need to question his credentials.
Magician over at the lp has all their bones in a vault too !
If you ... don't use exclamation points --- you should't be typeing ! Commas - semicolons - question marks are for girlie boys !
Misses the old days, when you could nail Christians to a cross or feed them to the lions. A devout statist neocon nutcase.
Obama's watch stopped on 24 May 2008, but he's been too busy smoking crack to notice.
More like your typical lib - dnc - jew - anti christ neocom ! you may most likely w / o knowing it be one ! Hating neocons is a good indication ! Hell no. It’s a freaking embarrassment. All the while, as these pathetic sissies giggle like school girls over magic unicorns that spray rainbows from their horns ... real men – and women – who have put aside the temptation to retreat into a frivolous fantasy world --- are tromping through the wilds of Afghanistan. Such young adults, some younger (in years) than the “bronies,” are protecting all of us – including these pathetic weirdoes http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Hollywood/2012/04/25/my-little-pony
If you ... don't use exclamation points --- you should't be typeing ! Commas - semicolons - question marks are for girlie boys !
Neocon = Wiccan/Satanic hybrid suicide cult! Obama's watch stopped on 24 May 2008, but he's been too busy smoking crack to notice.
Munchurian candidate ! Don't forget the e on potato too ! It doesn't take much to get your corn popping !
If you ... don't use exclamation points --- you should't be typeing ! Commas - semicolons - question marks are for girlie boys !
I think he probably was homosexual,but so what if he was? That would do nothing to devalue the ideas he proposed.
"It is impossible to talk reason with those who can only parrot Party Slogans." sneakypete Sept 2011 Stay Hungry...Stay Foolish --Steve Jobs Steve Jobs,life-long Dim,and major Barry Soetoro supporter.
So what? Would the fires have gone out and the people not have died if he had jumped in and ran around in circles in a panic?
"It is impossible to talk reason with those who can only parrot Party Slogans." sneakypete Sept 2011 Stay Hungry...Stay Foolish --Steve Jobs Steve Jobs,life-long Dim,and major Barry Soetoro supporter.
For our local propagandist, anything which diverts away from oBungler is "fair game." If it happens to rile up 75% of Americans by attacking their faith, so much the better. He's quite the POS.
To: mcToejam, rat-boy, drippy, Alzheimer Fred, whitesands, t-bird, . LOL! You pitiful hate filled creep. ANYTHING in the attempt to OFFEND, eh LOSER? LMAO! LOSER.
Spoiled, stupid and ignorant, brain dead phuckwads, libTURD fools, tools, and idiots, are the real sickness; the messiah "king" obammy and his regime are only the symptoms.
What is the advantage of waiting for 7 minutes before assessing the situation, and responding to an attack? No one wants the commander in chief to panic. You're the only one to suggest it. There's no way of knowing if some lives could have been saved by responding sooner.
Obama's watch stopped on 24 May 2008, but he's been too busy smoking crack to notice.
The Scriptures, both OT and NT, condemn homosexuality. Now, the anti-God crowd wants people to believe that Jesus, the Son of God, was a homosexual? No, it is those who want society to accept their perversion and give them special priviledges who need desperately to believe that God doesn't condemn their actions. They also want desperately to believe that when they meet Christ face- to-face on Judgement Day, He will not reject them.
sneakypete: So what? Would the fires have gone out and the people not have died if he had jumped in and ran around in circles in a panic? I am confident, hondo68 was pointing out that the fool's initial response to a tragedy characterized the dunce's stupid methods time after time and is his ever-lasting legacy. Thereafter, GWBush blundered Iraq, Afghanistan, the USA illegal alien issue, the US Patriot Act, Katrina, the Wall Street collapse and about a thousand other issues as an ignorant muther-fucker that was asleep at the wheel. Now, we have another ignorant muther-fucker asleep at the wheel. And sometime in the future, America shall have another ignorant muther-fucker asleep at the wheel. It is a never-ending-story in America.
There is no way anybody can assess an event like that in even 24 hours. Not even a president with access to all the electronic and human spying/intelligence a US president has. Not to mention meet with his cabinet and the Senate and Congressional leaders in order to formulate a united response. No one wants the commander in chief to panic. You're the only one to suggest it. Say WHAT? Where did you get that from? If anything YOU are the one wanting him to panic and make these decisions in the heat of the moment with almost zero input as to who made the attacks,how many attacks there were,how many more attacks there would be,where the attacks would be,what the targets would be,etc,etc,etc. There's no way of knowing if some lives could have been saved by responding sooner. Yeah,there is. The answer is absolutely ZERO. The attacks were still in progress at the time,and there is not one single thing that could have been done to stop them at that point.
"It is impossible to talk reason with those who can only parrot Party Slogans." sneakypete Sept 2011 Stay Hungry...Stay Foolish --Steve Jobs Steve Jobs,life-long Dim,and major Barry Soetoro supporter.
Again,so what? The Scriptures were written by mortal men long after Jesus and everybody that knew him were long dead,and there is a 99% chance they were written in a way to gain power and wealth for the people writing them. In other words,you and others are taking it as a article of FAITH that they are the "word of God". There is zero proof of this. That's why it's call "faith" instead of "fact".
"It is impossible to talk reason with those who can only parrot Party Slogans." sneakypete Sept 2011 Stay Hungry...Stay Foolish --Steve Jobs Steve Jobs,life-long Dim,and major Barry Soetoro supporter.
He may have been "at the wheel",but he was never the one deciding which way it was turned. Now, we have another ignorant muther-fucker asleep at the wheel. And sometime in the future, America shall have another ignorant muther-fucker asleep at the wheel. Sadly,I have absolutely no doubt whatsoever as to the truth of that prediction. It is a never-ending-story in America. It's going to end so. So will America.
"It is impossible to talk reason with those who can only parrot Party Slogans." sneakypete Sept 2011 Stay Hungry...Stay Foolish --Steve Jobs Steve Jobs,life-long Dim,and major Barry Soetoro supporter.
Yes, and Christians take it on faith that the words of Scripture are the words of God and those words condemn homosexuality. You talk about a 99 percent change "they were written in a way to gain power and wealth for the people writing them." You take your presumption by faith that your cynicism is correct while many millions of Christians around the world say you are wrong. I will side with them.
No,that's a fact. It's human nature. Not to mention history. Every organized religion in the history of the world has sought political power and wealth.
"It is impossible to talk reason with those who can only parrot Party Slogans." sneakypete Sept 2011 Stay Hungry...Stay Foolish --Steve Jobs Steve Jobs,life-long Dim,and major Barry Soetoro supporter.
#2. To: Brian S (#0)
#3. To: Brian S (#0)
#4. To: Anthem (#3)
#5. To: BorisY, *Yukon neo-Progressive Vermin* (#4)
(Edited)
Magician over at the lp has all their bones in a vault too !
"We (government) need to do a lot less, a lot sooner" ~Ron Paul
#6. To: hondo68 (#5)
(Edited)
A devout statist neocon nutcase.
#7. To: BorisY, *Yukon neo-Progressive Vermin* (#6)
Look closely. The book is upside down. Satanism inverts images. The inverted cross symbolizes Satan. Bush remained seated for seven minutes and kept reading about the GOAT while Americans were burning alive and leaping to their death from the flaming towers.
"We (government) need to do a lot less, a lot sooner" ~Ron Paul
#8. To: hondo68 (#7)
(Edited)
#9. To: Brian S (#0)
(Edited)
#10. To: hondo68 (#7)
Bush remained seated for seven minutes and kept reading about the GOAT while Americans were burning alive and leaping to their death from the flaming towers.
#11. To: Abcdefg (#2)
(Edited)
Now this is a seriously dumb-fuck article.
The economy is wonderful!
Re-elect Obama, he'll pay your rent!
A chicken in every pot!
-- Baghdad Bri-bri -- loonymom, ming, e-type jackoff, goober56, wreck, cal-CON, rabid dog, dummy DwarF, biff, harrowup the communist, and meguro. You're on the "a waste of human flesh" list. Brian S[ocialist], you're a propagandist moron. ALL of you can piss off.
#12. To: Brian S (#0)
#13. To: sneakypete (#10)
So what?
"We (government) need to do a lot less, a lot sooner" ~Ron Paul
#14. To: sneakypete (#9)
#15. To: sneakypete (#10)
hondo68: Bush remained seated for seven minutes and kept reading about the GOAT while Americans were burning alive and leaping to their death from the flaming towers.
#16. To: hondo68 (#13)
What is the advantage of waiting for 7 minutes before assessing the situation, and responding to an attack?
#17. To: Don (#14)
The Scriptures, both OT and NT, condemn homosexuality.
#18. To: buckeroo (#15)
as an ignorant muther-fucker that was asleep at the wheel.
#19. To: sneakypete (#17)
#20. To: Don (#19)
You take your presumption by faith
Top • Page Up • Full Thread • Page Down • Bottom/Latest
[Home] [Headlines] [Latest Articles] [Latest Comments] [Post] [Mail] [Sign-in] [Setup] [Help] [Register]