Why would God make someone gay?

[EwanSF]

And to answer the OP's question, I'm pretty sure religious dogma asserts that God doesn't make people gay, but that it is our own free will which turns our back on heterosexuality and allows Satan to tempt us. Hence the sin.

However, as has already been stated, the Bible does not condemn homosexuality, or same sex relationships, in any way/shape/form. All one needs to do is go to the original texts written in Aramaic, Hebrew and Greek along with a copy of Strong's Concordance and they will see the true meaning of the passages that have been mistranslated throughout the years. There have been several books written that corroborate the findings.

Eeeh...as TX has already pointed out, that makes no difference. It's the way it's been interpreted for thousands of years, it's the way that it's interpreted now by the whopping collosal majority of the god-squad. And even at that, there are many academics out there that disagree with the mistranslation theory, so....who's right? How about who cares, it's a load of fucking nonsense anyway.

 

[TX-Beau]

That's the second one this week.

What can I say, this subject always brings out my affection for absurd comedy.

If God exists, he's John Cleese

 

[Inwood]

Eeeh...as TX has already pointed out, that makes no difference. It's the way it's been interpreted for thousands of years, it's the way that it's interpreted now by the whopping collosal majority of the god-squad. And even at that, there are many academics out there that disagree with the mistranslation theory, so....who's right? How about who cares, it's a load of fucking nonsense anyway.

Regardless of whether or not it's a load of fucking nonsense, there are people who believe in a deity, and it is their right to do so. Only when their views infringe upon my life does it become an issue. For all I care they can all believe in the Flying Spaghetti Monster and live a blissful existence but just keep their shit away from me.

And it hasn't been misinterpreted for thousands of years. In fact, the misinterpretation is quite recent (by history's standards). It began around the time of Martin Luther and the Reformation.

 

[TX-Beau]

Before we start down the road to recrimination, let's just point out that we all agree on this basic point:

Regardless of whether or not it's a load of fucking nonsense, there are people who believe in a deity, and it is their right to do so. Only when their views infringe upon my life does it become an issue. For all I care they can all believe in the Flying Spaghetti Monster and live a blissful existence but just keep their shit away from me.

And it hasn't been misinterpreted for thousands of years. In fact, the misinterpretation is quite recent (by history's standards). It began around the time of Martin Luther and the Reformation.

Practice of religion is not scholarly study of scripture. There are very few people in life who have the time, inclination, or the resources to study scripture, languages, and all the ancillary fields necessary to read all the ancient documents in their mother tongues, understand their original idiom or metaphor, understand their cultural context, and come to some kind of opinion.

Most people look no further than their cursory understanding of what religion says - in practice - and the prohibitions on gay sex in the practice of religion are indeed thousands of years old - and this isn't unique to Christianity anyway - and that is the measure that matters.

 

[Inwood]

Most people look no further than their cursory understanding of what religion says - in practice - and the prohibitions on gay sex in the practice of religion is indeed thousands of years old - and this isn't unique to Christianity anyway - and that is the measure that matters.

Would you be able to cite some sources that corroborates this? I am truly interested and not trying to gas light you into an argument. I've read plenty of books on the subject and most point to the Reformation as the beginning of homosexual intolerance.

 

[Inwood]

Might as well close this thread already.

Why? Because you're bored? Then don't read it.

 

[Inwood]

No, because it's the same fucking argument and discussion about religion that comes up any time religion comes up. Instead of people actually putting away their pride they have to come in and be judgmental about something some one else believes in.

There is a reason why religion forum is under a no flame zone, it's because the majority of the time someone talks about it no one can discuss like an actual adult.

I've found the discussion to be agreeable for the most part, regardless of where the thread may live. And the people in this thread aren't the same ones that discuss religion in most of the other threads, so how's about you scamper off to another thread to spread your special brand of sunshine and not take us off-topic, mmkay?

 

[EwanSF]

What can I say, this subject always brings out my affection for absurd comedy.

If God exists, he's John Cleese

Fair point. It wasn't a complaint, keep 'em comin' man. None can surpass Eh Python!

Regardless of whether or not it's a load of fucking nonsense, there are people who believe in a deity, and it is their right to do so. Only when their views infringe upon my life does it become an issue. For all I care they can all believe in the Flying Spaghetti Monster and live a blissful existence but just keep their shit away from me.

And it hasn't been misinterpreted for thousands of years. In fact, the misinterpretation is quite recent (by history's standards). It began around the time of Martin Luther and the Reformation.

With regards to that, I feel the moderates do infinge on our lives, as thier insistance in following this arcane crap keeps the system afloat, giving more of a platform to the fundamentalists, and even the moderates subscribe to the view that thier beliefs should be respected, no matter what. While I respect the right for people to believe drivel, it doesn't mean I have to respect it, just because it's very old drivel.

With regards to the time-line of mistranslation, I give you islam. Muhammad, as you know, plagerised vast tracts of judaic and christian texts for the sake of his own wee desert personality-cult and the only logical conclusion I can draw for islams veahment biggotry when it comes to us bummers is that this "mistranslation" was the widely accepted status-quo at the time, a full 1300 years ago.

 

[gsdx]

That's an argument to have with the religious.

The religious are quite content with their mistranslated Bibles. They will not even consider the original text because discovering the truth would mean that they have been going against God's teaching all this time.

It is very convenient that the most mistranslated and misinterpreted verses in the Bible are the ones most often used to prove themselves right when the original text proves them wrong.

 

[TX-Beau]

Would you be able to cite some sources that corroborates this? I am truly interested and not trying to gas light you into an argument. I've read plenty of books on the subject and most point to the Reformation as the beginning of homosexual intolerance.

You can start here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Christianity_and_homosexuality

Research further if you like. It seems to me obvious anyway that the Christian world was never tolerant of homosexual intercourse - unless by that you mean they thought it was wrong but ignored it. (I don't know where that happened)

But my point is, that it doesn't matter what the ancients had to say about that because the modern faithful neither care, nor will they change their modern views based on someone telling them that two thousand years ago there were temple prostitutes. Anyway there isn't any agreement on the mistranslation issue.

The practice of religion is a different beast entirely. Modern churches are doing the condemning, if you can convince them to give that up, more power to you, but I submit that they won't listen because the bible is just a fig leaf for the culture that produces the homophobia.

My historic opinion is that the prohibitions were created by the divisions between the Roman/Greek pagan world and the Jewish/eastern world in the first place and god just got the credit as a means of applying a universal standard.

 

[TX-Beau]

The religious are quite content with their mistranslated Bibles. They will not even consider the original text because discovering the truth would mean that they have been going against God's teaching all this time.

It is very convenient that the most mistranslated and misinterpreted verses in the Bible are the ones most often used to prove themselves right when the original text proves them wrong.

Fair enough.

 

[TX-Beau]

I disagree... you forget The Goon Show.

Heretic! Blasphemer!

AUTO DE FE!!!!!!

Because no one expects...........................the Spanish Inquisition!!!!

 

[Inwood]

Do you have any other sources, Beau? I would hardly rate Wikipedia as a reliable source, as do many academics.

 

[TX-Beau]

If you don't like wiki, I refer you to your local library.

If you think wiki's not accurate, I'd hazard a guess that more info on all those early Christians can be found in a google search.

This issue is tangential to my point anyway. Even if the early Christians were all sybaritic hedonists, who loved some profligate sodomy, the modern faithful certainly do not, and they are the Dragon in the cave.

 

[ckyb2]

i do believe there is a God, he created, the world, he creates people.

There's the problem.

 

[TX-Beau]

Do you have any other sources, Beau? I would hardly rate Wikipedia as a reliable source, as do many academics.

Having looked at that page in more detail, there are citations you can follow.

 

[TX-Beau]

There's the problem.

I don’t necessarily assert that, belief in god, is the problem, I see it more as, acting like you know the mind of god, creates the problem.

It’s certainly possible to believe and be benign. It’s when someone thinks god countenances whatever ridiculous bigotries that person might harbor; that calls into question the religion they’re following, and whatever interpretation they’re placing on scripture.

Religion plays its part, but so does culture, and a cursory look at the history of religion in society leads me to think that the religion follows the times, not the other way around.

 

[Centexfarmer]

This is a burning question I have. No, i'm not a very religious person, but i do believe there is a God, he created, the world, he creates people. Anyways if i'm not mistaken the bible says that the lord doesnt appreciate/like homosexuality. That raises the questiin why would he create gay or lesbian people?

One of the reasons that I took so long to come out is because I always wrestled with this question.

I've since learned that the question, and the premise behind it is pretty loaded.

The question should be why wouldn't God make someone Gay?

The idea of a God and a creator creating all things, why wouldn't he create all things?

I struggled with this question, and the questions that many of my Christian friends and family had about my being Gay until I found this:

www.godmademegay.com

I printed it out and had them read it.

It answered a lot of my questions, and they've since left me alone about it.

They've since been much more accepting.

I hope that it helps you.

 

[TX-Beau]

Is your link working? I can't open it.

 

[Centexfarmer]

Is your link working? I can't open it.

Thanks for pointing that out TX, it was a typo on my part.

I fixed it, but in case you missed it here it is again:

www.godmademegay.com