An Imaginary World

As soon as you open the Bible you have to begin using your imagination. It doesn't matter where you start. You can open it and thumb through it randomly or launch from the very first line.. "In the beginning, God created Heaven and Earth" (Genesis 1:1), but either way you have to start picturing a world vastly different than the one you live in to understand it. The basic questions, "why are we here?" and "where are we going?" have to do with worlds that are unlike the one we share currently.

If you're like me then you believe that the reason we are here is to love each other: "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it. Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets" [Matt22:37-40]. And to answer the second question it is simply, "Heaven...hopefully!"

Both these answers require vigorous effort on behalf of our minds to create a world where Love reigns, and another world which is the fulfillment of that total Love.

When I think about the Christian schools that we will be visiting that preach strictly against gays, lesbians, bi/pansexuals, and transgender people I have the feeling that the way they imagine these two worlds are very different than how I do. For me in the ideal Earth, there is no dividing line that exists between people of different races, sexual orientation, gender, ability, class... Nothing that creates a gap between the Love of one person for another. In the second world called 'Heaven', it is quite the same except as spiritual beings we do not have to force ourselves to look past what we have been taught about our physical differences. Without bodies we are open to love everyone without the need to "unlearn" the hatred we've been taught.

You see, I cannot imagine a Heaven where genitalia matter much. So I cannot understand why it would matter so much to God down here. You know that prayer, the one Jesus spoke of..."Our Father, who art in heaven,hallowed be thy name.Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven..." (Matthew 6:10-14) well, it sounds to me like Jesus wanted Earth to be like Heaven. Now, I can be wrong on this (I'm no theologian), but that's just how I imagine the ideal world to be. Perfect peace and harmony, in love, truth, and justice until the day that we are freed from our physical bodies and come together in Heaven with God. So if genitalia and physical differences do not matter in Heaven, I cannot imagine why they would on earth.

And that leads me to another question that I do not see posed very often. Why would God feel that homosexuality is sinful? It's a simple question. Do we really believe that this is to preserve life on Earth? I mean, 1) queer people have always existed, 2) less than 10% of the population is queer and 3) the world is overpopulated as it is. I don't foresee the extinction of humankind due to lack of spawn any time soon. I know what some people would say, "I shouldn't question God's word"...but I think that's BS. It's a cop-out to the question. Other "don'ts" in the Bible include having sex with animals, child abuse, and rape. There are obvious reason why these are included in the Bible and I would not be looked at funny if I were to ask what they were. So what is the reason people believe God would ban homosexuality?

My view of the world that God wanted for humans is one of peace and love and happiness. This may be a stretch for some that have experienced pain, neglect, rejection, abuse, and abandonment. It makes me sad that people don't believe God would want this for us on the basis that it is not our current reality. God only creates good works. We, as humans, muddy it all up. God wants us to love each other, this is the most important commandment and yet we use other words to hate each other. This is not God's plan...it is our doing.

It seems to me that it is not only the interpretation of the Bible that people argue over, but that some people are greatly limited by how they view a world and cannot imagine a world ruled and founded by complete and utter Love.

Response to a Doubting Friend

Amanda, the Bible can be twisted and turned to be interpreted in all kinds of ways. Anything can be. Keep in mind what Jesus said (and this cannot be twisted): "FOR THERE ARE EUNUCHS THAT ARE BORN THAT WAY FROM THEIR MOTHERS WOMB; and there are eunuchs who were made eunuchs by men; and there are also eunuchs who made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. HE WHO IS ABLE TO ACCEPT THIS, let him accept it." (Matt 19: 8-12). So the Eunuch that was born that way, would not that be homosexuals? This is pretty much the only thing that Jesus said (and Jesus IS God...let's not forget) about homosexuals...and never once did Jesus condemn anyone. And, Jesus knew there would be people that would not be able to accept this truth. This is clear!!! In black and white!!! What else did Jesus need to say for people to accept this? Did he need to wear a shirt saying: "I love Homos???"

So there are other parts in the Bible that talk about homosexuality, talk about eating pork, talk about killing in the name of God... We can go through the Bible and if we were to mimic the actions of its heroes we'd be put in jail and condemned as evil by the very same people that praise it and call it Holy. It all comes down to the fact that you have to choose to believe if God is a LOVING God, or if God is a capricious God. Would a loving God condemn homosexuals just because Ze felt like it? It's God we're talking about here! Why would Ze decide that everyone should be forgiven except a group of individuals that humans condemn because of who they LOVE. Isn't this the stain that cannot be washed from our history? Using holy texts against each other?

The Bible is a guide, written and breathed to life by God. But God promised, PROMISED us Free Will. And within that Free Will is not only the power of making decisions on what is right and wrong, but also the power of interpreting what is right and what is wrong for ourselves. This is of utmost importance! Without Free Will we would be puppets. Without it God would not be able to show us Hir's love for us! So, and this is my truest belief, if God gave us a Bible with a clear cut "Right and Wrong", our Free Will would be infringed. We would have no say in our lives. And this is the key...OUR LIFE. Our experience here on Earth, with one another. God left a lot up to us and we struggle with it because it is not supposed to be easy. Forgiveness would mean nothing if life was clear cut and easy. Forgiveness, Mercy, Grace, Love...these things would mean nothing. God's love would be a matter of rules to follow, of which we might as well kill ourselves should we defy. I choose to believe in a God that is beyond our understanding, more loving than we can ever imagine or sense or convey, more accepting and more inclusive than any of us (even Equality Riders!) will ever hope to be. ... See MoreI picture a perfect God. A PERFECT God.

Reference:

Matthew 19:8-12 (New International Version)
8Jesus replied, "Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because your hearts were hard. But it was not this way from the beginning. 9I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for marital unfaithfulness, and marries another woman commits adultery."
10The disciples said to him, "If this is the situation between a husband and wife, it is better not to marry."
11Jesus replied, "Not everyone can accept this word, but only those to whom it has been given. 12For some are eunuchs because they were born that way; others were made that way by men; and others have renounced marriage[a]because of the kingdom of heaven. The one who can accept this should accept it."

Why am I on the Equality Ride?

The title is my answer.

I'm committed to the 2010 Soulforce Equality Ride because it saddens me that people use the Bible, any sacred text really, to discriminate, hate, oppress, marginalize, ostracize, and murder any other human being.

It makes me sad. It makes me sick and nauseous. It makes me angry.

Sometimes I picture myself crying at the feet of a crowd, begging for them to love me. If only that would move people to discard the lies they were raised to embrace and guard as truths...I would weep without pride, without restraint.

I will be blogging my journey here...please feel free to leave me little love notes...they will treasured along the way :)