WHO DID HE RISE FOR?

SO, HE is risen! Why’d He bother? Some of us, for whom He rose, still insist, based on an obsolete (oops, sorry, “Old”) Testament that only some are entitled to His kingdom. Some Calabar students will assure you that that excludes KC boys.

Jesus come today for a poor, poor man like me.

Salvation come my way. My soul set free.

Jesus come for all and we must hear His call.

Open up your heart today and let it be.

Readers were introduced to my friend Musclecock in my October 23, 2012, column ( Why Gay Rights). Then, I wrote:

“I’m repeatedly asked why I so vociferously support gay rights, especially in the face of Jamaica’s deep-rooted fear of homosexuality (homophobia).

“We’re all products of our experiences. One of my best friends at secondary school was homosexual. Naïve as I was then, it was two years before I even suspected his sexuality. He was always, shall we say, ‘different’. For example, he seemed obsessed with his penis, which he said he measured every night and reported any lengthening at school next morning. He enjoyed teaching us penis trivia. His favourite factoid was that the penis has no muscles. That last bit earned him his nickname of ‘Musclecock’ (‘Muscle C’, or just plain ‘Muscle’ for short).

“Muscle C, though average in

traditional academics, was brilliant. He was extremely creative and an excellent young actor. He became president of the Drama Society. I was vice-president. We adapted an Alfred Hitchcock (no relation) short story into a play in which he played the lead … . He was a huge success … .”

I recall Muscle’s tragic death and my guilt at not being more accepting of his orientation. But my uppermost recollection is being at a popular Trafalgar Road restaurant with him (and two other friends) about a year before he died. We’d stepped outside for some cool evening breeze when a car filled with youthful inebriates sped by and performed a screeching handbrake turn in the gravel-covered roadway. One occupant shouted “Hey, Rubba Duck (one of my many unkind high school nicknames)! Don’t walk wid dat b****bwoy!”

The infamous Calabar Chant brought these memories flooding back.

DIVIDED ON HOMOSEXUALITY

Despite what Pastor may’ve told you, Christianity, although united against homosexuality, is divided on how to treat homosexuals.

Religious dogma against homosexuality includes:

God made male and female to complete each other and procreate ( Genesis).

This is possible even if, medically, they can’t have children together but impossible for gay men;

The natural order is for male and female to unite;

Homosexual practice is forbidden in Leviticus that provides for men who have sex with men to be put to death (Leviticus 20:13);

demns In homosexuality some of St Paul’s as “unrighteous” letters, he conand says homosexuals won’t inherit the Kingdom of God

Shudder. But the dogma is confusing when it comes to how to react when confronted by reality. Take the Roman

Catholic Church Catechism (1992) paragraphs 2358-9 (far away, please!):

“This inclination, which is objectively disordered, constitutes for most of them a trial. They must be accepted with respect, compassion and sensitivity. Every sign of unjust discrimination in their regard should be avoided ... . Homosexual people are called to chastity.”

Yet the Roman Catholic Church, which binds all priests to the same “calling”, won’t knowingly ordain homosexual priests. N.B.: homosexuals are “they” NOT some of us; it’s an “inclination” NOT an orientation; and “is objectively disordered”. The subtlety is overpowering. Sigh.

Quakers are more accepting. Towards

a Quaker View of Sex (1963) states:

“Where there’s a genuine tenderness; an openness to responsibility and the seed of commitment, God is surely not shut out. Can we not say that God can enter any relationship in which there’s a measure of selfless love? ...To reject people on the grounds of their sexual behaviour is a denial of God’s creation.”

Still, it’s “sexual behaviour”. Oh, and “genuine tenderness”, etc, apparently isn’t a pre-requisite in heterosexual relationships. Only “a measure of selfless love” required there. Deep sigh.

So, one issue upon which the Christian Church is united is that homosexuality is choice; behaviour; inclination. It can be cured. Now I get it! Gays choose to be gay. Twitterite from Bristol, UK: “So, Gays,

when y’all chose to be gay? For me it was a beautiful spring day and I just thought ‘You know what, I really want to disappoint my parents, offend my church, limit my options, lose my rights, live in fear of homophobic abuse, be afraid to hold my partner’s hand ... .’” Some of the replies were priceless:

“Someone told me I could be gay temporarily, you know just to try it for a year. After my 365-day trial ended, I just went month to month. Now I can’t find the support number or e-mail address to cancel so I just stay gay.” DWL!

Alan Palmer (London):

“It was during the 80s at the height of AIDS panic and stigma. I thought, y’know, I’ll have some of that...” Bill Roberts:

“At the time people were yelling ‘poof ’ and throwing rocks at me as I walked home from school, I was like ‘Wow, I love being at risk. I should do this more’.”

Btw, have you noticed how the Church expertly ignores that some women are also gay? I guess Leviticus only calls out male homosexuals, so we’ll just whisper the word “lesbian” (wink, wink) and hope we get to watch.

So, Kathryn, a student at Concordia University and self-styled “very gay”:

“I just felt like the constant fear that me and my girlfriend will be sexually or physically harassed/ assaulted by straight men was something that was missing from my life... my family ostracising me was an added bonus!”

My favourite reply came from an actor in Bath, UK, nom-deplume “Ant”:

“At school. But in secret. With the lack of education on relationships and sex, I thought I’d pioneered being gay so had to keep it to myself in case anyone found out before I could patent it. So I lived in anguish for years. Turns out, it had already been invented.” Aw, shucks.

GOD’S CHILDREN

Choice, schmoice! Gays are God’s children like everybody else. Yes, some gay sex is transactional (including by persons not truly gay) as are some heterosexual acts performed by gays. This may shock you, but heterosexual sex among some heterosexuals is also transactional, including many acts unconnected to official prostitution. It’s called life. The world is what it is.

Since some teenaged students have wound me up, let me include in this rant my view of what’s disdainfully called the “Rules are Rules” posse. I’m a proud member. The correct principle for which we stand is “Rules are Rules FOR CHILDREN”. Adults, educated for life, are duty bound to challenge and change bad rules. But children must obey rules, no matter how unjust or unreasonable they appear. The purpose of this principle is to inculcate discipline.

Youth who grow up learning rules are rules won’t feel entitled to chant “KC bwoy a b****bwoy” in the presence of teachers who may feel physically endangered should they intervene, especially if they teach physics.

Ten-year-olds who learn discipline also learn tolerance for differences. They’ll celebrate diversity, which is the foundation of the real world existing outside Church. No child who learns discipline is likely to treat a fellow human being as an “abomination” simply because he/she is attracted to the same sex. Only someone susceptible to dogma over discipline would utter such nauseating nonsense as preferring to die rather than conducting a same-sex marriage.

Disciplined persons know, despite religious dogma, if the law legalised same-sex marriage, the choice is to preside over such weddings or over none. Or maybe go live in a theocracy that pretends same-sex “marriage” doesn’t already exist.

Death isn’t an option. Anti-abortion activists love to quote Deuteronomy 30:15-20 (choose life over death) when it suits them not realising that the verse only promotes choice. Sexual orientation is NOT a choice. Reaction to homosexuality is. Nuh matter if yu t’ief or if yu dread or if yu have a crown ’pan yuh head.

Nuh matter if yu have no heart at all,

Jesus bring love for one and all. I for Jesus. You for Jesus.

All for Jesus. Fall for Jesus, Come to Jesus.

Jesus come for one; He come for all!

Jesus rose from the dead to prove He was the way and the light and His word (Love Thy Neighbour) was divine law. He did this for ALL of us as Ernie Smith testifies in All for

Jesus. Religions created by homo (ouch) sapiens converted His simple mandate into dogma to distract the mentally weak or vulnerable in order to control them.

Peace and love!