If homosexuality is wrong, and God knows all, then didn't he know that some of his children would turn gay? And if he did know, then why would he create them just to damn them to hell?

Who is God? Is he an old man with a white beard sitting on a big throne amongst the clouds in a "place" called "Heaven" doling out dogmas and directing traffic on Earth? I hardly think so. "God" is a catchphrase for the unknown Universal Entity. In most Western religious scenarios, "He" is the "creator", the first in the Universe, and the "One", according to the Holy Bible, who fashioned all of everything. He is all knowing and all powerful. He caused some problems for mankind in the early days, back in the Old Testament, when mankind didn't listen to him, but in basic Christian theology, after he sent his "Son", whom we know as Jesus Christ, to Earth a little over 2000 years ago, He has been a kinder gentler God. The message Jesus preached to mankind is that we are all saved if we accept Him into our daily lives.

In some religions, Jesus is either a mere human or didn't exist, and God is still peeved at mankind and constantly on the verge of destroying him. God is quite often a philosophical construct standing in for the idea of a "creator" for the total Universe. Religious leaders guarantee that even though no one really truly knows what happens to our minds and souls when we pass from our Earthly existence, if we "believe in God", then we are "saved" and will spend eternity in Heaven with God and the angels. This certainly sounds nice, and billions of people practice a "Godly" life, certain that they have nothing to worry about.

Others question the idea of God and still others deny "His" existence altogether. Some have developed different philosophical constructs to "take His place" and others just don't care. Scientific thought attempts to find non theological answers to the "big questions". No matter what evidence the scientific community comes up with, the religious community seems to battle with them constant arguments.
Inquiring minds want to know. The "truth" is that nobody knows anything really about the whys and wherefores of existence. Since we don't really know what's "normal", we really can't ascertain with certainty what to call "abnormal". (This doesn't stop everyone from trying.) How do we humans know whether homosexuality, the practice of same sex partnering, is "normal" or "abnormal"? Biologically speaking, it would seem to be abnormal. But biology is hardly a science which can be counted on to give us the same answers about anything either. There are species without sex. There are species which "change" sex. Humans seem to have two distinct sexes, "man" and "woman", but yet anyone who works in the medical field specializing in obstetrics might tell you some horror stories which will forever shatter your preconceived notions of biological sexuality.

Let's consider that "God" is "all knowing." We also have to consider that we as humans know little if anything, and are constantly learning. Perhaps God embraces all his creatures. In early pre Christian Polyneisan cultures, babies born with perceived "defects", including birth marks, were killed instanly upon birth. Christian missionaries were apalled at this practice, but the "Gods" of Polynesian societies were deemed to have dictated this practice, however barbaric. Early Mezoamerican cultures practiced sacrifice of humans in order to stave off bad weather and failing crops. The "Gods" dictated this practice. So far, the Western "God" of Christianity doesn't seem to be calling for a mass murder of homosexuals. One of the "10 Commandments" of early Jewish dogma, which was carried over into Western style Christianity, is, of course, "Thou shalt not kill". However, certain "religions" do seem to think that homosexuality is an abomination, and people with an urge to couple with thier own sex instead of the opposite sex are to be "fixed" or "cured" of these abnormalities.

Homosexuals in history were "closeted", mostly because of the horrendous shocks people would receive because of their practices. As the world gets "smaller" because of mass methods of communication, and as more established groups of gay rights activists appear on the horizon of our Earth, more and more closeted homosexuals have broken free of their secrets, and sometimes it seems as if they are multiplying with a fervor. (Since they can't propagate, this seems somewhat weird.) Who is to say whether a respectful, honest, upright and forthright individual is to be denied his "ticket to heaven" just because he chooses to bugger his boyfriend? God? Maybe it's certain segments of mankind who in reality are against these practices. Perhaps God really doesn't care which sex we choose to couple with, marry, or live with to the end of our lives?

There might be an "interim" plane of existence before the Final Realization is attained, before each soul enters and permeates the "Universal Mind". There might even be a "heaven" and a "hell" although there is really no proof of the existence of either. But all souls, both "bad", "good", and "undecided', are granted "entry" into the Universal eventually. This is the end to our means. If one believes in Jesus, he is saved. But if one believes in the teachings of Buddha, or is close to enlightenment in the Hindu faith, or even if one is agnostic and searching for the truth, it will be revealed eventually. One has to die before this happens, and that's certainly hard to swallow, but it's best to wait, to live each day as if it mattered for all eternity, and to do "good works", respect and love our fellow man, and have respect for our situation. When we die, whether we're devout, questioning, hetero or homsexual, man or woman, dog or cat, we are part of the Universal Entity. We are "star stuff", and we are all a small part of the Godhead. All life is part of the Universal. And life is diverse. There might even be "aliens" in our Universe, and they are as "normal" as we suppose ourselves to be.

Let's suppose, then, that homosexuality is not "wrong". It is either a choice or perhaps biologically a physical part of the lives of some humans. Let's suppose, then, that "God" exists, and that "He" is much much more than that old guy sitting on a throne in Heaven. We might be a little part of "Him", no matter who we are. Let's suppose that we don't know the answers, and never will.

It is mankind who makes mankind's rules. These rules sometimes change with the rotation of the planet's leaders. As the world gets "smaller" and we are exposed to more and more of what happens outside our own garden gate, we are going to learn that it is best not to be closed minded. The world is full of many interesting and strange practices. Humankind has striven to understand,. catalog, and describe this diversity of life since "the beginning." Look around. He hasn't been able to either understand, catalog or describe all of life, and life keeps getting more and more interesting.

If you believe that homosexuality is "wrong", and that God needs to punish these individuals when they stray from a predetermined path, then you could believe that they are given tests which they fail, and this is what dooms them to "hell". I prefer to believe that there is no "right" and "wrong" in this conundrum at all. Like the many diverse species of life in the Universe, homosexuality is just another kind. Embrace diversity. Tolerate differerences. Open your mind.

You just might find that if you stop thinking and worrying about the many competing dogmas with which you come into contact, then perhaps God will speak to you and let you know everything is really all right. Each Realization we pass up or drive around is lost to us in our search for enlightenment. If we stop, ponder, and gain insght into these Realizations, then we are more than ready to pass from this plane of existence to the next.

(This article was first published on WhenWordsCollide on Feb. 7th, 2008)

Comments

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