ARTICLE: 'Brokeback is in, Bible is out'

[slayers_creek_oth]

Kind of interesting.....Its long but here's the jist of it...

In a 2-1 decision, the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals said that a T-shirt that proclaimed "Be Ashamed, Our School Embraced What God Has Condemned'' on the front and "Homosexuality Is Shameful'' on the back was "injurious to gay and lesbian students and interfered with their right to learn.'' The court said that the shirt can be barred on a public high school campus without violating the 1st Amendment. --Los Angeles Times

The two-judge majority criticized (dissenting Judge) Kozinski, suggesting that the majority could rely upon the motion pictures Brokeback Mountain or The Matthew Shepard Story as evidence of the harmful effects of anti-gay harassment.... The majority implied that Brokeback Mountain is in, and the Bible is out. What's really broken here is the majority's approach to the First Amendment. --Alliance Defense League Senior Legal Counsel Kevin Theriot.


http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bill-robinson/9th-circuit-ruling-brok_b_19551.html

[scottf.]

Why can't they pick another "sin" to condemn, for a change? What IS their hang up about homosexuality? How about adultery, or greed, just for the sake of mixing it up a bit. 

[David]

Scott, It just goes back to that old saying:"You can kill a man in the name of your Country, just don't try to kiss him".   

Or as they say in Boston:"St.Pattys day is when everyone is Irish for a day...except the gays".

 

[delalluvia]

Why can't they pick another "sin" to condemn, for a change? What IS their hang up about homosexuality? How about adultery, or greed, just for the sake of mixing it up a bit.

I don't remember who had the thread or started it over on the IMBd board, but someone brought up the same question and a poster just nailed the reason.

For most 'sins' people all over the world have to make an effort to avoid doing them.

Homosexuality is not a 'sin' like getting drunk or being adulterous or lying or stealing.  If you don't have the urge, you don't have the urge.  It's a sin you have no problem avoiding and thus can come down hard on people who are homosexual and justify the condemnation by saying 'it's a choice' and thus can be resisted "see I can resist it with no problem. You're just wanting to sin".

It's a sin that they can easily feel virtuous about for not 'indulging'.

Makes me sick.

I don't understand the people in this country who claim to be Americans and for the American 'Way' and then try to turn the place into a theocracy.

Makes no sense.

[TJ]

As a formally educated teacher with a BA in Education and a Master of Education, separation of church and state actually began with public education when the schools were removed from the control of local churches and made into public schools.

The Bible cannot be banned from public schools as long as it is in the school's library nor can an individual student be banned from carrying a personal Bible with him (or her) while in school. The ACLU will defend a student for that right to do so.

Prayers said by individual students in public schools cannot be banned either as long as they are not disruptive or an attempt to convict fellow classmates of assumed sin in their lives.

A T-shirt with words on it is NOT the Bible. What was on that shirt actually goes against what Jesus himself taught. The wearer was attempting to take the duty of the Holy Spirit and convict/condemn the school/school system of sin.

The best place for children to learn the teachings of Jesus the Christ is in their own homes. In fact, it is the primary responsiblity of a parent to give a child his religious education. The parents should not rely on a church or a public school to teach "Christainity" to their children.

Oh, ignorant people do equate homosexuality with alcoholism and drug addiction. IMO, I like to use the extreme here and say that comparing a sexual orientation with an addiction is like comparing apples with rocks.

I have been following the ex-gay movement since its beginnings in the 1970s. I have yet to meet a person who could prove God had changed his sexual orientation; but, I have certainly met a lot of people whom God healed through the power of the Holy Spirit and they never had a desrie to drink alcohol again, take drugs, or even use tobacco again.

Why my father did not use illegal drugs, when he got saved and filled with Baptism of the Holy Spirit, he was never tempted again to drink or smoke. And, another one of his bad behaviors was that he could not say one sentence without one or more cuss words in it before he got saved. The only time I ever heard him use any word that would be considered offensive was when he was quoting exactly what someone else said.

[Aussie Chris]

Homosexuality is not a 'sin' like getting drunk or being adulterous or lying or stealing.  If you don't have the urge, you don't have the urge.  It's a sin you have no problem avoiding and thus can come down hard on people who are homosexual and justify the condemnation by saying 'it's a choice' and thus can be resisted "see I can resist it with no problem. You're just wanting to sin".

This is really good delalluvia.  I've often wished for a simple explanation for this - and here it is!  It still doesn't explain (for me) why so much over-the-top hatred and condemnation is applied to orientation though.  Easy target, you think?

[Lynne]

I tend to oversimplify, I know.  And this is such a complex subject, so bear with me...I certainly have no definitive answers.

In my opinion, the so-called religious condemnation of homosexuality is rooted in fear and ignorance.  My experiences are anecdotal, but I have never met a seriously homophobic person who actually knew any gay people except perhaps in passing.  After you develop a personal relationship with some gay folks, it's becomes clear that choice has nothing to do with it.  On the other hand, it seems it's human nature to fear the unknown and that fear leads to rejection.  Some organized religions just provide an 'acceptable' means for rationalizing/legitimizing that rejection.  Couple that with a society that is repressive in the extreme with respect to sexuality and the fear thrives - anything related to serious sexual discussions is taboo.

The trouble I have is with the more fundamentalist types who insist on literal translations of scripture and dogmatic opinions that leave no room for independent thought and analysis.  I'm afraid there may be no way to reach this group of people short of educating the next generation.  But the current trend toward private religious education and homeschooling in these groups may even preclude that.

Just some random ideas...This is a terrific discussion.
-Lynne

[DecaturTxCowboy]

One Christian blogger screamed, "Now they're out to destroy the American legend of the cowboy. God help us, and John Wayne forgive us!"

[TJ]

It is interesting how many people are completely ignorant about Marion "John 'Duke' Wayne" Morrison and they believe that he was a real cowboy before and after he got into the movies.

John Wayne being a cowboy in real life is just as fictional as the most of the cowboys whom he portrayed in the movies.

From what I have read, heard and even saw on TV documentaries about Wayne, he was an abusive husband, too.

Oh, "Marion" is sort of a masculine way to call a man "Mary."

The cowboy legend comes for the old dime novels written mostly by city folks who had never been in the Western USA in the first place. And, most of the movie cowboys are based on similar stereotypes.

I suggest that people go to larger city libraries and read the books written by real cowboys when they were working in the real Old West.

In the local Tulsa City-Country Library System and at the main location down town, I have seen real pics of (read real stories of) where cowboys on ranches and on cattle drives shared the very same bedroll, even when each of them had their own bedroll so that they could sleep alone.