Homosexuality & homophobia

[Speculum]

This morning, I read a story at MSNBC reporting that the US Supreme Court has chosen not to hear a case presented by Jerry Falwell concerning his dispute with a website whose domain name is (undoubtedly intentionally) very similar to his own (fallwell.com vs. falwell.com) but whose perspective on homosexuality is diametrically different. I presume that Reverend Falwell's argument with the website is generated by his abhorrence of homosexuality and his conviction that it is a sin. The website in dispute is called Unworthy of God's Love; the URL is www.fallwell.com.

Falwell and others who share his view argue that the Bible forbids homosexuality. The most frequently quoted passages are Leviticus 18:22 ("You shall not lie with a male as with a woman. It is an abomination.") and Leviticus 20:13 ("If a man lies with a male as he lies with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination. They shall surely be put to death. Their blood shall be upon them.").

As I see it, the problem with relying on Leviticus as an argument against homosexuality is that Leviticus consists of twenty-seven chapters publishing a long set of assorted thou-shalts and thou-shalt-nots, forbidding all kinds of activities, from eating shellfish and pork to shaving, planting different crops on the same field, having tattoos, working on the tenth day of the seventh month, and on and on. In my experience, virtually all of these are dismissed as no longer relevant by those who nonetheless insist on the continued inviolability and application of verses 18:22 and 20:13. That kind of "cherry picking" (to borrow a term currently in favor) has always seemed to me to be somewhat shaky logic.

My own sense, as I have written before (at TZF’s Letters where scroll down the menu to "homophobia", and in this forum at the thread John Paul II), is that homophobia -- like many hatreds and phobias -- is not about what it seems to be about, in this instance homosexuality, but about ignorance of our True Nature. That is, once we focus our gaze on what really matters, and Remember who and what we are in Truth, all discriminatory mindsets dissolve away. And as for the sexuality of homosexuality specifically, I do not see how it makes any difference whether the question is about homosexuality or heterosexuality. Whichever it is, I believe that the observations and conclusions in our article Do We Have To Give Up Sex? apply.

[whimsicaldeb]

This morning, I read a story at MSNBC reporting that the US Supreme Court has chosen not to hear a case presented by Jerry Falwell concerning his dispute with a website whose domain name is (undoubtedly intentionally) very similar to his own (fallwell.com vs. falwell.com)...

Fallwell Fall Well ~ how funny! And isn't that what we want ~ what we say Karma says happens when be become out of balanced. We fall - as we should.

Good for the Supreme Court ... that they made the choice not to get involved, imo that's a balanced decision. And it represents that at the core; we (the collective consciousness) is still making balanced healthy decisions despite all the hoopla going around.

... We're addicted to everything. We're even addicted to our lives. That's the only reason the spiritual process is so arduous, sometimes even painful. We're addicted to the separative personality and everything it represents. That's why we keep repeating it, over and over again. And just knowing about it is not enough. After all, cigarette packages have been carrying warning labels for years, and folks still smoke. And if you've ever tried to give up smoking, or some other drug, or even to diet, you know what I'm talking about. -- excerpt from Do We Have To Give Up Sex?


Falwell's addicted to his life (view world religion); a flip side comes up to show him rebel (Fallwell); and our inner core (the Supreme Court) is there to balance all the stuff we’re doing ... in spite of all the concerns we had over whether it could, or would.

When I read this; I see yin, and yang, and yin & yang together, and then the whole – each alive and well, doing what they need to do.

I also see recovery,
For that's how it works … because it’s like you said ~ knowing isn’t enough.

Facing down our own self-created demons is a messy process … and this is “us” facing our addiction(s) where and however they may look or be. This incident is a collective reflection of our inner thinking, it’s us saying …

Farewell Falwell, may you Fall Well

This is us taking on rigidness, dogma, fundamentalism – our addictions – this is how it looks.

Hi, my name is Deb, and I'm new to this board.

[Neo]

hi Deb. Reading my fathers papers after he died, I realized he was gay and lived in the closet all his life. My father was a good, decent , kind and genrous man. I became angry at the culture which madehim live in fear of what might happen if his family and employer found out about his homosexuality. I agree that this has nothing to do with God. To those who quote the Bible, I quote back, Love one another as I have loved you and Judge not lest you be judged. i will get over my anger. I hope he has gtten over his fear.

[whimsicaldeb]

"... i will get over my anger. I hope he has gotten over his fear. - neo"

He will. My mom passed scared and angry, and she was able to process it all after she passed, but it took many years. Through dreams, I was able to watch her progress and even help where needed. Your dad will be able to do the same.

Now, I know that what I just said may sound odd ... none the less, it's accurate and I'm in good company ...

I had another experience of the evolution of the soul after death when - about a year after my wife's death - I suddenly awoke one night and knew that I had been with her in the south of France, in Provence, and had spent an entire day with her. She was engaged on studies of the Grail there. That seemed significant to me, for she had died before completing her work on this subject. Interpretation on the subjective level - that my anima had not yet finished with the work she had to do - yielded nothing of interest; I know quite well that I am not yet finished with that. But the thought that my wife was continuing after death to work on her further spiritual development - however that may be conceived - struck me as meaningful and held a measure of reassurance for me.
--C. G. Jung
excerpted from his book: "Memories, Dreams, Reflections"
Chapter 11 - On Life After Death

"... I agree that this has nothing to do with God. To those who quote the Bible, I quote back, Love one another as I have loved you and Judge not lest you be judged. - neo"

In this same book, later in that same chapter, Jung writes this ...

The maximum awareness which has been attained anywhere forms, so it seems to me, the upper limit of knowledge to which the dead can attain. That is why earthly life is of such great significance, and why it is that what a human being "brings over" at the time of his death is so important. Only here, in life on earth, where the opposites clash together, can the general level of consciousness be raised.

Neo, each time you replied those words back to those who would judge your father harshly, you have offered them an opportunity to life their consciousness even one tiny degree. And each time you work through your anger, you’re also lifted your consciousness one tiny degree. And that helps not only you, but everyone - included our loved ones who have passed.

And while one tiny degree may not be much at the beginning - like a rockets trajectory - it makes a tremendous about of difference at the end.

I think HH says it the best …

“Inner development comes step by step. You may think “Today my inner calmness, my mental peace is very small,” but still, if you compare, if you look five, ten or fifteen years back, and think, “What was my way of thinking then? How much inner peace did I have then and what is it today?” – comparing it with what it was then, you can realize that there is some progress, there is some value. This is how you should compare – not with today’s feeling and yesterday’s feeling, or last week or last month, even not last year, but five years ago. Then you can realize what improvement has occurred internally. Progress comes by maintaining constant effort in daily practice.” – HH the Dalai Lama; from “Kindness, Clarity, and Insight”

I’ve found out, from my own experiences that this applies for our inner work we continue to do after we pass as well. So this will be what your father is doing. And, as Jung stated, I also found that knowing this was most comforting, assuring. I hope it will be for you about your dad as well.

~Deb