My thoughts on homosexuality, heterosexuality and same-sex marriage.

My thoughts on homosexuality, heterosexuality, and same-sex marriage.

I am 62 years old.  I had a fairly strict upbringing and was taught certain basics, which have been reinforced for more than half a century.

I have spent time in many places in this world and don’t have a closed mind to anything.  I don’t have a closed mind to anyone’s relationship; otherwise, I would not be able to accept the relationships of most people.  However, it is important you understand that I only accepted anyone’s relationships because I love them and I want them to be happy.  If I could invent a little pink pill to change everyone to think as I do, I surely would.

When I was 19 years old and about to be married, the preacher told both my soon to be wife and me, for whatever reason, that what went on behind closed doors in our home, was our business and no one else’s.  I have carried that thought with me for years and believe that, to the point of any form of abuse.  Because of this belief, I don't get involved in anyone’s sexual life.  It’s frankly none of my business.

However social media is so openly shared with everyone, and because many feel the necessity to share their personal beliefs with everyone else and because of  highly publicized politics and national news coverage, I have chosen to join the crowd and share my thoughts on homosexuality, heterosexuality and same-sex marriage on my blog.

Homosexuality in general, I believe to be unnatural and unhealthy.  I have studied homosexuality and religion, and almost everything I read is confusing.  There are and can be so many interpretations of Genesis 19; regardless of whether you are conservative or liberal.

Conservative Christian theologians generally believe that the Bible was written by authors that were directly inspired by God.  Thus their writings are seen as completely free of error as originally written.  The Bible is regarded as the actual Word of God.  Thus whenever the Bible and science disagree, then the Bible must be right. Most interpret the Garden of Eden story in Genesis as indicating the fall of humanity into sin.  They view homosexual behavior as evidence of that sin.  When they then study the Bible for guidance on homosexuality, they generally look for proof texts passages that clearly and directly deal with the topic.

Liberal Christian theologians on the other hand interpret the Bible as having been written by authors who were intent on promoting their own religious and spiritual beliefs. The writers lived in a pre-scientific age, which treated slavery, genocide, mass murder, and the oppression of women as acceptable.  Since the scientific study of sexual orientation didn’t begin until around 1950, biblical authors had no awareness of the topic. When the Bible and science disagree, we have to give greater weight to the recent findings of human sexuality researchers.  Most rely heavily on the findings of human sexuality researchers to help them interpret biblical passages.  When theologians study the Bible for guidance on homosexuality, they generally look for applicable biblical themes, like those advocating justice, love, monogamy, caring, etc.  Some religious liberals promote homosexual ordinations, same-sex marriage, civil union ceremonies in the church, equal protection under hate-crime legislation, protection against discrimination in employment, etc. as fundamental human rights issues. 

Whereas some religious conservatives feel that the Bible teaches that homosexual behavior is always a serious sin. Allowing sexually active gays and lesbians to be ordained, or to have their committed relationships recognized by the church would involve a drastic and unacceptable lowering of church standards. They also oppose including sexual orientation in hate-crime and anti-discrimination legislation.

If you are still reading this, I am probably not telling you anything that you don’t already know.  In fact, suspect that many have studied this subject in much more detail than I have.

Although I am more conservative than I liberal, I am not a Conservative Christian theologian by any means.   I sort of straddle the fence on a lot of issues.  I do believe that each person’s journey through life is unique. Some will make it alone, others in loving relationships, whether in marriage or some other form of commitment. We need to ponder our own choices and try to understand the choices of others. Love has many shapes and colors and is not finite. It can not be measured or defined in terms of sexual orientation.  This was sort of a quote I read somewhere.

I believe marriage is a basic human right and an individual personal choice and I do not support either the State or Federal Government interfering with same-gender couples who choose to marry.

I do fear for their mortality, however, but no more than I would if a person married to the opposite gender and committing adultery, or living together out of wedlock.  There are just some things humans do that are sinful.  I believe that all homosexual activity is inherently sinful, irrespective of the relationship and love felt between two people. Most heterosexual activity is not sinful however if it is done within a marriage.

It was only after the civil war that blacks were allowed to marry in all areas of the United States.  What happens to their mortality?  They lived in sin as they were not married.  Were their children bastards and were they condemned to burn in hell?  This is where a lot of confusion exists with me   It was only after a Supreme Court decision in 1967 that mixed-race couples could marry anywhere in the U.S.  But, until recently, same-sex couples could not marry anywhere in the world.

I do believe that gays and lesbians should be free of persecution and have protection from hate crimes based on their sexual orientation.  Believing anything else would mean that one would believe that homosexuals were something other than human.  I don’t believe homosexuals should be discriminated in any fashion towards employment.  I don’t believe that homosexuals should have the right to enter into a traditional marriage, but I do believe in what I would call a Common Law civil union, and that the union should be recognized by our governments the same as common-law marriages of the opposite sex.  I do believe that the right of same-sex marriage will exist in most states in the near future, regardless of what some of our elected officials fight for or against.  And although this right may exists, there will still be bashing and persecution of homosexuals.  I don’t believe that homosexuality should be flaunted and carried proudly anymore than the flaunting of heterosexual activity, as it promotes promiscuity in our youth.

I don’t believe homosexuality is a disease that can be cured, but I do believe that the human mind has powers that have never been touched and that inside of ourselves we have the ability to do whatever we choose to do.  I believe if it is more natural and easier to choose to be homosexual, then they will choose to be just that, but if they choose to wish to be heterosexual, they have the ability and power to do so.

What does 29 Palms, Flash Floods and the 4th of July have in common? A short version of July 4th weekend in 29.Palms

Sometimes I Like to Try to Write

I will post some of the things I have written in the past here on this blog.  Much of it are articles I wrote for the local Chamber of Commerce Newsletter when I was the President.  Other things are simple things I wrote when the moment struck me.

My Favorite Quote

Love is passion, obsession, someone you can't live without. If you don't start with that, what are you going to end up with? Fall head over heels. I say find someone you can love like crazy and who'll love you the same way back. And how do you find him? Forget your head and listen to your heart. I'm not hearing any heart. Run the risk, if you get hurt, you'll come back. Because, the truth is, there is no sense living your life without this. To make the journey and not fall deeply in love - well, you haven't lived a life at all. You have to try. Because if you haven't tried, you haven't lived.

William Parrish

A Little About Me

My Favorite Color is Blue. When I was younger, I loved Rock and Roll. In fact, I played in a Rock and Roll Band as a teenager… I played Guitar and sang Beatles songs, and all that crazy stuff we listened to in the late ’60s. I later learned to love Country Music, because it had so much depth and feeling. Maybe it’s because you can cry in your beer so much easier with it, and I seem to cry inside all the time.

My Favorite Singer is Tracy Lawrence.

The 4 people that I look up to most are:

1. My deceased uncle Harold. He was a US Marine that fought in all the major South Pacific WWII Battles and Survived.

2. My Mother, who I treated and talked so bad to when I was young and dumb. But Now I watch her grow in mental strength after being out from under the abuse of my father.

3. My Oldest Son, who strives to do more for me than I have ever done for anyone. He is the mirror image of myself. His strengths are my weaknesses, his weaknesses are my strengths. He is a great technician and all around computer guy. He is now a teacher of technology like me.

4. My Youngest Son, who has mastered the English language and was able to shake off the hillbilly. (most of the time). He is not only an English teacher but now an administrator of an English Language School. He is also a worldly traveler, who has been to many places I have dreamed of going.

If I had the opportunity to be anyone other than myself, who would I be? This is a really difficult question for me to answer…maybe because I am happy with who I am. I just wish I could have more strength to be who I really am inside and to do the things that make me happy.

I love many forms of art, but mostly before the media, I like artistic people. The form of art I dislike the most is Metal Art that reminds me of the Mad Max Syndrome.

My favorite childhood memories involve walking 3 miles from my home down a gravel road to my grandma’s house to go fishing on the creek bank, carrying my old cane pole, and eating a green onion and mustard sandwich.

My favorite adult memories include living in Virginia. Early in the morning, 4am or so, I would put on my warm clothes and my hip boots, and run my beaver traps…I would get home in time to shower and change into my 3 piece suit and drive to the DC airport to fly and meet with a team of Fiber Optic folks with Miter Corp, where I was involved in developing Tactical Fiber Optics for the Marine Corps, or maybe I would be going to a meeting at the Pentagon or Headquarters Marine Corps. Then I would get home in time to run my traps, or fish on the Potomac River in my motorized Canoe, or camp at one of the lakes over the weekend.

When I had spare time on my hands, I loved to create websites. This was a form of art that had not yet been embraced by the artist community.

I dislike trying to organize things, places, etc… I have absolutely no skills for this and it drives me crazy and wastes so much of my time.

I have no favorite authors. I used to love to read, but ran out of time years ago. Now all I do is skim and read technical stuff, trying to stay on top of technology. I would prefer to listen to a book on tape because my mind won’t stay still enough to concentrate on reading. My favorite childhood book was Huckleberry Fin and I used to love to read Harold Robins novels, but not anymore. I would love to be able to read Shakespeare, Dante, and all the great works of Literature but probably never will.

I have one brother, younger than I am. I used to hurt terribly inside for him because he was just starting school when I was leaving home. I am not sure why I hurt for him, maybe it had something to do with not wanting him to experience the things that I did when I was growing up. He grew up loving and respecting me but grew up with a hard heart that is difficult for me to get around.

I have a lot of family. When my father died, I lost communication with most of his side of the family. It’s almost the same on my Mother’s side, The good ones are dying off and the younger ones I don’t know much because I am not around them much either. Most all of my family come from and live in Southern Indiana.

I only had a couple of friends growing up. One in grade school who threw me over for someone else when I moved away for a year. When I came back, he wouldn’t have anything to do with me. I never had a friend since then until my senior year. I spent my time in school being bullied and picked on. During my senior year, I got fed up with it and took a Billy club to school to beat the crap out of someone. When I got to school, the Principle called me into the office over the intercom. My father was there. Somehow he knew what was going on and what I was going to do. From that day, it seemed as though I had gained some respect from everyone. I started to become popular and actually had a couple of friends. I don’t keep in touch with them. Our lives have taken totally different paths.

I never finished College. I attended several trade schools, took several college courses but never obtained a degree. I hold a working man’s Ph.D. according to my son.

I have no short term goals because I don’t have time to accomplish them. My long term goal is to find a way to do away with the day to day struggle and stress and get out of this hot, miserable desert. I need trees, hills, and water. I grew up hunting and fishing. I grew up with hunting dogs.