GAY IS THE WAY?

 

If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.

 

Leviticus 20 : 13

 

 

 

Being involved in various forms of entertainment during the past four decades, one tends to get a bird=s eye view of everything, thus growing up faster than their peers.

 

During my childhood and teenage years, I went through the ranks as an actor. From school plays to community theatre; summerstock to dinner theatre performing the necessary tasks such as painting and building sets, to gathering costumes, to lighting, to striking the sets after the run of the show. You=d work 18 hour days that amounted to about a dime an hour, but you didn=t care because you were having fun, and my parents were just thankful that I was out of the house and off the streets and out of jail. Along the way, you tend to make new friends that can either last as long as the show or the season, or last >till death do you part.

 

Relationships of the same sex, both male and female, were not uncommon. And in an artist=s community, those relationships tended to be very open. As a child, and later young adult, I thought it strange to see the same sex holding hands or kissing passionately, but as I continued to observe these relationships through the years, I noticed that one was always the more dominant or masculine; the other being submissive or feminine. Thus, in my child-like mind, these same sex relationships were just like ordinary heterosexual unions, only...different.

 

My mother didn=t seem to have a problem with the homosexual crowd, so long as I was in my own bed at night. But when the day came at around 15 that I was invited to turn pro as an actor with a Summerstock stint in Nova Scotia, mom=s true self came out with a stern NO!

 

But why?  ABecause you=ll be around them queers all the time, and I don=t want my son to turn into one of them!@ she stated. My father was more forward... AActors are bums and I don=t want a bum for a son!@  There went my chance at stardom.

 

The following year, I was given another chance at turning pro during a Summerstock run, only this time it would be closer to home...a 20 minutes drive. I was 16 and had my driver=s license. There were no excuses. This time I was stern. Dad didn=t care. Mom relented. Both figured they may as well let me get this acting thing out of my system so that I can then move onto a more normal way of life.

 

I continue to disappoint both of them (and my siblings) to this day...

 

I don=t know where or when it happened, but at some point in my life, a change took place, and I began to draw closer to God and His Word. Until that time, all those Bible stories were just that...just nice stories; some of them very cool. Oh, I had been reared in church all my life; in the Catholic faith since birth, but it was more of a social thing. Something you had to do in order to appease the parents, the grandparents and the assorted other relatives. I was in the angelic choir until my voice began to change, and later on an altar boy. My cousins went through the Communion ritual with disdain; the only thing getting them through the ordeal was the vision of having a party with lots of gifts and money afterwards.

 

And there were always the hushed whispers from mom or grandma about which priests to stay away from when going to confessional or changing out of your robes after one of the Masses. A family in the neighborhood who had a boy my age, moved away in the cover of the night, while a familiar, friendly, youth oriented priest was mysteriously transferred to another parish in another State.

 

Even at that young age, I understood that sex, politics and religion intertwined in some demonic way.

 

My teenage years were spent more on stage than in the church. Occasionally, a news article would mention Father so-and-so was promoted (?) to another parish, and one front page item announced that Reverend Righteous was desponded over a grave matter and blew his brains out.

 

Church was a waste of time. I was going to seek God in my own way.

 

My formal education as an actor came about during the >80s in New York and the discovery of a new church and a renewing of faith when I met a kindly gentleman by the name of Norman Vincent Peale. I found Dr Peale and his wife, Ruth to be very gracious people, and the sermons were just what I needed at the time to get me through the hardships of life. This is where it was time to get off the milk of the Word and delve more into the meat of what God had to say concerning my life and life in general. Many times it was not a pretty sight and I did my share of rebelling, but when it came right down to where the rubber met the road, the Lord was always right, and I had to conform to Him, not the other way around. Sin can be fun, but oh, the consequences are always deadly.

 

Fast forward to 20 years. A new century and millennia have taken place along with many new changes both good and bad. The world, for the most part has become topsy-turvy with evil being good and good, evil. The radical >60s look tame in comparison to what my generation has initiated. We have a can-do attitude that can only be stopped by our conscience. Any and every sin imaginable has now been justified. The If it feels good, do it slogan is now a world anthem.

 

Last month two of the most radical issues came to fruition when the hierarchy of the Episcopal church gave their blessings to the first openly gay bishop within their organization as well as to okaying same sex unions (they=re not calling them marriages...yet). Hell was cheering that momentous day, as Satan welcomed new converts that can now stand beside other denominations he has defrauded during the centuries.

 

The new Bishop, Gene Robinson, is an intelligent man with a warm, kind, loving look about him (matter of fact, Satan has that same look as well now that I recall...). And he certainly is a volunteer among volunteers, having amounts of energy that lesser mortals seem to lack. Overall, one would look at Robinson and not even consider the fact that he was a homosexual unless you were to have a good sit down theological chat with him. I, for one, would love such a conversation with him if given the chance, because when I read such views of his as I have been in the Episcopalian=s magazine, Anglican Voice (Village Voice sanctified?), and on the website, www.nhepiscopal.org I wonder where his thoughts and ideas come from. Certainly not the Bible.

 

Here are a few of Robinson=s viewpoints concerning the justification of being a gay Christian...

 

A...acting out sexually as a gay or lesbian person could not be further from God=s will.@

 

AThe good news is that the harvest of your life and mine is not yet here. There is time. We are >works in progress.= God is patient and kind. If we acknowledge our need of God, our sin is forgiven, and we are empowered to love the world in His Name...as individuals, as brothers and sisters in the Body of Christ.@

 

A...in order to better serve Jesus Christ, I answered God=s call to acknowledge myself as a gay man. My wife and I, in order to keep our wedding vow to >honor each other in the name of God,= made the decision to let each other go.@

 

AThe Living Christ walked with me on my journey; telling the truth about my life and daring me to be the person God created me to be...for God=s service. It won the love of a wonderful partner (Mark Andrew), with whom I=ve made a home for the past 13 years.@

 

And so on... Robinson finds no where in the Scriptures where it=s wrong to have openly gay sex. This has won him many converts. Homosexuals who had left the church because of their lifestyle are now returning to the bosom with tears in their eyes, thanking god (?) for this man.

 

The man is confusing love with lust. One cannot serve both Heaven and Hell. You cannot be a Satanic Christian. If Robinson is correct, than God is a liar according to His word, especially that in which He states in Leviticus 20, verse 13 that homosexuality is an abomination, which is the strongest word that the Almighty can use in such cases.

 

We are now in the times where the simplest of basic issues and laws are now confusing and need clarification. Well, what do you mean by perverted sex such as same sex, fornication and adultery? I mean, is that really what a loving God says? After all, the Bible was written by man who=s certainly fallible. What=s wrong with having whatever kind of sex you want (let=s not forget beastiality) so long as you do it in love?

 

When we were created, we were instilled with certain basic rules of right and wrong. What happens to us is that we then spend years bringing our consciences into a state of callousness until we get to a point that Robinson is now at, and when that happens, we are on dangerous ground. We not only begin to believe the absurd, but we stake our very souls on those beliefs.