The Baha'i Studies Listserv Stephen seems to want desperately to flush us out of theunderbrush on the issue of all things LGBT. Clearly, the public Baha’i rulesabout gayness are at odds with the customs of our (western) society in much thesame way that Baha’i rules concerningalcoholic beverages are at odds with the customs of our society. They drink; weare prohibited from drinking. We are prohibited from doing what gay folks do.Personally, I would way rather have a drink of something strong than do whatgay folks do, but that’s just me. I was born a heterosexual and I know that noone born with my particular preferences would never be inclined to choose topursue same-sex physical/romantic relationships. Personally, I would be leeryof encouraging a gay person or a devoted aficionado of microbreweries to enrollas a Baha’i, (no dang it; I am not comparing homosexuality to alcoholism; I am comparing it to regular social drinking!) regardless of their beliefs or other sterling qualities. Folks withfull knowledge of the rules who do enroll as Baha’is despite their incompatiblepreferences (how many of us can truthfully deny a predilection forback-biting?) have a ready-made spiritual battle to fight. Having said all that, the history of religions is repletewith examples of the power of desuetude. Meditate on the laws of Deuteronomy chapters21 and 22. Ponder deeply the issues of Acts 4:32 – 5:13. Remember fondly Matthew19:3 – 12 and all the fun the churches have had down through the centuries withissues of marriage and divorce. Some laws are specifically abrogated; others just fall intodesuetude as they become unhelpful and create barriers to inclusion and thesalvation of the masses. Obdurate repudiation of desuetude turns greatreligions into tiny separatist cults. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desuetude But perhaps all of that is ancient history and irrelevant inthe New Order. Perhaps the law is engraved in stone until the next Manifestation. I don’t know. I will watch from the next world with mildcuriosity about how our great-great grandchildren work it all out. But I suspect nottoo many generations will pass before Baha’is think about homosexuality in muchthe same way that Catholics think about contraception. But who knows? GS
-----Original Message----- From: Stephen Kent Gray <skg_z...@yahoo.com> To: Baha'i Studies <bahai-st@list.jccc.edu> Sent: Tue, Apr 16, 2013 11:15 am Subject: Re: Against nature... The Baha'i Studies Listserv Opps, needed to correct one of the links. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transgenderism_and_religion The other redirected to this one anyways. Don, what if the influence of all secular progressivism went away, what would society look like? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberal_religion http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unitarian_Universalism What if America or whatever else society you want to insert instead, became desecularized... And became a Unitarian Universalists society? A Neo Druidist society? A Wiccan society? A Raëlian society? An Eckist society? A Liberal Hindu society? A Liberal Mahayana Buddhist society? A Liberal Muslim society? A Liberal Jewish society? A Liberal Christian society? Sent from my iPad On Apr 15, 2013, at 16:10, Stephen Kent Gray <skg_z...@yahoo.com> wrote: The Baha'i Studies Listserve http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religious_views_on_same-sex_marriage http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LGBT-affirming_religious_groups http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LGBT-affirming_denominations_in_Judaism http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LGBT-affirming_Christian_denominations http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_LGBT-related_organizations http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unitarian_Universalism_and_LGBT_topics http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_organizations_that_support_same-sex_marriage_in_the_United_States http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LGBT_and_religion_topics http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion_and_homosexuality http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transgender_and_religion Don, you seem to think its only because of secularism that everyone isn't on the same page you? Read all the above Wikipedia articles on the various religious and theological viewpoints. __________________________________________________ You are subscribed to Baha'i Studies as: mailto:arch...@mail-archive.com Unsubscribe: send a blank email to mailto:leave-697325-27401.54f46e81b66496c9909bcdc2f7987...@list.jccc.edu Subscribe: send subscribe bahai-st in the message body to ly...@list.jccc.edu Or subscribe: http://list.jccc.edu:8080/read/all_forums/subscribe?name=bahai-st Baha'i Studies is available through the following: Mail - mailto:bahai-st@list.jccc.edu Web - http://list.jccc.edu:8080/read/?forum=bahai-st News (on-campus only) - news://list.jccc.edu/bahai-st Old Public - http://www.mail-archive.com/bahai-st@list.jccc.net New Public - http://www.mail-archive.com/bahai-st@list.jccc.edu