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Heterosexual rape of men by men is a common act of humiliation. This is an extreme form of inhospitality. The story contrasts extreme hospitality (Abraham and Lot) with the extreme inhospitality of the men of Sodom. It is a story of inclusion, not exclusion. Abraham and Lot included the strangers; the men of Sodom excluded them. Clothed in Christ It is always difficult to select verses from the Bible and hold them up as the true word of God if you are going to ignore other opinions which are now considered old fashioned or incorrect. Slavery is justified in the Bible, yet the modern world sees this as unacceptable. Surely the point is whether you are a good Christian, not who you choose to sleep with. I'm 37 years old, an evangelical Christian(the kind who that believe you can "know" God personally/for real), and a struggling celibate. I knew for sure I was gay at 13. Unmistakable gay feelings etc when still a pre-pubescent junior. I became a Christian at uni, and then two very real worlds collided. No doubts about the person or reality of God. Nor of his love for me. Nor of my sexuality. My spirit (and mind)has always leaned towards my staying celibate - but my heart and emotions want what most do, a settled, loving relationship. I read the Bible several times - all of it,and as a student too - none of the points raised are new to me. Following that collision c20 yrs ago, daily I try to work through the reality of my own personal 'collateral damage'. In some societies, homosexuality is accepted, in others, it is frowned upon but tolerated, in yet others, it is a serious criminal offense, possibly punishable by death.
In the 19th and early 20th centuries, men who had been persecuted for their sexuality in Europe often sought refuge in Morocco and, long before same-sex marriage was dreamed of in the west, male-on-male partnerships were recognised – and marked with a ceremony – in the remote Egyptian oasis of Siwa. Catholics – including bishops, and even the pope – can think, and are thinking, imaginatively about that challenge. You hate people like me.” Your friend should already know that you love her. If loving enough to tell the truth gently sounds like hatred to those who don’t want to hear it, you have done all you can; the Lord will understand. When confronted by the inclusive gospel of Jesus and a careful reading of the story of Sodom as one about hospitality, those who disavow Pope Francis’s approach will likely jump to other Scriptures. Why? Because they have a patriarchal agenda and are looking for any Scripture that might support their position.If we will humble ourselves before the Lord, keeping our focus on Jesus and asking the Father to give us His heart for those who identify as LGBT, letting the unequivocal testimony of Scripture guide us, we will find clarity. The one issue that affects all gay people – everywhere – at some point in their lives is coming out. For Muslims this can be an especially difficult decision. The pressure to marry is much greater in Muslim countries than in most western countries. Remaining single is usually equated with social disaster and once young people have completed their studies, organising their marriage becomes a priority for the family. The more traditional kinds of family take on the task of finding them a partner; arranged marriages are still very common. Gay and bisexual men's health: Mental health. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/msmhealth/mental-health.htm. Accessed Dec. 12, 2022. What if it’s a loving, committed relationship?” The idea behind this objection is that same-sex mating is just like marriage — except that it’s with the same sex. It isn’t. Research by Alan R. Bell and Martin S. Weinberg shows that “close-coupled” homosexuals don’t stop cruising, they just cruise less. Homosexual activist Andrew Sullivan say that heterosexuals should learn from the homosexual example to get over their hang-up about marital faithfulness. The committed homosexual relationship is a myth.
The legalisation of same-sex marriage in the United States will do very little to diminish the deep-rooted homophobia in this country, as indeed the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863 did not entirely end racism; or Roe v Wade of 1973 end patriarchy, machismo, and misogyny; or Brown v Board of Education of 1954 ended school segregation, which has continued apace along class lines to this day. Among other Arab countries, the penalty in Algeria, Bahrain, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, Somalia, Tunisia and Syria is imprisonment – up to 10 years in the case of Bahrain. In those that have no specific law against homosexuality, gay people may still be prosecuted under other laws. In Egypt, for example, an old law against “debauchery” is often used. And are they willing to say that the Lord Jesus, who literally looked into the hearts and souls of human beings—John 2:25 says that He knew what was in man—didn’t understand that certain people were “gay?” Masculine” men who have sex with other men are a slightly different matter. Although state law and traditional Islamic law view the penetrator and penetrated in anal sex as equally culpable, popular opinions of the penetrator tend to be less hostile: he is still a man, doing what men naturally do, even if it’s not with a woman. The receptive (or passive) partner, on the other hand, is viewed with disgust. He is behaving like a woman and it’s assumed that he cannot be doing it for pleasure, so he must be a prostitute. A third type – the khuntha, who today would be called intersex – proved more complex theologically. A statement in the Qur’an that God “ created everything in pairs” forms the basis of an Islamic doctrine that everyone is either male of female – there can be no halfway house. The question this raised was what to do about children born with ambiguous genitalia since, according to the doctrine, they could not be sex-neutral.
Inclusion, not exclusion
This shows that Jesus is more concerned with people looking after their own relationship with God, than with enforcement of rules. The reference to being "born so" indicates that heterosexual marriage is fine for those who are heterosexual, but it's OK to be different. Gay Syrian refugee Subhi Nahas with the US ambassador to the UN, Samantha Power, during an informal meeting on the persecution of LGBT people by Isis. Photograph: Mike Segar/Reuters
The case became public when Al-Azhar University refused to readmit her either as a male student or a female student. There were also many who found the concept of gender dysphoria difficult to grasp and some characterised her as a gay man who was trying to game the system. The US, and the world at large, still have a long way to go to end such acts of bigotry, racism, and sexism. The importance of these rulings today is that they provide an Islamic dispensation for sex reassignment surgery – so long as the purpose of the surgery is to uncover the person’s “hidden” sex. On that basis, operations have been carried out in Sunni Muslim countries, including Saudi Arabia and Egypt. The “ law of love embraces the entire human family and knows no limits,” the Vatican office concerned with social issues said in a 2005 compilation of the church’s social thought.In the US, same sex marriage became legal by virtue of generations of civil rights struggles, and ultimately as an act of civil liberty. This cannot just be created for the Muslim world by fiat among Muslims by one Imam or another celebrity issuing their respective fatwas. The process of telling people about one’s sexual orientation is often referred to as coming out. This process can be easy or hard. The phrase “in the closet” may be used to refer to someone who is gay, lesbian, or bisexual, but hasn’t told friends and family members yet. When and how do I come out?
Get tested and have your partner tested. Don't have sex without a condom unless you're certain you and your partner aren't infected with HIV or other sexually transmitted infections. Testing is important because many people don't know they're infected. Others might not be honest about their health. Paul later writes: "Make no mistake: no fornicator or idolator, none who are guilty either of adultery or of homosexual perversion, no thieves or grabbers of drunkards of slanderers or swindlers, will possess the kingdom of God." Jesus here is actually talking about people who were born incapable of having children, or people who were castrated - not about gays. He is actually saying that marriage and chastity are both within God's purpose. Jesus does appeal to the sinners, but once he has called them, he tells them to go and sin no more. Although at first sight the Iranian approach to transgender might look remarkably liberal, it does have a darker side. One concern is that people may be pressurised into operations they do not actually want. There are plenty of trans people who simply wish to be accepted as they are – without surgery – and the Iranian system doesn’t really provide for that.These are all small developments, but 15 years ago none of them were happening. They haven’t produced tangible results in the sense of persuading governments to change their laws, and on that score there’s obviously a very long way to go.
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