Wednesday, June 28, 2006

The Diva Takes a Fall

So this is the way it goes ... I'm too lazy to blog all the good things from the last couple weeks: an unreal non-stop weekend in Orlando that left most of us gasping for air when it was over, some great surf sessions [complete with a Baywatch moment when we rescued a man half-dead in the surf], a hike across Nu`uanu Pali, & a very enjoyable Pride weekend [even a date gone awry couldn't put the damper on it].

So many good moments ... but it's when I get pissed off that I'm inspired to write.

And this week the prize for pissing me off goes to Diva Kim English. Ms. English - who performs at Pride parties every summer, who earns her money performing for gay events, & who would be waiting tables in Chicago if gay men stop buying her music 'cause lord knows no one else has even heard of her - apparently believes that we are all going against god's design.

From the heifer's mouth to Next Magazine:

So…do you believe homosexuality is a sin?

“Now you’re putting me in a tight spot,” English replies. “It’s not what I think; it’s what the Bible thinks and there are a million different arguments, but I don’t believe it’s a lifestyle God agrees with—but it’s not my place to say one way or another. I have sins of my own I have to ask forgiveness for daily. A straight person and a homosexual person have to reckon with God according to what the Bible says, assuming they believe in the Bible—and I believe in the Bible—as Christians we supposedly believe in the Bible, so I’m speaking from the Bible side. You have to reckon within yourself if you care what God thinks or what the Bible thinks or what Jesus thinks along with the Bible under Christianity what you believe is right and not right for your life. We, in general, individually, have to answer to God for every decision we made and why we made it—whether we believe it was right or not. We’re told in Christianity [that] your best bet is to have something in the Bible to stand on. So if you’ve got something to stand on concerning homosexuality, then you should be fine. That’s between you and God. God can allow you into heaven or deny you, which, automatically, makes the only other alternative hell. From my understanding of what I’ve been taught, though, [homosexuality] is not God[’s design]; it’s a personal choice. But everybody has to make their choices.”

Yeah, I've got something to stand on. Try this, from David Hillburn of the Evangelical Alliance: It must be granted that direct references to homosexual activity in the Bible are relatively few. However, these more explicit texts belong to a much broader biblical discourse on creation, love, holiness and human relationships - a discourse which goes to the heart of God's purpose for humankind.

Or even better, try reason. If we were to follow Old Testament teachings we'd still have slavery, women wouldn't have the right to vote, and our court system would rival the Taliban's. It's a pretty selective reading of the book that condemns homos while letting the rest of the old tribal laws slide.

It's the new bigotry, disguised as love. It's not my place to say followed by you're going to hell.

It won't be long before this diva is unemployed.

Thursday, June 22, 2006

The Trouble with Democracy

From the NYTimes this morning:

But people who attended a series of high-level meetings this month between White House and Congressional officials say President Bush's aides argued that it could be a politically fatal mistake for Republicans to walk away from the war in an election year.

We're at war, lives are at stake, the future of Iraq hangs in the balance - and politicians on both sides of the aisle are making their decisions based upon the impact their vote might have on the next election.

It makes me long for a vengeful god who will punish them harshly in the next life. Or an indifferent god who will ignore their cries when they are reincarnated as cockroaches. There is something grossly unethical in trying to spin a debate on war.

The Republicans are easy to vilify, but I don't see that the Democrats are doing much better. Iraq is a mess, the occupation is being run by war-profiteers, Al Qaeda is growing stronger by the day, and the President's team is morally and intellectually bankrupt. We need alternatives beyond stay the course and bring the troops home. Neither one will bring us any closer to peace.