This is heavy, but like Neil Diamond says ... He ain't Heavy, he's my Brother

For decades I have closely associated with a small number of people who are gay. In some instances they have openly lived their lives as gay people. (While in Austin I discovered a good friend from my brain Injury days lost her partner this past Spring).

Each has paid an enormous cost, emotionally, socially and spiritually. To my knowledge, for none of them has their journey been based upon a whim, rather one of reality. Some of them grew up with many of the phyiological characteristics associated with persons of opposite gender.

What they have been socially subjected to is horrible and wrong. Based upon their experiences, I believe that there must be very very few who would take lightly the decision to live a gay life style. But, even if ...

Recently Dr. John Spong wrote this piece which, much better than I could, describes my take on the issue John Spong, now in his early 80's, just published his most recent book, Eternal Life, A New Vision. His autobiography Here I Stand, is the story of his spiritual growth and development. It's a brilliant read.

So here goes, after many years of reading, listening and too many discussions, I want my friends to better understand my take on issues such as this. Some of you will agree, some will disagree and that is how it should be. As, almost, always I appreciate your feedback and comments.

Thursday October 15, 2009

A Manifesto! The Time Has Come!

I have made a decision. I will no longer debate the issue of homosexuality in the church with anyone. I will no longer engage the biblical ignorance that emanates from so many right-wing Christians about how the Bible condemns homosexuality, as if that point of view still has any credibility. I will no longer discuss with them or listen to them tell me how homosexuality is "an abomination to God," about how homosexuality is a "chosen lifestyle," or about how through prayer and "spiritual counseling" homosexual persons can be "cured." Those arguments are no longer worthy of my time or energy. I will no longer dignify by listening to the thoughts of those who advocate "reparative therapy," as if homosexual persons are somehow broken and need to be repaired. I will no longer talk to those wh believe that the unity of the church can or should be achieved by rejecting the presence of, or at least at the expense of, gay and lesbian people. I will no longer take the time to refute the unlearned and undocumentable claims of certain world religious leaders who call homosexuality "deviant." I will no longer listen to that pious sentimentality that certain Christian leaders continue to employ, which suggests some version of that strange and overtly dishonest phrase that "we love the sinner but hate the sin." That statement is, I have concluded, nothing more than a self-serving liedesigned to cover the fact that these people hate homosexual persons and fear homosexuality itself, but somehow know that hatred is incompatible with the Christ they claim to profess, so they adopt this face-saving and absolutely false statement. I will no longer temper my understanding of truth in order to pretend that I have even a tiny smidgen of respect for the appalling negativit that continues to emanate from religious circles where the church has for centuries conveniently perfumed its ongoing prejudices against blacks, Jews, women and homosexual persons with what it assumes is "high-sounding, pious rhetoric." The day for that mentality has quite simply come to an end for me. I will personally neither tolerate it nor listen to it any longer. The world has moved on, leaving these elements of the Christian Church that cannot adjust to new knowledge or a new consciousness lost in a sea of their own irrelevance. They no longer talk to anyone but themselves. I will no longer seek to slow down the witness to inclusiveness by pretending that there is some middle ground between prejudice and oppression. There isn't. Justice postponed is justice denied. That can be a resting place no longer for anyone. An old civil rights song proclaimed that the only choice awaiting those who cannot adjust to a new understanding was to "Roll on over or we'll roll on ove you!" Time waits for no one. I will particularly ignore those members of my own Episcopal Church who seek to break away from this body to form a "new church," claiming that this new and bigoted instrument alone now represents the Anglican Communion. Such a new ecclesiastical body is designed to allow these pathetic human beings, who are so deeply locked into a world that no longer exists, to form a community in which they can continue to hate gay people, distort gay people with their hopeless rhetoric and to be part of a religious fellowship in which they can continue to feel justified in their homophobic prejudices for the rest of their tortured lives. Church unity can never be a virtue that is preserved by allowing injustice, oppression and psychological tyranny to go unchallenged. In my personal life, I will no longer listen to televised debates conducted by "fair-minded" channels that seek to give "both sides" of this issue "equal time." I am aware that these stations no longer give equal time to the advocates of treating women as if they are the property of men or to the advocates of reinstating either segregation or slavery, despite the fact that when these evil institutions were coming to an end the Bible was still being quoted frequently on each of these subjects. It is time for the media to announce that there are no longer two sides to the issue of full humanity for gay and lesbian people. There is no way that justice for homosexual people can be compromised any longer. I will no longer act as if the Papal office is to be respected if the present occupant of that office is either not willing or not able to inform and educate himself on public issues on which he dares to speak with embarrassing ineptitude. I will no longer be respectful of the leadership of the Archbishop of Canterbury, who seems to believe that rude behavior, intolerance and even killing prejudice is somehow acceptable, so long as it comes from third-world religious leaders, who more than anything else reveal in themselves the price that colonial oppression has required of the minds and hearts of so many of our world's population. I see no way that ignorance and truth can be placed side by side, nor do I believe that evil is somehow less evil if the Bible is quoted to justify it. I will dismiss as unworthy of any more of my attention the wild, false and uninformed opinions of such would-be religious leaders as Pat Robertson, James Dobson, Jerry Falwell, Jimmy Swaggart, Alber Mohler, and Robert Duncan. My country and my church have both already spent too much time, energy and money trying to accommodate these backward points of view when they are no longer even tolerable. I make these statements because it is time to move on. The battle is over. The victory has been won. There is no reasonable doubt as to what the final outcome of this struggle will be. Homosexual people will be accepted as equal, full human beings, who have a legitimate claim on every right that both church and society have to offer any of us. Homosexual marriages will become legal, recognized by the state and pronounced holy by the church. "Don't ask, don't tell" will be dismantled as the policy of our armed forces. We will and we must learn that equality of citizenship is not something that should ever be submitted to a referendum. Equality under and before the law is a solemn promise conveyed to all our citizens in the Constitution itself. Can any of us imagine having a public referendum on whether slavery should continue, whether segregation should be dismantled, whether voting privileges should be offered to women? The time has come for politicians to stop hidin behind unjust laws that they themselves helped to enact, and to abandon that convenient shield of demanding a vote on the rights of full citizenship because they do not understand the difference between a constitutional democracy, which this nation has, and a "mobocracy," which this nation rejected when it adopted its constitution. We do not put the civil rights of a minority to the vote of a plebiscite. I will also no longer act as if I need a majority vote of some ecclesiastical body in order to bless, ordain, recognize and celebrate the lives and gifts of gay and lesbian people in the life of the church. No one should ever again be forced to submit the privilege of citizenship in this nation or membership in the Christian Church to the will of a majority vote. The battle in both our culture and our church to rid our souls of this dying prejudice is finished. A new consciousness has arisen. A decision has quite clearly been made. Inequality for gay and lesbian people is no longer a debatable issue in either church or state. Therefore, I will from this moment on refuse to dignify the continued public expression of ignorant prejudice by engaging it. I do not tolerate racism or sexism any longer. From this moment on, I will no longer tolerate our culture's various forms of homophobia. I do not care who it is who articulates these attitudes or who tries to make them sound holy with religious jargon. I have been part of this debate for years, but things do get settled and this issue is now settled for me. I do not debate any longer with members of the "Flat Earth Society" either. I do not debate with people who think we should treat epilepsy by casting demons out of the epileptic person; I do not waste time engaging those medical opinions that suggest that bleeding the patient might release the infection. I do not converse with people who think that Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans as punishment for the sin of being the birthplace of Ellen DeGeneres or that the terrorists hit the United Sates on 9/11 because we tolerated homosexual people, abortions, feminism or the American Civil Liberties Union. I am tired of being embarrassed by so much of my church's participation in causes that are quite unworthy of the Christ I serve or the God whose mystery and wonder I appreciate more each day. Indeed I feel the Christian Church should not only apologize, but do public penanc for the way we have treated people of color, women, adherents of other religions and those we designated heretics, as well as gay and lesbian people. Life moves on. As the poet James Russell Lowell once put it more than a century ago: "New occasions teach new duties, Time makes ancient good uncouth." I am ready now to claim the victory. I will from now on assume it and live into it. I am unwilling to argue about it or to discuss it as if there are two equally valid, competing positions any longer. The day for that mentality has simply gone forever. This is my manifesto and my creed. I proclaim it today. I invite others to join me in this public declaration. I believe that such a public outpouring will help cleanse both the church and this nation of its own distorting past. It will restore integrity and honor to both church and state. It will signal that a new day has dawned and we are ready not just to embrace it, but also to rejoice in it and to celebrate it. – John Shelby Spong

We've arrived...in Arizona, that is

It's great to be back in AZ

Wow!

It's 89 degrees Fahrenheit. And a whole winter of it to look forward to. We arrived in Sun City West today at noon.

For those of you who check this blog on a somewhat regular basis, I apologize for the hiatus.

Oldest grandchild Kyle, (gck) reprimanded me via e-mail saying that his daily disappointment may soon be affecting his grades in university. At least that's what I think he was saying subliminally.

And it is frustrating while on the road not having e-contact with friends, family and the net in general. So we're going to explore the possibility of a phone card/mobile hot spot. I'll keep the world, or those few on this earth who use this blog to see what's happening in the mind of santaray on any given day, informed as to our progress on this front. Any and all suggestions are welcome.

Oh, great news! You've been seeing my little tribute to Millie Seaton, (up in the top right corner) the provider of one of my very first Santa's. Well, this past weekend Elsie and I were able to catch up with Doc, her husband of 59 years before cancer ended her life this past Spring. It couldn't, however, take away the legacy and memories that so many friends and acquaintances recall and will always cherish.

Well, was this a treat or what. Doc still lives off of the 17th green of one of the nicest golf courses in TX. Doc was the one who convinced me to begin a brain injury rehabilitation and life-long living community in Niagara. He also became my mentor and friend.

It was brilliant to remember the past with Doc and even more exciting to talk about our present lives.

Oh, and he introduced us to the "Kindle." Elsie and I haven't ordered ours yet, but I'll bet that we each have one soon! It revolutionalizes the way you acquire books, and, if you carry a purse, it allows you to carry your entire library and favourite newspapers with you at all times. One more reason to carry that bag, (purse) Vic and Harry and all of you seven grandsons!

Doc is one of a kind. He had to excuse himself Saturday afternoon, one of his grandson's and spouse were meeting with him to review and further plan progress in university. He is a mentor to each of his grand kids as they pursue higher education.

As a psychiatrist, he developed an interest in persons with injury to the brain and started a modest rural community living program that evolved into the largest brain injury program in the US. Tangram was the model that we carefully studied as Anagram came alive. Doc at home

Doc learned magic at a much younger age. He has always enjoyed the art form, and it has become an almost all-consuming hobby now. He is very involved in the association and plans and hosts conferences and more. Good on you, Doc!

Why were we in Austin, you could have asked, if you really cared! Well, early this summer I was contacted by Dr. Barry Willer, a key colleague from the Anagram and Ontario Brain Injury Association years. He asked if I would participate as a respondent to their presentation on some very interesting research that they have been doing.

And boy, was I glad that I had said yes. Secondly I learned a lot. But even more importantly, firstly I guess, it was like old home week as I was once again interacting with friends and acquaintances from the field of brain injury rehabilitation that I hadn't seen in ten tears.

Well, it's time for bed. But I can't leave without welcoming my much older sister back to Canada. I understand that Dea is returning, with her granddaughter Natasha after visiting another g.d. in Asia for a few weeks. I invite you to tell your story on my blog if you don't want to set up your own Dea. Although I'm sure that you'll be posting your pictures on your Facebook wall shortly.

Love to you'all, and as another mentor of mine says every Christmas Eve, "and to all a Good Night."

Ciao, Santaray