12 July 2007

A Vain Battle of the Quotes by Clayton Mercieca (Times of Malta, July 13, 2007)

With reference to the letter by Joseph Aquilina (The Bible and Homosexuality, July 7), which condemns homosexual people with citations from the Bible, I cannot stress enough how oppressive such letter reacts towards LGBT people and their families.

I read the letter in question after coming from a three-day spiritually directed retreat and whereas usual I just let such a letter be ignored, I could not simply let this one pass by. I am a homosexual person myself but cannot see how this limits me to practice my Christian beliefs and values and be loved by God unconditionally. My lifestyle in general consists of doing voluntary work, working as a caring professional, helping out groups and attending a Christian group and above all sharing my life with my life partner who I love very much. My question to all those people who see LGBT people as unfit to be part of the Kingdom is - what am I doing wrong to be treated as a lesser human being and unworthy of a Divine Love? Moreover I ask these people, if human beings who err and make mistakes like my family, my friends and colleagues can genuinely love me for who I am, how does this God who is so loving and passionate can simply push me away from His arms?

I am not going to open any ‘battle of the quotes’ here. Simply, I want to point out that the Bible should be used as a means for empowerment to ALL people and not as a means of oppression hence the Good News. Women were oppressed so much throughout these centuries mainly because they were portrayed as the bearers of sin starting from the very beginning with the fictitious Eve, all the way in the old Testament to the New one with Mary Magdalene as a prostitute when in fact if one reads carefully the new testament she was never mentioned to be one. I used to agree with Marx’s saying “Religion is the opium of the people” because I used to think of God as an ageless, Gandalf-looking, close-minded old man sitting on a big cloud who shuns all those who do not fit in the box of saints. However if we only try to think God as much more than that, we will then start seeing things with an open heart and mind. I may have not given any answers and arrived to no conclusions, but if we want to live in a world with no wars and no violence, let’s start by exercising acceptance (as Christians should do) towards those who are already in pain for being judged and condemned.

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