14 posts tagged “social justice”
Imagine a world in which the Children of Abraham were reunited. It would have to be a much nicer and safer place than what it is at the moment. All of the world’s problems would not be solved, but we would be well on the way.
Regrettably we have a long way to go before this will happen. It could happen; there is no doubt about it. Unfortunately we have too many misguided people in the world at the moment who seem to believe fighting is the complete answer to peace. Others seem to believe another solution is to alienate people and restrict their freedoms. To me there seems to be a lot of counter productive solutions to peace.
Here is an
example and this is from people who claim that their religion is one of love and they make claims such as these in regards to what a real Christian is:
"They truly follow the tenets of Jesus. Things like "love your neighbor", "pray for them that despise you and say all manner of evil against you", "do unto others as you would have them do unto you", "if someone slaps you on the left cheek, turn your right cheek to him, also" and "if someone takes your cloak, give to him your tunic, also". Those are Jesus' words, and that is a religion full of love for your fellow man."
Currently here at Vox (thanks to paikea for highlighting this and posting a very interesting article titled: Muslim True/False) there is a petition being promoted to put forward a proposed US Constitutional Amendment. This amendment would include that:
“The preaching of Islam in Mosques, Schools, and other venues is
prohibited. The subject of Islam
may be taught in a post high school academic
environment provided that instruction include discussion of Islam
’s history
of violence, conquest, and its ongoing war on democratic and other non-Islamic
values.”
Yes it does seem rather harsh.
The proposal also states:
“Whereas; the United States of America was founded on the ideals of individual rights, including the individual right to practice one’s religion of choice, or no religion, and that there would be no compulsion of religion, nor state sanctioned religion, nor a ‘religious test’ for participation in the body politic;
Whereas;
Islam includes a complete political and social
structure, encompassed by its religious law, Sharia, that supercedes any civil
law and that Islam
mandates that no secular or democratic
institutions are to be superior to Islamic law;”
From what I can gather about the United States the first paragraph is correct, unless you listen to some of the people from America’s Religious Right and then it seems they would dearly love to change this paragraph. We have all heard about the pillars of the 10 Commandments being set up in public areas on American soil and the big kerfufel that it has caused. If there is no state sanctioned religion, then there should not be the establishment of such a practice. But listen further to a statement from someone who stated they would sign this petition, but had doubts of its effectiveness due to the wording of the petition:
“I think a better possibility to enact an Amendment to the Constitution declaring America a nation with a Judeo-Christian heritage without establishing any particular Jewish sect (Orthodox, Conservative or ) or Christian Denomination (Variations of Protestantism, Catholicism, Eastern Orthodox etc.) as a State religion. This would simultaneously deal with Secular Humanism war on Christianity and radical Islam.”
Now I could be totally wrong, but this statement doesn’t exactly match up with the statement:
“Whereas; the United States of America was founded on the ideals of individual rights, including the individual right to practice one’s religion of choice, or no religion, and that there would be no compulsion of religion, nor state sanctioned religion, nor a ‘religious test’ for participation in the body politic”
Although the comment doesn’t say there should be an official state religion, it does indicate there is intent to restrict freedom of religion and non-religion. Let’s face it if it was possible, the Religious Right would declare the US a Christian nation in an instant if it had the power.
This brings me to the next paragraph I included above,
Whereas;
Islam includes a complete political and social
structure, encompassed by its religious law, Sharia, that supercedes any civil
law and that Islam
mandates that no secular or democratic
institutions are to be superior to Islamic law;”
This may or may not be the case in regards to Islam, however when it come to the Religious Right in the US, what sort of laws would we expect to see in the US. The answer is simple we would see strict laws based on their version of Christianity. To illustrate my point I only need to draw your attention to an article such as this, “God’s Choice for President”. So who would the Religious Right’s God choose to be the next US President, well naturally McCain and why would God do such a thing, only two factors come to mind apparently, the issue of abortion and gay rights – yes that is it, I kid you not! It seems God is not concerned about social justice issues, healthcare, poverty, the environment, racial harmony, equal rights and the endless list of things I thought were major concerns to a “Christian” God.
The Religious Right also seems to need to make up its mind. I have noticed that when it suits, Christianity is described as a religion of peace and then they will do a back flip and bash the more socially conscious Christians over the head with their Bibles and say, "Christianity is not a religion of peace, because Jesus didn’t come to bring peace," and they will then go on and quote the following Bible passage:
“Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I came to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; and a man’s enemies will be the members of his household. He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. He who has found his life will lose it, and he who has lost his life for My sake will find it." (Matthew 10:34-39)
It is an interesting passage. I actually like this passage, for me it means
Jesus came here to shake the people up and get them thinking and get them out
of their selfish and corrupt ways. The church at the time needed a good kick in the pants. The people needed to start doing good work to help others and to become more loving and compassionate. That at least is partly the meaning of the passage if it is read in conjunction with the other messages Jesus conveyed throughout the NT. To me the sword
is not to be taken literally. However, I
have heard Christians use that “sword” to defend the right to carry a gun, go
to war, use violence, justify capital punishment, and a host of other violent acts.
It is interesting how Islam is always
portrayed as being spread by the sword, and yet here we have a quote in the
Christian Bible and it is Jesus who is carrying a sword. So it actually makes sense that when this passage is taken literally it has been used to spread the religion of Christianity throughout the world. At present Islam is conveniently portrayed by Christians as being spread by the sword, and by making that claim they are inferring that Christianity has always been spread peacefully - I guess by some gentle process of osmosis. But this is not true, the correct history of the world indicates otherwise. Christianity has been spread throughout the world by the sword, by the gun, by oppressive tactics and by an endless array of violent actions. In short, Christianity was spread by empire building throughout the world.
I can now refer back to this quote mentioned earlier,
“I think a better possibility to enact an Amendment to the Constitution declaring America a nation with a Judeo-Christian heritage ............. ..... ....... ......"
There is an obvious flaw in this statement, an obvious omission. Who were the people here before the Judeo-Christian heritage was forced upon them? Of course it was the Native Americans, who had their own heritage and their own beliefs systems. Were the Native Americans treated well by their Judeo-Christian conquerors? No, in the main history also proves this to be incorrect.
I am sure that if the Jews, the Moors, the
“witches” and the “sodomites” could have put together a petition outlawing
Christianity during the Spanish Inquisition they would have (So there is no
bias here are two references one a Jewish
perspective another a Catholic
perspective). I have heard modern
day Orthodox Jews speaking of Christianity with utter disdain, and if you watch
the video, “The Hidden Story of Jesus” which I have included below, you will actually witness how much
disdain they have for Christianity and the wrongs they feel Christianity has
done to them.
More from the proposal, “Whereas; Islam preaches that it and it alone is the true
religion”
Of course no other religion has EVER
proclaimed such an audacious statement has it.
I have been told many times that Christianity is the one true religion,
and not only the Religious Right makes that claim. In fact the scripture I quoted above from Matthew essentially says that Jesus is the ONLY way, and if you deviate away from Jesus then your life will be lost. They are powerful words, powerful enough to make parents scared that their children's lives will be lost if they deviate away from the path, and that kind of "terror" can make people do terrible things to other people if they believe another is leading their child astray. It explains why so many Christian parents are devastated to find out their child is gay, for they believe their child is forever forsaken.
I would say that the majority of people belonging to all religions will make similar claims in regards to their religion being the one true way. It stands to reason; otherwise they wouldn’t practice the religion. But it shouldn't mean we shouldn't be able to get along.
Now for me the past is the past. Terrible things have been done throughout history in the name of religion and also in the name of various political ideologies. I have only brought up the past because some seem to like to bring up the past as a weapon against various religions, and my point is to say that no religion has an innocent past. What matters to me is the present and the future, so I would love to move on.
This is my opinion for what it is worth. I believe the Muslims who are being violent and intolerant in the name of Islam are misguided, as were the Christians/Jews/Hindus and other belief systems of the past who were violent and as are the Christians/Jews/Hindus and other belief systems who are violent or intolerant in the present.
This now brings me to the title of this post and that is, "Reuniting the Children of Abraham". This documentary is an interesting look at how it is possible to cross the barriers which impede peace on a personal level. Petitions aimed at oppressing a whole people are not the answer to achieve peace in a country; projects such as these which aim to break down personal barriers to peace are the answer. It is difficult to wage war against a friend or some one you know and respect.
“Abraham, of the Old Testament, was the founding patriarch of a new, monotheistic faith, which included Jews and later Christians and Muslims. One of his two sons is historically tied to the founding of Judaism, the other to the founding of Islam.
The Children of Abraham Project, which is an effort by individuals and interfaith organizations in the Detroit Metro area, to educate Jews, Christians and Muslims as to their common ancestry, and encourages them to work together for tolerance, peace and civic betterment. The process involves watching a play in which teenage actors, some who helped write the play, act out scenes from the Biblical story. This is interspersed with contemporary accounts of religious and ethnic prejudice based on personal recollections. The play has allowed audiences to speak freely about their fears and prejudices and to walk in another's shoes.
The Project is a powerful experience that gives hope to the idea of these three religions being able to find their common heritage as a reason for mutual religious respect and spiritual healing in the future.”
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.
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Another interesting documentary is The Hidden Story of Jesus. What really struck me about this documentary was by taking Jesus as an example; it was possible to see how much most of the religions have in common. I believe looking for what we have in common, instead of looking at our differences; will in fact help us to become more closely connected as a society, and more accepting of our differences.
This is not a documentary for Christians to
be afraid of, as I do not believe it would diminish your faith in anyway.
For me personally it actually enhanced my
faith in humanity.
Here are two interesting articles in regards to Islam in Australia:
Islam in Australia: a diverse society finds a new voice
**Please note since these articles were produced, the Australian Mufti is no longer Sheik Taj el-Din al Hilaly.
**01/05/08 The full video has just been released and I love it - It is extremely inspirational.
Shhhh don't tell anyone, but I tear up when I watch it.
Already The GetUp Mob's "From little
things, big things grow" has featured in over 80 newspaper articles and is
getting airplay on stations nationwide. But
to inspire real change our song needs to reach an audience of millions and
echoes in every corner of the country.
All proceeds go to achieving Indigenous equality:
www.getup.org.au/campaign/MakeThisAHit
Song featuring Paul Kelly, Kev Carmody, Urthboy, Missy Higgins, Mia Dyson, Radical Son, Jane Tyrell, Dan Sultan, Joel Wenitong and Ozi Batla.
Purchasing this track will
cost $1.69 but we encourage you to donate as much as you feel appropriate.
All profits will go to GetUp's Reconciliation Fund and the following charity
organisations:
- Link Up - assisting Indigenous people who have been fostered, adopted or raised in institutions to find their way home.
- Mums and Bubs Program in Townsville.
- Australian Indigenous Mentoring Experience (AIME)
By buying this song, you'll not only be part
of a movement harnessing the goodwill that came out of the apology, you'll also
be part of the national conversation on reconciliation.
Next Tuesday night we're taking that conversation into pubs, cafes and homes around the nation, Australians are gathering across the country to build a united country from the grassroots up.
We're inviting all Australians: Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander and non-Indigenous, to have a yarn about reconciliation on the evening of April 29th - click here to join a 'Reconciliation GetTogether' taking place in your postcode, and begin to build a bridge of understanding.
We are all mere humans capable of good deeds, bad deeds and some very ugly deeds.
How many of us have really been tested to see just how ugly we can become.
It seems it is all too easy to judge others from our rather cosy existence.
How easy it seems to impose our moral judgements on people who we have no real understanding of.
We do not know their daily struggles, but we still pass judgements based on our own biased perceptions of the world.
Why is it so difficult to even try to take the time to understand? We are all guilty.
All of us are perpetrators of what is deemed to be bad, but in reality we are all just striving to find love and happiness.
Unfortunately sometimes people get hurt along the way, sometimes intentionally, but quite often unintentionally.
We all make mistakes, we make decisions we regret and sometimes for whatever reasons we strike out in anger.
We are just humans trying to do the best we can with our current circumstances. All too often some of us have horrific circumstances thrust upon us, and the best we can do is to try and survive, in the hope of a better life.
For me personally
it is difficult not to strike out in anger, when I see and hear how other
people are so badly treated throughout the world. Anger does not help the situation, but sometimes through utter frustration anger can be a difficult emotion to control.
No one knows what
its like
To be the bad man
To be the sad man
Behind blue eyes
No one knows what its like
To be hated
To be fated
To telling only lies
But my dreams
They aren't as empty
As my conscience seems to be
I have hours, only lonely
My love is vengeance
That's never free
No one knows what its like
To feel these feelings
Like I do
And I blame you
No one bites back as hard
On their anger
None of my pain and woe
Can show through
But my dreams
They aren't as empty
As my conscience seems to be
I have hours, only lonely
My love is vengeance
That's never free
When my fist clenches, crack it open
Before I use it and lose my cool
When I smile, tell me some bad news
Before I laugh and act like a fool
If I swallow anything evil
Put your finger down my throat
If I shiver, please give me a blanket
Keep me warm, let me wear your coat
No one knows what its like
To be the bad man
To be the sad man
Behind blue eyes
Behind Blue
Eyes – The Who.
In October I posted this post titled:
ME/CFS patients
are being incorrectly treated-effectively abusing our human rights! Help us
fight!
The article I have posted here today is part of a statement released by One Click who are putting this case to the courts. It has good news.
Firstly the required funds were raised in order to have the case heard.
Secondly they have secured an expert witnesses who will be supporting this claim.
Thirdly it appears that the claim will be heard in the High Court.
Extracted from the posted article:
Dr Bruce Carruthers - one of the foremost leading experts in the world on ME/CFS and whose international medical consensus Guidelines make those of NICE look like fatal amateur night – surfacing in the High Court.
Dr Bruce Carruthers is the lead author and co-editor of the Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: Clinical Working Case Definition, Diagnostic and Treatment Protocols (The ME/CFS Canadian Guidelines). Funded by government, the ME/CFS Canadian Guidelines incorporate most all scientific research done on ME/CFS for the last ten to fifteen years.Produced by a process of international consensus by a panel of scientists and expert physicians who have between them diagnosed/treated over 25,000 patients around the world, the ME/CFS Canadian Guidelines are the most advanced, consensual, clinical diagnostic criteria on this illness available in the world today. As such, they have long symbolised the wooden stake in the psychiatric lobby vampire heart ever since their publication in 2003.
Previously a Research Scholar on the Medical Research Council of Canada amongst his many other senior posts, Dr Carruthers is without doubt one of the greatest ME/CFS experts alive in the world today in regard to criteria and guidelines over this neurological illness, classified as such by the World Health Organisation under ICD.10 G93.3........
......
What presently matters is that we have at last been granted the funding for our expert witnesses and our case is now full-steaming ahead.
Sir Winston Churchill, British politician 1874 -1965, knew what he was talking about when he said, "The chain of destiny can only be grasped one link at a time." We have grasped our latest link most firmly and are now on to the next, employing the professional vice-like tenacity grip on your behalf for which One Click has become so famous.
I would like to personally thank the expert witnesses who are providing pro bono medical testimony for our case in the High Court.
I would like to particularly thank Saunders Solicitors LLP for their superb handling of legal events and also to thank our barrister Kate Marcus from Doughty Street Chambers who is now in a position to work up our expert evidence.
But
above all I would like to thank YOU. All of you from around the world who are
making this case possible.
I quote from the document Very
Simply We Did It: “What this campaign has so starkly illustrated is that
it is entirely possible for patients and their extensive friends around the
world to band together and fight back to correct injustice. The days of the
Expert Patient and their associates making their voices formally and legally
felt have now arrived at last thanks to you all."
Between us all from around the world, we have created a legal fighting force that will not be denied.
I will be writing to you all further anon as our legal challenge of the appalling CFS/ME NICE Guidelines in the High Court progresses. Some of the information that I will doubtless have to impart to you all in the future may well rock you to your foundations.
Onwards and upwards dear friends. Our legal course is set fair.
Jane Bryant
Director
The One Click Group
--------
So personally I would like to say a big thank you to everyone who is supporting this case. It is great news that the case appears to be going ahead. Well done to all.
As an Australian who lives in a town with a relatively large indigenous community, I understand the importance of this forth coming apology to the Stolen Generation. I also recognise that there will need to be further actions of reconciliation to help heal our past so that we can all move forward as one united nation. I live in a town where there is resentment between the indigenous and the non-indigenous communities. I see and understand the disadvantages that our indigenous community faces every day. I do not wish for these problems to continue to fester and be a continual embarrassment to our country.
Many Australian towns do not have indigenous communities living in their towns and so many Australians may not fully understand the problems faced by indigenous communities and how their problems effect both the indigenous and the non-indigenous people in these towns. It is very important to communities such as my own that this apology is a meaningful apology, so I am hoping that you will take the time to read the following statement, and use the link below to contact your local member of parliament to express your support for this apology. My own local member of parliament is a member of the Liberal party and she has expressed her full support for the apology and understands how important the apology is to our community. If you are unsure what the apology means there are links below with further information about the apology.
Thanks for your time,
Chezz.
A message from GetUp!
Last year, tens of thousands Australians across the nation demanded that the next parliament and PM say 'sorry' to the Stolen Generations as their very first act on the very first sitting day.
Yesterday the PM agreed! Yet as we speak the shape of this historical moment is still being determined in meetings between Labor and Indigenous representatives, in the Liberal party room and in the minds of the millions of Australians who aren't sure how they feel about an apology.
It is important for Australians to
demonstrate to all our politicians the broad groundswell of support for
a sincere and unifying apology from the whole Parliament. You can email your
MP a quick note right now - and urge all your friends and family to do the
same? This online tool makes it easy - just enter your postcode.
www.getup.org.au/campaign/SaySorry
Australia's parliament holds a key to a new way forward - symbolically and practically: 'An apology is not about guilt or shame or individual responsibility - it is the embodiment of the spirit of reconciliation, and the springboard for a nation committed to stamp out the systemic ills that still flow from a nation unable to address its past wrongs'.
Our Indigenous colleagues have stressed two factors in the success of this new way forward. First, the supreme importance of cross party support when the PM takes to the Parliament floor. So, if your MP is Liberal, please urge him or her to push the party leadership to support the apology.
Second, the apology was always only meant to be the first step and must be acknowledged as such. So, if your MP is Labor, please support, commend, and thank them - but also remind them that this a starting point and that what is required now is the full and comprehensive response to the Bringing Them Home Report.
Reconciliation Australia have produced an excellent fact sheet about the apology. If you are unsure about its meaning or want to explain to others about the importance of the apology, please click here and forward it on. The Bringing Them Home Report can also be found here.
Help make this moment the kind of new beginning it deserves to be.
www.getup.org.au/campaign/SaySorry
Thanks for being part of this,
The GetUp team
------
To better help people understand the apology here is an edited version of the Reconciliation Australia fact sheet about the apology. The full fact sheet can be viewed at the link provided above.
The term ‘stolen generations’ refers to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians who were forcibly removed from their families and communities by government, welfare or church authorities as children and placed into institutional care or with non-Indigenous foster families. The forced removal of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children began as early as the mid 1800s and continued until 1970.
This removal occurred as the result of official laws and policies aimed at assimilating the Indigenous population into the wider community.
The stolen generation should not be confused with other government policies which aimed to help Aboriginal children from remote areas to go to school with their parent’s full consent. It should also not be confused with the removal of Indigenous and non-Indigenous children from dysfunctional families under welfare policies that continue to apply today.
The Bringing Them Home report found that the forced removal of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children from their families and communities has had life-long and profoundly disabling consequences for those taken and has negatively affected the Indigenous community. For many of the children, removal meant that they lost all connection to family, traditional land, culture and language.
The reality of Australia’s stolen generations is not a thing of the distant past. Children were being inappropriately removed from their families by Australian authorities until 1969. Many people affected by the tragedy of the stolen generations are still alive today and live with its effects.
The Bringing Them Home report recommended that the first step in healing is the acknowledgment of truth and the delivery of an apology. It is the responsibility of the Australian Government, on behalf of previous Australian governments that administered this wrongful policy to acknowledge what was done and apologise for it.
Individual Australians are not providing the apology. The apology is being provided by the Australian Government in recognition of policies of past governments. Similarly, the former Australian Government apologised to Vietnam veterans for the policies of previous governments. The current Government is apologising for wrongful policies of governments. No individual Australian is being asked to take personal responsibility for actions of past governments.
Following on from apologies already made by all State and Territory governments and the churches, an official apology to members of the stolen generations by the Australian Government is an important step towards building a respectful new relationship between us as Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians. Respectful relationships are essential if we are to solve persistent problems.
In this way, the apology will allow us to work together more effectively towards closing the 17-year life expectancy gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous children - the starkest evidence of how government policies have failed. It is an important starting point in healing the wounds and an historic step forward for our nation that we can be proud of.
The apology is not an expression of personal responsibility or guilt by individual Australians. But it does reflect our Australian values of compassion and a fair go, and allows the victims of bad policy to feel that their pain and suffering has been acknowledged.
It’s important to understand that the “stolen generations” refer to those children who were removed on the basis of their race alone. In contrast with the removal of non-Indigenous children, proof of neglect was not always required to remove Indigenous children. That one of their parents was of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander descent was enough.
The predominant aim of the forced removal of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children from their families was to absorb or assimilate children with mixed ancestry into the non-Indigenous community.
As Brisbane's Telegraph newspaper reported in May 1937:
Mr Neville [the Chief Protector of WA] holds the view that within one hundred years the pure black will be extinct. But the half-caste problem is increasing every year. Therefore their idea is to keep the pure blacks segregated and absorb the half-castes into the white population. Perhaps it will take one hundred years, perhaps longer, but the race is dying.
The suggestion that stolen generations children were better off is untrue on any reasonable assessment of the cases where they were placed in situations of deprivation, neglect and abuse. People who were removed gave evidence to the Inquiry of their mistreatment under State care - this ranged from inadequate food and clothing, to physical, sexual and psychological abuse.
Almost a quarter of witnesses to the Inquiry who were fostered or adopted reported being physically abused. One in five reported being sexually abused. One in six children sent to institutions reported physical abuse and one in ten reported sexual abuse.
Why is the word ‘sorry’ important as part of the apology?
The word ‘sorry’ holds special meaning in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture. In many Aboriginal communities, sorry is an adapted English word used to describe the rituals surrounding death (Sorry Business). Sorry, in these contexts, is also often used to express empathy or sympathy rather than responsibility.
During the 2007 election campaign, then Opposition Leader Kevin Rudd also recognised the significance of the word sorry:
“… simply saying that you’re sorry is such a powerful symbol. Powerful not because it represents some expiation of guilt. Powerful not because it represents any form of legal requirement. But powerful simply because it restores respect”
Quite often I find being a Christian tough. Not because I have a lot of trouble with most of the ‘Commandments’ but more to do with what I see as hurtful acts that are done in the name of Christianity and to me these acts fly in the face of everything I believe in. One of the biggest struggles I have is the Christian churches response to homosexuality. According to many the Bible states that being or at least the act of homosexuality is an abomination. There is much debate over whether this is in fact what the Bible says and the translation you believe will essentially depend on how you view homosexuality.
Throughout the entire Bible it seems that there are only a small number of references to ‘homosexual activity’.
It must be noted that there is no term that means homosexual orientation in the original Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek texts of the Bible. The authors of the Bible did not understand sexual orientation and thus did not write about it. Biblical authors had little or no understanding of same-sex committed relationships. Rather, they assumed that everyone was heterosexual, but that some heterosexuals engaged in sex with persons of the same gender. Thus, when you see one of these words in an English translation of the Bible, it is important to dig deeper and find what the original Hebrew or Greek text really means. It also indicates that the Bible is most likely not an authoritative text when it comes to same-sex committed relationships. The term homosexual was coined in the late 1800s when human sexuality first became studied as a science.
The most often quoted scriptures are:
Gn 19:1-11 (Destruction of Sodom - see comments section for analysis)
Lev 20:13 KJV: If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.
1 Cor 6:9-10. KJV: Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.
1 Tim
1:9-10. KJV: Knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous man, but
for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy
and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers,
For whoremongers, for them that defile themselves with mankind, for
menstealers, for liars, for perjured persons, and if there be any other thing
that is contrary to sound doctrine
Rom
1:26-27 KJV: For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even
their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature: And
likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their
lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and
receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet.
Rom 1:26-27 NIV: Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion.
The Leviticus quote gets plenty of use in the anti-homosexual cause, possibly because of the abomination word as it is a very strong word and good for the cause against homosexuality. Wow imagine being an abomination! Plus the penalty for such an action; it is very harsh indeed. But just to put it into some context here are some other actions/consequences that seem most strange or barbaric in our modern times:
Cursing your parents
Leviticus 21: 9 NIV: If anyone curses his father or mother, he must be put to death. He has cursed his father or his mother, and his blood will be on his own head.
Adultery
Leviticus 21: 10 NIV: If a man commits adultery with another man's wife—with the wife of his neighbor—both the adulterer and the adulteress must be put to death.
Restitution
Leviticus 24: 19-20 NIV: If anyone injures his neighbor, whatever he has done must be done to him: fracture for fracture, eye for eye, tooth for tooth. As he has injured the other, so he is to be injured.
Eating shellfish and animals that are an abomination.
Leviticus 11: 9-19 KJV: These shall ye eat of all that are in the waters: whatsoever hath fins and scales in the waters, in the seas, and in the rivers, them shall ye eat. And all that have not fins and scales in the seas, and in the rivers, of all that move in the waters, and of any living thing which is in the waters, they shall be an abomination unto you: They shall be even an abomination unto you; ye shall not eat of their flesh, but ye shall have their carcases in abomination. Whatsoever hath no fins nor scales in the waters that shall be an abomination unto you. And these are they which ye shall have in abomination among the fowls; they shall not be eaten, they are an abomination: the eagle, and the ossifrage, and the ospray, And the vulture, and the kite after his kind; Every raven after his kind; And the owl, and the night hawk, and the cuckow, and the hawk after his kind, And the little owl, and the cormorant, and the great owl, And the swan, and the pelican, and the gier eagle, And the stork, the heron after her kind, and the lapwing, and the bat.
So don’t worry if you are an abomination, as you are not alone even shellfish are an abomination, as are some very beautiful birds, as are many other animals as the list just goes on and on ……..
Childbirth
Leviticus 12: 1-5 NIV: The LORD said to Moses, "Say to the Israelites: 'A woman who becomes pregnant and gives birth to a son will be ceremonially unclean for seven days, just as she is unclean during her monthly period. On the eighth day the boy is to be circumcised. Then the woman must wait thirty-three days to be purified from her bleeding. She must not touch anything sacred or go to the sanctuary until the days of her purification are over. If she gives birth to a daughter, for two weeks the woman will be unclean, as during her period. Then she must wait sixty-six days to be purified from her bleeding.
If you are a woman you are obviously better to give birth to a boy instead of a girl, because then you won’t be as unclean for as long.
Some Miscellaneous quotes
Leviticus 19: 19 NIV: Do not wear clothing woven of two kinds of material. Deuteronomy 21:11 Do not wear clothes of wool and linen woven together.
Leviticus 19: 26 NIV: Do not eat any meat with the blood still in it I guess don’t order a steak cooked rare from now on.