Misinterpreting church lessons: Homosexuality, Hypocrisy and the Vaginal Virgin

Now, we all know that Jamaica has the most churches per square mile [ funny enough I was looking for the source of this "fact" and all the websites stated the Guinness Book of World Records as the source but there was no trace of it on their website...] and people are very sensitive about religion, generally... So I know this blog post may cause some amount of controversy, but these things need to be said.

For the purposes of this post "religion" and "church lessons" will refer to Christianity and its teachings as declared by some denominations.

Many churches are so very rigid, so strict in their deliverance and adherence to the word (the Bible) that they don't take the time out to realize that the Bible provides us with guidelines for how to carry out our daily lives but does NOT state that the exact actions taken at the time [how many thousands of years ago] can apply to any and every situation in this the 21st century.

Homosexuals were referred to in the Bible, and although it states the immorality and sinful nature of this act we should all remember it is a sin just like any other. And, like good boys and girls didn't we go to Sunday School and learn that all sin is the same ?  Therefore there is no "greater" sin. Let me clarify this before this is misinterpreted: all sin is on the same level, so if you rape and if I steal it is the same SIN, however there may be variations in punishment, as God is a just God... therefore, someone who grew up under Nazi or Klu Klux Klan influence, who didn't like the lifestyle but continued in it just to please their parents would perhaps meet some "lighter consequences" than someone who was exposed to the word everyday, free to worship and rejected God... (that's how I see it)...

But, some churches treat homosexuality like it is the Pablo Escobar or the Dudus of sins. We need to cut this shit out. The hostility towards gays, lesbians, bi-sexuals and trans-sexuals cannot solve the problem. How are Christians, people of God, going to justify using brute force, hostility and sheer ignorance towards their brothers and sisters who are different? Did Jesus scorn the leper, the blind, the sick, the poor? How then can we (yes we) call ourselves "people of the Kingdom" when we are doing something that is totally against all Christians' code of conduct.

When the Bible speaks about homosexuality it is a warning against such "sins", it is not telling us to disregard the existence of homosexuals... They are humans too, and the Bible also says "love thy neighbour as thyself". How quickly we forget about those verses when we hear that John Doe is a "batty man". There is a selective use of the Bible to justify behaviour toward certain groups. How quick we are to draw for the "my God is a jealous God", "thou shall have no other Gods before me", and all the other scriptures that allude to God's punishment of sins, forgetting all the other compassionate, loving, and cooperative scriptures.

The Hypocrisy that exists within the church and among Christians on a whole can be seen through their treatment of the homosexuals, and the extent to which they EXAGGERATE and sometimes MISINTERPRET the word.

However, all hypocrisy breaks loose on a Sunday/ Saturday morning (or whichever day you worship); When some members seek to discuss the lives of their fellow congregants with others. Let me share a recent example:  the assistant to my dentist died recently, my family has known her for years. Dentists come and go but she remains the assistant to them all... finally it was her time to go. We attended the funeral and during the proceedings we were unable to hear many of the items because a woman sat behind us and apparently it was her point of duty to "chat everybody business". There was even one lady inside the house of the Lord, while the service was going on, selling sweets. Now come on man. How dare we discuss the activities of others when we are not in good stead ourselves? The Bible says:

Matthew 7:5 You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye ...

bible.cc/matthew/7-5.htm

"You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye

That pretty much ends that discussion, huh?

Now on to the Vaginal Virgin....

Fornication is perhaps one of the most talked about things at church. "No sex before marriage" is instilled in you from the earliest phase of Sunday School. In my own fellowship, there have been quite a few girls who have become pregnant and have left the fold because of embarrassment, or whatever reason.

My point is, nobody discusses the section of the Bible which speaks about having one faithful sexual partner that took your virginity, who is committed to you and you both have consented that you wish to marry, thus forming a consensual marriage... [ I cant remember exactly where I found this scripture, and I tried hard to find it again and was unsuccessful]. But perhaps, the best thing to prevent an increase in fornication is to preach the "no sex before marriage" message.

However, this message can be lost on / misinterpreted to church goers. When we refer to sex in the church, we speak only of vaginal sex, of course because every other kind of sex is taboo. We barely want to mention sex at all, much less mentioning oral, anal, threesomes and all that jazz. Thus, a typical person may just go away with the interpretation that only vaginal sex is considered fornication. One fictional example is where Meg, in an episode of Family Guy, decided to partake in "ear sex" because her boyfriend had urges but they were a part of a purity (abstinence) group. But, I also have a real example...

I am not sure how many of you remember a Facebook note incident years ago where two girls were cursing about some random thing and the argument led to one of the girls exposing that the other engaged in anal sex. Now, the accused stated in the note that she had anal sex in order to keep her vagina pure, so she would remain a virgin. And this is a true story. The other individual went on to curse her about how she claimed she was a Christian and engaging in this sort of behaviour, and in her defense "mi vagina pure, I'm still a virgin". 

This is the sort of misconception, misinterpretation and "incomprehension" (misunderstanding) I'm referring to.

The church is a place to gather with like-minded people, and the teachings of the church need to be preached; what else would they do for an hour or hour and a half out of the service each week (I have a few suggestions ... but I digress) ? However the congregation is to realize that these teachings are coming from the mouth of a man who claims that he has been led by God... and no disrespect to pastors, but some of them really are not being led by the Hold Spirit and are forcing their own opinions on us (look at the Jim Jones saga). Of course this is wrong, but we, the congregation, need to rely on our own personal relationship with God instead of relying on this man's interpretation of the word. 

And a word to pastors, and all other Christians...

Matthew 7 NIV - Judging Others - “Do not judge, or - Bible Gateway

www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+7&version...

1 “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. 2 For in the same way you judge others,you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.

PS: I know I said I wouldn't talk about religion, but this one touched me... and please remember I am no religious authority....Just a girl giving my opinion.