Breakfast at Ashland's

The Conjuring 2

2016-06-14T21:19:00.003-07:00

I grabbed for my cell phone as we herded out of the theatre with the rest of the horror film lovers. I have always been drawn to the line “based on a true story,” in any film; but especially in horror films like The Conjuring 2. After the first Conjuring

left me with many sleepless nights, I clamored into my local theatre on opening day of The Conjuring 2.

The Conjuring 2 is not a movie to see if you want a cheap taste; it is far from cheap and plays with every flavor of your palette. The dynamic paranormal investigative duo Ed & Lorraine Warren return and allow us to take another peek into one of their supernatural cases.

The Warrens travel to Enfield, London to help an English family who is being tormented by something unexplainable and insidious. Directed again by James Wan and starring Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson as the Warrens, the movie takes us down the rabbit hole of this infamous investigation and into the lives of the family that lived it.

This sequel hits on every point and ties together every loose knot that you want a sequel to do. It continues to build the history of the relationship of the Warrens as well as intertwine a whole new cast of characters and story, leaving the audience at the edge of their seats. The chemistry between Farmiga and Wilson throughout the story attaches the audience to the Warrens and forces you to lose yourself in the film.

The Conjuring 2 is this year’s horror film, bound to leave you begging for more cases on the Warrens and another twisted film by James Wan.

Label me this......

2012-07-25T02:27:00.002-07:00

Stress is a wall...

A lot of us go through many stresses throughout our lives...

Work...School....Money....Friends....Family....

We do wish that it did not exist.....

Stress is a killer......

But, without stress.....

Would we be able to survive?

Is stress just a obstacle?

Do the weak fail and the strong succeed?

What is your definition of success?

What is your definition of stress?

Is it the same as mine?

Is it the same as yours?

Wait!.........

Are our definitions different?

Are our definitions the same?

Am I wrong?

Or, am I right?

I guess to grow you must be open to all definitions....

Be able to see the argument from the other side....

So, not everything is black or white.....

We live in a gray gray world.....

If this is true........

............ Then take out the labels.....

And......

Then let me be........

Me and My Shadow.......

2012-07-09T05:26:00.002-07:00

My Shadow and I met awhile ago....

At First I wondered friend or foe?....

She continued to follow me in every step that I made....

As much as she stalked me you think she was paid......

She mimicked my moves and came across as a snob....

Actually at one time I think we had the same job......

Today, she stands in the past of my path....

Thinking deep down she has the last laugh....

But, at the end of the day what that poor girl doesn't know...

Is that my Shadow is underneath my big toe...

So, dear Shadow keep stalking me oh please...

I'm actually quite flattered even though I tease...

See, what you forget, but what I can guarantee....

Is at the end of the day my Shadow is still beneath me...

Coachella fights back and WINS!

2012-07-07T04:49:00.000-07:00

The story has been going around about the well-known Music and Arts Annual Festival, Coachella, and the proposal by Indio City to start admission ticket taxing on this festival. The concert promoters known as company Goldenvoice fought back with threatening to cancel the 2014 festival and move the event away from the city in 2015. Since the $47 million gross profit this year was actually a huge revenue in supporting the local community, Indio City backpedaled. AND WE ALL THOUGHT WE WERE GOING TO HAVE TO GIVE UP OUR CONCERT! One thing that I personally love about stories like this is the confidence and valor that Goldenvoice had in standing up and not giving in. One thing that I know for certain is I am sure there are MANY seasoned and even fresh COACHELLA fanatics that are extremely happy and relieved right now!

Hello World! My name is Elvis!

2012-07-05T13:29:00.002-07:00

My name is Elvis!

When I was a Pup!

Cheers E

Boycott Apple?

2012-07-05T09:07:00.000-07:00

I just recently went to my GOOGLE+ page and was stunned to find that #boycottapple was trending. This shocked me! I guess we can say that Apple has now become the "so-called social norm!” Where ever we go we see Apple! I hate to say this because I am a HUGE Apple fan..but, Apple is quickly becoming a Kardashian! No matter what we do, we just can’t get away from them. (Hopefully Apple and Microsoft won’t merge for 72 days and have a huge public break-up…..I don’t think we can handle that again) After doing some research I came to the conclusion on why this was trending! This is a story right now because of the tag-line “CLAIMING YOUR INDEPENDENCE FROM APPLE” ---hence Fourth of July! ☺ Creative… I guess! We have to face that we have come to a time where Apple is becoming or HAS become bigger than Microsoft…and this is apparently scaring people. From the articles that I read about this subject, there were some consumers who thought: “Well lets’ just go with the flow and keep on buying EVERY iPhone APPLE comes out with” …..AND then there were some who claimed that Apple is becoming an “EVIL-Dictator.” Extremists! I personally love Apple products! I also know people who give me a weird look when I say I have a Mac! I know Mac users who give me a weird look when they see I have an Andriod phone! Before we know it we are going to be caught up in the West Side Story! The Sharks versus The Jets! I don’t know about you but I think I am going to be Switzerland in this fight! What’s your opinion?

Stay Tuned!

2012-07-05T07:50:00.001-07:00

Just like the one and only show I LOVE LUCY! I will be back shortly!! :) With some recipes!

Interesting Story

2012-06-13T11:13:00.003-07:00

One evening an old Cherokee told his grandson
about a battle that goes on inside people.

He said, "My son, the battle is between
two "wolves" inside us all.

One is Evil.
It is anger, envy, jealousy, sorrow, regret, greed,
arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies,
false pride, superiority, and ego.

The other is Good.
It is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith."

The grandson thought about it for a minute
and then asked his grandfather:
"Which wolf wins?"
The old Cherokee simply replied,
"The one you feed."

Facebook buys Instagram

2012-04-09T13:35:00.002-07:00

Apparently, Facebook announced today that they will or have already bought Instagram-(Which for those of you not familiar is a mobile photo sharing social media app--very similar to pinterest.) Facebook will be buying instagram for a nice $1 billion dollars. (please say that in Dr. Evil Voice)

Instagram recently has been receiving an immense amount of attention because of expanding the app from solely the iPhone to now the Andriod.

Not sure if the FB and Instagram combo will be the best pairing considering this poll in yahoo news:

"As Facebook seeks to get in on Instagram's buzz, some users may be less pleased. According to a recent poll, photo apps like Instagram are now the worst annoyance on Facebook, beating out other people's baby photos. As much as 20% of Facebook users reported deleting friends specifically because of annoying photos."

Well with that being said we all just have to wait to see if this is a good move or not. I say: As long as we do not have to pay for social media: All is well!

--Cheers

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder

2012-02-16T23:46:00.000-08:00

This October marks the 25^th annual National Breast Cancer awareness month and in honor of that many people throughout the country and world get together and make a difference. From Fundraisers, selling of apparel to even the annual National Susan G. Komen walk there can be many ways for everyone to get involved. The large purpose of this is for women to become aware and get themselves tested. There are millions of people who have either had breast cancer or have had someone dear and close to them be diagnosed with it and according to statistics it is still a rising and tragic problem. One in eight women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime. Over 200,000 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer this year. When breast cancer is detected early (localized stage), the 5-year survival rate is 98%. Over 30% of women are diagnosed after breast cancer has spread beyond the localized stage. According to Susan G. Komen In 2011, it is estimated that among U.S. men there will be: 2,140 new cases of breast cancer 450 breast cancer deaths.

Fortunately, I have never been diagnosed or have had a member of my family diagnosed with breast cancer. However, my family and I have experienced cancer. My Mom was diagnosed with Colon Cancer at the age of 42 and during that time for her and my family it felt as if our life was shattered into a million pieces. The most influential moment that I had in my life was during this time and I remember the moment like it was yesterday. We were at the Inland Valley Hospital and my Mom was signing in, she was getting surgery to have a piece of colon removed that was carrying the cancer. That day was the toughest and most heart-wrenching day of my entire life. My parents have been married since they were eighteen years old, they have been each others support, best friends, partners and soul mates for almost the entirety of their life and to see my Dad, waiting for my Mom to get out of surgery and the personal struggle and battle he was going through was one of the toughest things for me to deal with. We waited for her to be out and as anyone who has ever been through something like this knows when your waiting for a loved one to get out of surgery hours seem like days and it is almost as if you are not there waiting but in this comatose state. My little sister and brother were waiting as well. When they let us know that she was out of surgery and that the surgery went perfectly we were happy but had our minds set on hurrying to be with her. After, waiting for her surgery and for her to get out of recovery we fondly were allowed into her room to be with her. This is the moment that I remember most vividly to the point of what all of us were wearing. My Mom was in the hospital bed covered in the blue blanket asleep as my Dad was at the end of the bed in his white collared shirt, my sister was on the other side of the bed in her chaparral high school cheer uniform as my little brother had his Charger shirt on standing next to my sister. We just stood there in which seemed hours waiting for my Mom to wake up. At that moment I had what some people call an “epiphany.” I looked around the room; we were all looking at Mom in love, worry, heartache, united and most importantly as a family. At that instant I came to a feeling of understanding of what life and my family is meant for. Here we had someone from OUR family sick and in need of help and there we were, by the bedside, us five, and no one else. My grandma used to always tell us: “I don’t care who you meet, who your friends are, who you go to school with; at the end of the day the only people who matter and who you drop everything for is your family.” I never really got that saying until then. I looked around and realized it doesn’t matter what your wearing, the car you drive, the people you know, the position you are in, the purse you have, the friends, the vacations, your status, the bills, stress of work or money all that really matters in life are these people, your family. My Sister later said when I mentioned to her how I felt, “We are like a wolf pack, Ashland. We may fight, tease and play with each other, but the moment ONE of us is down or being messed with or teased we all come together as ONE and help that ONE.” That couldn’t of been more perfect of a metaphor for my family. My Mom is now a cancer survivor and my family and I have never been closer. We live for each other. The meaning and importance of our story is to show everyone who stresses and cares way too much about the material things in life, bills, drama, school, status etc. That life is not about that, your family whether your blood or not is the most important and tomorrow they could be gone. It is tragic what my Mother went through and looking back I do wish it never happened; but in the trying to find the light it is what brought my family to where they are today and without it we might still be taking each other for granted.

So, with all that being said and after the story AWARENESS of any cancer is the most important in this journey and this month. If I could let this lesson be known to millions and have everyone get checked for not just breast cancer but ALL cancers it could save millions.

Somewhere Under the Rainbow - A dissection of all 7-bible verses referencing the sin and damnation of Homosexuality.

2011-11-12T11:30:00.000-08:00

A dissection of all 7-bible verses referencing the sin and damnation of Homosexuality.

Homosexuality and Christianity in our society at its current state can almost be considered oil and water; but yet it is as strong and leading an issue in our day-to-day lives, our politics, our churches, our schools etc. I did not want this essay to be against Christianity, nor do I want it to be against homosexuality; I would just purely like this article to be a simple awakening of the hypocritical outlooks of our society. Some may claim that this would not be an argument worth making because one is a religion and the other a sexual orientation; but when researched, religion and sexual orientation almost goes hand and hand and on both cases has an immense amount of history between each other.

When deciding on which subordinate or dominant case I should do, I personally had an immense amount of trouble, the issue being that the concept would be between “gay or straight” or “man or woman” or “Christian or Muslim” and with that being said I really thought it would be a shot in the dark. As a writer I’ve always had trouble and personal issues with writing about a topic that I am not passionate about or have no drive or belief for. With that being said, I kept looking at this argument as more of a chore than something that I could really dive into and personally be a journey more than an assignment. So, I decided to challenge myself in something that I directly believed in but never really stood up for with the fear of judgment, ridicule or even someone possibly thinking that I was part of that subordinate group; this being the subordinate group of homosexuals. Now, I did not want it to be the simply “Homosexual and Straight” concept; I wanted it to dive in just a little deeper and bring in another dominate group, Christians, due to the leading culture and belief that I was individually brought up into.

The beginning or genesis of myself feeling this way was when I started working for a large entertainment company. Before that I grew up in a Christian household and mostly worked for Christian employers, so as a side note I whole-heartedly believed that “homosexuals were going to hell” based on the one-sided morals that my church and other Christians I grew up with pushed onto me. I would of considered myself to be sitting firmly on the judgment line. When I started with the entertainment company and started becoming close friends with a lot of people from the LGBT community I started developing a struggle of the beliefs that my home church brought me up in, especially in regards to homosexuality. I felt an issue in the concept and belief that someone is “going to hell for ‘loving’ another” whether they were of the same sex or not. I would go through constant verses in my head of contradiction in hearing “love thy neighbor”, “thou shall not judge” and that “hate was considered murder in God’s eyes”. I then realized I had moved from the judgment line to the box of fear. I felt as if I was constantly walking on eggshells, afraid to offend the Christian church I was brought up in. I knew that there was something clearly wrong about the homosexual debate and the damnation of an entire subordinate group; but at the time I really did not have enough courage to stand up and say “I, Ashland Watson, think this is wrong and that I do not support the hate driven towards this group.” I knew that there was an issue, and that it almost made me ashamed to call myself a “Christian” due to the hateful things that were being said about the LGBT community. When questioning this with Christian friends that I was brought up with they would simply state scriptures from the bible stating that it is a sin and they are going to hell, because that is what the bible says. That was always the answer to everything, “well this is what the bible says” or “the bible tells us so.”

“Many people cite religious texts to support the social norms of heterosexuality, even though there is no monolithic theological endorsement for heterosexuality. Instead religious scholars from various faith traditions and denominations within those traditions interpret religious textual passages related to same-sex sexuality, same-sex relationships, and transgressed expressions of gender very differently” (Adams, Bell & Griffin 372-373).

This began my journey. The journey of research, open mindedness and eventually leading to the concept of forming the opinion and grasping the courage to move into the box of integration where I could deliberately bring attention to these issues and not be afraid to fight and stand for a principle that I believed was flawed. I wanted to derive my research from the bible since that was the answer to everything in regards to Christianity and homosexuality.

In my research I started to become inspired by many documentaries, articles, opinions, people etc. that originated the idea in formatting this exposition. I first learned that out of millions of scriptures in the bible there are only 7 that have to do with homosexuality. That means less than 1% of the bible even mentions it. I found it completely irrational of how large the hype of the evils of homosexuality in the bible in retrospect to the actually data proving it. With all that being said I wanted to develop my entire paper around these seven main scriptures from the bible that highlight homosexuality. I wanted to dive into each and really understand them so I could form more of an educated opinion on this matter. So my research began.

“Out of the million verses in the bible there are only 7 verses that have to do with Homosexuality“(What the bible says).

Genesis 1:1-31

Adam and Eve

“Multiply and fill the earth and subdue it”

This verse is used in the debate against homosexuals by the simple concept of Homosexuality being a sin due to the fact that they can never pro-create. This simple bible verse has been translated to the act of sex only being used for pro-creating and if one does not go into sex for pro-creation, then it is a sin. Hence, being homosexual would be a sin due to the fact that homosexuals cannot pro-create. This argument is, however, flawed because of the loopholes that can be associated with it. Homosexuals are inherently sinful because they cannot pro-create. It says in the bible that you need to be fruitful. God said be fruitful. So, in the bible sex needs to be saving for only procreation purposes, if that concept it spread widely according to the bible a whole lot of people including Christians would be in trouble:

· Post-menopausal women

· Infertile women

· Any man or women who is sterile

· A pregnant woman (due to the fact that she will not become pregnant again)

· Anyone who chooses to use birth control.

(King).

“What does the Bible say about sex as an expression of love between two people in covenant relationship? There are several barren women in the Bible who were favored by their husbands. These couples continued to have sex knowing that they could not conceive under normal circumstances. They were Sarah, Rachel, Hannah, and Elizabeth. Sarah and Elizabeth were still having sex with their husbands past childbearing years! Was it for procreation or as an expression of love? Each of these women was greatly blessed even though they had sex when procreation was not physically possible. You can read about Sarah and Rachel in Genesis 18:9-12 and 30:22-24, about Hannah in 1 Samuel 1:1-20, and about Elizabeth in Luke 1:6,7.” (Arias).

So in turn, it can be said that the translation taken from the bible was not meant for “literal” translation because the message that was trying to be perceived, may have been misconstrued. If Homosexuals, according to the bible, are forbidden from having sex then Straight people could not have sex unless it was only for procreation purposes. So, this verse used as “proof” to be against homosexuality should almost be thrown out due to the concept of “picking and choosing” which verse to use.

Genesis Chapters 2-3

Marriage should be between ONE Man & ONE Woman

In my research for this constant debate I found that this was the number one verse used to argue against Christianity and Homosexuality. Genesis is the story between Adam and Eve.

“Now the LORD God had formed out of the ground all the wild animals and all the birds in the sky. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. 20 So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds in the sky and all the wild animals. But for Adam no suitable helper was found.” Genesis 2:19-20

This is where the translation becomes even stickier due to the definition of “helper”. It is something that has been used for not only the argument against homosexuality but as well as women’s rights. There has been some that even fight this verse to be the reason and proof of a woman being submissive to a man due to “God making Women as the ‘Helper’”

“It is true that the word "helper" in itself, whether in Hebrew or in English, does not necessarily imply submission. But the meaning of a word cannot be determined without consideration of its context. In this case the word occurs within the phrase, which says that God created woman to be a helper fit for man. "If one human being is created to be the helper of another human being," as George W. Knight rightly notes, "the one who receives such a helper has a certain authority over the helper."14 This does not mean that woman exists solely for the sake of helping man, but rather that she is a helper who corresponds to man because she is of the same nature.” (Created Man’s Helper).

This verse represents that Eve was created to be Adam’s companion because they were the same in nature. She was there to be his partner and helper in the image of God. So, with this purpose and with this verse and living in a society where we have the convenience of picking our own partner and helper in life, how could we be judgmental of someone who picks someone of the same sex to be their helper in their life? Another verse that corresponds with this is the fact that all people are created in God’s image.

“So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.” Genesis 1:27

If we are all created in God’s image then who are we to say it is wrong for anyone to make the choice to be a homosexual. This is a verse that has been disputed about Homosexuals in the Bible and why it is wrong according to Christianity.

Genesis 19: 1-29

Sodom and Gomorrah

"But the men of Sodom were wicked and sinners before the LORD exceedingly."

This is another Bible story that is commonly used to prove Homosexuality and be wrong. The issue with the story told in the Bible was not about Homosexuality at all. It was the story of the failure to provide hospitality; it was in turn ‘the story of Lot.’

“In Genesis19 v 8 there is rather a negative story about Lot when he offer’s his daughter’s to the mob rather than break the law of hospitality. 2nd Peter v 4-10 describes Lot as a righteous man disturbed by all the evil among which he lived. Famously of course Lot and his family fled from the destruction that God poured out upon the cities of the plain and his wife stopped to look back and was turned into a pillar of salt. There is a rock formation on the shores of the Dead Sea known as ‘Lot’s wife’. Genesis 19 tells the strange story of how Lot’s daughter’s, supposedly believing that they were the only people to escape the destruction, deliberately got their father drunk so that they could have sex with him without his knowledge and so carry on the human race. The older girl’s daughter became the ancestor of the Moabite, and that of the younger one the Ammonites, both peoples who lived in close proximity to the Israelites.” (BibleTimeLine.net).

This is the story that is used to condemn homosexuality? It is irrational and outlandish to think that from this story some are claiming that this is the reason why homosexuality is banned in the bible. Out of everything in this story the lesson that should be taught is the story of “rape,” because Lot offers his daughter’s bodies in trade of the strangers and travelers that were in town. How about women’s rights? How about the lesson and sin of incest? The daughters sleep with their father to become pregnant and to continue the family line. Out of all these issues brought up in the story the only one that is highlighted or pulled out is the evil of homosexuality. The question that needs to be asked is where does homosexuality come into play? This is a story about the failure of hospitality not the sin of homosexuality.

This is another verse that is used for proving Homosexuality being a sin in the bible but with research being done needs to be thrown out, unless we start addressing everything else in the bible as literal translation.

Leviticus 18:22 & 20:13

Man shall not lay with another man

"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."

Paul wrote this verse in the Bible that also wrote an immense amount of verses after this addressing other laws that he created. Another verse in this same book is:

"Do not have sexual relations with a woman during her period of menstrual impurity”

This is obviously something that is not being followed due to health classes now teaching about not getting pregnant during a women’s menstrual cycle. If this quote is not something that proves that the laws of the Bible change as the culture changes, then the next quote should close the deal.

“These you may eat, of all that are in the waters. Everything in the waters that has fins and scales, whether in the seas or in the rivers, you may eat. But anything in the seas or the rivers that has not fins and scales, of the swarming creatures in the waters and of the living creatures that are in the waters, is detestable to you.”

So, this quote was designed and created because of the culture during the time. Nowadays, people don’t refrain from shellfish just because the bible states it; but yet we acknowledge the verse that condemns homosexuality. This verse to me personally, is a double standard and considered wrong and even hypocritical. The fact that people are using this quote to damn an entire culture to hell is such an extreme act. If this verse has that much power then Christians should not be eating shellfish.

Romans 1:26-27

“Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural sexual relations for unnatural ones. 27 In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed shameful acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their error”

They gave them over to sexuality impurities. According to this scripture, homosexuality is God’s punishment to people who do not follow him completely; their hearts are darkened. Homosexuality is not unmoral or unnatural. Homosexuality is even displayed in forms of higher animals. He then also explains that slavery is natural, which now during our time is considered very UNNATURAL! Some other things considered unnatural in our society today: Redheads, Left-handed people, people who have allergies, mentally challenged people etc. With that being said, to consider homosexuality unnatural when other demographics and categories are not, is prejudiced. The only thing unhealthy about homosexuality is that we have condemned it for so long that people are taking their lives and hate has developed in the hearts of people all around the world. If we were created in God’s own image then how can homosexuality be so wrong? What now is considered natural? What happens when people are different than the social norm? There really is no proof of the unnaturalness of it but the fact and fear of difference of the social norm that sets the precedent.

1 Corinthians 6:9-11

9 “Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men[a] 10 nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. 11 And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.”

1 Timothy 1:9-10

“We also know that the law is made not for the righteous but for lawbreakers and rebels, the ungodly and sinful, the unholy and irreligious, for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers”

These two versus were combined together because the translation almost changes the original meaning behind the verse. The word “homosexual” is used in this verse from the translated bible. In the original doctrine the Greek Arsenokoitai was used where the word homosexual is now in our translation. Anyone who knows the English language would know the confusion and chaos of it. There are many words that have many different meanings. “Jon was Gay.” (Implying that Jon is a homosexual). “Jon is gay!!” (implying that Jon is happy.) With that being said if you take the word Arsenokoitai and really break it apart you would find that it is very far stretched to translate that to homosexual.

“This passage and 1 Corinthians 6:9—another anti-homosexual “clobber passage”—both contain the Greek phrase “arsenokoitai,” This has been translated in diverse ways: As noted above” “them that defile themselves with mankind,” King James Versions, 21st Century King, Tyndale’s New Testament & Rheims New Testament. ‘Those who are immoral with boys,’ The Jerusalem Bible. ‘Practicing homosexuals’ New American Bible. Bible translation which expand the Greek text include females: As noted above ‘Arseno’ in Greek means ‘male.’ Thus the original Greek word ‘arsenokoitai,’ obviously refers to some activity by males, not female. However, it seems that many Bible translators could not resist the urge to make the term more inclusive by condemning lesbians as well as male gays. These are obviously inaccurate translation which have done incalculable harm to lesbians” (ReligiousTolorenance.org).

Jesus said in the Sermon on the mount: “If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell. ” Let’s hope that Jesus means this metaphorically and not literally. If he meant this literally “like most verses from the bible are taken” then almost all of Christians would be blind. This contributes to the constant confusion that most Christians have when trying to state the “wrong” of Homosexuality. The issue is that many Christians believe that the bible is a “Literal” translation and is meant for every single word.

The centerpiece of Christianity is Jesus. He was “the son of God” who walked the earth spreading the message of love. He made the blind see. He made the crippled walk. He brought the dead back to life. And what did Jesus say about Homosexuality? Absolutely nothing. It is ludicrous to think about this enlarged issue of homosexuality in our society with Christianity; yet the leader of this faith did not once mention it when he was down on earth. Jesus brought communities together; he did not go around ripping them apart and standing on corners screaming, “God hates Fags!” or “Yes on Prop. 8!” He allowed us to except each other for who we are. “ Those without sin cast the first stone.” He reached out to Mary Magdalene to stand up for her and send a message out to the community. He was about bringing the community together under the name of love and not the name of hatred and damnation.

After addressing those scriptures it really opened my eyes to a personal experience that I had when working for company. I worked with a Gay Man in entertainment who was a very close friend of mine. I hadn’t seen him for quite some time and when I finally did it was if he was not the same fun bubbly friend I had. There was something clearly wrong. He let me know that his partner of 15 years had gotten in a car accident four days ago and passed away. He said that he had to return to work because they did not recognize “a gay partner” as a bereavement leave. I was appalled! This couple was together longer than some straight marriages, so it came as a surprise to me that the company did not allow him to get paid bereavement for his loss. I started realizing that this was not an issue of religion anymore but mostly an issue of civil rights. So, when asking these questions around my Christian friends and allowed them to give me their opinion of this situation they would simply say that: “Gays fight for just the word marriage, which was derived from the bible. Therefore they cannot be acknowledged as married because marriage is suppose to be with a man and a woman.” The issue and turmoil then arose in my head thinking that in the business world unless someone is considered “your immediate family” they are not considered your dependents. In this particular case because of the fact people would not allow this group to have this one word, they were treated differently then someone who did. Whenever anyone states, “they have the same rights as us as a partnership and are simply just fighting for the word marriage.” My answer to them would be this case, where a human being was not allowed the right to grieve for the death of their “partner,” “lover” or even in the bible translation “chosen helper” because they were not considered married. Fortunately, I no longer work for that company anymore. It caused me distress waking up every morning knowing I work for a company that stood and acted like that.

I felt honored in writing this paper when someone in the LGBT community that was told I developed my entire paper around this issue approached me. They let me know how much of an honor it was and it made them extremely proud and happy that a “straight” person was standing up and taking this opportunity to stand up for a minority that they were not a part of. After hearing that I realized that I moved to the box of unconscious competent and it motivated to not only create this paper for the simply grade in a diversity class but to publicly stand for it. Through blogs, social networking, articles, sharing with family and friends and to know and not be afraid of standing up for what you think is right!

 If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.

1 Corinthians 13:1-3

1. Adams, Maurianne, Lee Belt, and Patt Griffin. Reading for Diversity and Social Justice. 2nd ed. New York: Routledge, NY. Print.

2. Arias, Lisa. "Is Sex For Procreation Only?" Www.ChristianGay.com. ChristianGay, 10 Oct. 2006. Web. 29 Oct. 2011. http://www.christiangay.com/he_loves/sex.htm

3. "Bible Timeline| Lot of the Bible." Amazing Bible History Timeline. Word Press, 11 Feb. 2011. Web. 29 Oct. 2011. .

4. "Created Man's Helper." Touch of Faith Ministry Website. Touch of Faith Ministry, 2003. Web. 29 Oct. 2011. .

5. King, Kaki. "Fish out of Water." Fish out of Water. Television.

6. Robinson, B.A. "Anti-homosexual 'clobber Passages:' 1 Timothy 1:9-10." Religious Tolerance. Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance, 19 Sept. 2011. Web. 29 Oct. 2011. .

7. "What the Bible Says - And Doesn't Say - About Homosexuality." Soulforce. Trans. Mel White. Soul Force, 1 Feb. 2011. Web. 29 Oct. 2011. http://www.soulforce.org/article/homosexuality-bible-gay-christian

Awareness

2011-10-16T11:25:00.000-07:00