Awaiting The Redemption Of Our Bodies Analysis

The way people ultimately view homosexuality, whether in religion, politics or modern popular culture, is all determined by traditional or changing points of view. This essay will discuss mainly liberal and conservative Christian interpretations of the Bible, including many verses that may support or condemn homosexuality. It will also discuss the political views and laws against same-sex marriage and the social activism in the homosexual community. This is all about view points and it has many conflicting views and arguments.

In today’s Christian churches there has come about a very controversial subject, one that has been developing for many years, and is now at the fore front of controversial issues dealing with the church. The issue at hand is homosexuality and the Christian church. This controversy has caused there to be a split between the church into two different beliefs, liberal and evangelical, which one is right and which and which one is wrong? Issues such as should homosexuals be aloud in the church? If so how involved should they be? And most importantly what does God have to say about homosexuality? These are tough question brought about by a tough issue and the only way these questions can be

God said: "It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him" (Gen 2:18). This “man” refers to the human person, and not just to the male.

It was not until the twelfth century that homosexuality started to be condemned. This condemnation proved to live through then until now. Due to the fact that America incorporated these early views into its early laws, even the most bland of today's sex acts were seen as unlawful (“Homosexuality and Mental Health”). Since then, these laws have changed, however, there is still a primarily negative connotation on homosexuals when coming from a church or legal standpoint concerning the masses of America.

This book Pray the Gay Away by Bernadetta C. Barton discusses about certain areas in the United States called Bible Belts were they have made absolutely no progress in securing rights for gay people. They lag behind the rest of nation were people are accepting homosexuality (Pray the Gay Away 15). Barton argues that in small towns were Christian institutions serve as a foundation for both passive and active homophobia in these areas (Pray the Gay Away 19). This article is related to the play because the two dominant religions discussed in the play was Judaism and Mormonism and both religions strongly oppose homosexuality and this lead to homophobic attitudes and themes within the play.

Homosexuality is one of the most debated issues among Christians today, regardless of the denomination of their church. Some churches view homosexuality as a sin and have no tolerance for it, while other denominations are more accepting and consider it a non-sin. Even though some denominations have taken a stand on homosexuality, there seems to much discord within the governing bodies of the churches regarding this issue. It has moved from a topic rarely discussed and considered very personal and private, to a mainstream topic of conversation.

During the 1980’s indulging in homosexual activity was considered in crime, people were imprisoned when caught doing so. But in 2003 some parts of the United States, suspended the law, and made homosexuality legal, soon European countries such as Canada, Belgium, and Netherlands passed an act which approved of homosexual weddings (Bonvillain 2006). If one digs deeper into this issue, where these debatable, one can find that it roots back from religions. Most religion disapprove of homosexuality but in religions such as Hindu, for sexuality, scriptures of homosexual activity only stated that it was normal and natural, to be attracted to the same sex (Bonvillain 2006). But in today’s society the main issue is regarding the issue of males being attracted to each other, an example of this issue is ‘Homophobia of men’. Homosexuality is considered to be a cultural construct, which apart from the ‘lesbian identities’ gave rise to the ‘gay identities’ (Herek 1986). It is common for normal men, to avoid influencing with homosexual men, as they fear what the public might think of them being judged as not ‘masculine’, where as its more normal for woman to associate with lesbians or homosexual women, as they are not being judged by the rest of the females (Herek 1986). Studies showed, that the social construction of gay identities meant that there was something psychologically wrong with that person,

Orthodox Jews are not commonly associated with being accepting of homosexual individuals. Because of a line in Leviticus that condemns acts of homosexuality as abominations, traditional communities and shuls have taken this verse to heart and reflected it in their practices. Recently, however, some Orthodox organizations of rabbis have proven to be more lenient in their interpretations of Halacha. While the support of Orthodox Jewish homosexuals provides relief to many individuals who fall under this umbrella, there are also organizations that have provided acceptance and a safe space to these individuals long before any official stances were taken. These three concepts are the cores of all arguments surrounding the controversy of homosexuality

Same-sex couples are becoming increasingly popular in our society and advocates have been pushing for social justice to abolish sexual discrimination. America has been misled by opponents of the Religious Freedom Restoration Acts who claim a business' right to religious freedom to turn away gay customers is discrimination and bigotry, and we need to return to the biblical view of homosexuality as what it really is: sin. This paper will cover religious freedom and the advancement of gay rights in society today as it pertains to the opposing arguments of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act passed recently in Indiana.

Reforming Sodom unravels the origins of homosexuality in relation to the Protestant Bible. White opens the reading by stating that the word “homosexuality” first appeared in the Revised Standard Version Bible in 1946. From this fact, we are left wondering why there was this change in verbiage and what did the Bible say prior to 1946. White seeks to answers these questions and in doing so, she challenges scholars to think critically about religious texts. Throughout, White exemplifies other works that align with her notion of sexuality and religion intertwining; Rebecca Davis’ My Homosexuality

Due to slavery, segregation, and the countless acts of racial discrimination in our society, African Americans have placed their reliance and faith in religion. During difficult periods, the only perceived and genuine alliance has been found in God himself. For these reasons, religion has become the fundamental set of moral rules and values followed inside a typical Black household. However, one essential factor to understanding human life is acknowledging sexuality, whether it pertains to heterosexuality, homosexuality or transsexuality. Unfortunately, other forms of sexuality remain silenced in the Black community, as it is believed homosexuality is a “white man’s disease”. Silence, judgement, and denial fail to acknowledge the sexual

Given the rejection of LGBs in many religious organizations, it is not surprising that studies find that LGBs are less likely than heterosexuals to engage in institutional religion, more likely to abandon the religious affiliation they grew up with, and, among those with a religious affiliation, LGBs have lower levels of attendance at religious services than heterosexuals (Sherkat, 2002). Experts, believe that gay and lesbian individuals would especially benefit from spiritual nourishment because of the oppression they face. Religious and other cultural institutions are essential to individuals’ spiritual well-being and sense of social integration. In only a few decades, gays and lesbians have made enormous strides towards social acceptability and won key rights and liberties. Governments in many nations recognize gay unions or marriages and attitudes have changed but the most challenging, difficult and painful information regarding LGBTQ and the church includes (Working for Lesbian, Gay, 2011).

Homosexuality has become accepted by many in our culture today. PBS estimates that there are 9 million members of the LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender) community (Greve, Joan. “LGBT America: By the Numbers.”). This makes up 3.8% of the US population. Some of these members identify as Christians. So this poses a couple of questions: does the Bible really condemn homosexuality, can you be a gay Christian, and can two people of the same sex be legitimately married? These are important questions for churches to have answers to as the LGBT movement is becoming very popular.

The realization of the homosexuality in the modern western world as a cultural, sexual and a social category has been a result of complex power relations that surround sexuality and gender. The acceptance of homosexuality in the society has met its fair share of resistance and skepticism. The view that homosexuality can be in the same league as heterosexual has led it to be viewed as a normal behavioral and moral standard (Gallagher & Baker, 2006). Inasmuch as the skeptics may not want to accept the existence of homosexuality studies show that the habit is rampant today with many gay people coming out in the open. Of interest is the political acceptance of homosexuality with passing gay rights so that it can be recognized by law. This move has given homosexuals the ability to engage in legal entities like marriage (Gallagher & Baker, 2006).

From the dawn of time, the primitive beings that wandered the face of this earth have always been fascinated and curious about the perplexing human body. They have pondered upon the mysteries that lie dormant within the vessel and the potential of what it could do. Even today, after millions of years have passed, anatomists still have yet to explore the human body completely and uncover all its complexity. Along with the advancement of our knowledge in terms of anatomy and physiology, the concept of health has also evolved. In fact, the human body and health go together like peanut butter and jelly; you cannot have one without the other. Unlike the approved definition used in the past, health is much more than the “absence of disease” and having a fit body. This paper will present you my rendition of the definition of health and my personal reflections on the health-related readings presented in this course so far.