Lavender Starship/Page 14/May 1973

BIBI FRUM PAGE 10

note that novaere, nowhere in the entire Solon story,

does anyone--Lot, Cod, the two angels--claim that the city is being destroyed because of "men lying with Den."

It is clear from the section of the story I have quoted that the wickedness which Lot protests against and for which Sodon is eventually destroyed consists of two things, neither of which has anything to do with homosexuality.

The First, and most obvious, is the attempted forcible rape of the two guests (angels) in Lot's house by the men of Sodom. The evil lies in the forcible rape, hot in the homosexuality,

It would be possible, for example, to develop an argument against all heterosexuality as intrinsically immor-

al based on the numerous instances or heterosexual rape in the Bible. In fact, Lot even offers his own daughters to the Sodomites, in an uttest to protect his two Leats. So much for heterosexual morality!

The second evil for which Sodon was destroyed is less obvious, and more difficult

or us to understand today. It lies in the Sodomites a-

buse or the laws of hospitality. The tradition of hospitality to strangers was, and is, much stronger and more. sacred in societies more

primitive" than our cun. The two angels are guests in Lot's house, and it is on that basis that he protests against their attempted rape: "...only unto these men do rotnir or therefore care ander the shadow of my

574

roof."

So it becomes clear that Scior was destroyed not because of homosexuality, but because of the Sodomites' attempted rape of Lot's two guests, and because of their abuse of the tradition of hospitality to strangers.

Some other, and for this article at least, the (sign) Viral, arguments used to demcnstrate the immorality of Mococexuality are found in Paul's epistles. I will

quote only one of them.

Paul cays: "Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the ingdom of God: Be not deceived: neither raleators, nor 1dolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind... shall inherit the kingdon of God" (I Corinthians, 6:9).

Now what most people do not realize is that there is a very great difference between the Christianity exenplified by the words and deeds of Jesus, and the Christianity exemplified by Like the preaching of Paul. Leviticus, Paul's epistles contain an awful lot of things which even the most devout Christians today simPly ignore. As with Leviticus, one either has to accept the entire thing, or Justify picking and choosing

what one will and will not believe from a document which is supposedly Divinely inspired. In other words, what makes Paul's insistence that women cover their heads when in Church any less important morally than anything else he says--if his writings are "Divinely inspired."

Paul's anti-homosexual stance is born of a moral viewpoint rooted in a profound anti-sexuality. As Paul goes on to say, "It is good for a man not to touch a woman" (I Corinthians, 7: 1). Paul gives his "permisto the early Christians to marry only because "it is better to marry than

sion

to burn" (I Corinthians, 7: 9). And not even the most fanatical Christian believes, as Paul did, that widows and widowers ought not to remarry. With Paul, the Old Testament tradition of viewing sex as necessary for the procreation of the (Jewish) race had become transmuted into an unhappy, twisted, and very, very sad acseticism.

The Bible, as I am sure has already occured to most of you, is capable of being interpreted in various ways. But I'll give you a hint. An easy way to tell a truly

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devout Christian or Jew from the "roaring lions, seeking whom they may devour" is to notice how they use the Bible. The truly devout person uses the Bible as a guide for their own life. The hypocrite, however, will use the Bible to satisfy his own desire for power over others, to use the Bible to coerce people into behaving as he wishes them to behave. One uses the Bible to light nis own life; the other uses the Bible as a club to beat other people into a pre-conceived mode of behaviour.

If God is truly love, and men and women are created in God's image, then the love between men and men, between women and women, is certainly a reflection of that Divinity.

Fatrice Miler

LESBIAN/WOMAN FROM PAGE 3 itical as much as the per-

soral growth of the Lesbian. We are visible and our

"right-on" attitude will continue to stay with us as long as people like Del and Phyllis speak out for us! Reviewed by

Ann eld-Harrington

CRY

SISSY

FROM PAGE 7 spirit-conesion. Rusy personal lives, Jobs, and other interests kept us from doing c.r. and our house Consemeetings were few. quently, everything was not done collectively, and some decisions were not to everyone's liking. But then this was the first collective living experience for some of us, and collectivism is a relatively new way of living for most of us so there were bound to be problems. Still I would call it a very positive experience and one

nope to repeat many times. taink collectivism is a very fine way for all of us Jack A. Shaw

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