I sat in Sunday School for the first time in many months. We were reading about Abraham and Lot. I sat with my mother. I tensed when Sodom and Gomorrah were mentioned. The biblical account states that Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed because of their wickedness. The teacher asked (what I deem a stupid question), "What are some examples of their wickedness?" Of course, homosexuality was brought up; it was spoken of with intense disgust, almost as if it were a plague, implying that those who are LGBT are sick and in need of pity, a cure, or fiery annihilation. All I could think of were these lines from Shakespeare's "The Merchant of Venice", my own way of affirming "I AM NOT A PLAGUE! I am the same as you"--
He hath disgraced me, and
hindered me half a million; laughed at my losses,
mocked at my gains, scorned my nation, thwarted my
bargains, cooled my friends, heated mine
enemies; and what's his reason? I am a Jew. Hath
not a Jew eyes? hath not a Jew hands, organs,
dimensions, senses, affections, passions? fed with
the same food, hurt with the same weapons, subject
to the same diseases, healed by the same means,
warmed and cooled by the same winter and summer, as
a Christian is? If you prick us, do we not bleed?
if you tickle us, do we not laugh? if you poison
us, do we not die? and if you wrong us, shall we not
revenge? If we are like you in the rest, we will
resemble you in that.
Let's not use ancient, stolid Bible stories to demonize those who we feel are different from us and then justify our actions against them.
The Sunday School lesson we should remember most? Look and you will see that we are the same: all are christened children of God, made of the same materials, housing the same biological patterns, and full of the power with which God has gifted us.
3 comments:
i had that lesson today too. and it was the first time i've gone to SS in months too. and i was disgusted with our discussion too. gd this effing church!!!
its all bullshit, you realize... and just to remind you: you are beautiful, nic. you are absolutely beautiful. i love you.
I once probably made similar comments, not intentionally deriding or degrading, but definitely ignoring the humanity behind the sins I abhorred but did not understand. Remembering that makes it easier for me to feel patience and compassion towards people who lack understanding and/or love. Some of them will eventually see more and come more alive with what they believe is the "pure love of Christ", and they, too, will abhor derisive language but with patience to those who use it unwittingly, carrying on the cycle of lifting each other up.
And some will never change and will die bitter and spoiled in the heart and soul and, if there's a God who doles out justice a la LDS doctrine, be judged as they judged. Not much I can do for them, so I flip them off and try to focus on mitigating the damage they may cause. Ha ha, figuring out which are which is the tough part, eh? :-)
I love this Church. Love the people in it, too. But ignorance is hard to see in others — harder yet in folks we love or (otherwise) admire.
As for the lesson … the sad thing is that Joseph Smith (and the BoM) made it patently clear: Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed because the persecuted the poor among them.
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