INSIGHTS = by Joe Howard Crews - April 27, 2008 NOTE: My column below was submitted to the North County Times for publication as a Community Forum commentary. Catholic Rev. Richard Perozich of Escondido condemned gays in his April 24 LETTER to the North County Times because God himself condemned them in Genesis 18. I had not read this Genesis account since I was a teen so I pulled out one of my Bibles to review the story. Abraham was negotiating with Jehovah, asking him not to destroy utterly the city of Sodom, because this could mean killing 50 righteous inhabitants within. God agreed that He would spare the city if He could find 50 innocents. Abraham, rethinking his suggestion, then tried to renegotiate with God, lowering the number to 45, then 30, 20, 10, and finally to just one righteous inhabitant. Because God could find not even one, He utterly destroyed the city, including babies and children. Seems harsh, but moral law is immutable, after all. But I do wonder why God was wiling to negotiate with Abraham. I recognize Rev. Perozich’s expertise as a man of God, so I have a question for him: My cousin would like to sell his daughter into slavery, as sanctioned in Exodus 21:7. In this day and age, what does he think would be a fair price for her? I have another question: I know that I am allowed no contact with a woman while she is in her period of menstrual uncleanliness (Lev 15:19-24). The problem is, how do I tell? I have tried asking, but most women take offense. Hillary actually started screaming at me. That was a clue. A friend of mine feels that although eating shellfish is an abomination (Lev 11:10), it is a lesser abomination than homosexuality. I do hope not, because I am a gay man, and I love shellfish. But I could abstain from eating shellfish more easily than from loving my partner. Can Rev. Perozich settle this important issue for me? I grew up in the good Catholic city of New Orleans, where locals eat crawfish and oysters every day. Is this why God destroyed New Orleans? Shucking oysters is a lot of work. If I as a gay man shuck oysters on Sunday and then eat them, does this put me in triple jeopardy of hellfire? I have a neighbor who insists on working on the Sabbath. Exodus 35:2 clearly states he should be put to death. Am I morally obligated to kill him myself, or should I just call the Vista police department? Furthermore I know from Lev 11:6-8 that touching the skin of a dead pig makes me unclean, but may I still play football if I wear Playtex® Living® Gloves? In view of God’s comments about divorce, I am forwarding a list of all congressmen who have divorced or committed adultery to Rev. John Hagee, Senator McCain’s spiritual guide, requesting he intercede with God not to utterly destroy the city. I include the name of the foot-tapping senator from Idaho, Larry Craig. I know the Rev. Perozich has studied these things extensively, so I am confident he can help. I thank him for reminding us that God's moral code is eternal and immutable. I remain Rev. Perozich’s devoted disciple and await his loving response. NOTATIONS: The subject of homosexuality has receive enormous play recently in the NC Times. I, as a gay man and avid reader of the NCT, took personal offense at much of the reader response. The final straw for me was the three letters to the editor, all published on April 24, attacking gays and the rights of gay American citizens and human beings. I found the letter by Rev. Richard Perzovich particularly offensive. Railing against such attacks does little good, so I used the most powerful weapon, humorous ridicule, in my Community Forum submission. Three derogatory letters to the editor against gay rights, including that of Rev. R See more like this at www.ProgressivePost.com |
