What Does St. Paul Say — Note on the Status of My Project

     Those of you who were reading my blog last summer will recall that I began a project late in June in response to another blogger's (feetxxxl, by screen name) claim that scripture does not say homosexual conduct is a sin. His main focus was some passages in the epistles of St. Paul. I titled my project, "What Does St. Paul Say." So far, I have published seven posts in the series:
          Introduction , on June 25
          Introduction, Part 2 , on June 26
          No. 1 , on June 28 — here I listed three passages in which St. Paul deals explicitly with the topic
          No. 2: A Note About Interpreting Scripture , on July 1
          No. 2: Romans 1:26 , on July 3
          No. 2: Romans 1:27 , on July 16
          No. 2: Other Passages , on August 11

     The numbers correspond to the numbers of the items I set forth in the first post. And in my last post I got ahead of myself and mislabeled it. I still have to deal with the second and third passages which I quoted in "No. 1." Those are 1Corinthians 6:9-10 and 1Timothy 1:9-10. Those will complete Section 2. The "Other Passages" post blends Sections 3 and 4. Finally, in Section 5 I will deal with the passages cited by feetxxxl and his interpretation. That will probably require more than one post.

     So if you care about the topic and you haven't seen these posts before or want to refresh your memory, you can follow the links. I expect to be getting to Corinthians soon.

Happy Thanksgiving

     My turkey is stuffed and in the oven. It should be ready to eat in about three hours (it's just under 12 pounds). My brother has just arrived. In a couple of hours it'll be time to start the potatoes and squash. Meanwhile I also need to make the cranberry sauce and I want to whip some cream for the pumpkin pie which will have to bake while we're eating the turkey. The mince pie is already baked, and I've got some sage cheese to go with it. Gravy, of course, gets made once the bird is out of the oven and resting on the platter.

     So now, while I have a moment, I want to wish all my American readers a Happy Thanksgiving; and of course I also extend best wishes to all readers around the globe. We all have our struggles and sorrows, some much more than others, but today let's also try to be aware of all the good things that we enjoy.

     Here's a video of the Catholic Church's ancient hymn of Thanksgiving, "Te Deum Laudamus," chanted by the monks of the Grande Chartreuse Abbey in France. It was sung by Columbus when he made land on his first voyage. For more information and a translation (from the Anglican Book of Common Prayer), see the wiki article. Also, when I have some more time, I'll try to get a video of the magnificent baroque version by Marc-Antoine Charpentier and post it on my music blog. But now I'd better get back to the kitchen.

     Happy Thanksgiving, everybody !


     edit: I've posted the Charpentier videos on my music blog. 

Out at College — Not!

     A couple of weeks ago Gauss Jordan made a post titled "Out @ College – Recapped" in which he told of a weekend at his old alma mater (I think he graduated about 5 years ago) with a bunch of friends from his college days. Over the course of the weekend he came out to them, and they were cool with it.

     It got me thinking about how things have changed since the early '60's. No doubt if someone were to come out while still in college today, in most cases the reaction of friends would be similar to what Gauss Jordan got, although maybe the wider community would not all be so welcoming. But I asked myself what would have happened if I had come out to all my friends in college, and the answer is that I think it would have been a disaster. I did come out to a guy I had a crush on who was pressuring me to room with him and demanded an explanation why I wouldn't. And I came out to a gay guy in the class behind me who had latched onto me. And I came out to the priest I went to to try to get help. But that was it.

     There was a guy who got elected to Student Council freshman year, who had effeminate speech mannerisms, and he was consistently mocked in the weekly campus paper. He dropped out of the college after the year was over.

     One of my friends asked my roommate sophomore year, "Do you think Naturgesetz is queer?" and the roommate answered, "No. He's just not interested in girls." Well I wasn't queer in the sense of having sex with guys, but I was in the sense of being interested in them; and I don't think people would have been comfortable around me if they had known that. I'm sure I never would have been invited to the Bananas' reunion that I wrote about last year

     And if I had come out to them five years after graduation, I don't think they'd have been as cool with it as Gauss Jordan's friends. Maybe it was something they suspected, or knew at an unconscious level. But it was not something to bring out into the open.

     Today, if an occasion arose, I might actually tell the ones I've been in sporadic contact with, and I think they'd be okay. But those of you who are under 30 are really lucky to be living at a time when large segments of society are accepting of homosexuals. You don't have to come out unless you want to, but you don't have to stay in the closet either. You can get support if, like me, you believe that you ought to remain celibate. There are groups that help you deal with issues that you face. And if, despite my advice and urging, you decide to enter a sexual relationship, you don't have to skulk around in the shadows.

My Maps

visited 17 states (7.55%)
Create your own visited map of The World
The countries I've visited.



visited 22 states (44%)
Create your own visited map of The United States

The states I've been in.


But I must admit that I've only "visited" the Netherlands, Switzerland, and Utah in the sense of being in airports on my way to and from other places. Similarly, my "visit" to Belgium was only while driving from Trier to Aachen. And New Jersey and Delaware were only visited as I went to and from college. None of those were destinations.


I found the link to the site that lets you make these maps in this post on X's blog "To Engineer Love" (not to be confused with xthecouragex).

November 11 — Veterans Day — Followers

     This morning I attended my town's Veterans Day ceremonies in the auditorium of the Town Hall. The event was conducted by the town's Veterans' Agent. It began with the flags being advanced. There were prayers, speeches, the reading of the names of all veterans in town who had died in the past year, selections sung by the high school chorus, and the playing of "Taps." At the end of the ceremony the flags were retired.

     It lasted about 45 minutes and was was well attended — more people there than in prior years I think. And I was very impressed to see a number of high school age people there, including three guys in gray t shirts who knew enough to put their hands over their hearts during the playing of "Taps" and the singing of the national anthem.

     Today I have on new follower to welcome, Lazy Taco, who has the eponymous blog.  When you go there, you find that the profile for Lazy Taco gives the name Mexico Grandpa, a retiree living south of the border, who has a blog also called Mexico Grandpa. It seems he has been posting since July, but rather infrequently — about 6 posts so far, most of them talking about what Mexico is like. It looks like a worthwhile blog, so why not drop by and check it out?

     Surprisingly, I also "gained" a follower whose two blogs had nothing but pornography. And I don't mean pictures of guys in speedos, I mean videos of guys having sex. I can't imagine why he would want to follow my blog, unless it's to have his profile picture appear and get occasional new readers from people who decide to check out who he is. If he wants to follow my blog because he finds my content worthwhile, that's fine; but I don't intend to let my blog be a direct conduit to a pornographic blog.  So I've "blocked" him as a follower, which I hope will make him invisible in the followers gadget on my front page.

Oops! Blog Birthday Remembered

     By the time I finished writing the previous post, I had forgotten about the "Blog Birthday" part. Well, actually my first post was on October 31, 2008. So there you have it.

     And as long as I'm doing that sort of thing, this is post No. 139. I hit the century mark with my first post in July. It was "Happy Canada Day," with a link to the national anthem.

Welcome — November 6, 2009 / Blog Birthday

     I have several new followers in the past couple of weeks, whom I want to acknowledge. I hope all of you will find this blog interesting and worthwhile reading. Welcome, gracjc, Cooper , Fernandez , and You Tube Boys - The Boys Of You Tube.

     Cooper's blog is called Cooper's Corner. He lives in Florida, and he describes himself like this: Let's see I'm 30 something gay male with no life. I thought I would write my life and thoughts down here. I will write about my past and things going on in my life. I hope I don't bore anybody that might read this. He started in October, and despite a bit of foolishness, the blog so far is focused on his personal struggles. Worth reading, IMO.

     Fernandez has a blog titled Cada Um Na Sua, which looks as if it means "to each his own" in Portuguese. It has a lot of music videos with his comments. His self description begins, "Down to Earth, genuine, warm, sincere, affectionate person, love to talk, comunicate, make new friends, affection, hugs." He discusses interpersonal relationships and concludes, "Just Be Yourself." I think the blog can make for enjoyable viewing with food for thought.


     Judging from the profile pic, You Tube Boys - The Boys of You Tube , is a blog from our friend David DelaCruz. It is just what the name implies, with the terms of use we are familiar with for You Tube. A variety of types.

Dreadnought

     I've just discovered this blog, Dreadnought, which has been around since 2004. The blogger is a young Aussie lawyer, writer, and lecturer named John Heard. His blog became so popular and got so many comments that he had to disable comments. But he has a Facebook group where you can discuss his ideas.

     You should all go and check it out. He gives texts of lectures and discussions of various questions (e.g. why he doesn't like "reparative therapy"), and there are links to various columns he has written and radio and TV interviews he has given.

     He discusses the Catholic Church's position on homosexuality in a very learned and knowledgeable way. This makes it must reading for any Catholic, any cradle Catholic, any "recovering Catholic," and any former Catholic. It is also must reading for everybody else who wants to know or to discuss what the Catholic Church says on the subject.

     I could go on talking about him and the blog, but there is no substitute for looking at it yourself. So check it out. And join the Facebook discussion group if you want to talk to him about these things.

     BTW, I've added a link in the bloglist on the left. I may also put a link in with the recommended sites.

All Souls Day — November 2

     Having celebrated all saints yesterday, today the Catholic Church prays for all those whose sanctification had not been completed at the time of their death and whom God is purifying of their remaining imperfections and sinful attachments.

     Here is such a prayer in the form of a beautiful song by Franz Schubert, sung by one of the finest singers of this form of music of the 20th Century.

All Saints Day — November 1

     The Feast of All Saints goes back at least to the Fourth Century, when several writers spoke of a celebration of all holy martyrs. Eventually the celebration was extended to all others who have achieved their goal of eternal glory and joy in God's presence; and in the Western Church it is celebrated on November 1. (I believe it is in May in the Eastern Churches, but I'm not sure about that.)

     Today we are reminded that saints aren't just the great people whose names and lives have remained familiar through the ages — people like Francis of Assisi, Teresa of Avila, Augustine, Thomas Becket, etc.

The saints also include a vast throng of ordinary people, many of whom we have never heard of, but others of whom are our own ancestors, relatives, friends, and acquaintances who have gone before us. So we rejoice in the way God's grace has worked in them, we ask them to intercede for us before the throne of God, and we take encouragement for our own struggle in life.