What I Believe

I love people. All people. I stand for liberty and justice FOR ALL, not just for those who a select view state are "worthy." I stand in support of every man, woman, transgender person who has been discriminated against because of the color of their skin, their country of origin, or their sexual orientation. I stand with them because EVERY human being deserves the right to be happy. EVERY human being deserves the right to live in a world where they can simply come as they are and be accepted. THAT is what I believe. To display my Gleekness, "I am not a box. I do not have 4 sides."



The story of Sodom in Genesis 19 is about offense against the sacred duty of hospitality. That is how Ezekiel 16:48-49 and Wisdom 9:13-14 interpret this text. The attempted male rape only heightens the atrocity of this offense.



Leviticus 18:22 does forbid male-male sex as an "abomination." But the word simply means an impurity or a religious taboo — like eating pork. As in the case of Catholics who used to be forbidden under pain of mortal sin to eat meat on Friday, the offense was not in the act itself but in the betrayal of one's religion. The ancient Jews were to avoid practices common among the unclean Gentiles.



Romans 1:27 mentions men having relations with men. But the terms used to describe them are "dishonorable" and "shameless." These refer deliberately to social disapproval, not to ethical condemnation. Moreover, according to Paul's usage, different from the prevalent Stoic philosophy of the day, para physin ("unnatural") would best be translated "atypical" or "beyond the ordinary." So it bears no reference to natural law. And it can imply no ethical condemnation because in Romans 11:24 God is said to act para physin. Paul sees gay sex as an impurity (see Rm. 1:24), just like uncircumcision or eating forbidden foods. He mentions it to make the main point of his letter, that purity requirements of the Jewish Law are not relevant in Christ Jesus. See L. William Countryman, Dirt, Greed, and Sex.



1 Corinthians 6:9-10 and 1 Timothy 1:8-10 list arsenokoitai among those who will be excluded from the Reign of God. This obscure term has been translated "homosexuals" but its exact meaning is debated. It certainly does not include women but only some kind of male sexual offenders. If it does refer to men having sex with men — which is dubious — it must be interpreted in light of the abuse and licentiousness commonly associated with male-male sex in the Roman Empire. See Robin Scroggs, The New Testament and Homosexuality.



Finally, Genesis 1-3 shows Adam and Eve created for mutual companionship and procreation. These accounts use the most standard of human relationships to teach a religious lesson. The point is the love and wisdom of God, who made all things good and wills us no evil. Nothing suggests the biblical authors intended a lesson on sexual orientation.

Do not discriminate against people who have a different sexual orientation than yourself. Otherwise what's next? Going back to segregated schools? Keeping blacks and whites separate? Denying United States citizenship to Mexicans and other foreigners?

It's a human rights issue. And in the case of Dr. Jodi O'Brien, it's an issue of academic freedom. By the way, she plans to return to Seattle University and teach next year. Because even though we are a Jesuit school, we welcome people AS THEY ARE, heterosexual, homosexual, black, white, transgender...As it should be.

“I think there are a lot of people who have trouble coming to terms with that because they see marriage as traditionally between a man and a woman. But I also know that when couples are committed to each other and love each other that they ought to have the same sort of rights that everyone has.”
—
Former First Lady Laura Bush