I recently relayed the story of how Lot was willing to hand over his two virgin daughters to the townsmen ( of Sodom & Gomorrah ) to be raped instead of Lot's two house guests ( two angels ). The cherry pickers of Holy Scripture deduce from that passage that gay sex is wrong. They show every indication that they are simply messed up with some kind of perversion of their own. Rape never equates with a mutually loving relationship. Rape is violent, non consensual and against God's will and statutes. Still we find it in Scripture. After all, the Bible is stories of real people struggling to maintain a relationship with God. The Bible does not condone but portrays real people with real struggles. How did they find a connection to God amidst the tyrannies, rape, slavery, pestilence, wars , death, etc, etc.
In the passage that I picked myself today, we find the story of Lot's daughters turning the tables a bit. It speaks of sexual violence and again, rape. The daughters' plan is getting dear old Dad drunk to "lay" with him and have children of their own 'to preserve the family' I suppose. Still, rape is rape and it is a subject that is so insidiously abusive that it is still rampant today as a means of control and forced submission.
The reason I picked this passage myself is because of the allegations of rape in front of the news today. The power struggle of men, especially white men, young and old, to control women and society as their own domain is a real abomination. The notion that a man's word is worth more than a woman's is also crass and against the tenets of Christianity. Indeed, against the spirit of most religions.
Perhaps this is venting against women that voted for Donald Trump. Perhaps I am venting at the acceptance of a major political party and a ( so called ) Christian right that supports a man that lives and promotes rape, infidelity and male dominance and points to the Bible to support that cause. My brain almost explodes at any woman that could have voted for him or that still supports anything associated with the Republican party.
If we claim to be people of faith there are certain things we have to stand for. Love is one of them and lust is not love, Rape is not love. Slavery is not love. Marriage without mutuality and equality is not love. Ignorance is not consistent with love either. What do we need to happen to know what real love is? Does someone die on a cross for us?
How can the events of this Presidency, this Republican party, not be jarring enough to let us know we are on an errant course devoid of love, devoid of decency, devoid of real liberty, democracy and equality. My God, wake us up!
Gen. 19:31-35
“Then the firstborn said to the younger, “Our father is old, and there is not a man on earth to come in to us after the manner of the earth. “Come, let us make our father drink wine, and let us lie with him that we may preserve our family through our father.” So they made their father drink wine that night, and the firstborn went in and lay with her father; and he did not know when she lay down or when she arose. On the following day, the firstborn said to the younger, “Behold, I lay last night with my father; let us make him drink wine tonight also; then you go in and lie with him, that we may preserve our family through our father.” So they made their father drink wine that night also, and the younger arose and lay with him; and he did not know when she lay down or when she arose.”
No comments:
Post a Comment