Homosexuality and God Essay Example for Free

Homosexuality and God Essay LGBT is an initialism that collectively refers to the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community. In use since the 1990s, the term LGBT is an adaptation of the initialism LGB, which itself started replacing the phrase gay community beginning in the mid-to-late 1980s, which many within the community in question felt did not accurately represent all those to whom it referred. The initialism has become mainstream as a self-designation and has been adopted by the majority sexuality and gender identity-based community centers and media in the United States and some other English-speaking countries. The term LGBT is intended to emphasize a diversity of sexuality and gender identity-based cultures and is sometimes used to refer to anyone who is non-heterosexual or cisgender instead of exclusively to people who are homosexual, bisexual, or transgender. To recognize this inclusion, a popular variant adds the letter Q for those who identify as queer and/or are questioning their sexual identity as LGBTQ, recorded since 1996. In Malaysia, LGBT rights are partially recognized. LGBT individuals encompass all races and ethnicities, religions, and social classes. Sexual orientation and gender identity questions are not asked on most national or State surveys, making it difficult to estimate the number of LGBT individuals and their health needs. Research suggests that LGBT individuals face health disparities linked to societal stigma, discrimination, and denial of their civil and human rights. Discrimination against LGBT persons has been associated with high rates of psychiatric disorders, substance abuse, and suicide. Experiences of violence and victimization are frequent for LGBT individuals, and have long-lasting effects on the individual and the community. Personal, family, and social acceptance of sexual orientation and gender identity affects the mental health and personal safety of LGBT individuals. It is important to recognize the difference between sexual orientation and sexual behavior as well as the differences among sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender role. Sexual orientation is the affectional or loving attraction to another person. It can be considered as ranging along a continuum from same-sex attraction only at one end of the continuum to pposite-sex attraction only at the other end. Heterosexuality is the attraction to persons of the opposite sex; homosexuality, to persons of the same sex; and bisexuality, to both sexes. Sexual orientation can be seen as part of a continuum ranging from same-sex attraction only (at one end of the continuum) to opposite-sex attraction only (at the other end of the continuum). Sexual behavior, or sexual activity, differs from sexual orientation and alone does not define someone as an LGBT individual. Any person may be capable of sexual behavior with a person of the same or opposite sex, but an individual knows his or her longings—erotic and affectional—and which sex is more likely to satisfy those needs. It is necessary to draw a distinction between sexual orientation and sexual behavior. Not every person with a homosexual or bisexual orientation is sexually active. A person’s sexual orientation does not tell us if she/he is sexually active or does it define her /his specific sexual behaviors. Similarly, sexual behavior alone does not define orientation. A personal awareness of having a sexual orientation that is not exclusively heterosexual is one way a person identifies herself or himself as an LGBT person. Or a person may have a sexual identity that differs from his or her biological sex—that is, a person may have been born a male but identifies and feels more comfortable as a female. Sexual orientation and gender identity are two independent variables in an individual’s definition of himself or herself. Sexual identity is the personal and unique way that a person perceives his or her own sexual desires and sexual expressions. Biological sex is the biological distinction between men and women. Gender is the concept of maleness and masculinity or femaleness and femininity. One’s gender identity is the sense of one’s self as male or female and does not refer to one’s sexual orientation or gender role. Sex refers to the biological characteristics of a person at birth, while gender relates to his or her perception of being male or female and is known as the gender role. Gender role refers to the behaviors and desires to act in certain ways that are viewed as masculine or feminine by a particular culture. A culture usually labels behaviors as masculine or feminine, but these behaviors are not necessarily a direct component of gender or gender identity. It is common in our culture to call the behaviors, styles, or interests shown by males that are usually associated with women â€Å"effeminate† and to call the boys who behave this way â€Å"sissies. Women or girls who have interests usually associated with men are labeled â€Å"masculine† or â€Å"butch,† and the girls are often called â€Å"tomboys. † Transsexuals are people with the biological characteristics of one sex who identify themselves as the opposite gender and have had some type of surgical alteration and/or hormone treatments that changes their bodies’ appearance in alignment with their identity. While understanding the various concepts used in sexual orientation in general, it is very imperative to define in specific details definition of LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender) accordingly. Lesbian which is originally a Greek word, is a term most widely used in the English language to describe sexual and romantic desire between females. The word may be used as a noun, to refer to women who identify themselves or who are characterized by others as having the primary attribute of female homosexuality, or as an adjective, to describe characteristics of an object or activity related to female same-sex desire. Lesbian as a concept, used to differentiate women with a shared sexual orientation, is a 20th-century construct. Gay is a romantic or sexual attraction or behavior toward/between males. Gay is a word (a noun or an adjective) that primarily refers to a homosexual person. The word gay arrived in English during the 12th century from Old French gai, most likely deriving ultimately from a Germanic source. The term was originally used to refer to feelings of being carefree, happy, or bright and showy; it had also come to acquire some connotations of immorality as early as 1637. The terms use as a reference to homosexuality may date as early as the late 19th century, but its use gradually increased in the 20th century. In modern English, gay has come to be used as an adjective, and as a noun, referring to the people, especially to men, and the practices and cultures associated with homosexuality. By the end of the 20th century, the word gay was recommended by major LGBT groups and style guides to describe people attracted to members of the same sex. Bisexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior toward males and females. The term is especially used in the context of human sexual attraction to denote romantic or sexual feelings toward men and women. It is one of the three main classifications of sexual orientation, along with a heterosexual and a homosexual orientation, all a part of the heterosexual–homosexual continuum. People who have a distinct but not exclusive sexual preference for one sex over the other may identify themselves as bisexual. Transgender is a general term applied to a variety of individuals, behaviors, and groups involving tendencies to vary from culturally conventional gender roles. Transgender is the state of ones gender identity (self-identification as woman, man, neither or both) not matching ones assigned sex (identification by others as male, female or intersex based on physical/genetic sex). †Transgender does not imply any specific form of sexual orientation; transgender people may identify as heterosexual, homosexual, bisexual, pansexual, polysexual, or asexual; some may consider conventional sexual orientation labels inadequate or inapplicable to them. The precise definition for transgender remains in flux, but includes: Of, relating to, or designating a person whose identity does not conform unambiguously to conventional notions of male or female gender roles, but combines or moves between these. People who were assigned a sex, usually at birth and based on their genitals, but who feel that this is a false or incomplete description of themselves. Non-identification with, or non-presentation as, the sex (and assumed gender) one was assigned at birth. A transgender individual may have characteristics that are normally associated with a particular gender, identify elsewhere on the traditional gender continuum, or exist outside of it as other, agender, Genderqueer, or third gender. Sexuality and gender have different impacts in each culture’s laws, attitudes, and organizations. More secular and â€Å"modernized† societies often have more favorable treatment of LGBT individuals than societies which value tradition and r eligious piety. However, accurate generalizations are difficult to make; even within Malaysia, attitudes towards LGBT individuals vary from person to person. Cultural differences in LGBT issues have wide-ranging effects. Other cultures may have different ways of expressing affection—for example, in India, it is common for same-sex friends to hold hands without any assumption of a romantic connection—or of categorizing gender and sexuality—for example, in parts of Latin America, a man is not considered gay if he engages in same-sex intercourse as the insertive artner. Thus, American English terms and conceptualizations of LGBT issues may not directly translate. The visibility of LGBT individuals and organizations varies by culture. Some cultures have an underground LGBT scene where LGBT individuals are tolerated as long as they remain mainly closeted, whereas other cultures may have a more open and organized community of LGBT individuals. In addition, some cultures may provide legal protection for LGBT individuals and recognize their partnerships, while other cultures may criminalize same-sex intercourse. Globally in some country; For example in Malaysia, Cross-dressing(Gender identity/expression) is not technically a crime. However, transgender individuals have often been arrested by police officers under the civil laws governing public indecency, and if they are Muslim, can be further charged by religious officers under Sharia Laws for impersonating women. For example, in 1998, Forty-five Muslim transvestites were charged and convicted in court for dressing as women, and twenty-three more transgender persons faced similar fines and imprisonment in 1999. Finally, there may be major differences within the LGBT community in a specific culture; for example, in parts of southeastern Asia it is considered culturally acceptable for a man to have sex with a feminine transgendered man, while there are no such provisions for women having sex with transgendered women. Homosexuality: The Christian Perspective (LESBIAN, GAY Bisexuality) In a world of moral confusion and ethical compromise, the principles for which the Holy Bible stands, is directing the Christians in the right path to God and the way of life. The Christian point of view is based solely upon the Bible, the divinely inspired Word of God. A truly Christian standard of ethics is the conduct of divine revelation, not of statistical research or of public opinion. For the Christian, the Bible is the final authority for both belief and behaviour. The Explicitly the Bible teach about homosexuality can be considered as basic because, if we accept Gods Word on the subject of homosexuality, we benefit from His adequate answer to this problem as seen in Christianity. This project is concerned only with the Christian or biblical view of homosexuality. The Bible has much to say about sex sins in general for a view in Homosexuality in Christian perspective. First, there is adultery. Adultery in the natural sense is sexual intercourse of a married person with someone other than his or her own spouse. It is condemned in both the Old and New Testaments (Exodus 20:14; I Cor. 6:9, 10). Christ forbids dwelling upon the thoughts, the free play of ones imagination that leads to adultery (Matthew 5:28). Second, there is fornication, the illicit sex acts of unmarried persons which is likewise forbidden (I Corinthians 5:1; 6:13, 18; Ephesians 5:3). Then there is homosexuality which likewise is condemned in Scripture. The Apostle Paul, writing by inspiration of the Holy Spirit, declares that homosexuality shall not inherit the kingdom of God (I Corinthians 6:9; 10). Now Paul does not single out the homosexual as a special offender. He includes fornicators, idolators, adulterers, thieves, covetous persons, drunkards, revilers and extortioners. And then he adds the comment that some of the Christians at Corinth had been delivered from these very practices: And such were some of you: But ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the spirit of our God (I Corinthians 6:11). All of the sins mentioned in this passage are condemned by God, but just as there was hope in Christ for the Corinthians, so is there hope for all of us. Homosexuality is an illicit lust forbidden by God. He said to His people Israel, Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination (Leviticus 18:22). If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them (Leviticus 20:13). In these passages homosexuality is condemned as a prime example of sin, a sexual perversion. The Christian can neither alter Gods viewpoint nor depart from it. In the Bible sodomy is a synonym for homosexuality. God spoke plainly on the matter when He said, There shall be no whore of the daughters of Israel, nor a sodomite of the sons of Israel (Deuteronomy 23:17). The whore and the sodomite are in the same category. A sodomite was not an inhabitant of Sodom nor a descendant of an inhabitant of Sodom, but a man who had given himself to homosexuality, and the unnatural vice for which Sodom was known. Let us look at the passages in question: â€Å"But before they lay down, the men of the city, even the men of Sodom, compassed the house around, old and young, all the people from every quarter: And they called unto Lot, and said unto him, Where are the men hich came in to thee this night? Bring them out unto us, that we may know them. And Lot went out at the door unto them, and shut the door after him, And said, I pray you, brethren, do not so wickedly. Behold now, I have two daughters which have not known man; let me, I pray you, bring them out unto you, and do ye to them as is good in your eyes: only unto these men do nothing; for therefore came they under the shadow of my roof. (Genesis 19:4-8)† The Hebrew word for know in verse 5 is yada `, a sexual term. It is used frequently to denote sexual intercourse (Genesis 4:1, 17, 25; Matthew 1:24, 25). The message in the context of Genesis 19 is clear. Lot pled with the men to do not so wickedly. Homosexuality is wickedness and must be recognized as such else there is no hope for the homosexual who is asking for help to be extricated from his sinful way of life. Romans 1:24-27; I Timothy 1:10 and Jude 7. If one takes these Scriptures seriously, homosexuality will be recognized as an evil. The Romans passage is unmistakably clear. Paul attributes the moral depravity of men and women to their rejection of the truth of God (1:25). They refused to retain God in their knowledge (1:28), thereby dethroning God and deifying themselves. The Old Testament had clearly condemned homosexuality but in Pauls day there were those persons who rejected its teaching. Because of their rejection of Gods commands He punished their sin by delivering them over to it. The philosophy of substituting Gods Word with ones own reasoning commenced with Satan. He introduced it at the outset of the human race by suggesting to Eve that she ignore Gods orders, assuring her that in so doing she would become like God with the power to discern good and evil (Genesis 3:1-5). That was Satans big lie. Paul said that when any person rejects Gods truth, his mind becomes reprobate, meaning void of sound judgment. The reprobate mind, having rejected Gods truth, is not capable of discerning good and evil. In Romans 1:26-31 twenty-three punishable sins are listed with homosexuality leading the list. Paul wrote, For this cause God gave them up into vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature: And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompense of their error which was meet. † (Romans 1:26, 27). These verses are telling us that homosexuals suffer in their body and personality the inevitable consequences of their wrong doing. Notice that the behaviour of the homosexual is described as a vile affection (1:26). The Greek word translated vile (atimia) means filthy, dirty, evil, and dishonourable. The word affection in Greek is pathos, used by the Greeks of either a good or bad desire. Here in the context of Romans it is used in a bad sense. The vile affection is a degrading passion, a shameful lust. Both the desire (lusting after) and the act of homosexuality are condemned in the Bible as sin.

Sleeping Arrangements :: Essays Papers

Sleeping Arrangements The autobiography I read was Sleeping Arrangements, the childhood memoirs of Laura (Lily) Shaine Cunningham. I chose this person simply because I had never heard of her before. Everybody was doing a book on celebrities, and at first I wanted to do Audrey Hepburn. I love her films; I have even already read a biography on her. But many other people were doing their biographies on her, and I realized that if I could find a book by a person who has led a typical childhood I would be different. By finding a book by a person I had never heard of I thought that I would find a normal life, but this book showed me that there isn’t a normal or typical childhood for anyone. Lily, as she is referred to throughout the book, is not famous. Lily was born the daughter of Larry Moore, though she isn’t sure of the spelling, and Rosie Shaine. Until she was three Lily and Rosie wandered from relative to relative, sleeping under dining room tables or where ever there was room for them. Then they rented an apartment in the Jewish section of the Bronx. Lily made two friends there, Diana and Susan, and they had wild unsupervised fun roaming about the parks and abandoned buildings. When Lily was 6 her mother became very ill and her Uncle Gabe comes to live with them. A couple weeks later Rosie dies in the hospital and Lily’s other uncle, Len, comes to help Gabe. They move to a bigger apartment in the same building, and let Lily decorate it. The walls are painted orange and white stripes in two rooms; pink and white stripes for another room, and for the living room a gold lamà © convertible sofa. Eventually the â€Å"unkies† mother move s in too, and then their family is complete. Over the years Lily learns about love, life, and death, although not all of it is accurate. Lily has gone on to write many books, plays, and her most famous work, A Place In The Country. The part of this book that really interested me the most was the first one and a half chapters. â€Å"He’s fighting in the war.† (Pg 1) This is what Lily told people when they asked where her father was.

Christian Science Essay

Modern day America is home to many Protestant groups, most of which had their foundation largely influenced by 19th century Protestantism in the region. During the period, irresistible dynamism rocked American Protestant groups, coinciding with an epoch in which the American society readily allowed the founding of new churches and religious movements. Amid growing revivalism and much freedom to develop, the 19th century also saw mounting interest in millennialism and the rise of Adventism. All these resulted in new Protestant groups, some motivated by the looming Second Coming of Christ and while others invented new religious doctrines. A few broke away from existing churches while others claimed their foundation in new revelations. Among the key churches founded then include the Jehovah’s Witnesses, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, Christian Science and the Seventh-Day Adventist. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, popular as the Mormons and founded by Joseph Smith, was among the first churches to be formed. In his boyhood, Smith experienced visions via which he was advised against joining existing churches, and told he would be active in restoring true Christianity. In 1823, he was guided by a heavenly messenger named Moroni to a hill in New York, where he discovered strange writing covering two thin golden plates. His translation of the writing, aided by Moroni, is now the Book of Mormon and is based on Christ’s teachings. Mormons deem their faith akin to that founded by Jesus in North America. Although they accept the influence of the old and new testaments, their scriptural doctrine includes the Book of Mormon and two other texts, Doctrines and Covenants and the Pearl of Great Price; both based on Smith’s revelations and sermons. The discovery of the Book of Mormons allured many followers to Smith’s church, whose membership is now roughly eight million, with headquarters in Salt Lake City. Christian Science was on its part founded in 1879 by Mary Baker Eddy, originally a member of a Congregational Church. As a young woman, she suffered from nervous disorders that physicians and hypnotists could not cure. She in 1866 claimed to have been totally cured after reading a New Testament account of one of the miraculous healings Jesus performed. She subsequently founded the church, which she described in her book Science and Health. Its members disregard formal creeds and doctrines, with some fully devoting themselves to tutor others how to use ‘scientific prayer’ to access God’s healing love. Christian Science has over 3, 000 congregations in 50 countries, with headquarters in Boston. This church is seen as the source of New Thought, a larger American religious movement attributed to Emma Hopkins. Emma was Baker’s student and a teacher, whose students later formed new versions of New Thought such as the Unity School of Christianity, Religion Science and Divine Science and the Unity Movement. The latter has congregations in most USA cities and abroad. On the Adventist front, the Seventh-Day Adventist is the main church. It was founded by Ellen White. White was a follower of William Miller, a millennialist who founded the first Adventist denomination and wrongly proclaimed Christ would return in 1843 to preside over a final judgment. Ellen experienced many visions that inspired her books. And being a gifted speaker, she drew thousands to her lectures, in which she attributed the delay of the predicted Second Coming to Christians’ failure to obey the Ten Commandments. Today, the church has nearly four million members, with half a million living in the USA. The Jehovah’s Witnesses is also a millennialist group, formed in 1881 by Charles Taze Russell. At 20, Russell’s study of the Bible led him to a verdict that the Second Coming would occur in 1874, when Christ would invisibly return. This was to be followed by the Battle of Armageddon and end of the world in 1914. His ideas drew him hundreds of followers and membership continued to rise even after his prophesy failed to materialize. The church, with headquarters in New York, now has over two million members in 200 countries. They understand Christ to be God’s son but reject the doctrine of the Trinity and still believe that a ‘great tribulation’ is imminent. Considering that the churches discussed here are just the main ones and have followers worldwide, it is clearly evident that 19th century American Protestantism played a middle role in both the origination and molding of the course, and even beliefs, of numerous modern-day churches and movements. References LD.

Lee Harvey Oswald in Assassination of John F. Kennedy - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 2 Words: 587 Downloads: 9 Date added: 2019/05/05 Category Politics Essay Tags: John F Kennedy Essay Did you like this example? Lee Harvey Oswald was born on October 18, 1939 in the world renowned city of New Orleans, Louisiana. Oswald was born two months after his fathers death but grew up as the youngest of 3 siblings with a loving mother. After dropping out of highschool Lee decided it was time to serve his country as a U.S. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Lee Harvey Oswald in Assassination of John F. Kennedy" essay for you Create order Marine. After serving a couple of years as a marine and sharpshooter he was honorably discharged but not without his own damage. After serving some time near Tokyo, Japan, Oswald started to express pro-Soviet views and earned himself the nickname Oswaldskovich because of this. Some experts believe this is the starting point which lead to Oswald killing then president John F. Kennedy. 35th president of the United States John Fitzgerald Kennedy was assassinated in Dealey Plaza, Texas on the 22nd of November, 1963. It seemed like a normal day for the president, he was strolling around in his 1961 Lincoln Continental four door open-top limousine with his secret service pals behind and infront of him when pew, pew, pew! â€Å"Three shots in six seconds† (Bojczuk par 42). â€Å"As the country came to grips with the assassination, Johnson made sure the moment when he took the oath of office, about two hours after Kennedy’s death, was documented, so the nation knew a constitutional change of office had taken place† (Bomboy par 2). 45 minutes after J.F.K.’s murder, Lee Harvey Oswald would shoot and kill a Dallas police officer, he would then be apprehended at a movie theater by Dallas police. While Lee Harvey Oswald did not officially receive a court trial for his actions there was a sufficient amount of evidence to present a case and there have been several court mandated mock-trials. This is because â€Å"He himself was fatally shot two days later by Jack Ruby in the Dallas County Jail† (The Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica). The evidence found would have and has already set the verdict to guilty and incriminated him for the murder of J.F.K. but there is doubt that he acted alone. Since the Cold War was taking place at this time the public thought that the Soviet Union might’ve also had something to do with his assassination. Lee Harvey Oswald was very pro-Soviet Union and also tried to become a citizen but failed. Another reason society thought that oswald didn’t act alone was the â€Å"Single-Bullet Theory† that stated â€Å"one bullet caused Tague’s wound; one bullet caused President Kennedy’s fatal head wound; and â€Å"one bullet caused all of Kennedy’s and Connally’s non–fatal wounds by entering Kennedy’s back, exiting through his throat, entering Connally’s back, exiting his chest, passing through his right wrist, and lodging itself in his left thigh: the single–bullet theory† (Bojczuk par 4-6). There were even some conspiracy theories regarding the government and how L.B.J. (Lyndon B. Johnson) orchestrated the ordeal. â€Å"A Newsweek poll taken on the 20th anniversa ry of the assassination showed that 74 percent of Americans believed that â€Å"others were involved,† while only 11 percent thought Oswald acted alone† (Gillion par 9). I personally believe that Lee Harvey Oswald was not the sole shooter in the assassination of J.F.K. Whether it’d be a Russian coup, American coup, or a smaller group who just wanted to get rid of the president it was not in my opinion a one person ordeal. The chances of the â€Å"Single Bullet theory† happening are ridiculously to slim to actually happen. 74 percent of Americans would agree with me.