"we become what we worship" - peter J gomes

Peter J Gomes wrote a book called “the good book” ISBN 0-380-72323-9

“reading the bible with mind and heart”

This book is an interesting read, he is/was a spiritual leader at harvard university, as an openly gay baptist minister.

he covers slavery, women, and homosexuality; projecting that black people, women and homosexuals all have experienced problems due to poor biblical interpretation. meaning that the oppressors (mostly male patriarchy) use the same arguments for each issue.

an example I can give of the above is that the military in the past has stated that ethnic (particularly blacks) would be bad for the soldiers morale. They used this same stance concerning women and Gays.

This book is part of my ongoing research diving into the book im working on concerning homosexuality and the bible.

There are some interesting phrases coined in the book, some quoted and some mr. gomes writes.

I quote “The legitimization of violence against homosexuals and Jews and women and blacks, as we have seen, comes from the view that the Bible stigmatizes these people, thereby making them fair game.”

“The combination of ignorance and prejudice under the guise of morality makes the religious community, and its abuse of scripture in this regard, itself morally culpable.”

He goes on to speak about the Holiness Code, meaning the various established doctrines of the Israelites for their fledling community. These codes are only important if we lived then, they were for pulling the mind into one nation. He notes that many modern christians, will accept grace for themselves, but use the holiness code to condemn others.

Some interesting phrases from the book:
- Corrpt ways - include intellectual self-deception and the sexual practices of the “worldly”

“Passions are more than emotions; they are emotions of of control. Dishonorable passons are diordering of G*d's purpose.”… Paul is speaking here of passions that are out of control, that become an end in and of themselves, that are in fact idolatrous. Dishonorable passions refer to the worship of sexual pleasure, an excess to be condemned with all other excesses.”

-Doctrinal Prejudices - which at the same time distort the theological problem presented by homosexuality, manifest themselves also in the fact that value-judgment, “homosexuality is sinful, ” is not isolated from an objective assessment of the phenomenon but is rather projected into it, and the result is that one arives at an a priori devamation of those who are afflicted with this anomaly.

“We must change our position on homosexuality if that position is based upon a prejudicial and unifnormed reading of scripture. our fundamental stance on biblical authority ought by no means to be an absolute; that is a form of Protestant idoloatry.

-the dangers of christian absolutism-

“Religion, in fact was part of the problem here and not part of the solution”

“a view of the Christian faith which in dispute valued charity and humility over mean-spiritedness and arrogance.”

Edwin Markham
“He drew a circle that shut me out–
Heretic, rebel, a thing to flout.
But Love and I had the wit to win:
We drew a circle that took him in.”

——

So what was all of this about? i'll tell you, but then I will have to kill you, no one should know such secrets! haha j/k :P

truth is that this stuff really hit me hard, I am grateful to the writer who compiled this short essay in his book along with women and racism.

there is a line in my book I write in the introduction that pretty much sums all of the above in a nutshell.

“the redeemed never allow the Redeemer to redeem all”

Now if you go back and place your own individual problems in the writings, and replace homosexual with your topic, you will get a neat trick. :) let me know what your answers were will ya?

love
bww

Re: "we become what we worship" - peter J gomes

Thank you for sharing this.  I keep coming back to it to absorb a little more.

I think the more important thing to remember….. much of what was written or re-written reflected the cultural times.  Not all of the “bible” is represented.  What was seen was voted on.  The original language of the bible didn't include vowels and could change the interpreatation. 

I think that people have long used the bible as a weapon against others.  I think that people have long used the bible as a talisman to faith.  I think that people have long used the bible as a comfort.  As a guide.  As a punishment.  So…….. I think it would be incredibly valuable to (for the moment) set the bible aside and look at what the individual values.  How are we embodying that.

I looked today at the Amish community that is greiving and reaching out in forgiveness and compassion to the family of the man who killed their children.  Their actions have touched me in a huge way.  They are stepping out in their faith and upholding their values.

Anyway…. rambling thoughts that you stirred.  Thank you so much.

Re: "we become what we worship" - peter J gomes

I would suggest another author who had made the same case. Of his many books, the latest is “The Sins of Scripture”. John Shelby Spong is a retired Episcopal Bishop who also taught at Harvard.

Other items of note: The Old testament was written in the MIDRASH, and was never meant to be read literally.  I believe the message of Jesus was that the Old Testament was NOT to be read literally. Ironically, his own message has been misconsrued as literalism.

The Hebrew word for “sin” meant simply “to miss the mark”, and was never “an offense against God”.

The ancient word interpretted as “prayer” meant “a conscious realization of Oneness with God”.

Thanks for informingme of another author Ilook forward to reading.

I also recommend “When Religion Becomes Evil” by Kimball (Wake Forest University).

Re: "we become what we worship" - peter J gomes

If I may be so  bold as to add an interpretation I heard on this

The Hebrew word for “sin” meant simply “to miss the mark”, and was never “an offense against God”.

Sin is the archer pulling back his bow, he has a task of hitting the mark (bullseye is his main objective), he misses the center of the bullseye… but still gets points for hitting the target.

thank you for sharing that :)