By Rabbi David Eidensohn
The Gay Lobby, mostly
non-homosexuals, is using the homosexual issue for bigger game, the destruction
of religious influence and the demonization of the bible. In this, they are
succeeding; at least, they are trying with improved tools. The first impact of
Gay Rights Bills is the obligation of the state to promote the rights of a
behavior banned by the bible. Thus, there is tension between the state and the
religious community because of Gay Rights. There is a cleavage between
religious and secular people. This is nothing new, indeed, the struggle between
secular and religious is the defining force of Western Civilization. Knowing
history of this issue tells us much about the present and illuminates our
understanding of terrorism.
In the early sixteenth
century, the Moslems threatened
As time went on, sects
spawned by the Reformation quarreled as well, and ferocious religious wars
engulfed the West. The "Hundred Years War," the "Thirty Years
War," and similar strife created devastation that brought the West to the
point of destruction. Entire cities were destroyed, helpless orphans withered
along with much of society. Finally, a weary West declared secularism; from now
on, governments would serve populaces without getting involved in religion.
There were those who felt that secularism, science and culture were valuable
and that religions were deleterious. Others asked, "What is the purpose of
life? How can we proceed without higher truths?" For five hundred years,
this issue has not been resolved. The Gay issue is only its latest
manifestation.
The West pursued
science and dominated the world with military technology. The First World War
saw a reversal of the power of the Turks, as the British under Allenby strafed
the Sultan's army from the air. After the First World War, the Moslems,
especially the Turks, realized that they could not prevail in their struggles
with the West and Christianity unless they invoked science. This is behind the
furious efforts of various countries to get missiles and weapons of mass
destruction. Once they have it, their focused ferocity may challenge the
supremacy of the West, resting as it does on science.
The West divided into
hundreds of religious creeds, and these creeds themselves are unstable, so the
West has no unity in belief. Secular society allows for questioning and finding
new science. As the Moslem world learns to question in science and becomes ever
more religious even fanatic, the stage is being set for a replay of the past,
and nobody knows how it will eventually turn out. Islam had its quarrels, but
they were not the utterly divisive ones about the essence of theology that
permeates the West. If a civilization is its religion, the West may be a
confused civilization, seeking in materialism what it never really found in
spirituality. The Moslem and radical socialists are not confused. Herein lies
the challenge.
The West, especially
after Hitler, is wary of religion, and most large religions either accept secularly
imposed boundaries on belief or face decline. Here again is an example of the
West's instability regarding religion. The religions themselves are constantly
making peace with new secular demands, and thus are fluid in their theology. As
they do, the religions split. Conservative Judaism now is in danger of
splitting over the issue of homosexuality, and may do so in the next year or
so. As religion divides into right and left, the divisions in society deepen.
Eventually, some people realize that they must choose between their beliefs and
secular demands, and deny secular social commonality. Others become more
secular. We become a nation of extremes, and neither segment has true
satisfaction in the eternal search for rational transcendence. The clash between
religious demands and secular freedom creates a cycle that has no end and leads
often to violence.
A television program pours scorn on those who
quote the bible about homosexuality when they do not follow other parts of the
bible. The television program then goes further and ridicules the bible itself.
Gallup in January 7, 2003 reports Public Gives
Organized Religion Its Lowest Rating. The crushing public relation blows to the
Catholic Church and criticism of Protestant leadership erode the strong
cultural ties Americans have to their churches. This dovetails with the Gay
Lobby portraying religious people as "haters" and
"homophobes." On the other hand, another Gallup reports states that, Religious
Awakenings Bolster Americans' Faith. Science and secularism have no
answers, and can say nothing about our values and spiritual concerns. This, and
the fear of terror, spur people to find G-d.
A faithful visitor to our website has asked how
I resolve this issue personally, and I am happy to oblige. First, I believe in
G-d as the Creator. The New York Times ran an article not long ago on the
"A" word, the accepting by modern physicists that the universe was
designed for people, and is thus "anthropic." Who designed it? The
Creator designed it, and on this point, most Americans agree, as there are few
atheists here. The question then is: If a Creator created the world, why did He
do it? Does it make sense that such a marvelous Creator should just shoot out a
cosmos and leave it to fly and eventually die? Not even a normal mortal would
do such a foolish thing. Therefore, there must be a purpose in Creation. How
are we to know it? The missing thing is for the Creator to reveal His Will.
This He did at Sinai, when G-d gave the Ten Commandments and the Torah Law to
the Israelites after they left Egypt. The bible clearly teaches that all Jews
and the multitude of Egyptians who accompanied them saw G-d give the Law to the
Israelites. The Ten Commandments and the Torah are all products of that
Revelation. There
1) G-d spoke the Ten
Commandments.
2) Moses received from
G-d, during the forty years of the Israelite's sojourn in
3) Moses received from
G-d the Oral Law. In the Oral Law are the rules to interpret the Written Law.
The
Written Law without the Oral law is a disaster. When King Ptolemy forced the
rabbis to issue a translation of the Scripture, the rabbis declared it a time
of tragedy. Why? Firstly, people would read the bible without the Oral Law Code
and think that the Scripture was unfair or unwise. Secondly, people would
interpret the Scriptures with no Code and invent what they wanted. An example:
The bible is filled with capital crimes. The Oral Law interpreted this as a warning,
not put into practice until a person sinned in front of two witnesses who
warned him of capital punishment and he sinned anyway. This is so unlikely a
scenario. One Talmudist taught that a Sanhedrin that killed once in seventy
years was "bloody."
A similar thing is the biblical command
regarding parents who have a child who becomes a thief and a glutton. The child
is brought to court and killed. The Talmud says, "There was never such a
case," because the Oral Law interprets the passages in an appropriate
manner, and declares the passage an example of something that never happened
but is a warning. "An eye for an eye" means monetary compensation,
not gouging out the eye of the perpetrator. Personally, having studied Talmud
for almost fifty years, and living in a scientific family, I am satisfied
spiritually and rationally.
The above mentioned television show ridicules
the bible because it proscribes wearing a garment composed of "diverse
threads" of wool and linen. The Talmud says that indeed, it makes no
sense, ostensibly. The law forbidding a Jew to wear a garment of linen and wool
is a "choke" or rule that has no rational reason. "Choke"
is important, says the Talmud, because when we do something in the bible
because we understand its logic, we don't serve G-d, we serve ourselves. The
bible contains, therefore, rules that make no sense, and we derive no
satisfaction from performing them, except the knowledge that we obey G-d and
are bound to His Word. Thus, the "Choke" brings us closer to G-d than
the laws that we perform because we appreciate them. A scholar would not leave
it at that. All of the "Chokes" in the Torah have something to tell
us, especially when we get into the Cabalistic areas of polarity and the two
forces represented by "flax" and "wool." Wool comes from a
living being, whereas flax grows from the ground. Wool is the male force of
"kindness" and linen is the female force of "justice," and
these two, male and female, represent revealed transcendence (female) and
obscure transcendence (male). We must know when we know and when we merely
invoke what we do not. These polarities and cycles that are not our topic, but
rich for those who pursue the ideas. Television shows are interested in finding
something nasty to say about wool and linen garments, but for those of us who
have lived for thousands of years bearing the brunt of the scorn of deniers,
nothing can detract from our Torah of Truth.
Non-Jews do not have the "Choke"
commands, but the Noahide Laws for non-Jews include the proscription of
homosexuality. People who have a need for homosexuality act according to their
nature, and yet, the bible considers homosexuality an "abomination."
However, white-collar crime is not only an "abomination" but also
"perverse, disgusting, twisted, wicked, etc." Violation of trust is
worse than homosexuality, in terms of these names. Yet, homosexuality is wrong;
the bible proscribes it. Homosexuality is a serious sin, but every sin against
G-d is serious.
Do I believe that the bible is valid? My father
was
Others
who are not Jewish are cognizant of the authority of the bible, and may
effectively invoke it for their spirituality. It is G-d’s word. The Talmud
teaches that Noahides, non-Jews, may not be homosexuals. It tells of a
community where homosexuals lived, but they did not perform marriage
ceremonies. This recognizes that society is built upon the family, and
homosexuality is a problem, not an answer. Even one who is a homosexual must
recognize that there is a better way, and not sanctify a homosexual union with
marital bonds.
The basic battle I have with the Gay Lobby is
that they hurt homosexuals in many ways by telling them lies. If people with
homosexual desires want help, why insult them and tell them not to get it? Let
us find better therapies and ease the transitions for those who want it. If
innocent and struggling homosexuals are locked in mortal battle with brutal
fanatics in the Gay Lobby, why don’t we help them? The ancient pagans thought
that their gods needed burnt children. They put their sons and daughters into
glowing hot metal images until the shrieks of the helpless finally stopped. The
pagan parents then danced and rejoiced that they had merited to please the god.
Others felt that their god needed a lovely young woman. Instead of sending her
to the god in a space ship, they put her on an altar and carved out her heart.
The Gay Lobby has murdered hundreds of thousands of homosexuals because it
forced the government to allow homosexuals to infect other homosexuals with
AIDS and HIV with HIV Confidentiality Laws. I would rather die being carved or
cooked than to end it with AIDS. We live in a fanatical world. The Gay pagans
slaughter huge amounts of people and defy basic human freedoms such as the
right to determine one’s own sexual preference. Gays say, “If you are inclined
to homosexuality, you must be a homosexual, and don’t try to change.” We deal
with another religion that sends little children with bombs to destroy other children.
In
The gay world is buzzing now on the Internet
about a prominent homosexual activist, B, who decided to turn away from the gay
ethic. B explained that he did not find happiness in the gay lifestyle, despite
being with “lots of men, lots.” He felt that his religion compelled him to find
G-d through the Torah. Troubled and in need of counseling, the young man
approached a non-Orthodox rabbi who listened to B's pain and propositioned him.
Searching further, B came to Orthodoxy, although he is not finished with the
gay lobby, nor is he finished with his problems. This story tells us a lot.
Many rabbis/preachers/priests disgrace their calling. All of us are hypocrites
to some degree. Every time I tell my children to behave, I know where they got
the bad trait.
The
bible teaches things that people do not accept easily. That is why it is in the
bible. I know prominent homosexual activists who prayed bitter prayers that
were not answered. When they and I come to Judgment, I will be more afraid than
them. One thing, however, I can do. I can fight the Gay Lobby. May G-d help me,
and them.