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One word frees us Of all the weight and pain in life, That word is Love The quest for love and for that perfect mate is really a quest for wholeness, and there are 3 types of romantic relationships that help lead one to this wholeness: twin spirits, soul mates and karmic relationships. Twin spirits share a unique destiny. they were separated into two spheres of being—one in a masculine polarity and the other in a feminine polarity—but each with the same pattern of divine identity. Though some spend lifetimes together and others apart, their tie is eternal, and after they have each united with their Higher Self they will be together forever. Literature abounds with famous lovers who may very well have been twin spirits: Dante finally reaching the point where Beatrice could present him to Christ, Penelope faithfully tending the flame of love that draws Ulysses home from his wanderings, Evangeline tirelessly searching for her beloved, Shakespeare pouring forth his love to the lady of the sonnets, Romeo and Juliet, Lancelot and Guenevere, Tristan and Isolde, All shared a love typical of twin spirits. Even looking at the flow of history reveals the importance of twin spirits. Mary Magdalene, is revered as an incarnation of the heavenly twin soul of Yeshu (Jesus). As the role with Yeshu in their joint Messianic Office of Savior and Savioress . Bridal Christians see a balance in all things. Because of this sense of balance, we find it easy to comprehend the concept of a Heavenly Mother as well as Father, and a Female Messiah figure as well as a male. This outlook lends itself to full appreciation and respect for females, and their acceptance into roles of authority and Priest(ess)hood. The archetype of all female perfection is summed up in the figure of Mary Magdalene whom Yeshu (Jesus) called the "woman who knows all".Our history, religions, legends, myths, and fairytales are laced with archetypal tales of the two who are one. They are ever represented by the complementary energies of the divine feminine and the divine masculine principles that when united create a force of love so powerful that they become the ultimate tale of ecstasy and joy (the much longed for "happily ever after.") It has been said that this duo unveils in flesh the Alpha and the Omega.
Is it possible to find that one person who will love us in the way we have always dreamed we wanted to be loved? Are the fairy tales true, or are we just setting ourselves up for some hugely disappointing fantasy and the ultimate reality is "life is hard and then you die." We have many soul mates, the first larger splitting of souls. These souls resonate with us and there is a comfort in that recognition. We evolve and reincarnate with these souls through many lifetimes, learning lessons in our many unions and partings, you can say on some level we are all soul mates one with another, learning and growing together. Not all these lessons are loving or comforting as lessons in forgiveness and unconditional love are challenging. Sometimes we are the "victim", and sometimes we are the "darkness" that shows another soul their light. This is where freewill and choice comes into the "game," how we react or perceive our relationships. Someone can come into your life and cause you much pain and suffering, this is a soul contract between you to grow and evolve in love and forgiveness. This is one perception of karma, and one that will free you from the karmic cycle of "I kill you, now you kill me" type of karmic dance some souls are involved in for many lifetimes. You break the cycle by acting rather than reacting, by freeing the ego from the soul and learning to love and forgive even in suffering... Our greatest joy and our greatest pain are both conceived in these soul mate relationships, our feelings intensified by our soul connections, whether for good or bad. You can often spot a soul mate or karmic relationship by "love at first site" or "revulsion at first site", depending upon the lessons you've contracted to learn from this soul... One can live a lifetime in joy and harmony with a resonant soul mate, and this a beautiful, but rare gift... you were meant to be with your lovers.. they are your twins and soul mates.. and it is the lower life forms that have conspired to keep you apart.. and prey on your distress.. this is a metamorphosis.. once again it is the matrix being either school or prison.. depending on your choices and what happens to you in the process.. it is your meeting Mara experience and your casting out the seven devils.. it is being born again.. and for this reason you experience the awakening of your spiritual gifts.. whether or not you get to be with your lover is not so important as it seems right away.. because you are joined in eternity.. you have done this to each other.. your are married in heaven,, and you know this.. even if the whole world would try to steal your dreams from you.. never forget .. we are all one.. we are all married in heaven.. your pearl is the seeing of your mirror soul.. your angel.. your divine mate..
From Avalon…enchanted place of eternal love, where rivers were covered in golden
honey and blossom flowers, where the sky was covered by the view of the universe
and the embracers of immortality, from the age of Aries, warriors, swords and
spoiled gods, from Isis to Zeus in ancient Greece…where you and I come from.
I performed a love ritual to win your heart, for what I have been looking for
love all my life. I bewitched you with my charms, my potions and my burning
passion to your core. Resisting was useless, so enchanted was that night I could
hear Venus singing for us celebrating our love.
You could not resist my energy and yours.
We embraced such unspoiled
emotion by manifesting our love in a cradle of sweet craziness and unstoppable
lovers….until losing memory of what occurred….
Now I opened my eyes to see myself drawing esoteric cards, asking the angels why
such tornado stirring in my heart when I saw you again in this century by that
beach….I thought I found you again but I didn’t know who you were, still my soul
craved your presence, craved your eyes….
and my heart pounding so hard to almost penetrating my chest to come out…
So after talking to the angels, they responded with unconditional love and
divine light, telling me to follow my path as directed, that yes you and I are
flame souls, souls who are destined to be together because of such love the
purest can’t be interrupted.
But then the angels told me that you and I have a destiny to fulfill and a path
to follow….at the end it should be our reward as it is written….I don’t know
what it is, and I can’t understand why aren’t we together yet.
My heart is so stubborn and it hurts me every time I think we can’t possess each
other as we desire, and sometimes it can’t resist not looking for your warm
hands full of energy compressed into your person to be released where it should
go. We both hold each others pieces of our energy from ancient times, so we are
bound to each other because of our unfinished love story, but the angels tell me
to go with the flow, to let things happen the way they should because it is
written, because it is meant to be….
When we live in a world of duality, overcome with ego, selfishness, limitation,
terrible lack of vision, pain, disillusionment and the loss of marriage as a
true spiritual contract, loss of spirit as the center of human life, it's hard
for most to imagine any kind of "True Love."
But Earth is only a little theater of struggle and limitation that we created
ourselves, lived out in form by characters we have created from ourselves. In
fact, the fairy tale is truer than the illusions we have created. AND the reason
your heart is ever longing for and searching for your true mate, is because you
actually have one and this knowledge is encoded in your very DNA.
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However, not all beautiful and soul fulfilling loves are those of twins. A soul mate tie is different from that of the twin. Whereas we each have only one twin, we have many soul mates. You may only be one person to the world But you may also be the world to one person. Soul mates sometimes share a complementary calling in life. They are partners and helpmates who are often working to develop the same virtues. These relationships tend to be harmonious and satisfying, and such kindred souls can accomplish great things together. Love. Purity. Trust. These are foundational elements of true love. But how do you define true love and where do you find it? Not where conventional wisdom tells us to look! There is much wisdom in the Biblical story of Isaac and Rebecca. Abraham’s servant Eliezer searched for an appropriate wife for Isaac. He did not look for beauty, sexual attraction, or romance. He looked at action, family, and values. He chose the young woman with the best values, the one willing not only to give him water but also to draw water for his camels. The Torah teaches that Isaac married Rebecca and only then fell in love with her. The love came after the marriage. Compare this Biblical marriage to that of Jacob and Rachel. This was a more familiar kind of love - love at first sight, love as deep emotions. Jacob saw Rachel and immediately kissed her, he worked seven years for her, years that seemed like a few days because of his love for her, he then had to work a second seven years. This is love as overwhelming romance. The love which Jacob bore for Rachel has been through all time the symbol of constancy. Seven years he served for her, and so great was his love, so pure his delight in her presence that the time seemed but as a day. Had this simple, absorbing affection not been interfered with by Laban, how different would have been the tranquil life of Jacob and Rachel, developing undisturbed by the inevitable jealousies and vexations. Still this love was the solace of Jacob's troubled life and remained unabated until Rachel died and then found expression in tenderness for both Leah and her children and Rachel's son Benjamin. "the son of my right hand." It was no accident, but has a great significance, that this most ardent and faithful of Jewish lovers should have deeper spiritual experiences than any of his predecessors. Who had the better marriage, Isaac and Rebecca or Jacob and Rachel? The Bible is filled with clues. Both couples had infertility problems. Isaac and Rebecca stood across the room and prayed for each other. Jacob and Rachel traded harsh words. The Torah speaks of Isaac and Rebecca’s playful sexual relationship. It seems clear that the arranged marriage of Isaac and Rebecca, a marriage based on actions, was every bit as strong as the romantic marriage of Jacob and Rachel.
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Then there is the karmic relationship. Here the two individuals are drawn together for the balancing of mutual karma. The karmic tie may be the tightest of all and begin with the strongest attraction. This is because the soul has a deep yearning to be free and loved, and has an inner knowing that this connection is a key to resolution through balancing karma that is often harsh, such as violence, hatred, abandonment or even murder. From time to time, there is a feeling of emptiness, a loneliness that reveals the inadequacy of a relationship based solely on karma. Yet though they are frequently difficult, these relationships are important in achieving self-mastery on the spiritual path. Everyone experiences all three types of relationships over the course of their lifetime. The key to wholeness in all of them is to love every soul. Accept the things To which fate binds you and Love the people with whom fate Brings you together But do so with all your heart.
What makes two people "right for each other?" In truth, a person is capable of connecting with several different people, and has the potential to build a good marriage with any of them. Each marriage will be different, but each marriage will have good qualities and negative qualities. We often see this when someone who has been widowed after a good marriage, goes on to have a second loving marriage. How do they succeed? They invest the energy into developing and maintaining a good relationship. Love doesn't sit there like a stone. It has to be made like bread; Remade all the time, ...Made new.
What many people seem to overlook is the following truth: When two people who are right for each other make that first connection, they have to spend a lifetime keeping it going. Every marriage will have periods when it has to be "endured" -- i.e. when the couple is going through a tough time and may doubt their connection to each other. And there will be periods in which a marriage can just be enjoyed. But even then, it can't be taken for granted, and the couple will soon have to renew their commitment to keeping the relationship healthy.
Couples sometimes worry that they are losing the love that brought them together, but love changes tone and color all the time. People make a mistake in thinking of love as a constant, unchanging emotion. What may feel like loss of love may be its ripening. Being in love can transform into a deeper, steadier desire to be together and share a life. But, as everyone knows, being in love doesn’t always turn into a lasting relationship. That’s all right, too, because each time we love and separate, we are initiated into love’s ways, provided we allow ourselves to feel our emotions and talk about our experiences honestly with friends and family.
To assess whether you and the person you’re in love with are ready for a serious relationship, you can ask yourself some key questions: Has your relationship been tested by differences of taste and opinion? Can you talk seriously and openly to each other? Can you imagine enjoying raising children together, sharing a life, and appreciating your differences? The pleasant potion on Cupid’s arrow works instantly, but the working out of a relationship takes years. fidelity is the fidelity to the higher person of the other. It is no longer the agreement based on fears, which we think saves us from conflicts. We can see this higher person and full potential clearly when we first fall in love with each other. During this time we can see and anticipate the potential of a human being. Afterwards it is about the active state of fidelity. This means even after the state of first love to continue to trust into the seen and anticipated. Therefore a clear and level-headed way of falling in love is necessary so that at a later time - when we are not in this fire anymore - we still know what we love about the other person and where the journey leads to.

From the beginning, relationships have been woven into the
tapestry of our lives. God fashioned us as masterpieces that would reflect our
Creator's image. We were designed to experience intimacy-loving God and each
other.
Some people, unfortunately, confuse sexuality with love - it certainly has
the potential of growing into love, but it is not actual love, only a
potential.... If you become aware and alert, meditative, then sex can be
transformed into love. And if your meditativeness becomes total, absolute, love
can be transformed into compassion.

A man falls in love through his eyes, a woman through her ears. It's not selfish in a sexual situation to please yourself. Think about it—what greater gift could you give your partner than to have a really good time? If you're having fun, your partner is going to have fun. And that's not a license for selfishness; it's a recognition that you can't give away what you don't have yourself. Good sex, healthy sex, is a kind of play. Be willing to get good at it, and find out what it's going to take for you to like and accept yourself. The Bible never indicates exactly what a husband and wife are allowed to do in their sexual relationship. Know what makes you happy sexually. Then give yourself permission to be sexual and to enjoy it.
There are four things that a marriage relationship must have to really be successful:
1) A marriage must have love. A loveless marriage is a contradiction in terms.
2) A marriage must have intimate communion—so intimate that the bride and groom become one flesh. The two become one.
3) A marriage should have joy. This will be a natural result if love exists in the marriage. The joy of loving and being loved is like nothing else.
4) A marriage must have honesty, and loyalty. No marriage can last without it.
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Sex is the seed, love is the flower, compassion is the
fragrance. When your love is not just a desire for the other, when your love is
not only a need, when your love is a sharing, when your love is not that of a
beggar but an emperor, when your love is not asking for something in return but
is ready only to give - to give for the sheer joy of giving - then add
meditation to it and the pure fragrance is released. That is compassion;
compassion is the highest phenomenon. What we call love is really a whole
spectrum of relating, reaching from the earth to the sky. At the most earthy
level, love is sexual attraction. Many of us remain stuck there, because our
conditioning has burdened our sexuality with all kinds of expectations and
repressions. Actually the biggest "problem" with sexual love is that it never
lasts. Only if we accept this fact can we then really celebrate it for what it
is - welcome its happening, and say good-bye with gratitude when it's not. Then,
as we mature, we can begin to experience the love that exists beyond sexuality
and honors the unique individuality of the other. We begin to understand that
our partner often functions as a mirror, reflecting unseen aspects of our deeper
self and supporting us to become whole. This love is based in freedom, not
expectation or need. Its wings take us higher and higher towards the universal
love that experiences all as one.
We all want to be someone's hero or someone's beauty. We all want to be in a
relationship of heroic proportions. Contrary to legalistic forms of self denial,
we need to fell free to admit this without embarrassment; for it is a longing
placed by God within us and deeply part of our core identity as human beings.
The greatest weakness of most humans Is their hesitancy to tell others, How much
they love them While they're alive.
It is Wonderful and Joyous to consider that God in his great love and mercy, is
even using the dragons, to free us into our true identities as daughters and
sons of God, and collectively as the Bride of Christ.
There are three ancient Greek words used to define love. These are, Eros, Amour,
and Agape. In their original expressive content, Eros is that underlying force
of nature that is manifest in the erotic, or sexual love. Amour is the spark and
flame of romantic love. Agape is the encircling love of compassion. Now the
expression of love is the expression of union; for love is an integration and a
harmony. When we set the elements of love contrary to themselves, we set
ourselves in a double bind. There is no sound psychological reason, nor
spiritual reason, to set one element of love at naught, in the name of another
element of love.
The authorship of the Song of Songs is often accorded to Solomon. it draws upon
traditions of the Sacred Marriage and has many echoes reminiscent of Sumerian
sequences. It was traditionally read at Passover, significantly marking the
renewal of God's contract with Israel. Rabbi Aquiba revered the text as 'the
Holy of Holies of scripture.' The Church has traditionally taken the erotic
symbolism to apply solely to the marriage between God and Ecclesia. The rarified
translations appearing in most Bibles overlay the literal eroticism of the
original text. Here we meet Wisdom as the bride of the sacred marriage, not yet
separated from her sexuality.
Judaism absorbed much of its sexual taboo only after centuries of subjection to
host religions and cultures that all but squelched the notion of sensuality,
often by pain of death. Women, Jewish and Christian alike, often were chosen as
well as men, as fodder for the fires of hatred That have burned throughout
history. After all, the medieval church barred women from the use of their
intellect, intuition, or medicinal knowledge, the exercise of which would taint
them instantly with suspicions of sorcery and witchcraft, with consequences of
torture and death.
he
Christian attitude to sexuality in all its aspects was profoundly affected by
the ascendancy of persian and Greek dualism over Hebraic naturalism during the
first great age of the Church. The Jewish conceptions of coitus, marriage, and
children, positive and affirmative within their inevitable limits, were almost
entirely overlaid by the Graeco-Oriental tendency to ... look upon sexuality as
something not only emotionally disturbing, but also in some sense defiling and
tainted with evil.
As one examines the earliest Jewish teachings of other aspects of human sexual
dynamics, it becomes increasingly clear that somewhere between the "Judeo" and
the "Christian" some very basic concepts about sex got carelessly, if not
deliberately, distorted.
Jesus was not responsible for setting this trend into motion. The blame
for our distorted views on sexuallity properly belong to ancient gnostism as it
related to Persian and Greek thought. Regardless of who was to blame, however,
the fact remains that this tainted "Judeo-Christian" sex ethic has left
countless dangling helplessly between the puritan values with which they have
been raised and the redefined moral structures now being pressed upon them by a
new global culture. The reexamination of the original Judaic sources on sex is
therefore extremely urgent, for both Jews and Christians alike (as well as for
non-religiously affiliated members of Western society), for both suffer their
psychosexual ailments on account of a moralistic system intended for neither.
No one should claim that sex is ugly or repulsive. God forbid! For sexual
intercourse is called "knowing" in the Scriptures (Gen. 4: 1), and not in vain
is it called thus.
They felt humanities connection to the natural world; with the "birds and the
bees". When philosophies dissect and divide the bodies and essence of man and
woman, when they seek to destroy the magic within myth, they build cages of
rhetoric and vainly try to capture the wordless word.
I will take delight in you, as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride, so will I
rejoice over you. Isaiah

Pope Innocent III declared that "the sexual act is so shameful as to be
inherently wicked." a view diametrically opposed to the tradition by which Jesus
himself was raised: "When a man and a woman unite with mutual love and desire,
the Divine Presence abides with them" (Babylonian Talmud, Sotah 17a). The Church
also advocated sexual abstinence during special feast days and the holy season,
whereas Judaism encouraged sexual relations especially during the holy Sabbath
and the sacred seasons
It comes as no surprise, therefore, that both the Jerusalem and Babylonian
Talmuds, the most authoritative post-biblical bodies of ancient Judaic law,
ethics, and philosophy, discuss sex and nudity with the same ease and comfort
with which they discuss prayer and angels. The sex act, it is apparent, was not
at all looked upon as a strictly procreative, duty-oriented function, but rather
as a legitimate and healthy activity even for pleasure alone.
Judaic teachings about sex have to do with paradox, not dualism. While dualism
states that sexual desire is exclusively a physical phenomenon and is
intrinsically evil, paradox states that it is both physical and spiritual and
can manifest either as good or as evil. In fact, Judaism considers sexual desire
and intercourse as very essential to the process of spiritual unfolding.
However, the Pagans Gnostics had other ideas; One of their main teachings was
that God had created only the spiritual world; the entire natural physical
world, including human beings and their bodies, were created by Satan. They
began to teach that the human body and its functions, especially its ‘sexual
functions’ were totally evil, and tolerated only because there was no other way
to produce children. For the first time masturbation was said to be evil, for
two reasons: it ‘wasted one’s life force’, which they believed was limited in
supply; and it was pleasurable. This was not what the Jews believed. Their Bible
said that God had created everything, which of course included our sexual
abilities. What’s more, Genesis 1v31 says, "God saw all that he had made and
behold it was very good." So the Jews believed that sex was God’s idea and that
within the sacred bond of marriage, where it found its fullest expression, it
was to be celebrated and enjoyed. As for masturbation, this was never mentioned,
nor was it ever listed as a sin in the horrendously detailed lists of sins in
books like Leviticus. The Jews clearly regarded masturbation as a natural fact
of life and not even worth a mention. Not only did the Jewish Bible never
mention masturbation, neither did Jesus or any of the Apostles. There were of
course warnings against the misuse of God’s gift of sexuality, but masturbation
was never included or named as one of these ‘misuses’. But in the world of the
early Christians the Gnostics were growing fast and spreading their ideas with
great zeal. So much so that by the end of the first century CE (80 to 100 years
after the birth of Jesus) the Christians were actually being ‘outdone’ as far as
strictness and attitudes toward sex went. They were at times even accused of
being a sex-cult and of holding orgies at their communion love feasts. This was
made still worse by the fact that early Christians treated women much more
equally than did the communities in which they lived. Non-Christian men were
really unnerved. The last thing they wanted was some religion that encouraged
women to think they were equal to men! So what happened? You’ve guessed it.
Gradually over the next twenty to fifty years the new generation of church
leaders, called by historians the ‘Church Fathers’, began to twist scripture in
order to justify an about-face on the vital issues of sex and the role and place
of women. This was done so that Christians would be seen to be as pure as
Gnostics, and so that they would no longer offend their communities as regards
the place of women. By 300 CE the turn-around was almost complete. The official
church teaching was that you could not be truly close to God if you had any kind
of sex life. They even said that sex within marriage was a sin and that God
turned his face away when a married couple had sex, even when the purpose was to
produce a baby. As part of those awful Christian teachings, masturbation began
for the first time to be considered a great sin. And things were about to get
even worse! A very famous church theologian, Thomas Aquinas, wrote in 1200 CE
that masturbation was a worse sin than – now get this – sex with your mother (or
if you were a girl sex with your father), worse than rape and worse than
adultery. True! Why? Because in the other forms of sex there was at least a
chance of a baby being born, while the masturbator committed the awful sin of
‘wasting seed’. By the 1600’s both the Roman Catholic church and the newly
arrived Protestants were so obsessed with the supposed sin of masturbation that
it was not uncommon for boys to be sent to bed wearing a steel box (like a
cricketer’s ‘box’) with spikes inside it to discourage erections and prevent the
boy from masturbating. For the girls the treatment was nothing short of
horrific. Girls and young women were regularly subjected to having their
clitoris burnt off with a red hot iron! Why? In 1882 a French doctor wrote,
"Repeated cauterizing of the clitoris with red-hot irons destroys its
sensitivity, children then become less excitable and less likely to touch
themselves." The last western woman to have her clitoris removed to encourage
moral purity was operated on in the USA in 1946! THIS HORRIBLE PRACTICE STILL
CONTINUES IN SOME COUNTRIES!
Radical Islam solved the problem by circumcising women and thereby depriving
them of meaningful sexuality for life--and then by enclosing them in the
voluminous robes of the Chador. The first removed the lust of the flesh--the
second the lust of the eye and lifted responsibility for their own actions and
thoughts from the shoulders of men and placed them on the backs of women.
Hundreds of girls and women are murdered by male relatives each year in
conservative Islamic nations, such "honor killings" will only stop when
authorities get serious about punishing perpetrators.
This then is the frightening history of how God’s specially designed and
universal gift of sexual release got onto the Church’s list of sins. Remember,
it never came from the Bible; it never came from God. It happened because
Christian leaders of by-gone centuries failed to be critical enough of their own
‘traditions’. They did exactly what Jesus had severely criticized the Pharisees
for, making up rules that the Bible hadn’t set down, and then having the nerve
to tell their people "this is what God says" when God had said no such thing.
This history also explains why even today some Christians still loudly proclaim
masturbation to be sinful, and give the impression that they regard sexual sins
as the very worst sins of all. They don’t realize that what they are declaring
as truth is nothing other than an ancient pagan heresy OF THE WORST KIND.
The paradigmatic biblical statement on sexuality and sexual behavior is found in
Genesis 1.26-28, the creation of human beings in God's image as male and female
with the duty to "be fruitful and multiply,"
The conviction that procreation is an unqualified good is also reflected in
three well-known institutions regulating sexual behavior: polygamy, concubinage,
and levitate marriage.
The biggest blocks to a more healthy sexual society is the traditional religious
beliefs based on mistranslated and misunderstood biblical texts that have no
relevance to today's loving responsible relationships. What is particularly
ironic is the ignorance of many Christians about the biblical culture, where
adultery was only wrong for a married woman and men could have as many wives and
concubines (breeders) as they wished. In many ways biblical sexuality was far
more positive but was male dominated. Wives and children were simply the
property of their husbands/fathers. Today's responsible non-monogamous
relationships can be just as much an example of Christ's love than the teachings
of traditional Christianity. The religious view of a society has a profound
impact on the emotional health of its people and on the quality of their
interpersonal relationships. A major distinction between Eastern and Western
religious views is in regard to sexuality. From the East we have the wonderful
integration of sexuality and spirit as seen in Tantra and other teachings that
result in much more sexual fulfillment than in Western culture. In the West, God
is viewed as omnipotent, intolerant, who rules over all (especially women) with
the ideal of woman being a virgin insisting on strict moral obedience (often the
results of mistranslated scriptures) where sex is somehow dirty and the opposite
of spirituality. This Western view is a recipe for endless hostility and
conflict between the sexes. The irony is for those that look more seriously at
scripture to understand what it really was saying in the culture it was written,
we understand the beliefs are based on false tradition rather than an accurate
reflection of scripture. This sex-negative Christian moral view, although in a
long slow decline, is going to be with us for a long time in the West and
continues to influence our laws, our perceptions of one another, and the
character or our personal lives. Its result is conflict, estrangement, and
hostility between the sexes. In earlier times women were not able to be
empowered due to their economic dependence on men and their encumbrance with the
care of children. But today, with effective birth control and the growing
economic independence of women, women are taking the lead in demanding more
sexually empowering honest discussion and exposure of the false teachings of
Western culture. "The word “sacred” is used here to say that our sexual energy
is precious, a treasure to be held dear. Sexual energy is the generative,
creative force of the universe. Considering it sacred means to simply live,
without restraining or suppressing natural tendencies. It means being authentic,
living fully to your own senses, while honoring other people’s views. Sacred
sexuality also means practicing spiritual sexual methods for the restoration of
youthfulness, optimum health, happiness and an expression of an overall
affirmation of life. Exploring sexual energies between men and women can become
a sacred and spiritual practice. As we begin to experience sexual energy as the
original, primal raw power that is the undercurrent of both our physical and
psychological well being, our sexual interactions begin to change. Sex not only
becomes more enjoyable in a certain way, its purpose, to allow each human to
develop and experience their true essence, can naturally evolve into a spiritual
awareness of the beauty of life. Because room is given for both partners to
achieve the highest states of bliss they can, sacred sexuality naturally tends
to generate greater tolerance, compassion, and freedom in individuals who
practice. Whether you are in a relationship, or are seeking one, having a good
flow of your sexual energy will keep you young, happy, healthy and alive.
Unquestionably, our sexual energy influences every facet of our lives. When we
feel sick, ill at ease or highly stressed usually our sexual feelings are the
first thing to go. Too often, we let all sorts of reasons; as well as poor
habits diminish our sexual energy. We gradually lose our sexual prowess and
weaken our ability to use the healing powers of sexual energy. For both men and
women good strong orgasms saturate the body with proper levels of hormones, help
circulate the blood, move nutrients to every organ, release tensions, and flood
us with overall feelings of hope and joy. Sexual energy is very powerful. If
neglected, denied or repressed it can cause both physical and emotional
dysfunctions. If sex is forced, or expressed without sensitivity and respect it
can also cause great damage. Each of us is born through sex. And each of us can
learn to harmonies and balance our sexual essence. When shared with care,
understanding and love, sexual energy can not only bring deep bliss and joy,
ultimately; it can become the means to experiencing the highest states of
spiritual transcendence.

WHEN READING THE FOLLOWING IT IS TO BE
UNDERSTOOD THAT THE IDEAL SPIRITUAL AND HEARTFELT
RELATIONSHIP IS OFTEN ROMANTIC MONOGAMY, HOWEVER,
CONSTRAINING HUMAN SEXUALITY IS UNNATURAL, AND ANYTHING UNNATURAL IS NOT FROM
GOD. Most of the emotional troubles people have in life are not due to
mental disorder but to misinformation about feelings and relationships. Few
things create as much confusion as the urgency of being "in love." Sexual
repression leads to abuse, frustration and psychological damage. In a society
full of tease and titillation, but little meaningful sexuality (sex is so dirty
we have to save it for marriage and then we are suppose to be experts with no
experience), all sort of bad things happen out of sexual frustration. It is
wrong for any teacher, preacher or church to lay down rules and regulations as
to how individuals "must" find and accept the Spirit of God. God works with the
heart and soul and with different people in different ways. It is up to the
individual to find God in whatever way is open to them to do so. Jesus told us
to go directly to our heavenly Parent in prayer and praise and if we really love
God and our neighbors as we should, we will find acceptance/salvation in the
eyes of our Creator. I am writing this at the beginning of World War III. It
will be a war greater then the world has ever known!
""Thy widows will be more then the sands of the sea"".
So as much as you may not agree or like what I am saying here, be prepared to
accept polygamy as a way of life forced on many by economics and the necessities
of difficult times. But also let it be known that I am in no way endorsing
arranged marriages or the mental abuse or control of women, which is a sin.
In reclaiming Christianity, it should also be pointed out that
Jesus did not believe in "traditional family values" as they are known and
proclaimed today by some pseudo-Christian groups. Family values are a
modern dogmatic and cultural construct that is not founded on the teachings of
Jesus.
Sexuality is the basis for all life on earth and
thus is Sacred to God and needs to be respected as such. Respect for each other
is essential for peace in the world - and peace on earth begins in the bedroom
where love is empowered. It seems clear that polygamy (specifically the
marriage of 'many' women to one man) can turn ordinary men
into abusive leaders. He may proceed to ignore the emotional anguish of his
wives as they try and fail to suppress their jealousy, He may create an almost
entirely closed world of severely limited choices, and he will walk around as if
he is perfect while he perpetrates or encourages rape, child abuse, and neglect;
Often women who speak out, do so at considerable personal risk. Polygamy is
certainly not sex between consenting adults, if young girls are treated as
wombs and chattel, and given no choice in who or when they wed.
We must not confuse non-monogamy with cult manipulation. There are bad
people in every religion, and there are also bad ideas, which corrupt even
kindly people, or cause them to do unintended harm. However, not all non
monogamists are radical religious cult members. Some even report a very positive
experience in adult consensual non monogamist relationships (i.e. polyamorists).
As startling as it may seem to us polygamy was instituted for the benefit of
women, as well as men. If a high percentage of the men in a particular have been
killed in a war, or if the remaining men are too poor to support wives and
families, then a significant portion of the women in that society will not be
able to marry and bear children; at least as long as monogamy is the only
marriage option. As the psalmist reported regarding war,
Fire devoured their young men, and their girls had no marriage song.
Therefore, the custom in many cultures for men to marry more
then one woman. The practice of polygamy demonstrates compassion for young women
who may otherwise be forced into prostitution or slavery.
In the New Testament Jesus neither condemns polygamous unions nor advocates a
change in the system. From this noninterference attitude Luther, as late as the
16th cent., arrived at the conclusion that he could not forbid the taking of
more than one wife.
In the most Western societies it is not uncommon for a person to marry, divorce,
and remarry several times or for a married person to have an affair. All of
these sexual/marital configurations, are not unlike polygamy. Serial marriages
is polygamy, with perhaps more heartbreak and ill will. Polygamy may in fact be
better and kinder, with no one becoming the loser.
Women in general form more than 50% of the world's population. In every country,
there are a greater number of single women than single men. The result of this
is that the men who want to marry often get married fairly easily and plenty of
women, through no fault of their own, find themselves competing with other women
for the few remaining men. Often this leads to adultery, fornication, divorce.
Throughout the Jewish Scriptures, we read about the consensual, nonmarital
relationship called pilagshut, or, literally, "half marriage." The woman in such
a relationship was called pilegesh, or "half wife," not as it is customarily and
derogatorily translated: "concubine." This form of relationship was prevalent
even among the holiest of people, such as Abraham, Hagar, Jacob, Bilhah, Zilpah,
Gideon, Caleb, David, Solomon, ad infinitum! The pilagshut relationship was a
sanctioned alternative to marriage.
There are several examples of polygamy in scripture that was common practice for
thousands of years. Some of them even promoted by God and not just "tolerated"
as many claim. For example, when King David who already had several wives,
committed adultery with Bathsheba, he was upbraided by God through the prophet
Nathan and in the course of scolding him for his crime against Uriah
(Bathsheba's husband) God told David that it was God that had given him the
wives (plural) he had and that if that had not been enough, all he should have
done was ask, and he would have been given even more. (See 2nd Samuel chapter
12)
In addition to that, for those who retort that that all changed when Jesus and
the New Testament came along, consider the fact of the story of the bridegroom
and 10 virgins as told by him in Matthew Chapter 25:1-13. Many state that those
virgins were merely bridesmaids. However, the definition of the greek word for
"virgin" as used in the text is "a marriageable maiden". Also, it is interesting
to note that the Hebrew phrase "he went in with them" was used in this parable.
This phrase (ie: she "went in" with him, He "went in" with her, etc.,) was used
often to denote that there was a consummation of marriage occurring in the
bridal chamber as the wedding feast was in full swing just outside their door.
Remember also that Jesus was speaking to a Jewish society who had joyfully
accepted polygamy as a legal marriage arrangement for several thousand years
(monogamy was not decreed as law until somewhere around 600-700 A.D.). It would
have not been at all unusual or repulsive to them for a bridegroom to have as
many wives; Rather, it would have elevated the bridegroom in their eyes as
someone of distinct importance. Besides that, if they were just bridesmaids as
many claim, then why is the actual "bride" so conspicuously absent from the
wedding?
Whether you are Christian or not, our culture has been influenced by a sexually
repressive Christian tradition that denies the God-given natural desire to
connect emotionally and sexually with one or more persons. The repression of
both sexual experience and knowledge results in a society titillated by the
tease of sex, but with little intimacy skills or sexual knowledge. "Cheating" is
common since many people can't be honest about their desires. Responsible
polyamory fulfills this need with dignity and honesty in our relationships. Our
culture teaches us to be jealous of such openness and somehow we have a twisted
notion that love is somehow proven only by monogamy.
The following is a Messianic prophecy (Hebrews 1;9) though it is on the
surface level talking about King David. It was such an embarrassment to the King
James translators and ALL subsequent translators that they fudged it in order to
obscure the true meaning. This is from the Bible commonly in use before the King
James: "All thy garments smell of myrrh and aloes, and cassia, and when thou
commest out of thy your [ivory] palaces where they have made thee glad. Kings
daughters were among thine HONOURABLE WIVES: upon thy right hand did stand the
Queene in a vesture of gold of Ophir. Hearken, O daughters, and consider, and
encline thine eare: forget also thine owne people and thy fathers house: So that
the King have pleasure in thy beautie: for he is thy Lord, and reverence thou
him" (Psalm 45:8-11, Geneva Bible, London, 1599). The 1636 Church of England
Bible confirms the translation: "Kings daughters were among thine HONOURABLE
WIVES: upon thy right hand did stand the Queene in a vesture of gold of Ophir"
(v.9). This verse is cross-references to a footnote which reads: "Though he had
many Kings daughters among his wives, yet he loved Pharoah's daughter best."
(footnote h) Isaiah wrote that Christ would sit on the throne of David
(Isa.9:7), a position the inhabitants of Jerusalem recognised when, as described
in Zechariah 9:9, Yah'shua (Jesus) came "riding upon an ass" and was literally
"the King", inherant to the rights of the throne of David. Notice how in Psalm
45 this Queen is called to reverence the King as her Lord. If her husband were a
mere man, she would not be told to worship him -- The King James says: "worship
thou him". The KJV substituted "wives" for "women" so as not to countenance
polygamy. Other versions write: "honoured women" (NIV), "noble ladies" (NASV),
"maids of honor" (Jerusalem Bible), "ladies of honor" (RSV, New Oxford Annotated
Bible), "the noblest of your women" (Oxford New English), "King's daughters are
among thy favorites" (Holy Scriptures of the masoretic Text), "your precious
ones" (Interlinear Bible), "your concubines" (Lindsell Bible, Tyndale Bible),
etc.
Psa 45:9
Kings daugthers were among thine honorable wiues: vpon thy right hand did stand the Queene in a vesture of golde of Ophir.Psa 45:10
Hearken, O daughter, and consider, and incline thine eare: forget also thine owne people and thy fathers house.Psa 45:11
So shal the King haue pleasure in thy beautie: for he is thy Lord, and reuerence thou him.
Beyond the speculation though, what evidence do we have of either the celibate
or married Christ? And why cant Jews accept that the Messiah could be excluded
from the commandment to wed? To the Jews, their human Savior, would be an
embodiment of the laws of God, he would typify them rather than being exempt
from them. Just as Jesus was baptized "to fulfill all righteousness", and said
that he had not "come to destroy," the law, "but to fulfill" it (Matt. 3:15,
5:17). They also expected a married Messiah, because the prophets of their
Tanach (the Hebrew Bible) predicted his marital state as a feature of his life:
In speaking of Israel's expectant deliverer in a passage Paul identifies as
referring to Jesus, David wrote, "Kings daughters were among thy honorable
women", or wives as the 1599 version of the Geneva Bible, and a 1636 Church of
England Bible puts it (Ps. 45:6, see Heb. 1:8) Of him having children, Isaiah
predicts, "he shall see his seed", and asks, "Who shall declare his generation?"
(Isa. 53:8, see Luke 23:27-28 & Isa 53:10, see Acts 8:33 and Heb. 2:16) Some
Christian readers may be troubled by the implication of David's prophesy of the
Messiah having several "honorable wives," as one of the features of pagan Roman
religion that remained after its adoption of Christianity was that of monogamy,
and the laws restricting one woman to one man. The Old Testament however
contains many examples of righteous prophets who lived in such manner, such as
Abraham, Jacob, Moses, and David. The father of the Protestant movement, Martin
Luther, declared that "for a man to have two wives at once" was not "contrary to
the divine law" and himself authorised a nobleman (Philip the Landgrave of Hesse)
to marry a second wife, and is recorded as stating, "The Gospel hath neither
recalled nor forbid what was permitted in the law of Moses with respect to
marriage." (Thelyphthora 1:212, Rev. Martin Madan) Of course other
interpretations have been made of references to Jesus in the role of father,
husband, and some have supposed the Church was his symbolic bride, and that its
members are his `children', as he is the `father' of their salvation. Indeed,
the Catholic Church marries it's Nuns to Jesus, representing their lifelong
commitment to him. Whilst such concepts have great meaning to those who believe
in them, they neither rule out the possibility of Jesus being married nor
explain every passage in the Old and New Testaments that seem to suggest he was.
In fact, it is the four Gospels themselves that may hold the answers to whether,
when, where, and who Jesus married. In addition to all the indications already
given, it is interesting to note that Jesus was referred to by a title only
given to married teachers, that of Rabbi. Even his detractors had no qualms
about referring to him as such, and allowed him to preach in the synagogue, a
practice also limited to married men (John 1:38,49, 3:2, 6:25, 20:16). The
association Jesus had with certain women would have been wholly inappropriate
for a single man, but perfectly normal and accepted for a husband (Matt. 27:55,
Mark 15:40-41, Luke 23:27-28). In the Greek language there is little distinction
between the word woman and wife, and so therefore any (if not all) of those
females who accompanied him quite possibly could have been married to him.
Martha called him "Master", a title a wife would use to address her husband, and
when Mary her sister was in mourning over the death of their brother, Lazarus,
she sat in her home until Jesus called her out, just as was the custom that only
a husband could call a woman out of her home at such a time (John 11:28). Not
only did Christ fulfill the traditions and duties of a typical Jewish husband,
but so did his wives, when they anointed him prior to his burial (Luke 24:1,10).
History brings forth a conclusive evidence. The enforced should-be monogamy, no
matter how much it is sanctioned legally or socially, or how righteous it is
portrayed religiously, it was never originated from the Scriptures, and has
never been set as the only standard for marriage by God. It originated from the
pagan Romans that had and are still overtaking the world under the modern title,
Greco Roman Worldview. Ecumenism, perverting the Gospel by adding religious
works, has always been the chief strategy of the enemy of the true Church... and
ecumenism is the chief strategy of the RCC. You would think that the gross moral
failings of so many Roman Catholic leaders and the purposeful cover-up of such
wickedness by ranking RCC leaders would alert everyone to the deception and
danger of the RCC's false gospel. Much of the New Testament was written to
oppose the false doctrines of men who claimed to be Christian teachers, yet were
bringing in "destructive heresies." According to Jude we are to "earnestly
contend for the Faith that was once for all delivered unto the saints." This we
aim to do and to encourage others in this part of God's work.
The design of humankind, by God is that both genders are loving and nurturing
beings. Being a nurturer whether male or female, intells, compassion, patience,
understanding, forgiveness, tolerance. To love little children, they have to be
born wanted, and for that to occur, the parents have to love each other, that is
to love each other as equal members of a team. When a man loves a woman and a
woman loves a man, their children are the most blessed of all children, but when
man believes he is superior as is written in different religions, (Islam), then
he can never love what he deems inferior, and their relationship becomes one of
master/slave, which was how marriages were for thousands of years. Sexuality is
part of the Life Force, and the Life Force is part of God and the Life force is
also spiritual. When man loves and respects woman, then sexuality becomes as it
was designed to be Holy and Sacred, for it is from sexuality that the two become
one, through the child. It is from sexuality that all life come from, and all
human beings come from. When woman is devaled, then sexuality is exploited and
devalued. As it is in much of the world today. Pornography, prostitution, rape,
incest, honour killing, female castration, are all forms of sexual devalution.
We see these horrors all around us, therefore it is almost impossible to believe
that sexuality was designed by God to be Holy and Sacred, for that is where
humankind come from. When a man loves a woman and she loves him, they are
naturally attracted to each other, and sexuality becomes a need, and an
expression of affection from the heart. When there is true love between the
genders, then the woman is giving the proper support she needs from her mate, he
lifts her up, comforts her, and loves her, and that in turn makes her a better
mother, more patient and more tolerant. A man was designed to love a woman, to
care about her sexual needs, He is the peacock, she is the pea hen, she doesn't
have to look beautiful on the outside or be young, for the value of exterior
appearance replaced God's natural design. Her beauty is within, it is her soul,
her mind, her heart, and that is with her for eternity. The world values only
youth and exterior beauty, the world does not value the soul. However, it does
matter if people believe in the marriage of Jesus and Mary, and since the
Christian world does not know of it, means, there is tampering in the Bible and
the church, and the history of the church reveals much oppression and
corruption. This tampering has denied people of experiencing heaven on earth,
and instead of heaven, people suffered greatly.
The reference refer to Bishops in Timothy, may well imply that the bishop must
"at LEAST" be married, as false teachers were forbidding marriage and would not
be married themselves. As far as Christians practicing polygamy; tens of
thousands do in Africa. Jesus upheld the Mishnah; which authorizes plural
marriage. He did not abrogate it. Paul ( If it was Paul,... it very well have
been someone else ) told Church leaders not to practice it, because it was
against Roman law and the Church was in jeopardy from the Romans. In Latin
America, most men who are Middle Class and Upper Class have at least one
concubine, and often a complete separate "wife" and children. This is common in
Catholic countries! These women (millions of them) would rather share a
successful man, than have one poor one all for themselves. Recent studies show
that being with another woman ranks among women's top sexual fantasies. That
doesn't mean that all women have lesbian tendencies, but it does indicate that
feeling an attraction for another woman, is not unusual at all. Women are
usually less prone to jealousy than men. Women more often go through feelings of
inadequacy. Men more often have to work through feelings of jealousy. Women
overcome inadequacy when they find that other women find them attractive and
want to share with them. 35 percent of women, one-third, will admit that they
may be motivated to have male and female sexual partners if the opportunity
presented itself. All women may be naturally bisexual, and society shapes most
of them into heterosexuals. Men are sexually simple, and women are not.
Lesbianism can be rooted in many places. In some, it is a simple life choice. In
others, it can be a reaction to some sort of physical trauma. God gave us
erogenous zones and the means to stimulate them along with everything else. The
Bible may offer guidance on many things - but there are no passages which apply
to limitations in the bedroom. Many marriage ceremonies speak of the joyful
physical union of the newly weds. Successful marriages work around the couple
doing what they enjoy - and staying away from that which they don't. This
applies in a general sense as well as in the bedroom. Biologically speaking, it
is a simple fact that women need considerably greater stimulation in the form of
foreplay than a man does to achieve the same level of physical excitement. Many
man simply do not understand this - or, if they do, cannot be bothered to apply
it. This is another reason why some women prefer other women - understanding the
need for that time is a given with another woman. By placing limits on what you
will do, you limit the chances of expereincing something truly joyous with your
husband. Loving open sex lives are better than ever. There's been a phenomenal
change in women's sexuality and, therefore, their partners. Women are saying
"I'm an equal partner in bed. I expect pleasure too." Many men like the "new"
more aggressive woman, and being on the receiving end at times and are learning
how to please a woman and enjoy foreplay and afterplay. Studies all show that
those who can communicate about sex are the ones with the best sex lives. We
need to practice more oral sex - opening our mouths and discussing what we enjoy
the most or what we want to try.
The Bible has been misquoted and mistranslated to falsely suppress sexuality.
There is nothing inconsistent with biblical Christianity and open responsible
relationships. In fact, such sincere relationships may be much more in line with
Christ's teachings. Polygamy was still practiced in first century Judaism. And
although Jesus does not condemn polygamy, he does speak against the practice of
serial monogamy. Mark 10;4
This same criticism of the traditional ideology comes through in the association
of divorce with adultery: "And I say unto you, whosoever shall put away his wife
and shall marry another, commits adultery" (v 9). This saying was directed at
the common male practice of divorce and subsequent marriage, neither of which
took the wife into consideration. As said before, adultery could be committed
only against the husband. Sexual exclusiveness was demanded of the wife but not
the husband. Married males could sleep with prostitutes, spinsters and
concubines without it being considered adultery. Jesus' reply turns this
traditional conception on its head as it means that it is the husband who
commits adultery against his wife if he divorces her to marry another woman.
Polygamy is also an answer to dismantling the tragedy of forced prostitution.
Forced prostitution is a growing problem worldwide.
Trafficking in humans represents the world's third largest criminal element, surpassed only by drug and weapons trafficking. What this means is that multitudes of young women have been controlled, abused and made into merchandise. It is in fact a continuation of slavery into the 21 century.
The slave trade couldn't go on without someone's connivance.
Lots of someone's, including American tourists who travel specifically to take
part in this exploitation. There is an entire travel industry that caters to
this clientele. Until we disavow any culture, including religious texts, that
endorse
such things, it won't stop. Slavery in the US was officially abolished after the
Civil
War....except in California where it was still legal to import and
keep women as sexual slaves. That wasn't abolished until 1920. .
Even today, there are an estimated 50,000 women and children smuggled
into the US for the purpose of sexual slavery. Those are FBI
estimates.
It is estimated that two million children are enslaved in the global commercial
sex trade. Many of these children are either sold into prostitution to pay off
family debts or forcibly recruited on the street to work in brothels, where they
are required to have sex with as many as 30 men each day. Some prostituted
children are just 5 years old.
There are still countries with no laws against this.
Poverty is probably the most important factor
contributing to the growth of child prostitution.
In developing countries particularly, there are
children living in exceptionally difficult conditions.
Young oriental women are the largest ethnic group in the world
and there are 50 million refugees in the world,
70% of them are women and children.
At least 35 million people in the world—more than the entire population of
Canada—have been forced to run for their lives, and are either temporarily or
permanently exiled from their homes. Over half of them are women and children.
Many live in refugee camps, fleeing persecution, armed conflict, murder, rape,
and mutilation. Being in a refugee camp doesn't mean you're finally safe. It
doesn't mean you're sure to be fed. It means your odds are better. Maybe.
Add the world's homeless and those in extreme poverty and this number increases
10 times.. that is 500 million people.. twice the population of the entire
United States; most of them women!
In conditions of extreme poverty it is not a question of morality or a persons
age; these girls are controled and unable to detirmine there own destiny. They
are the victims of degrading abuse.
Almost 110 million children, the majority of them girls, are unable to attend a school of any kind-most due to severe poverty.
In many cultures, governments permitted, if not encouraged, the killing of
handicapped or female infants or otherwise unwanted children. In the Greece of
200 B.C., for example, the murder of female infants was so common that among
6,000 families living in Delphi no more than 1 percent had two daughters. Among
79 families, nearly as many had one child as two. Among all there were only 28
daughters to 118 sons. ... But classical Greece was not unusual. In eighty-four
societies spanning the Renaissance to our time, "defective" children have been
killed in one-third of them. In India, for example, because of Hindu beliefs and
the rigid caste system, young girls were murdered as a matter of course. When
demographic statistics were first collected in the nineteenth century, it was
discovered that in "some villages, no girl babies were found at all; in a total
of thirty others, there were 343 boys to 54 girls. ... [I]n Bombay, the number
of girls alive in 1834 was 603." The phenomenon of female infanticide is as old
as many cultures, and has likely accounted for millions of gender-selective
deaths throughout history. It remains a critical concern in a number of "Third
World" countries today, notably the two most populous countries on earth, China
and India. In all cases, specifically female infanticide reflects the low status
accorded to women in most parts of the world; it is arguably the most brutal and
destructive manifestation of the anti-female bias that pervades "patriarchal"
societies. It is closely linked to the phenomena of sex-selective abortion,
which targets female fetuses almost exclusively, and neglect of girl children.
Meerut (Uttar Pradesh): Young girls dressed up as Durga, the Hindu Goddess of
power, took to streets here on Thursday urging people to stop female foeticide
as India celebrated a nine day festival (Navratri) in which girls are
honoured and worshipped as representatives of goddess. Led by "Surabhi Parivar",
a voluntary organisation, the children from
Meerut city exhorted people to understand the true spirit of "Navratri"
festival, celebrated twice a year -- during spring and
autumn. "We appeal to the people on the occasion of Navratri that on one hand
they worship a female God and on the other hand they kill a girl child before it
is born. So we appeal to the people to stop female infanticide," said Dinesh
Talwar, a volunteer of Surabhi Parivar. Prayers, processions and musical
programs mark the festival, which symbolizes the triumph of good over evil.
Families preferring a son over a daughter abort thousands of female fetuses
every year. Poor parents prefer boy child, as they do not have to save for the
crippling dowries for daughters' marriages, while male children also offer the
chance of greater income in later life. Even in relatively affluent parts of
cities like New Delhi and Chandigarh, census figures have shown the sex ratio
falling as low as 800 girls to 1,000 boys. A joint study carried out by
researchers in India and Canada recently suggested that half-a-million unborn
girls are being aborted in India every year. Sex determination, though banned,
is a simple procedure. Done through ultrasound test, it can easily be done in
thousands of tiny clinics and nursing homes across India, in as less as Rs 450
(10 dollars).
A Holy and Loving Polygamy is a solution to these problems! Further, more
then one mother can be a blessing when taking care of children. Polyamory is
distinct from polygamy, being closer to a personal outlook than a predefined
bonding system. It is grounded in such concepts as choice, trust, equality of
free will, and the more novel idea of compersion, rather than in cultural or
religious tradition.
Polyamorous relationships, in practice, are highly varied and individualized.
Ideally they are built upon values of trust, loyalty, negotiation, and
compersion, as well as rejection of jealousy, possessiveness, and restrictive
cultural standards. Such relationships are often more fluid than the traditional
"dating and marriage" model of long-term relationships, and the participants in
a polyamorous relationship may not have preconceptions as to duration. The thing
that defines a polyamorous relationship is that everyone involved knows about,
and agrees to, everyone else's involvement.
Many people believe that a person who has multiple loves can't give their "whole
heart" to any person. The belief goes that if you love one person, you can
express your love wholeheartedly, but if you love multiple people, your love is
divided up and is therefore not as deep. This is based on the "starvation model"
of love--that is, you only have a limited amount of love, and if you give your
love to one person, there is none left to give to anyone else--so if you fall in
love with another person, you have to "pay" for it by withdrawing your love from
the first person.
Love is not the same thing as money. With money, you have only a limited amount
to spend, and when you give it to one person you have less left to give to
another. But love behaves in wonderful and unpredictable and counterintuitive
ways. When you love more than one person, you soon realize that the more love
you give away, the more love you have to give. Yes, you CAN give your whole
heart to more than one person, and when you do, you realize it's the most
beautiful feeling in all the world.
Some people also seem to feel that it is not possible to love more than one
person at a time, so if you're in a position where you're in a relationship with
one person and you happen to fall for someone else, this "proves" you don't
really love the person you're with, right? After all, the feeling goes, we are
put here on this earth to love only one other person, our one true soulmate in a
world of six billion people...the single person who is right for us, and who by
some quite astounding coincidence happens to go to the same school, or work at
the same place.
This is the "scarcity model" of love--the notion that love is rare, that we can
only have one true love, and that once we meet tht one true love, the part of
our brains which take notice of other people suddenly and mysteriously shut off.
Anyway, as I was saying, in a poly relationship, it is vital--perhaps even more
vital than in a monogamous relationship--for everyone involved to know and
understand the rules of the relationship, and abide by them. A successful poly
relationship absolutely requires trust and security from everyone involved. If
you cannot abide by the relationship's rules, you cannot expect to make a
polyamorous relationship work. If you treat your lovers as though they are
interchangeable, they'll be jealous. If you don't take care to make your lovers
feel wanted or needed, they'll be jealous. If you aren't careful to make it
clear to all of your partners that you value them, you won't keep any of them
for long.
For those whose relationship inclinations lean toward polyamory, a poly
relationship offers more. When you have more than two people involved in your
relationship, it offers you resources and perspectives that you don't have in a
monogamous relationship. If one person is feeling down, or has a problem, that
person has two, or more, people to turn to for support. With more eyes on a
relationship problem or a problem at work or whatever, sometimes the solution is
easier to find.
Cautious, careful people, always casting about to Preserve their reputation
and social standing Never can bring about a reform. Those who are truly in
earnest must be willing to be Anything, or nothing, in the world's estimation,
and Publicly and privately, in season and out, Avow their sympathies with
Despised and persecuted ideas, and their advocates, And bear the consequences."
But beware of misplaced confidences.. do not cast your pearls before swine.
The human animal is capable (and interested) in bisexuality on a large scale and
this will manifest itself when society is open to it.
Kinsey showed, the difference between bisexuality and heterosexuality is not a
sharp divide. It's not a black or white, bi or straight issue. Everyone is
somewhere along the spectrum. As society opens up, we will likely be more openly
sexual. Or in reality, be closer to our true nature, wherever that might lie on
the bisexuality continuum. Of course, there isn't anything wrong with that all.
In fact, since it allows us to be closer to our "real" nature without societal
judgments on our natural sexual preferences, there is something very right about
it.
As it stands, our current culture doesn't yet appear to be fully comfortable
with a truly and widely polygamous bisexual society.
Though it must be noted that we have already achieved a great deal of openness
on the female side of the equation. Ask around and see if you can find a woman
under 25 who hasn't made out with one of their girlfriends. 80% of girls under
25 have at least tried a sexual experience with another woman. Our sexuality is
innate; We just have to have the courage to own up to it.
Never doubt that a small group of committed individuals can change the world,
indeed, it's the only thing that ever really has. The truth will set you free,
and it must be spoken.. but remember.. there are two rules in life.. rule one.
don't tell people everything you know.
The Bible and the ancient Holy Books all say that Angels are not celibate and are not given in marriage!
DO ANGELS MAKE LOVE? So, in these pre-flood days of Noah, the sons of God—the
Angels—"saw the daughters of men, that they were pretty!" They sure liked their
looks and greatly desired them, and they took them as wives, and they "went in
unto them!" Pretty sexy, if you ask me!--Biblical language for making love. And
these pretty human daughters even bore them sons, which grew up to become famous
people! So in effect, their kids were a kind of half-gods, having angels as
their fathers!
Now whether you like it or not, this can only mean that angels have bodies that
are capable of manifesting the same, (but probably much better, no impotency!
Ha!) sexual functions as ours, that they can have intercourse! And why NOT!
Shouldn’t Angels have the same pleasure or even more pleasure than us? Of
course! So, Angels—the Sons of God—must also have… penises, or at least the
ability to have and manifest one! I don't think they fertilized those pretty
girls artificially or through some miracle! It says they fancied those girls,
for what? For just talking with them? Or playing chess? No, They saw they were
"fair!"
You can’t get around it. Many would maybe want to, because it screws up their
theology. This wouldn’t bother Hindu's or Muslims or OT Hebrew's, as they have a
sexy Heaven, and even believe in "heavenly houris", where the Germanic words;
"whore", "hoer", "hure" etc. come from, girls who freely share their sexual
favors with their saints! In the Heavenlies, Lets face it! Holy people having
sex with angels is a reoccurring theme in history.
Standard Roman Catholic explanations of the above Bible passage are; that these
angels were (of course!) "fallen angels!"--As in their concept, only fallen
angels could have had penises! Ha! Poor obedient angels! They didn't know what
they were missing, because according to these Roman Catholic views, they
wouldn't even have been equipped with sexual organs, as there would be no need
for them, as certainly nobody goes toilet in Heaven!
According to most Roman Catholic doctrine, there is NO SEX in Heaven, as
according to them sex was a "direct result of the fall of man into sin!"
So these angels had also "fallen into sin", or became fallen angels "in the very
horrible act", and as a result must have grown sex organs on the spot, "these
evil sprouting manifestations of their impure thoughts", like Adam and Eve had
when they obeyed the serpent—the Devil—who promptly gave them these luscious
sinful juicy horny sex organs, "so they could "suffer" Churchy abstinence and
condemnation!" Ha! How ridiculous can you get!
When these so-called "fallen angels" came down or manifested themselves in
earthly forms and dimensions, and flirted with those pretty "fallen" girls of
men, the obedient angels must have been spitefully watching from Above with
blushing faces, listening to all these wonderful moaning and ecstatic sounds
that these "fallen girls" and no doubt these "fallen angels" were making down
there, while they came together in Angelic Orgasms! Whew!
"Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have
gotten a man from the LORD." (Genesis 4:1)
Now why did all these Churchy people cook up this "fallen angels" theory, other
than to justify their belief that "sex is sinful!"—Which doctrine is actually an
old puritan hangover from Pagan religions, first perpetrated by the Roman
Catholic Church, and then slavishly taken over by Protestantism, Evangelicals
and Holiness churches! But you will not find anything anywhere in the Bible that
declares that sex is sinful!
Of course, there is sinful sex! Just as much as there is sinful eating, and
sinful exercising, etc., mostly dependent on what motives are involved and what
measure! Like, if you steal bread from the poor, that is sinful eating, or when
you eat far too much and hurt your body, that is sinful eating, or when you
exercise too much so your body becomes deformed! Likewise...if you steal sex
from your neighbor, it is sinful sex, or if you use portals that weren't
designed for it and they tear and get infected and kill you in the long run! Or
if you let an unregenerated departed spirit, even of another gender, enter your
mind, heart and spirit and take you over with such destructive and unnatural
behavior often leading to violence and murder! That is sinful sex. But sex as
such is not sinful! Neither is eating, nor drinking, nor exercising!
Sex is a wonderful creation of God, His amazing gift to Mankind, that He himself
instituted also to keep this His project going! Because without His holy sex
there is no procreation, and the eternal new harvest of Heavenly spirits would
miss their chance to grow into perfection, without getting this wonderful
once-in-an-eternity chance to come down here into this life and grow as
substantially as men do in this level of God's wonderful Universe! As it says in
Hebrews 12:22,23
"But ye are come...unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and
to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and ecclessia of
the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to
the spirits of just men [being] made perfect."
There the Eternal City is mentioned again, "Heavenly Jerusalem", God's Heavenly
City, with its original inhabitants, the angels, as well as "the spirits of just
men" who are in the process of being made perfect! Two classes, among
God-knows-how-many more!--Cherubs, Seraphs and even Heavenly beasts, etc.—Angels
and spirits of just men!
Spirits are spirits because they have not an angelic body… yet! But the last
shall be first, because an angelic body is promised them! All the believers of
the last 2000 years AND us who will still be alive after the coming terrible
worldwide Persecution of Christians, will receive a resurrection body in the
imminent Great Resurrection at the soon coming of Jesus and His triumphant
reentry into the Earth's Atmosphere! There we will join the already resurrected
Old Testament Saints, who were resurrected at the resurrection of Jesus 2000
years ago!
WHAT WILL WE BE LIKE, AFTER THE RESURRECTION?
Enjoy the following account, when Jesus was tempted by the skeptic religionists
of His time. (Luke 20:27-35)
"Then came to him certain of the Sadducees (the modernists of His time! They
were so sad-you-see?), which deny that there is any resurrection; and they asked
him, saying, 'Master, Moses wrote unto us, If any man's brother die, having a
wife, and he die without children, that his brother should take his wife, and
raise up seed unto his brother.
"There were therefore seven brethren: and the first took a wife, and died
without children.
"And the second took her to wife, and he died childless. And the third took her;
and in like manner the seven also: and they left no children, and died. Last of
all the woman died also.
"Therefore in the resurrection whose wife of them is she? For seven had her to
wife."
"And Jesus answering said unto them, 'The children of this world marry, and are
given in marriage. But they which shall be accounted worthy to obtain that
world, and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry, nor are given in
marriage."
Mark 12:25 "For when they shall rise from the dead, they neither marry, nor are
given in marriage; but are as the angels which are in heaven.
Matthew 22:30 "For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in
marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven."
We will be AS the angels of God which are in Heaven. He didn't say "will be the
angels" as that would exclude the first generation of angels already there! But
we will be just like them, "as the angels!"
So now you understand why we are so happy, because we believe that there is SEX
IN HEAVEN and that we will soon become angels in the coming Resurrection,
meaning that we will have bodies just like them, and powers like them! As St.
John said, "And we shall be like Him!" Like Jesus! Not the same in authority or
stature as Jesus of course, who is the first and foremost top-creation of God!
No! But we will have the same kind of body! WOW! (1 John 3:1,2)
"Look, what manner of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called
the sons of God: therefore the world knows us not, because it knew him not.
Beloved, now are we [already in spirit!] the sons of God, and it does not yet
appear what we shall be: but we know that when he shall appear, we shall be like
him; for we shall see him as he is."
That's when Jesus comes back to resurrect and gather us unto himself and take us
Home to New Jerusalem, the Heavenly city! And contrary to public opinion, a SEXY
Heaven!
We can see from Matt. 22:30 and Luke 20:34-36 that angels do not marry, but this does not mean they can't take human form and have relations. We cannot assert either position from this passage, especially when the Bible tells us that people have entertained angels without even knowing it (Heb. 13:2). This means that angels can take on human appearance to such a convincing state that they can't be distinguished from people. If this is the case, then it would seem logical that an angel could imitate a human physical form including the sexual organs.
Angels or spirit beings have always played an important role in human history and religion. The Bible illustrates that angels have appeared to humans of the middle-eastern cultures long before the formation of any of the world’s major religions, as recorded in the book of Genesis (Gen. 18:1-2; 19:1-2; 22:15).
Angels are also described as follows: ‘Sons of God’ (Elohim, Job 1:6; 2:1);
‘Holy Ones’ (Dn. 4:17); and ‘Host of Heaven’ (1 Kgs. 22:19; Psa. 89:7).
Other commentators teach that the Sons of God were angels since the term "Sons of God" is used elsewhere to refer to angels as the following scriptures suggest: Job 1:6, "Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came among them." Job 38:7, "When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?"
Basically, there are three roles that angels play beside forming a courtly
assembly around the Most High (1 Kgs. 22:19; Job 1:6; Isa. 6:1-3; Matt. 25:31;
Heb. 12:22; Rev. 5:11). Angels are messengers carrying directives from Elohim to
humankind. They act as warriors executing the vengeance of Elohim on Israel or
protecting them from their enemies. They also work miracles, such as healing or
leading the way out of impossible situations.
These roles show the symbiotic relationship between angels and humans. This
relationship is much like the plant or animal kingdom, where the plants breathe
in carbon-dioxide and exhale oxygen and the animals breathe in oxygen and exhale
carbon-dioxide. Each one has the life substance the other needs to survive.
Simply put, these celestial creatures enable humans to understand who they are,
where they originated, and what is their destiny. The Bible classifies angels as
follows.
Messengers of Elohim
There are numerous examples of angels delivering a message from Elohim,
declaring some event or prophecy, or giving some instructions. For example,
angels announced the destruction of Sodom and Gomorra (Gn. 19:1). Angels also
heralded the birth of Isaac (Gn. 18:10), the birth of Samson (Gn. 13:3), and the
birth of the Messiah (Mt. 1:20, 2:13, 28:15); Lk. 1:11, 28 2:10). In addition,
angels brought instructions (Num. 22:35; Dn. 8:16; 9:22) and revelations to the
prophets (Dn. 10:1; Ezk. 40:4; 1Kg. 14:18; Zec. 4:1-7).
Do Angels have Angelic Sex? Yes:
Gen. 6:1-4, "Now it came about, when men began to multiply on the face of the land, and daughters were born to them, 2 that the sons of God saw that the daughters of men were beautiful; and they took wives for themselves, whomever they chose. 3 Then the Lord said, “My Spirit shall not strive with man forever, because he also is flesh; nevertheless his days shall be one hundred and twenty years.” 4 The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of men, and they bore children to them. Those were the mighty men who were of old, men of renown."
Do they have a social institution of eternal monogamy? No:
The term "levite marriage comes from a Latin word that means "husband's
brother," and refers to a custom known throughout the ancient world. When a
married man died without leaving any male children, his brother was expected to
marry the widow. Children of that second marriage were considered children of
the first husband. This custom is alluded to in the story of Onan in Genesis 38,
in which Onan refused to impregnate his brother's wife lest his own children
lose his inheritance. Moses codified the custom in his Law, but softened it by
giving the brother the option of refusal.
By the time the book of Ruth was written, the practice had extended beyond the
immediate brother to include even distant relatives. An unnamed distant kinsman
was given the opportunity to marry Ruth, a childless widow of an Israelite. Only
when this relative refused was Boaz free to marry her. A man was forbidden to
take his brother's wife while he still lived, hence John the Baptist's rebuke of
Herod for marrying Herodias, his brother Philip's wife. The Sadducees, who did
not believe in the resurrection, used a hypothetical example of levitate
marriage to test Jesus. They asked whose wife a woman would be in the
resurrection if she had married seven brothers, consecutively, according to
levitate custom (Matt. 22. 23-33).
Matt. 22:30, “For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in
marriage, but are like angels in heaven."
Luke 20:34-36, “The sons of this age marry and are given in marriage, 35 but
those who are considered worthy to attain to that age and the resurrection from
the dead, neither marry, nor are given in marriage; 36 for neither can they die
anymore, for they are like angels, and are sons of God, being sons of the
resurrection."
However, we do have soul mates! And the coming Kingdom is
described as a great wedding!
Further, the other highly intelligent animal other then man is the dolphin, which is highly sexual also and generally peaceful too. Dolphins bear live young that are nursed by the mother with milk, maintain a constant body temperature (are warm-blooded), have lungs and breathe air. Dolphins, called "The Sailors Friend" were thought from ancient times to be intelligent, skillful and devoted to saving lives. Romans used dolphins to depict the soul’s journey across the sea of death to the Blessed Isles - The Great Beyond. At the beginning of the 3rd century, Christians began to use the image of the dolphin as a specific symbol of Christ the guide of soul across the waters of death. Both Dolphins and Christ were the friends of shipwrecked souls and anyone in danger or fear of death. Research work has shown the cognitive capabilities of dolphins in three general areas: the ability of dolphins to learn syntax; the ability of dolphins to use tools and plan their behavior; and, the role of play in the development of dolphin behavior and capabilities. Studies comparing humans and dolphins have been restricted to the similarities of the brain, especially the neocortex. In this regard the their brain is nearly identical, and may even be superior to the human brain in some aspects. Dolphins have midwives, oral sex and recreational sex. It is interesting to note that this high level of sexuality is unusual in animals apart from man. Once having found a suitable mate, the male puts on a display of diving and leaping that has to be seen to be believed; leaping as high as 12-15 ft out of the water during such a display. Eventually the female joins in, the two quite literally making high speed passes at each other. Gradually they come into physical contact, swimming belly to belly, sometimes with their flippers around each other, this still being part of the courtship. The actual method of mating varies from species to species, some couples remaining stationary in the water in a vertical position whilst others are horizontal. In some cases they may involve a very close friend on the other side of the female to keep her pushed against the male! Coition lasts for about 30 seconds, which may not seem very long, but the cetacean is a very sexually active animal and may mate a dozen times a day. Since water is the symbol of all life, emotions and of creation, passion and even sexuality - dolphin brings us teachings from the waters of life. Our sexuality is at the root of who we are, literally and figuratively. ... It truly can be as simple as that. The feeling of joy and fun they engender in humans undoubtedly contributes to their remarkable healing power.
The term free love has been used since at least the
nineteenth century to describe a social movement that rejects marriage, which is
seen as a form of social bondage, especially for women. Much of the free-love
tradition has a civil libertarian philosophy that seeks freedom from State
regulation and Church interference in personal relationships. In addition, some
free-love writing has argued that both men and women have the right to sexual
pleasure. The history of free love is entwined with the history of feminism.
From the late 18th century, leading feminists, such as Mary Wollstonecraft, have
challenged the institution of marriage, and many have advocated its abolition. A
married woman was solely a wife and mother, denying her the opportunity to
pursue other occupations; sometimes this was legislated, as with bans on married
women and mothers in the teaching profession. In 1855, free lover Mary Gove
Nichols described marriage as the "annihilation of women," explaining that women
were considered to be men's property in law and public sentiment, making it
possible for tyrannical men to deprive their wives of all freedom.[1] For
example, the law allowed a husband to physically discipline his wife. In
response, free love feminists stressed the anarchist concept of self-ownership
in the context of sexual self-determination. Free lovers like Nichols argued
that many children are born into unloving marriages out of compulsion, but
should instead be the result of choice and affection—yet children born out of
wedlock did not have the same rights as children with married parents. number of
utopian social movements throughout history have shared a vision of free love.
The Essenes, who lived in the Middle East from the 1st century BC to the 1st
century AD apparently shunned both marriage and slavery.[2] They also renounced
wealth, lived communally, and were pacifist[3] vegetarians. An early Christian
sect known as the Adamites—which flourished in North Africa in the 2nd, 3rd and
4th centuries—also rejected marriage. They practised nudism while engaging in
worship and considered themselves free of original sin.
In the 6th century AD, adherents of Mazdakism in pre-Muslim Persia apparently
supported a kind of free love in the place of marriage, and like many other
free-love movements, also favored vegetarianism, pacificism, and communalism.
Some writers have posited a conceptual link between the rejection of private
property and the rejection of marriage as a form of ownership. One folk story
from the period that contains a mention of a free-love (and nudist) community
under the sea is "The Tale of Abdullah the Fisherman and Abdullah the Merman"
from The Book of One Thousand and One Nights (c. 8th century).
Karl Kautsky, writing in 1895, noted that a number of "communistic" movements
throughout the Middle Ages also rejected marriage. Typical of such movements,
the Cathars of 10th to 14th century Western Europe freed followers from all
moral prohibition and religious obligation, but respected those who lived
simply, avoided the taking of human or animal life, and were celibate. Women had
an uncommon equality and autonomy, even as religious leaders. The Cathars and
similar groups (the Waldenses, Apostle brothers, Beghards and Beguines, Lollards,
and Hussites) were branded as heretics by the Roman Catholic Church and were
brutally suppressed. Other movements shared their critique of marriage but
advocated free sexual relations rather than celibacy, such as the Brothers and
Sisters of the Free Spirit, Taborites, and Picards.Sharing the free-love ideals
of the earlier social movements—as well as their feminism, pacifism, and simple
communal life—were the utopian socialist communities of early-19th-century
France and Britain, associated with writers and thinkers such as Henri de
Saint-Simon and Charles Fourier in France and Robert Owen in England. Fourier,
who coined the term feminism, argued that true freedom could only occur without
masters, without the ethos of work, and without suppressing passions: the
suppression of passions is not only destructive to the individual, but to
society as a whole. He argued that all sexual expressions should be enjoyed as
long as people are not abused, and that "affirming one's difference" can
actually enhance social integration. The Saint-Simonian feminist Pauline Roland
took a free-love stance against marriage, having four children in the 1830s, all
of whom bore her name.
Marriage, in its most important aspect is a social institution. It has existed in some form for all of human history. Yes, there have been variations on a theme, polygamy, polygyny, levite marriage, etc; but they have all had in common the idea of marriage as a place to “contain” sexual expression as well as the best place to raise the children that are the natural product of sexual union.
Chief Joseph was a highly respected man of peace, and he was also the husband of two wives. 980 of the 1154 societies, past or present, for which antropolgists have data have celebrated polygamy. A worldwide sample of over 1,500 human cultures strongly argues that the vast majority either encourage or at least tolerate polygyny - several women married to a single man. In most cultures, women would be furious if a law were passed that decreed they could not become the second, third, or sixth wife of a wealthy, high-status male when the alternative was a monogamous union with a poor, low-status male. High-status males almost always have numerous wives and lowest status the fewest. Clearly, culture makes a huge difference.
It should be clearly pointed out Paul was speaking of sexual sins outside of the marriage bed, he never specified which type of marriage bonds were acceptable or not. Neither does he claim to be an authority on marriage.
The sad thing about the whole is that there are far to many
people, who find themselves having to recognize the non-heterosexual, select the
path of hatred and rejection. Not in having to withstand these, but issuing
them. I find that path to not be of God. God is not hate.
Many have argued that the “lifestyle” of the homosexual is destructive, but
without evidence showing it is so. Many have argued that God hates the
homosexual act, again without evidence showing this is so. Do I demand proof
that these are true? In one form, I guess I am. I set back and read the hateful
remarks, and think “Wow, if these things are true then why would anyone be a
non-heterosexual?” The answer is, of course, one does not choose to be, they
just are. Just like height, skin, and eye color, and other biological traits,
they just are.
It also is important to note that in 1st Corinthins 6:9 Paul
used the words "Malkoi" and "Assinokoietes", not "Eunamos" and "Erastes". The
first two words refer to the active and passive participants in an un-ideal
homosexual act, one where the passive partner is prostituting herself in some
way, or one or both of the partners is promiscuous or predatory. Malkoi can also
mean cowardly without any sexual connotations at all. The second two words,
“Eunamos” and “Erastes” referred to bisexuals more generally- if Paul intended
to condemn loving, same sex relationships he would have used them, not “Malkoi”
and “Assnokoites”- the specific connotations of promiscuity and cowardice would
have been very clear to the primarily Greek citizens of Corinth- and they would
not have inferred a general condemnation of bisexuality from them.

So from the verse itself we discover exactly what Paul thought made this sex
"unnatural intimacy", the sex was lust based, it was devoid of love or
relationship, it was anonymous and impersonal, it was power based and it was
violent. From the larger context, it was located during orgies during idol
worship. So we have a picture of public sexual activity in a group setting which
is outside the bonds of love, mutuality or commitment but is fueled only by
worked up lust and is shapeless and ugly.
We might at this point ask ourselves more about what Paul meant by "natural
intimacy." It would of course be the opposite of "unnatural intimacy," it would
be sexual intimacy that is completely within the bonds of love, mutuality and
commitment. It would be based on the ideal he presents in 1 Corinthians 7:3-5
where the committed couple see their sexual activity as ways to serve one
another, to minister to each other, to bless each other.
For Paul, "natural intimacy" is about sex being where we give ourselves to each
other because we love each other and are committed to that love. "Unnatural
intimacy" is about sex being where we use each other, it is about taking, not
giving. Our "nature" is to love, to come together in mutuality to form a new
family based on that love, and to express our love to that person, whom we love
the most, with sexual intimacy. What is against "nature" for us is to try to
split our selves so our sexual selves are not an integral aspect of our whole
selves, to try and live as if sexual union does not naturally belong within the
context of every other kind of union two people can have. What is according to
our created "nature" being made in the image of God, is that the total union of
love between two people naturally draws us to sexual union and that sexual union
naturally draws us to complete union. It is against our "nature" to deny this
and doing so depersonalizes ourselves and whomever we are sexual with. This is a
degeneration of the meaning of persons.
This is the picture of degeneration Paul wants us to see in Roman idol worship.
Their degeneration of their understanding of the Divine included a degeneration
of how to relate to others, including sexual relation. Just as loving God is
expressed by loving others, so the opposite, denying the being of God, is
expressed by denying the being of others and distorting the ultimate gift of
affirming the being of another into a way to control and dominate.
The chief text for condemnation of homosexuality has been the Sodom story. This
story has often been interpreted as showing God's abhorrence of homosexuality.
In the story, two angels in the form of men were sent to Sodom to the home of
Lot. While they were there, all the men of the city, "both young and old,
surrounded the house -- everyone without exception," and demanded that the
visitors be brought out, "so that we might know them" (verse 5). Lot begged the
men to leave his guests alone and take his daughters instead. The men of the
city became angry and stormed the door. As a result, they were all struck blind
by the angels.
There are several problems with the traditional interpretation of this passage.
Whether or not the intent of the men of Sodom was sexual, the inhospitality and
injustice coming from the mob and generally characterizing the community were
"the sin of Sodom". Jesus himself refers to the inhospitality of Sodom. If,
indeed, the men were homosexuals, then why would Lot offer them his daughters?
What is threatened here is rape. The significant point then is that all rape is
considered horrible by God. The story deserves another reading by all of us.
How is Being Distorted
Some people are using the story of Sodom and Gomorrah to blur the distinction
between rape and sex.
The story of Sodom and Gomorrah begins in Genesis 18:16, and ends at Genesis
19:29. Here's a quick summary:
Abraham negotiates with God to spare the city if ten righteous people are in it,
down from the fifty God originally planned.
Two angels (in the form of men) come to Sodom. Lot, Abraham's nephew, persuades
them to spend the night with him.
Just before bedtime, a mob forms outside Lot's house and demands that the two
men be turned over to them "so that we may know them" (verse 19:5).
The mob is a big one: "the men of the city, the men of Sodom, both young and
old, all the people to the last man" (verse 19:4).
Lot pleads with the mob to go away, and even offers his daughters to the mob.
The mob refuses the offer and tries to break down the door.
The angels strike the mob with blindness, and tell Lot that they have come to
take him from the city.
Lot doesn't want to go, but they insist. They offer to take away anyone he says.
Lot tells two guys, his future sons-in-law, what's going to happen, and tells
them to go with him. But they think he's kidding.
The angels finally almost drag him out of the city, bringing his wife and two
daughters with him.
Lot doesn't feel like going very far, so he selects a nearby small town that was
also scheduled to be destroyed, and suggests they go there. The angels
reluctantly agree and take that town off the hit list.
Sulfur and fire rain down on Sodom and Gomorrah and "all the Plain" (verse 25),
destroying everything there.
Let's Define the Crime
The first thing to notice is the mob plans to have sex with the two men without
their consent. Therefore we can immediately label that as rape. (In this case,
attempted rape.) It's also clear that this is gang rape. Gang rape is a horrible
crime of physical assault and torture and degradation and violence. Sometimes,
in ancient wars, soldiers of the winning army would rape the soldiers of the
losing army -- not because they were gay, or because they wanted sex -- but
because rape was the ultimate act of domination, humiliation, and degradation.
Nowadays, we seem to have forgotten this point. Rape isn't sex. The distance
between rape and sex could be measured in light-years. Rapists target a victim's
sexual organs because the rapist knows that will cause the most physical and
emotional pain. It is no more sexual than a torturer who decides to push bamboo
slivers up under the victim's fingernails. In both cases, the goal is the
maximum infliction of pain.
Let's Define Sex
Sex, by definition, requires consent. Without consent, sex is, by definition,
rape. This is a vital distinction, but attorneys, judges, juries, and society in
general just can't seem to grasp it. Defense attorneys seek to exploit this
confusion, and survivors have to be alert to these attempts to manipulate the
jury's perspective. "So he dragged you to the bedroom, and that's where you had
sex?" the defense attorney will ask. "No," the survivor must reply, "he dragged
me to the bedroom, and that's where he assaulted me!"
Another Biblical Perspective: One of the most disturbing accounts of the Bible
occurs in Judges 19. Often we hear that the Bible never condemns patriarchy or
poor treatment of women; however, Judges provides just such a condemnation.
Never expressly stated, the condemnation echoes in the images the author
produces, and the questions the author raises.
Judges, chapter 19, has a similar story, featuring a Levite and his concubine
who are traveling and are invited into a man's home in the city of Gibeah. In
this version, a mob demands that the homeowner turn over the visitors to be
raped. To save himself, the Levite throws his concubine out to the crowd. "They
wantonly raped her, and abused her all through the night until the morning"
(verse 25). She dies on the doorstep.
Some authors have defended this man's approach, saying that the rights of hospitality demanded he protect his visitor. This rationale has three major flaws. First, no evidence exists for such rigid rules of hospitality in Israelite society, certainly the Bible does not specify such. Second, even if such rules existed, one of the guests due that hospitality was the Levite's wife--she, as much as her husband, was a guest under this man's roof. Third, the Law of Moses specifically forbade a man offering his daughter into prostitution. Put simply, nothing in God's plan made this man's offer acceptable. Just because someone in the Bible does something does not make it right or Godly. This man's actions violated God's laws and God's plan. Instead of protecting the weak as God calls us to, this man offered the least of these up to the wolves.
Nobody, I hope, would consider that to be consensual sex. It is gang rape and
murder. You haven't heard the story of Gibeah much, probably because the rapists
are men and their victim is a woman. It is important to recognize, however, that
the gender difference does not make this any less horrible in any way. In both
Sodom and Gibeah, the issue is gang rape, one of the most brutal and cruel
crimes imaginable. If you read back through this passage, you will notice a
piece of information is missing. When did this lady die? Did she die alone in
the dark? Or while slung over the donkey's back? Or worse, when her husband took
his knife to her? The Bible doesn't answer that question. Many times we like to
take the pretty stories about marriage from the Bible and say, "This is how it
is"; but even in the Bible marriage isn't always a picture book fantasy. Cruel
selfish people exist-both male and female. A popular book proclaims that if a
wife submits to her husband, God will make everything OK. God loves us and wants
to protect us; but He gives us free will. Evil people can do evil things.
Selfish people do selfish things. Abusive people abuse. This lady did what her
husband said, and God didn't step in and miraculously rescue her. We can get
angry, but this story is as much a part of the Bible as the parts that we like.
The Bible offers more than a pat answers to easy questions. We must heed the
darker warnings as well as the picture perfect promises.
Paul's statement in Romans 1:18-32 has been taken as the strongest New Testament
rejection of homosexuality. He is concerned about the influence of some pagan
cultures on the Roman Christians. After giving a detailed description of a world
that "exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshipped and served created
things rather than the Creator, " he continues, "Therefore, God gave them over
to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural
ones. In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and
were inflamed with lusts for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other
men and received in themselves the due penalty of their perversion."
What Paul was referring to was homosexual temple prostitution which was
performed by various cults (though far more cults used heterosexual
prostitution). Again, Paul is not referring to same-sex love, and he clearly has
no concept of persons for whom this lifestyle is "natural."
Paul's other reference to homosexual acts is similar to that of 1 Timothy
1:8-11. Both passages contain lists of persons to be excluded from the Realm of
God. The interpretation of these passages depends on two Greek words which have
always presented a problem for translators. In the King James Version, they are
translated "effeminate" and "abusers of themselves with mankind." In the Revised
Standard Version, they were combined and rendered homosexuals; however, these
are not the Greek words for homosexual, so that translations reflects the
scholars' bias. The New International Version illustrates the difference in
these two words by translating them "male prostitute" and "homosexual
offenders". The Jerusalem Bible uses the terms "catamites and "sodomites".
Catamites were youth kept especially for sexual purpose; they were usually paid
large sums of money. Neither passage refers to persons of same-sex orientation,
but to people who used their sexuality for personal gain; and abuse love.
Some males cover their masculine sense of inadequacy by treating women as
second-class citizens. Some heterosexuals reveal their sexual insecurity by
oppressing homosexual persons. It is interesting to me to see how throughout
history we blessed our prejudices with sanctified quotations from Holy
Scriptures as if to say God shares our prejudices with us. Polygamy has been
outlawed, but serial monogamy has become the norm.
Jesus' central message was that the Law shouldn't be used to cause suffering to
people. He preached against the rule about walking on the Sabbath if you needed
to get help because your donkey fell in a hole. He preached against the the
rules about gleaning crops. He certainly preached against the rules for
draconian punishments for sexual sins (like stoning women). What Jesus got
arrested for was an act of civil disobedience in the Temple when he overturned
the tables of the money-changers in an act of righteous vandalism against the
rule about not bringing coins with graven images into the Temple precincts.
Jesus spent His whole ministry preaching against literal--and
oppressive--interpretation of the Old Testament Law. He was executed as a
heretic.
It is also interesting to note that the message of Jesus appealed to oppressed minorities, it was a much social as it was spiritual, and that his ministry was dedicated mainly to bringing hope to those who were unfortunate or cast to the margins of society. His was a message of acceptance. He was despised because he truly cared for these people. He was a revolutionary that had to be murdered by the authorities. It is unfortunate that pseudo-Paul, (Paul's editors) who never met Jesus in person, was so anti-women and anti-gay and became so vocal a representative of a prophet whose values he did not share. Christianity was really meant to be a completely open, sex-affirming and women-affirming religious tradition within Judaism, and had it not been for Paul's homophobic and women-hating prejudice, it would have probably succeed at that, at least to a certain degree.
It is very unfortunate that today such a significant portion of our society -- many of those who worships Jesus as their Master and Godhead -- uses the Bible to crucify sexual minorities in the same way that the Bible was used to crucify Jesus himself, for trivial things like healing during the Sabbath. They have challenged the historical Jesus by casting the first stone. One cannot believe in the Bible and in Jesus' divinity or in the importance of his message at the same time, as the account of Jesus' trial and death contains a story of Biblical oppression and injustice! Jesus defied the Law. The bottom line: the Kingdom of God is within us all, it's not in the Bible. This is what Jesus gave his life to teach us.
it is time evangelical Christians stop quoting the Bible to perpetrate their
prejudices against both homosexuals and women. The Bible is not a medical and
health textbook and the level of knowledge available to the ancient people who
wrote it compromises its authority. The Bible came into written form roughly
between 1000 B.C.E. and 135 C.E. The world has learned much since then. To
suggest that the Bible somehow has the answer to complex modern issues like
homosexuality and abortion is to be uninformed at best; it is to be malevolent
and destructive at worst.
"Love is patient, love
is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude,
it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of
wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always
protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails."
I Corinthians 13:4-8a (NIV)
This verse describes the characteristics of true love. These qualities can certainly be found in the person of Jesus Christ, and they can be found in all truly loving relationships. The problem with trying to "find" love in our dating lives, is that too often we don't look for these characteristics. Rather we look at physical appearance, popularity, or wealth. These are not the qualities that God looks at and neither should we.
"But the LORD said to
Samuel, '...The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at
the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.'"
I Samuel 16:7b (NIV)
Love is best seen as devotion and action, not an emotion. Love is not exclusively based on how we feel. Certainly our emotions are involved, but they cannot be our only criteria for love. True devotion will always lead to action - true love.
"Dear children, let us
not love with words or tongue but with ACTIONS and in truth."
I John 3:18 (NIV)
Christ was devoted to us enough to give his own life for us (Romans 5:8), even when he didn't feel like it (Matthew 26:39).
Our culture has taught us that sex and love are one in the same. This is a half truth. Sex is a beautiful God-given activity that is wonderful when practiced within the boundaries of a loving marriage. Sex is the completion of the binding of people within marriage; it is a God-given gift.
Since the family is the primary social unit, if it is operating well in a society, many of the problems (poverty, crime, social security, health care costs) could be better and more effectively handled by the family- mother(s), father, children, with supporting extended family members as well. The basic question is the meaning of love, marriage, sexuality, and family in a free society. Marriage as a society’s normative institution for both sexual activity and the rearing of children. All sexual morality, then, comes down to this simple question: Does this behavior incarnate God's love or does it not? We can only bear witness to God in our lives, live our truths, hold up the banner of truth, and be a lighthouse for all who are groping towards the light. Keep praying and meditating, and loving. All the pieces will fall into place for your walk if you do those things....and remember that you are the apple of His eye. You are a special child of God and are very loved.

Could any true Christian conceive of Jesus saying, " you need help, but I won't
touch you because - "You are a homosexual, or lived with a woman outside
marriage, or got divorced"; no, rather, he would just say, "Come and I will help
you".
Life's greatest mystery was revealed in love's greatest act. Jesus the author of
life, died for us, paying the penalty for all our wrongdoing. How can we be
sure? God proved it by raising Jesus from the dead. He is alive today.
What the Bible clearly celabrates is the happy marrige of a man and a woman in
love with each other. Hope and fear come together in our desire for a great
love; for a great lover. As individuals we long to be most special to our
beloved.
These are elements of true love.
1. *Compassion*. Compassion is not only the desire to make someone happy, to
bring joy to a beloved person, it is the ability to bring joy and happiness to
the person you love, because even if your intention is to love this person, your
love might make him or her suffer. To be able to give happiness and joy, you
must practice deep looking toward the person you love. This is not only the
desire to ease the pain of another person, but the ability to do so. You must
practice deep looking in order to gain a good understanding of the nature of the
suffering of this person, in order to be able to help him or her to change.
Because if you do not understand this person, you cannot love properly.
3. *Joy* If there is no joy in love, it is not true love. If you are suffering
all the time, if you cry all the time, and if you make the person you love cry,
this is not really love--it is even the opposite. If there is no joy in your
love, you can be sure that it is not true love.
4. *Freedom*. In true love, you attain freedom. When you love, you bring freedom
to the person you love. If the opposite is true, it is not true love. You must
love in such a way that the person you love feels free, not only outside but
also inside. "Dear one, do you have enough space in your heart and all around
you?" This is an intelligent question for testing whether your love is something
real.
The key to unlocking your sexual confidence is to check your
self-perception. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder—and you have to see
yourself as beautiful before you can expect anyone else to. Yes, you need to
feel good about your body. But as thousands of sensuous women will tell you,
body image is far less important than just feeling good about yourself and your
life overall. By deliberately steering your internal dialogue toward positive,
empowering thoughts, you can increase your level of assurance. Maybe you need to
replace your current internal dialogue with sexually confident messages.
Healthy love rooted in God has the dynamic quality of continuous growth, and
continually adds more individuals to the body of Christ, and more of the body of
Christ to the individual. We may desire the great romance, that magical love of
our one and only 'true' love or soul mate, however, this desire for passionate
communion is in reality the desire for our God or Goddess; and is not exclusive
to any single beloved individual. "The two shall become one" is obviously the
paradigm, however, life is not a black and white picture and necessity is often
the match maker. Love is something mystical and is a property that belongs to
God and Goddess and yet also belongs to those we love. Let's be clear; this is
through your lover, not without your beloved. That is to say, this divine love
is seen in those we love most; and most of all in your most beloved. He/She is
made in the image of the divine and is the express image of God/Goddess. Your
lover is the vessel of the creation of love and in them we seek completion of
love. It is like the petals of the rose, we love the petals that make the rose,
yet, it is the totality of the rose that is our hearts yearning. We love our
beloved, yet it is their real connection to the divine, the very heart of love,
we truly seek. We come to discover the great mystery that all of God's children
are our soul mates. We are lovers in communion in the great heart of love. This
is why Jesus said that in the world to come that we are not given in marriage,
and yet also speaks of his second coming as a great wedding.
The greatest tragedy of life is not that men perish, but that they cease to love.
"Do you have any teachings about polygamy? Do you believe it is
wrong/sinful to love more than one person at a time while in a committed
relationship?"
Is it wrong? There is no such thing as an absolute wrong or right in romance. It
depends upon you and your situation and what you want to learn about life and
yourself. It depends upon your situation and the people you are involved with
and what their desires are and how honest you are being with them. I always tell
people to feel their way through right and wrong…good feels good…bad feels bad.
Your Feelings are Your Guide!
Regarding polygamy or having multiple lovers at the same time…Loving multiple
people means you never get too close to any of them. This is because life is TOO
FULL...we are all too busy, love, real LOVE takes time. Unless you are
independently wealthy, or for some reason you don't have to work for a living,
and you have heaps of free time on your hands, sustaining this sort of thing can
be very draining. Great sex, heaps of fun, is quite possible with multiple
lovers...also you will have to deal with jealousy and people who grew up in a
culture where this sort of thing is taboo and even illegal and all the guilt
issues that go along with it.
However you will find a couple of things if you remain open and become
aware...what you seek outside of yourself, from other people, you have no
control of...but if you look for it inside, it is all there and way beyond what
another person can ever offer to you.
understand. First, there are relationships. and relationships,
and one should enjoy all kinds of relationships. Nothing is wrong: even the
relationship that happens only in the head has its own beauty. The relationship
that happens through the heart has its own beauty and the relationship that
happens just as a sexual thing, that also has its own beauty..
You may be attracted to someone only sexually. Now you create a problem if you
want to make it a love affair also. You create something artificial, you force,
and then the problem arises; otherwise there is no problem. That relationship
has to exist on that level; nothing is wrong in that level. And by total... you
have a wrong concept of totality. You mean by totality that your thought, your
feeling, your sex, should all be involved in it. That will not be possible right
now. That will be possible only later on when you have lived a different kind of
totality first..
When you have learned how to live in a relationship physically, how to live in a
relationship psychologically, how to live in a relationship intellectually, when
you have worked on all levels and each level has been total then the second kind
of totality will become possible. Then a relationship is possible which becomes
total on all three levels together, simultaneously..
But before that it is not possible. You are creating the problem. Don't ask too
much, otherwise you will be miserable. Whatsoever is available, use it, go into
it. And nothing is wrong, nothing is ever wrong except when you start asking for
too much and your life energy is not ready for that jump. It is as if one goes
swimming: if you can swim only in shallow water then there is no need to go into
the deep water right now. It will be dangerous, you will not enjoy it; you will
be constantly afraid..
How can you enjoy it when you are afraid that death is possible if you go a
little further?..
First swim in the shallow water, learn swimming in the shallow water; once you
have learned then go into the deeper water. Once you know how to swim it doesn't
matter, the depth of the water doesn't matter, because swimming is possible
anywhere..
This is your problem: you have not learned to be total on one level and you want
all the levels to come together. These are three dimensions of love -- the
genitals: the lowest but the most substantial; then the heart: not so low,
higher, very much higher but more fragile naturally. The higher a thing becomes,
the more fragile it becomes. The roots are the most strong thing in the tree and
the flowers are the most fragile..
If a tree starts asking for the flowers without creating roots then the tree
will be confused. That's how you are conf