I agree, that was a mean-spirited post from Anon to Bex, and yes people who say such things usually seem to want to hide their identity.

My personal feeling is this, following on from what I said about rules, and how I think it's important to differentiate them from other more universal aspects of a religion. When we talk about the Old Testament we're talking about tribes who lived in an area of the Middle East. It would have been beneficial for them to increase their numbers so that they remained strong and viable as a group, and able to fend off attacks from other groups. So it stands to reason that they would have had a strong family ethic which included having lots of children. And that homosexuality would have been anathema because homosexuals don't reproduce do they. In the society we live in today, I'm not saying family shouldn't be important, but we can now put these ideas of reproduction in a different context. This is why it is so vitally important to think and question what we are told, rather than just blindly follow the rules. We need to ask, whose rules are they, and are they still applicable to these people in this day and age.

Can I just ask, folks, if you want to refer to passages in the Bible or any other holy book, please can you either keep it brief, give a summary, or give the chapter and verse so that those who are interested in reading the full text can look it up.

Another mean-spirited anonymous post to Tracy . . . that's just cowardly. I am surprised at some of the venomous things these people come out with. Whatever valid points could be made are couched in insults. Show yer face!!

There's been talk here of being forgiven for our sins. When I was young I really did believe this, that there was something inherently bad and flawed about me because I was human, and as nothing to God. I had to be forgiven over and over in Confession. I think something inside me finally decided it had had enough of this. What is so sinful about being human? We are not perfect and we make mistakes. It is impoprtant to learn from them when we do, and move on. This is not the same thing as believing that there is something inherently bad or evil about us. I don't need anyone's forgiveness but my own, and I can be pretty hard on myself. I think what really got me thinking this way was actually studying Renaissance art. These people were deeply religious, but they were celebrating the beauty of humanity. Michaelangelo clearly had a deep love and awe of the human form. Here were some wonderfully talented people saying look, humanity is just amazing. We should look to the power of good and love within us, and the power to create and transform, rather than telling ourselves how sinful we are.

SoSick, I don't know if you saw my previous post, but would you be interesting in sharing some of your ghostly experiences? I am intrigued.

Linda.