Oddly enough, the language in Romans and Galatians is pretty clear. Other than the antigay part which employs odd and perhaps entirely made up words. If I were a scholar entrusted with interpretation of scripture I’d want to be certain that my results didn’t end up in a game of One Of These Things Ain’t Like The Others.

Setting aside prejudice, it’s not very consistent to find “things like these” to include a blanket prohibition of all things gay. And when approaching a translation inconsistency I think it wise to go back to Jesus’s “all the law and prophets” rule.

Some day this will just seem so obvious. Some day, that is, when the church at whole gets over viewing scripture as a lawbook literally written in modern English by God himself. And an odd lawbook at that, one with very exact rules and no underlying principles.

I sat there listening to someone refer to Buddha as a false idol once that obviously knew nothing about Buddha or Buddhism at all. Since Buddhists aren’t really interested in proselytizing there was no one around to call him mistaken. Doing so would probably be un-Buddhist.

I’d recommend Lama Surya Das personally to any American that has an interest.

But then again a true Buddhist wouldn’t call what I do malpractice. I may play a little fast and loose with “Being there while getting there.” That’s just how I serve.

Another vice list in Galatians 5 includes fornication, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, anger, quarrels, dissensions, factions, drunkenness, carousing, and “things like these.”

Of course, hating LGBT people is malicious, slanderous, haughty, and heartless, and possibly more. The writers did not want to leave anyone out.

Ben, that’s really cute. I have only one issue with it. The Buddha isn’t/wasn’t a god and Buddhists don’t consider him such. In fact there is no creator god in Buddhism. If you want some very interesting and eye opening reading you should read what the Buddha had to say about why some beings think they’re gods.

…and behold, it was very good.

Gimme that old time religion.

From the East there is Buddha,
He really is much cutah,
Comes in brass and glass and pewtah,
And that’s good enough for me.

CHORUS:
Gimme that old time religion
Gimme that old time religion
Gimme that old time religion
It’s good enough for me.

Have you seen Aphrodite,
In her sexy, filmy nighty,
Sometimes she can be flighty,
But that’s good enough for me.

CHORUS:
Gimme that old time religion
Gimme that old time religion
Gimme that old time religion
It’s good enough for me.

Then there is the Horned One,
Of all the Gods, he’s most fun,
He likes to hunt in woods and run,
And that’s good enough for me.

CHORUS:
Gimme that old time religion
Gimme that old time religion
Gimme that old time religion
It’s good enough for me.

Found a few more verses…

It was good enough for Isis
She will help us in a crisis
And she’s never raised her prices,
So she’s good enough for me!
(Chorus)
It was good enough for Kali
Though embracing her is folly
She’d be quite an armful..golly!
And she’s good enough for me!
(Chorus)
It was good enough for Odin
Though those omens were forbodin’
‘Til at last the giants rode in,
And it’s good enough for me!