Via Tricycle Daily Dharma:

Tricycle Daily Dharma May 1, 2012

Finding Your Place

When you find your place where you are, practice occurs, actualizing the fundamental point; for the place, the way, is neither large nor small, neither yours nor others’. The place, the way, has not carried over from the past, and it is not merely arising now.

- Eihei Dogen Zenji, "Finding Your Place"
Read the entire article in the Tricycle Wisdom Collection

Via AmericaBlog Gay:

Dan Savage's words were harsh, but he's right 

Dan Savage has apologized for using some harsh language when referring to the Bible's provisions calling for the murder of gay people and the endorsement of slavery.  Understandable since Dan has been pro-gay and anti-slavery all his life.

The question remains, is it ever okay to say that the Bible's provisions endorsing the murder of gays and the enslaving of blacks (and others) to be "bullsh*t""?  And if not, why not? 

Surely no one thinks the Bible got it right on slavery?  Nor on its admonition to stone gays to death.  What other word to use for anything, even a holy book, that endorses slavery and the murder of an entire people?  Let me walk you through what 15 different English language versions of the Bible have to say, supposedly, about homosexuality:

New International Version (©1984)

"If a man lies with a man as one lies with a woman, both of them have done what is detestable. They must be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads.

New Living Translation (©2007)

"If a man practices homosexuality, having sex with another man as with a woman, both men have committed a detestable act. They must both be put to death, for they are guilty of a capital offense.

English Standard Version (©2001)

If a man lies with a male as with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination; they shall surely be put to death; their blood is upon them.

New American Standard Bible (©1995)

If there is a man who lies with a male as those who lie with a woman, both of them have committed a detestable act; they shall surely be put to death. Their bloodguiltiness is upon them.

GOD'S WORD® Translation (©1995)

When a man has sexual intercourse with another man as with a woman, both men are doing something disgusting and must be put to death. They deserve to die.

King James Bible

If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood [shall be] upon them.

American King James Version

If a man also lie with mankind, as he lies with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be on them.

American Standard Version

And if a man lie with mankind, as with womankind, both of them have committed abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.

Bible in Basic English

And if a man has sex relations with a man, the two of them have done a disgusting thing: let them be put to death; their blood will be on them.

Douay-Rheims Bible

If any one lie with a man se with a woman, both have committed an abomination, let them be put to death: their blood be upon them.

Darby Bible Translation

And if a man lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall certainly be put to death; their blood is upon them.

English Revised Version

And if a man lie with mankind, as with womankind, both of them have committed abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.

Webster's Bible Translation

If a man also shall lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.

World English Bible

"'If a man lies with a male, as with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.

Young's Literal Translation

And a man who lieth with a male as one lieth with a woman; abomination both of them have done; they are certainly put to death; their blood is on them.

Via AmericaBlog Gay:

Homophobic NYT story on England's spy agency 

There's a story in today's New York Times about Britain's spy agency, MI6, and how a top young spy recently died under unusual circumstances. The article, "Theories and an inquest after a spy's death," is behind the pay firewall, and it seems like some awfully thinly veiled homophobia. Let me walk you through it.

The Times refers to the agents possibly "sexual misadventure" - meaning, one theory is that he died during a somewhat unusual sex act that involved stuffing him in a small duffel bag. Now here's some of the proof from the Times that the guy might have been sexual misadventurous:

1. He was a bachelor. (i.e., he was gay?).

2. He went to transvestite performances (uh, otherwise known as drag).

3. Visited sites on the Internet dedicated to bondage. (ooh, crazy).

But here's my "favorite" part of the story.

"MI6 and other spy agencies in Britain... are no strangers to scandals that have involved the sex lives of some of their greatest talent."

The article then goes on to list several men who were gay. The first, Alan Turing, was basically pushed into suicide by British intelligence simply because he was gay. How exactly is that a "sex scandal"? A bigoted homophobic witch hunt, yes. Sex scandal, uh not really.

The next example they give is just as weird. Several English spies fled to the Soviet Union in the 1950s, and a number of them, according to the Times, "had homosexual liaisons as young men."

Again, yeah - who didn't have homosexual liaisons as young men?

The entire article strikes me badly. If you dare risk one of your ten articles a month, take a look. I think it's poorly written and poorly edited. Being gay isn't a scandal, and it most certainly is not a sex scandal. And someone needs to get out more if they think going to a drag show is evidence of sexual misadventure.

Via JMG: Editorial Of The Day

From the New York Times:

North Carolina already has a law barring same-sex marriage, but the state’s Republican-controlled Legislature is not satisfied. It devised a measure to enshrine this obvious discrimination in the State Constitution and placed it on the ballot of the state’s May 8 primary election — a test of tolerance versus bigotry that ought to be watched closely nationwide. [snip] Opponents of marriage equality have never been able to show any evidence that any harm is caused to heterosexual marriages by granting all American adults the right to marry as they choose — because there is no such evidence. With little more than a week to go before the May 8 contest, and early voting already under way, North Carolinians need to consider whether they really want to inflict this gratuitous bigotry on their fellow citizens and their children.

Read the full editorial.

Labels: Amendment One, North Carolina, NYTimes

Reposted from Joe

JMG Quote Of The Day II- John Shore

"What immediately became a meme amongst those criticizing Dan is that those who walked out of his talk felt bullied by him. But that’s impossible. People get bullied because of who they are: how they look and act, what they say and do. Perceived as being in some critical way weak or lacking, victims of bullies are selected for persecution; they are pulled from the pack before being pointedly and repeatedly victimized. The people who walked out during Dan’s talk were not separated from their peers by anyone. They were content to do that themselves. They were not frightened or cowed. They were offended. They felt that by disparaging what amounts to their God, Dan had transgressed beyond their capacity for toleration. And they were pleased to show their intolerance of Dan’s words by protesting against them in the manner they did. Theirs was not an act born of suffering. It was a proud show of disdain." - Christian author John Shore.

Labels: bullying, Dan Savage, journalism, LGBT youth, Quote Of The Day, religion

Reposted from Joe

Via JMG: North Carolina's New Lunch Counter?

 

Copyranter points us to the website Every 1 Against 1, where you can download anti-Amendment One images to post on your Facebook profiles and elsewhere.

 

  

Labels: Amendment One, Copyranter, North Carolina

Reposted from Joe