IN THE LIFE: Ties That Bind

IN THE LIFE, the only three-time Emmy nominated public television series documenting the gay experience, explores religious devotion and discord in the LGBT community.

The power of religion to shape our lives, our worldview and our political convictions transcends all cultures, faiths, and sexual orientations. The Bible, the Koran, and the Torah are tools for spiritual guidance, comfort, and direction, but many gay and lesbian people endure a sense of alienation from religious communities that fail to see a place for them in their congregations.

In the wake of many defeats sustained by the LGBT community on Election Day, with the historic passage of Proposition 8 in California and similar amendments in other states, the entire country has been witness to how religion is used as a wedge in the larger community.

Believing that homosexuals have no place in the Christian Church, ex-gay ministries like EXODUS International promise gay and lesbian people struggling to live within the margins of religious fundamentalism “freedom from homosexuality through the power of Jesus Christ.” In its lead-story, “In God We Trusted,” this episode of IN THE LIFE examines evangelical ex-gay ministries that have been established around the country to “re-program” LGBT people into heterosexuals — often with tragic consequences endured by its members: guilt, desperation, even suicide.

In “A Conversation With…” Bishop Gene Robinson, the first openly gay Bishop ordained by the Episcopal Church, and Rabbi Sharon Kleinbaum, spiritual leader of New York City’s largest LGBT synagogue, map their spiritual journeys, noting parallels and pivotal moments that lead them to call for a more inclusive theology that celebrates people of all faiths and sexual orientations. “I wanted to be a part of a Judaism that could ask questions in a sophisticated way about the meaning of life, interfaith relations, sexuality, feminism, gender issues,” says Kleinbaum, “and I believed that Judaism was actually big enough and strong enough, and that God was sophisticated enough to handle those kinds of questions.”

The episode concludes with a “Real to Reel” highlighting Parvez Sharma’s groundbreaking film, “A Jihad for Love.” This rare portrait of a different kind of “Jihad,” meaning: an inner struggle or to strive in the path of God, brings the stories of gay and lesbian Muslims across twelve countries to the forefront of the debate on Muslim scripture and homosexuality.

“Ties That Bind” has begun airing on American Public Television stations, and is available for free video streaming and downloadable podcasting from the IN THE LIFE website. To find out when it will be airing in their local areas, to stream or download it by clicking here http://www.inthelifetv.org/html/episodes/69.html

Gay Palesintinians, Gaza, Isreal

There is a great post on Gay Persons of Color, a blog run by a friend and college, about homosexuality and Palestine. Here is an excerpt:

Can you imagine if heterosexuality were outlawed and that our parents would have to hide us, their children, because we were evidence of their crime? For gay Palestinians, much of their lives are spent deciding when, where, how, and if they should hide. They are caught somewhere in between choosing to be quiet about who they love, undergoing harsh maltreatment at home, which includes physical abuse, death, disowning, or imprisonment, or deciding to escape to Israel, where gay Israelis live a much freer life, but where Palestinians are seen as security threats and therefore must live in hiding to avoid being detained or deported. In other words, if gay Palestinians choose to remain in Gaza or the West Bank, they must hide their sexual identity, but if they escape to Israel they must themselves hide. Sexual identity and Palestinian identity intersect at a difficult place, a no man’s land for gay Palestinians.

It’s a really great read, so click here to get the rest!

“All the People” Includes GLBT Persons Too

PRESIDENT-elect Obama has said he intends to be president of all the people.

I have a great deal of hope and trust that he is the honorable man I perceived him to be. I also realize that, at this time, no one could have been elected if they had taken a stand for gay marriage.

But how can the first African-American president-elect not recognize that his position against gay marriage is segregation, pure and simple?

Doesn’t Brown vs. Board of Education inform him that separate is never equal? It matters not if his stand is the result of political expediency (which I hope it’s not), deeply held religious beliefs or personal opinion. The presidency, though the highest office in the land, is, nonetheless, a secular position, not a religious one.

Read the rest at Philly.com!

Vatican Divorces Italian Parliment Over Gays

After the Vatican refused to sign the proposal approved by the United Nations declaring the decriminalization homosexuality, the Holy See has now announced that the Italian laws are:

Too numerous and unstable to work with

As of yesterday, laws passed by the Italian Parliament will be considered on an individual basis before adopting them as the Vatican’s.  The Vatican’s residents are obviously pissed off that the Italian government views homosexuals as human.

Although the Vatican is an independent state, residents of the Vatican are recognized as Italian citizens.

What the Straights are Saying About Gay Marriage

I ran across this exchange of thoughts on same-sex marriage at MercuryNews.com. I found it interesting, yet amusing to a certain degree. Here’s an excerpt that sums it up nicely however:

I am straight and I find physical contact between same sex disgusting (except between two hot lesbians), but how is their marriage affecting you? Just think about it. What did they ever do to you? Why are you so afraid of their relationship. And what is this crap about them “choosing” to be gay. Just think about that? Can you “choose” to be gay? I know I can’t. And why would anybody in their right mind “choose” to be gay? That’s like “choosing” to be discriminated against, “choosing” to be shun by your family, “choosing” to be the butt of everyone’s joke. Jesus freakin’ christ - nobody in their right mind to would “choose” to be gay in this society where there is so much hate against them. The only reason they are gay is because that’s the way they are and they have no way out! I was born straight and I can’t change that. If you were born gay, you can’t change that either. Because, trust me, in this society, if anybody gay can choose to change, they would’ve done it long time ago. Wake up people! Get educated and let these people live their lives. They’re not asking you to BE gay - they’re just asking that they be what they were born to be. Do you tell a chinese person not to be chinese? It’s the same thing, nobody can choose their DNA.

Check out the entire exchange by clicking here.

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