Here we are in the 21st century. The year is 2013. It's a time when gay people and those who support us in our desire for equality and human rights get blamed for many things: birds falling from the sky in Arkansas, Hurricane Sandy, North Korea's threats against the U.S. Imagine my surprise when I discovered that this ever-growing power that the gays have over the universe dates back to biblical times, when my gay forbears caused the Great Flood in the days of Noah.
I learned this interesting bit of information from Matt Barber, the co-host of the conservative radio program Faith and Freedom. According to Mr. Barber, not only did homosexuals entering into marriage cause the Great Flood, but "tolerance, in the twisted way that the left uses it, in acceptance of all form of sexual deviant behavior as the norm, as normal, natural, good, it's a cancer that brings down societies."
Can I get a "wow!" and an "my goodness!"? Who knew we gays had so much power?! I'm not sure whether to tell my monkeys to fly or to ask the mirror, "Who's the fairest of them all?"
I grew up in the South in the Baptist faith, so I am well-versed in the biblical stories, but never once did I hear homosexuality connected to Noah's flood. The destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah? Always! That's a given. That one seems to be the go-to major event for those citing homosexuality as a reason for epic destruction at the hands of God. But Noah's flood? That is news to me. Sometimes I feel that certain modern-day Christians blame everything that went wrong in biblical times on homosexuals, as if there were no other "wickedness" in the world in those days.
After hearing Matt Barber's claims, I went home and grabbed my New International Student Bible from 1992. It's quite a departure from the King James version of my youth. I immediately found the story of Noah's flood and started to read. I combed every word of Genesis chapters 6 through 9, and you know what? I didn't find anything resembling a homosexual act causing the flood. Then I decided to read the chapters preceding the flood. Again, no homosexual acts. I was confused by this logical leap by Mr. Barber, to say the least, so I did a little research.
I discovered the website Delusion Resistance. The mention of extraterrestrials and UFOs connected to the End of Days should have been enough to turn me away, but I found something interesting. Among the site's many articles was one by David Ben Yakov under the heading "The Days of Noah." This find led me to the New Testament version of the Great Flood story told in Luke 17: 26-27. After reading that account, it hit me: It's all about spin. Here's the biblical excerpt as Mr. Ben Yakov presents it:
And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man. They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all.
Mr. Ben Yakov appears to be using the King James version here. According to his article, per the custom of that day, women were given in marriage to men. But according to Mr. Ben Yakov's interpretation of the text, "they" refers to men, so the words "they were given in marriage" must mean that men were given in marriage to men.
In my Bible's translation, the word "they" is replaced by the word "people." It's interesting how different it sounds when you change the noun. Here's the text from my Bible:
Just as it was in the days of Noah, so also will it be in the days of the Son of Man. People were eating, drinking, marrying and being given in marriage up to the day Noah entered the ark. Then the flood came and destroyed them all.
What I see in the above passage is people (men and women) living their lives, doing what people do. Whether gays caused the flood seems to be all about interpretation and spin. Any of us can find the right translation and the right scriptural passage to make our point. It would be nice if we stopped having to prove our point, learned from the mistakes of old and lived in the world of the present.
I don't practice any organized religion at this point in my life, choosing instead to focus on a spiritual relationship with God that is all my own. However, I am proud of my roots, and I'm proud of my newfound courage to question things instead of merely following what I'm told. I don't want to be a sheep who follows blindly. I want to understand why I believe something. I want my life to consist of more than quibbles over who's wrong and who's right.
I was put on this Earth as a gay man. There is no interpretation or spin needed for that. It is my truth. In this world full of naysayers who believe like Mr. Barber, I'm doing my best to live my authentic life. However, I'm smart enough to know that as long as people keep spouting their interpretations of the Bible, there are those who will believe them with no questions asked.
So for now, I would like "The Power" by Snap! to be on constant loop, to remind me that we gays have the power to make things happen. How's that for spin?