Olympic Hurdles Hopeful, Lolo Jones, is a Virgin!

Lolo Jones could certainly be in the news simply because she is one of the world's best hurdlers and headed for the London 2012 Olympics. 2008 could have been her year but for a fateful clip on the top of one of the last hurdles in the gold medal heat. The real reason the media has lit her up this week is because she's a virgin! Yes, she is attempting to honor God and her future husband by waiting to have sex until she is married.



Is that "honorable" right, wrong, recommended or a foolhardy moral goal?

Jesus was never married, that we know of. Do you think he could have come to Earth to experience what it was like to be human without tasting every aspect of what our lives are like? I personally believe that before dying on the cross he knew what it meant to be human . . . in every respect.

History has shown that attempting to repress fundamental biological functions only seems to lead to personal disaster, not halo-ready sanctity. Celibacy hasn't worked well for the Catholic Church, has it, just to give one obvious example. Celibacy for a period, as a free-will option, certainly has its place in our lives. Is Lolo doing the right thing? Yes, if celibacy is working for her, but no if it is creating escalating anxieties in her life.

Why does the Bible promote sex withing marriage? The reasons are obvious. Children are best raised in a family setting, disease is less likely in a monogamous relationship, and the powerful bonding emotions connected with having sex can be honored and nurtured in marriage.

People so often think of things labeled as "sins" in the Bible as being connected to whether you'll end up in heaven or hell. That's not really the issue. Anything labeled as a "sin" is there to warn you that the potential exists to hurt yourself or others if that sin is engaged in.

There are times when we just must experience certain things . . . commit certain sins. It's not the end of your spiritual world. Learn from your mistakes and let your soul grow in wisdom as a result.

Gay 'Cure' Study was Flawed!

An eminent doctor, Robert Spitzer, thought of as the father of modern psychiatry, published a study in 2003 that seemed to indicate that homosexuals could be "cured" and restored through reparative therapy to a "normal" heterosexual status. This study was latched onto by the anti-gay movement which they used to support their contention that being gay was a disease, a sin, and that anyone wishing to change could do so.

 

Recently, Dr. Spitzer has been in the news indicating the study was flawed and regretted putting it out there where it ended up doing so much harm to so many struggling with their sexual identity. My advice to the anti-gay conservative Christian movement, let God decide the eternal destiny of individual souls. I know there are anti-gay verses in the Bible, but if we as believers today had to be held to the dictates of individual verses, no matter what historical era they belonged to we'd still be offering God blood sacrifices and stoning to death anyone committing adultery.

God's Plan for us has been evolving through time, and at this critical juncture in spiritual history it is far more important to God that we find the solid common ground that unites us instead of finding excuses to divide us.

Donna Summer Dies . . .

Donna Summer passed yesterday, much too soon, in her early 60s, after a bout with cancer. She was raised in a strict religious family and  got her start singing in church before becoming the Queen of Disco. During the replay of an earlier interview on public radio's Fresh Air, interviewer extraordinaire, Terry Gross, asked Donna what it was like to be living in Germany in her teens, away from her parents, while she was part of the cast of the musical Hair. Her answer surprised me!



Donna described the relief and sense of freedom she felt to be out from under her parents rigid oversight. She admitted to experimenting with her boundaries, but said ultimately it was important for her to find faith-based guidelines that were right for her . . . not a set of rules that were dictated to her or a set of expectations that were practiced by the group of Christians she was a part of.

I was surprised to hear her admit to something I've believed in my heart for a long time. I wrote Maitreya in recognition of the need that each soul has to establish an authentic faith free from the dogmatic indoctrination of any faith system within which one is raised. Maitreya will help the reader tear down those walls than prevent your faith from taking flight to the brave new spiritual world in which your conscience becomes your Guide instead of your accuser.

Following the news, you've probably heard that President Obama came out in support of same-sex marriage, saying his evolving position on the subject finally came in line with his strong belief that sanctioning gay marriage is, " . . . a logical extension of how America is supposed to be."



Two aspects of what he did are significant. He honestly described his beliefs on the subject as "evolving." I wouldn't be at all surprised to find out that God is open to the same process of  "evolving" with respect to God's spiritual goals for us. Want proof, didn't his "chosen people" used to have to offer blood sacrifices to be in good spiritual standing? Can't we interpret God sending Jesus to be the final blood sacrifice as evidence of an evolving position with respect to God's relationship with mankind?

Most of the groups and individuals opposed to gay marriage believe that the issue is clear in the Bible, citing verses going back to the Old Testament. I believe God's "evolving" feelings on particular issues are reflected in our global society's collective consciousness. In the past 100 years our collective conscience has pushed mankind toward greater freedom, rights, and equality as reflected in the right of women to vote, civil rights for African Americans, and now greater equality and recognition for the 15% or so of society who are born with an attraction to members of the same sex.

We are on the verge of the next great dispensation or age during which God will reveal an "evolving" plan for our further spiritual development. What will be written in the next Testament, the Kingdom Age Testament? I'm almost sure homosexuals can count on being welcomed into the global family of believers during the Kingdom Age that's coming.

I'm addressed this issue through the focusing and projecting lens of fiction in my book, Maitreya, and in the sequel I'm now working on, Hereafter.

Author Austin Kleon - Steal Like an Artist

Well, I just left a book signing at a local bookstore connected to my favorite Starbucks, a cafe with a real gas fireplace, a wonderful setting to write and feel part of the creative community on the East Side of Milwaukee near Lake Michigan. Austin Kleon gave his polished, well-rehearsed pitch with the high-tech aid of a PC projector wirelessly connected to his iPad. A Powerpoint presentation was synched to what he was saying.


As an author who hasn't "made it" yet, I was caught up in the glamour of the scene--struggling writer makes good. How did it happen for him? Why him and not me? Then, reality set in. Austin mentioned that he'd already done three book signings just like the one I was a part of. My heart sank because I knew I could never manage a grueling book promotion tour which can go on for months, city after city, repeating the same thing over and over.

I really don't know how successful writers pull that off--turn off their creative energies and become the voice of an endlessly looped recording . . . over and over and over and over.

Suddenly it struck me that the true joy of being a writer, or engaging in any of the creative arts, comes during the process of creating. I can thrive spiritually on my daily writing session whether a million people or only a few ever read what I've written.

Austin's book, by the way, is a gift to artists to help them understand what it takes to enjoy their gift whether or not they ever become successful. It also lets everyone know that we are all connected and influence each other in ways you'll never know.

I feel better now . . .