Tweets and Heavyweights

Hello! Haven’t gotten to write for the past two weeks because of a couple of major things to attend to which have been throwing my daily/weekly routines off-center. This is not even the weekend, yet here is an essay.

• It’s been a couple of months since I got my iPad Air 4, Apple Pencil 2, and Smart Keyboard Folio set-up. The verdict: best tech set-up ever. I now understand why so many software engineers/tech people declared the 11-inch Macbook Air “best computer ever” when it came out. It’s like a small laptop, but you can rip out the keyboard easily and it’s a tablet. So portable, so nice to type on, a true companion for your thoughts and daily personal operations. Like how Steve Jobs originally wanted to name Apple “Bicycle” instead because he envisioned the computer to be a bicycle for the mind. Easy to bring everywhere because of the 10.9 inch size and light weight. It’s been indispensable.

• Currently geeking out over putting together my home office. I’ll share when it’s ready. Investing books always say that when it comes to things/objects, we should invest in those that we use the most in our day-to-day life, such as your office chair and mattress. It was a personal goal to get a Herman Miller chair since they are supposedly great for the body and will last for life, but prices are really high here. The CWC Interiors Nextgen sale was a great surprise! They sold discounted units and I managed to get a Herman Miller Express 2 chair originally priced at Php51,400 at Php5,292. Very pleased with this deal.

• On TV this week: What Did You Eat Yesterday? (Photo above) in Netflix was introduced to me by M and is up there in my absolute comfort TV shows of all time. What is it with Japanese home life and their food that makes everything seem so cozy and beautiful? This features the home life and times of a Japanese gay couple Shiro (lawyer) and Kenji (hairdresser). It’s a Japanese TV show so there is minimal PDA (but still lots of kilig) and can be watched by all ages and sensibilities. Highly recommended. Like a cozier Midnight Diner.

• On Books this week:

God and the Gay Christian by Matthew Vines. I would love to share this book with everyone. It may change someone’s life out there; it may heal a family or two. At the very least, a point for pause and consideration for all Christians over this divisive issue. Time Magazine has a bullet point summary here.

Growing up in Catholic school, we were consistently taught that being in a gay relationship is a deadly sin. I still remember the moment when I found out what “gay” was — from our Religion teacher who said that sometimes, men love other men and women love other women, in a tone that suggested it was repulsive. My 7-year old brain struggled a bit to put the concept together, because I had only seen mommy and daddy couples up to this point, and at the same time, the class erupted in “Yuuuck!”. It baffles me to this day why that was the reaction of the class. Was it our teacher’s intonation suggesting that such a reaction was appropriate? Or it was just really the general mindset at the time? It could be both. Either way, the children of today would likely not have the same reaction in class. Their parents might have even taught them already that they can be gay and it’s okay; or that it’s considered bigoted behavior to react that way; teachers would also know better than to incite these things.

It was only last year that I came to know of these Christian schools of thought that one can affirm the full authority of the Bible and at the same time affirm committed, monogamous, same-sex relationships. This is eye-opening and is an argument well worth considering, given the overwhelming bad fruit from the Church’s non-LGBT affirming stance (all the pain, hurt, and trauma inflicted, families divided, people turning away from God), and given what we know now in the fields of psychology and other sciences in relation to gender and sexuality, i.e., that sexual orientation is not a conscious choice, and that it is stable and unchanging. The book also points out the biblical passages that state that celibacy is a gift and is not to be forced upon anyone, not even gay people.

It’s not impossible for the Church to change its mind in the face of hard evidence; it does not mean that the Bible is wrong, but that its interpretation can be adjusted correctly. Galileo Galilei was persecuted by the Church in the 17th century because he dared to publicize his discovery that the earth revolved around the sun instead of the other way around. The Church said that this view is heretical and violated Scripture. In November 1992, Pope John Paul II on behalf of the Catholic Church finally admitted that Galileo was right. 

The arguments in favor of the same-sex affirming mindview are so strong from scientific, historical, and Biblical points of view, not just from this book, but from several others like it, that I feel that there could be a potential historical turning point in the Church’s doctrine. Actually, many Christian churches (though still a minority) are already LGBT-affirming. 

Given a choice between love or exclusion, we should choose love, or at least attempt to. Jesus’ own words in Matthew 22:35-40 are beautiful:  

‘And one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.’

And in Romans 13:8-10:

‘Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.”’

If you have a loved one who is gay but is also a Christian, this book is worth reading. It’s but one of many in this school of thought. Of course, as with anything worthwhile, it has its critics and detractors, the same way that the Church itself has its critics and detractors.