There are people who are able to commit themselves to a long-standing relationship and there are sex-addicts that can't. Just like I can understand the urge for shoplifting but know better than to do it, so should people know that letting their hungers get the best of themselves is never the right thing to do.

should sit shiva for this ignorant Rabbi and excommunicate all rabbis who share his primitive attitude. The State of Israel should enforce compulsory education law among the fanatic ignorants of extreme religious communities inorder to free the young generation of the coumpulsory ignorance enforced by their parents and primitive "spiritual" leaders. There are some Nobel Prize winners among observant religious people - a fact which proves that being religious does not necessarily means being primitive unless one wishes to remain so.

side by side

completed a forensic assessment on a trangendered man (in the process of altering his gender) who killed another man in a camp in the northern region of British Columbia. I learned a great deal about sexuality while completing this report. At any rate, it had, for a long time, been clear to me that gay men could often be noted as such when they were children and certainly by adolescence. Dealing with a trangendered, it became utterly clear to me, if I had any doubts about the issue, that many gay men are wired differently than we normals. And furthermore, it's not and it wasn't a disease nor an abomination. A second point which I'd like to make is that sexuality is not an either-or situation because it's on a preference scale and a person's sexual preferences may change during his/her lifetime. Furthermore, men are far more labile as adolescents in terms of sexual identity due to identity formation than later on their lives. Some people are not "wired" as such but turn to a homosexual lifestyle or to a homosexual experience for a variety of reasons. Think of a child who is sexually abused by an adult male. The child's development may have been quite within the range of normality until this event occurred. It often happens that after such an event, the boy child also learns, for a variety of reasons, to turn to homosexual partners and quite promiscuously at that. Finally, I am less certain regarding the sexual development of females. I do think (it's a theory) that sexuality in females is more labile than in males and that homosexual (lesbian) encounters are not as earthshattering for women as they are for men. Perhaps it is because we all come from women. At any rate, an Orthodox rabbi with whom I was studying assured me that homosexuality was unnatural. As a psychologist, I knew better. Over the years, I learned to become more accepting of people who were different than myself and even now, as a paunchy old grandfather, I have had the occasion to become more accepting and, as a result of acceptance, my life has been handsomely enriched. Now, the question is, have people become more accepting of an idiosyncratic old man like me?

1) "Think of a child who is sexually abused by an adult male. The child's development may have been quite within the range of normality until this event occurred" This show's your true colors. The implication is that being homosexual is "not within the range of normalicy". 2) Transgendered in not homosezuality. One is a issue of gender identity and one is an issue of sexual orientation. As a psychologist you should know that. 3) You begin your talkback by talking about a transgendered male who killed another man. And then you say how you learned alot about sexuality and the development of gay men. Transgendered is not homosexuality. One is a issue of gender identity and one is an issue of sexual orientation. As a psychologist you should know that. Good thing you are retired and no longer treat or evaluate people.

As a gay man to a straight man i accept you and respect you, old maybe but definatley wise. :-)

children to be straight, not cause to denouce a child like this idiot but most gay people prefer their own children to be straight, I am not making this up, it's giving fact.

create us. If God created us, then He/She/It created homosexuals, and there is nothing to worry about. If God did not create us, homosexuals can be homosexuals without fear of the wrath of God, so there is nothing to worry about. Whatever happened to live and let live? If you daughter is a lesbian and alive, there is no reason to sit shiva, any more than if your daughter is born retarded. I would like to tell the religious institution to get a life and to stay out of the private lives of others.

Psychologist", is a nasty little man (he sounds like a young man) and excessively pedantic. Who would ever wish to be treated by someone like him? As to the points I made, this is a Talkback, not a research paper. It's not that his points aren't arguable, just that he is so meanspirited in advancing them. And his conclusion is ridiculous and unmerited. He lacks a sense of humour, always a crucial aspect in terms of treatment and in gaining peoples' confidence. Is there anyone on this Talkback who would feel confident being treated by a person like him? More time around the academic community will only insure his incompatibility in terms of treatment/counselling. I would advise experience in the real world. Also, it would be beneficial were he to grow up.

came easily. One has to grapple with one's biases and limitations. I'm still grappling!

Jewish homosexuals in Israel what with all the hostility from the National Orthodox and Charedim, it just occurred to me: What would it be like to be a Arab Muslim male homosexual residing in the Westbank? In fact, what if the homosexual were an Arab Muslim woman? I'll bet our rabbis would appear lenient in comparison. Enough of this drama, however, as I, and another Talkbacker. Cynthia, the one with the real sense of humour, are working on a filmscript. The working project is called: "Assassination in Dubai". We are looking for backers!

revealed to you by the Lord. Perhaps you have not faced the difficulties and persecutions in life that I have, so you don't need the accolades of heaven to lift the load. The language of heaven is Hebrew and the music is not any you describe. It is a music and singing and celebration that is joy and love itself, something you or I could not know on this earth with mere mortals. It makes every sacrifice or loss bearable, knowing there is a family in heaven that is not jealous and hateful but abundant with joy at the difficulties that have been overcome by a brother of sister in the Lord. There just isn't anything on earth that can compare to it. One moment in that heavenly scene is more joyous than a wedding day or the birth of a child or a fabulous promotion. It is most like a wedding celebration or a coronation since God's people receive crowns they then give to the Jewish Messiah to wear. I have also seen the mansion in heaven for me, at least one room of it. There are many windows and it is glorious. Voltaire was an unbeliever and his death was terrible, like King David saw of his enemies who are consumed in terrors at the moment of death. The death of saints is like being surrounded in white wings (God's wings of comfort) with the music of heaven receiving the soul of the saint in such a grand welcome and accolation for having overcome the world and its miseries, that parting from this earth is a joy instead of a terror. Am I close to death? I asked the Lord if the music of heaven He let me hear was for me and if I was dying that day recently. He answered, No. It is for Carolina. She is the wife of a faithful friend who has helped me with handyman tasks for years. So I emailed some people who are powerful in prayer to help Carolina through the hypertensive crisis she was hospitalized for. Guess what? She recovered, hopefully to raise her three children to be as near to the Lord as she is. She is probably disappointed at not being in a more glorious place where there are no home foreclosures and taxes, but her husband and children needed her more than the Lord did, for now.

in the Torah which is a condemnation of mannish women who hump other women or usurp other authority from males. In the Yeshua Covenant, it is called the woman departing from the natural use to that which is unnatural. The condemnation is not as severe as with male homosexuals, but it is condemned. Abusers of themselves with mankind (male or female) do not inherit the kingdom of God unless they forsake and repent such behaviors. Abuse indicates what is not intended for use by the Maker or Creator, God. It is more difficult for people to depart from sin if a cuse is on them from the sins of mothers and fathers and grandparents which can alter the DNA and cause aberrent behaviors. But it is worth overcoming and the rewards are greater for those who have more to overcome. When people rebel against God, at a certain point, He gives them over to the dominion of sin. It is like Pharoah of Egypt who hardened his heart against Moses's requests until a certain point of no return when the Lord started hardening his heart so He (the Lord) could destroy him (Pharoah). There was no turning back for the sinner at that point. Eternal separation from the Lord had occurred.

Damn', I've been flipping through the OT all morning, looking unsuccessfully for "who hump other women." Could you, please give me chapter and verse? As for usurping a male's "other" authoritiy, let me put it this way: If a guy who's close to me is not smart enough to hang onto his authority, whatever the hell that is, you can bet your bippy that I'll go after it. Somebody with good sense has to run the show and take care of business around here. Since all those Good Books were written and keep being "interpreted" by men with little regard for women, except how to, metaphorically speaking, ship them to the back of the bus, I don't put much stock in them. One of the deadly sins my mother described was wasting the brain God gave me, and she was a lot closer and commanded much more respect than the guys waving Good Books. Oh, and my maternal grandmother's greatest sin, as far as I was concerned, was to visit during the war, knitting wool underwear and ugly brown stockings for which I really hated that woman. It speaks for my excellent health and innocense as a kid that I didn't care how deep the snow was or how low the temperature had fallen, this little girl would jerk off those disgustingly scratchy, itchy drawers and stockings, throw them into the broom closet on the way out the door and go bare-a--ed. As for your mansion in heaven, please promise that it' won't be in my neighborhood. I'd probably sign up for the next trip to hell just to get away from you and all that weird music just for starters.

May God protect is from the self-righteous who use religious texts to excuse their bigotry in derogation of the one true commandment" Do unto others as you would have them do unto you'"...

We have Paqid, who is a "secret" Christian, for example.

Kine is Hebrew for cattle or cows since bulls are called bulls in the English translation. Cattle horns are a contemptuous horn in Y'hovha's view as are cattle, compared to sheep. Kine of Bashan is speaking of ancient Israeli/Judean females who departed from the faith and became cruel and mannish (homosexual) in Amos chapter 4 of the Hebraic Roots Version Bible: "Hear this word, youkine of Bashan...that oppress the poor, that crush the needy, that say unto their masters: 'Bring, that we may feast.'the Adonai YHWH has sworn by His holiness: Behol, surelythe days whall come upon you, that you shall be takenaway with hooks, and your residue with fish-hooks.And you shall go out at the breaches, every one straight before her; and you sahll be cast into Harmon (hell), says YHWH." Deuteronomy says it is an abomination for a woman to wear that which pertains to men, which would be mannish women, likely homosexual women. What authority is it of a man that a woman should not usurp? Proverbs chapter 31 gives a clue that combined with the Deuteronomy prohibition of women wearing that which pertains to men gives some understanding to. The mother or King Lemuel is quoted by Solomon as warning her son that men should not give their "strength" to women. The word "strength" in that verse means "army, defenses, fortifications." Those are the authorities that God preserves for men. Deborah was a ruler of ancient Israel, but Barak was her military leader, a general and in effect a co-leader since Deborah did not usurp that authority as Commander in Chief over Barak. Revelation 21:8 lists some categories of people who do not have eternal life. "But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolators, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death." That is the King James Version translation. The Hebraic Roots version lists the sexually immoral. That means fornicators, adulterers, adulteresses, pedophiles, homosexuals, beastiality (sex with animals), etc. do not inherit eternal life. Homosexuality is sexually immoral to the Lord and His kingdom is closed to such people UNLESS they REPENT and FORSAKE such behavior. All sheep go astray but return to the fold unlike pigs who return to mud.

published on here and instead of being derogatory towards Jews you are inspiring for all of us. Thanks and please keep heading in the same direction!

me remember those scratchy wool trousers that I was required to wear, circa age six. I think it made such an impression on me that I endeavored never to dress up for any reason whatsoever my whole lifelong. I hear there are new materials which don't scratch. Is that true? Incidentally, you must have emigrated from Minnesota or some such place as Atlanta never gets cold and woolen stockings would have always been out of place.

oh my goodness. what would David and Jonathan say about this....

World War II Germany and suffered many deprivations from the war and the harsh winters there. Wool and polyester fabrics are easier to iron and don't itch as much. Boiled wool vests, jackets,and coats don't itch much either and are quite warm.

What about this baptist guy ?

thank you for calling us all uninformed and or gay... has it ever ocured to you that maybe it is the religious elite who is uninformed? This Rabbi is condemning this lesbian woman, asking her parents to sit shiva for her? How dare he? God created all of us- straight, gay, stupid, smart, religious and secular, Jews and Christians- so who are those bearded men with black hats who critizise God? Instead of comforting the parents- he is making them feel guilty for having such a ' bad' daughter? So, what is it we uninformed TBs did not understand?

I only wanted chapter and verse. To save you the trouble of ever again preaching to me, here is my credo: I believe in one omnipotent, omniscient God, THE CREATOR OF ALL THAT IS, whose nature is unknown and unknowable. I believe that I was given time, a brain and a conscience for good reasons. I have the obligation to always share with those, who have less than I do and to respect others no less than I want them to respect me. What I don't believe in is the infallibility of human beings, regardless of their titles, the books they've written, or the voices they hear. You can believe in the Lord of the Flies or Harry Potter for all I care, but your dissertations leave me cold. Actually, they bore me to tears. .

Based on one beautiful sentence in David's lament, the notion that David was homosexual has been propagated throughout time. This is total and utter nonsense. I have buried many a friend and have expressed love by the graveside. Am I to be deemed sexually deviant because of this ?

is an expression of mourning for a dead person. I would presume that sitting shiva for a living being, deviant or otherwise, is an expression of wishing them dead. The one thing, the solitary, single piece of ethos, that I like about the Jewish religion is the fact that human life takes precedence over all other considerations. How can a Rabbi explain to himself the obvious inconsistency and conflict of interests in this case.

Well, someone, already, gave you a synopsis of my life. Thank goodness she's not familiar with the best/worst parts or you'd still be reading tomorrow morning, especially with the addition of all those biblical footnotes. Suffice it to say that she established the fact several months ago that I have live demons cavorting on my couch, just waiting to pounce. Although unseen by my non-believing eyes, I've been trying to entice those devils to cook and/or do house work, but so far, no luck. If there's one thing I can't stand, it's a crew of lazy, useless demons!!! With the exceptions of cotton and silk, I'm not too up on the peculiarities of the different fabrics, other than to run, if a label says, "Wool." BTW, Atlanta had 3" of snow last week-end. That was enough to clear every supermarket and 7-11 of the last loaf of bread and bottle of beer. I don't know, if the bread is for soaking up the alcohol or what the connection is, but it always happens at the mere mention of snow. I, myself, don't drink beer and stuck with salt to melt the ice on my drive. And I don't have a clue what any of this has to do with "gay." Well, at least, I don't try to explain God.....