Ben Ragunton's Gay, Christian Page

Main >> Cultures & Beliefs >> Gay & Lesbian

5-27-07: Just a quick announcement to say that I'm in the process of moving my entire website over to a new host. I'm a wee bit sick of AOL and am in the process of phasing it out. Keith has purchased a host domain on Yahoo and I will be moving my entire page over there. The primary reason for doing this is to hopefully make it easier to manage my website, both this one and my White Sock page. The sock page, while it will be easier to completely migrate, will be done at a later time. I desperately want to get this site done as it works more in harmony with Keith's website. As I do this I will continue to keep my site here on AOL until the entire move is finished. During that time things might look a little weird and certain links might appear and disappear while others may not even work at all. I aks that you be patient and know that I'm going to be spending a lot of time migrating everything over as soon as I can. If you wish to start viewing my website at its new location just go to benandkeith.com/ben and you can start to see it take shape there. Keep in mind that it won't be the entire site with all of my pages. As soon as its done I'll let everyone know and I will also place a redirect page so that people will hopefully be redirected to the new site automatically. Also, when pages do go up at the new site the content will be updated a bit. As I've been looking at my pages I've realized that some of the writing is a bit dated, both in terms of personal expression and spiritual thought. I did write most of this 10 years ago so it was bound to happen. Anyway, updated pages will be moved to the new site while all of the pages, with their original content, will be kept here in their entirety. Have fun!!!

5-24-07: My friends, tonight I feel betrayed. Last November I, along with countless other citizens of this country, made our voices heard. We did so through our power of the vote. We voted to remove Republicans who had allied themselves with our administration in regards to the war in Iraq. We saw a change in the political spectrum. Democrats had the majority in both houses of Congress. There was a new sheriff in town and brought along a mandate to get our soldiers out of Iraq. That's all we were really interested in. Yes there were other issues at the table, but our dying soldiers in a senseless war was first and foremost on the minds of almost every citizen who voted for change. Get out of Iraq. Unfortunately a number of Democrats decided to vote for a war funding bill that had no benchmarks for the Iraqi government, and no timetables for troop withdrawal. In essence our Congress gave President Bush a blank check with no strings attached. Yes my friends, I feel terribly betrayed tonight.
I could go on about what has gone on here, but I think Keith Obermann should offer his two cents instead. He can speak with much greater clarity than I could ever hope to write.

5-13-07: I came across this video podcast from a Myspace buddy named Ben Patrick Johnson. If you ever watch any prime time CBS shows you'll hear his voice as he provides promos for them. He also has a regular podcast which I find to be extremely enjoyable. This one really speaks to my heart and no further analysis is required from me. Just click on the video and enjoy!

5-10-07: I have just two small thoughts for today. First, numerous anti-gay groups are gathering in Poland this weekend for a big conference where the subject will be basically how to combat against the "homosexual agenda." They have picked Poland because it is currently the most notoriously anti-gay country throughout that part of the world. The conference will have representatives from Focus On The Family and even the Catholic Church will have a presence. A spokesperson for the conference basically said that they hope they can change the minds and hearts of the more liberally minded churches throughout Europe, and eventually change the world as well. What I find amusing is that with all of the problems in the world, the homelessness, the poverty, the hunger, and even the lack of education for the children both domestic and abroad, that the only thing they can be concerned with is people like me. I feel so flattered that I'm considered to be such a threat.
The second thought is regarding divorce. It was just reported that divorce rates have reached an all time low since 1970. However the report also stated that one big reason for the low divorce rate is due to the fact that less people are getting married and are just simply living together. Why isn't this a big issue with the Christian conservatives? Based on their interpretation of the Bible, people living together is just as sinful as gays, yet I don't hear any of the evangelicals complaining about them!

The hypocrisy continues.

5-9-07: It was just reported that according to the latest Newsweek poll President Bush now has an approval rating of only 28%. This is the lowest any President has had since Jimmy Carter in 1979. What is also interesting is how the American public is largely unhappy with the entire Iraq war and are especially unhappy with the way President Bush vetoed the war spending bill because it had timetables for troop withdrawals not to mention benchmarks measuring the progress of the Iraqi government. And, as mentioned in my latest blog, Condoleeza Rice said that Bush would veto anything that had benchmarks as part of the bill. I had hoped that this would serve as a wakeup call to the American people. My hopes have been justified as the majority of American citizens want Congress to send another war spending bill with timetables attached, and if President Bush vetoes it again to send another one, and another, and another, and another until he gets the message that we want our troops out of Iraq and back home!!!
Also a recent Newsweek poll showed that Democratic candidate Barack Obama is ahead in the polls, even ahead of any Republican candidates. The real joke is how Ann Coulter (I'm still convinced she's a frustrated lesbian in denial) said that she thought Newsweek was doing more push polling for Al-Qaeda! She also said that Newsweek is making up the polling results because "where people are allowed to vote, Republicans do much better." I just had to laugh at this!!! I've participated in a number of political polls over the last several years, and as time goes on I've seen support for the Republicans continue to decline while the Democrat numbers are on the rise. So much for her conspiracy theory!!!

I'll repeat what I've said in the past. We must remain vigilant and keep our eyes and ears on what our government is doing. Examine everything that they do and discover the truth for yourselves. This is how we will emerge victorious!!!

5-7-07: I have been hearing as of late something called "political grand standing." What brought it to my mind today was something that I heard on the radio. Basically the Republicans are currently blaming the Democrats of political grand standing with the latest bill regarding the continued funding of the Iraq war. As we all know the Democrats did add some provisions to the bill. They wanted benchmarks for the Iraqi government plus a timetable for a withdrawal of troops. Needless to say President Bush vetoed it. What angered me was how the Bush administration accused the Democrats of political grand standing by sending a bill to Bush while knowing full well that he would veto it. Yes, they did know, but from where I sit they did not do it for the reasons the Republicans claim, rather they did it to show the American people where the Bush administration's true motives lie. Even Condoleeza Rice said that the President would never sign a bill that had benchmarks to show any progress being made by the Iraqi government. I don't know about you, but as I see it this just shows that the administration was never interested in establishing a democratically run Iraq. Of course I've always suspected that this was all about oil and control of the Middle East, and while the only proof has been a suspicious document known as "Project for a New America," there has been no hard evidence of any kind. Nonetheless this should serve as a wakeup call to the American People that we have a President who has clearly shown that he has his own agenda and has no interest in getting out of Iraq.
Now, as far as political grand standing goes, this government of ours has once again shown its true, hypocritical colors. I say once again because this kind of double standard has been practiced by them for sometime now. Remember some years ago when President Bush showed up on the deck of an Air Craft carrier wearing a flight suit for all the world to see? Remember what he proclaimed? "Mission accomplished!" That is political grand standing!!! Remember just a few weeks ago when the memorial services were held at Virginia Tech for the terrible shootings that took place there? President Bush made an appearance to remember the students that died. Now while I don't have a problem with the idea of a President doing that, I would like to know why he hasn't appeared at any of the funerals for our thousands of fallen soldiers! Why won't he show his face there? Would it be because he doesn't want the public to be reminded that he's the reason those young, brave men and women are now dead? Of course he would want to show up at the Virginia Tech memorial. That shows a compassionate and sympathetic President, but no way would he dare appear at any of the funerals of our dead soldiers. So then why show up at the VT memorial? Political grand standing.

Don't be fooled by anything this man or any of his cronies say. At this point I believe they've become so accustomed to lying that they probably don’t lose any sleep over it. Always be on your guard and examine everything that comes from the collective mouths of our administration. After a time you'll start to see the pattern of lies and deceit for yourself.

5-6-07: I want to share with all of you something that I heard today. I feel it is totally relevant in light of the Hate Crimes Legislation before Congress, and it is especially relevant considering the anti-gay rhetoric that has been spewed in our direction. What I heard was a wonderful and exhilarating sermon about love. Love is the new commandment given by Christ. When Jesus was asked which commandment was the greatest, Jesus said to love God with all your might, mind, soul, and strength. Then Jesus said that equal to that love of God is to love your neighbor and that all the rest of the law would hang on those two commandments.
Many people think that love is a feeling. It isn't. It's action. Just look at the way it used. I love you. I breathe air. I drink water. I love you. Clearly love is the verb making it an action, not a feeling. Jesus commanded us to love one another, not just people who believe the way we do, not just the nice neighbor versus the mean one, and not just political leaders who have our best interests at heart. When Jesus said to love your neighbor, Jesus meant EVERYONE!

Another example of love is the inclusive nature of God. In the book of Acts, Peter goes to the house of Gentiles and is not only willing to be in their midst, but it also prepared to baptize them.. This, according to Jewish scripture, was forbidden. Yet, here was Peter mingling with Gentiles. Why would he do this? Peter explained with a vision that he had. He had fallen into a trance and saw a sheet with all sorts of animals. Pigs, cows, chicken, you name it. Three times Peter had this vision, and in each one he heard God's voice telling him to eat of the animals. Three times Peter refused saying that it would be against Jewish law to eat such unclean animals. God told him to not call unclean what God calls clean. In other words, if God says it's okay, then it's okay!!! Peter was then summoned to the home of Roman Gentiles. When all those around Peter condemned him for associating with "unclean" people, Peter shared his story, explaining to them that there is room for all people in God's Kingdom.

Can you imagine it? First we're going allow Gentiles. What's next? Are we going to allow blacks? Are we going to allow women??? What about those gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgendered people??? Are we going to allow them, and allow all the aforementioned people to become leaders in our churches as well?!?!?!? This is scandalous!!! The Bible says NOTHING about letting such people in!!! That's the mantra coming from the fundamentalists and Christian conservatives. What we need to do is exercise the new commandment. We must LOVE (Remember, love is an ACTION, not a FEELING!) all those around us, our friends, our enemies, our allies, and our detractors for that is how we will show the world, the whole world, that WE ARE CHRIST'S DISCIPLES!!! God's Love and Kingdom is both great and infinite, and there is room for all of us.

5-5-07: It's Saturday and I thought I would write something here... My husband, Keith, purchased a journaling software package the other day for his own personal use, but as I looked at it we both realized that this was something that I could possibly use myself. What I like about it is that it can really help me in the way that I like to blog. At the very least it will help me keep my thoughts better organized.
Now, I do have a point that I wish to make. In light of Federal Hate Crimes legislation that has been before the House (and is about to go before the Senate) the tone of anti-gay rhetoric has truly been on the rise. I'm not just talking about the general volume (or noise as I like to call it), but the content has taken a darker tone as well. I've heard a number of things the during the past several days that have really pushed several buttons and I feel the need to address these.

Most recently a Myspace friend named Doug has found love in his life. He has, in his own words, a "special guy" that means the world to him. I understand this love. I have my own special guy in Keith, so I can relate to Doug when he shares his thoughts and feelings towards his own special guy. Recently he has been struck by the neo-conservative/fundamentalist non-Christian movements (the "non" part is my own doing of course) efforts to paint a bleak picture regarding the GLBT community. Stories about how we're sinners, how we're sick (and need reparative therapy despite what the APA says to the contrary), and how our very own existence is a threat to all that is supposed to be right and good about America. I don't need to say how much this truly devastated him.

This brings me to my second thought. A couple of days ago, while listening to OutQ In The Morning on Sirius, there was a caller who shared with everyone a conversation he had with a fundamentalist co-worker. In an attempt to point out to his co-worker the dangers of radical fundamentalism and how much of the terrorism going on right now stems from that, he asked his co-worker if he were told by his religious leaders to commit acts of terrorism and to kill people who might not believe religiously and/or socially with them, would he do it? His co-worker looked him square in the eye, and without missing a beat said "yes." I could not believe what I had heard. Part of me had suspected that such radical zealots did indeed exist, but when it was proven to me I have to admit that it sent a very cold shiver down my spine.

It distresses me to know that such thoughtless people exist. These are people who are "checking their brains at the door" and will blindly follow any order given to them by their political or religious leaders. What I find most astonishing is that when you approach them with New Testament principles, even go so far as to share with them some of the Beatitudes given to us by Christ, they completely disregard it and look at you as if you were speaking a foreign language and had a third eye blinking from your forehead.

This takes me back to my friend Doug. When I read what his blog about how he felt from the "not so right," I basically told him that we have already won this war. Granted, we will take our fair share of lumps and bruises before we reach the finish line, but we will reach it, and when we do the party will be FABULOUS!!!

The people from the fundamentalist and neo-conservative movements are afraid. We represent something they don't understand. What's more is they see how fabulous we all are and how rich our lives are. They see that and end up projecting their self-hatred and resentment upon us. As Yoda once said, "Fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, hate leads to suffering." Our detractors fear us and what we represent. What's more is that they are deeply afraid that perhaps they might have more in common with us than they are willing to admit. Just think about it. Ted Haggard is a perfect example. Here was a man who was trotting out his moral superiority over everyone, and yet he had the same feelings that we all happily live with. Out of fear for what he knew he had he ended up becoming angry at himself and angry at how truly free we live our lives. Out of that anger came a terrible hatred which he spewed upon anyone who would listen. Out of that hatred came suffering, but the suffering was not felt by us. It was felt by Ted himself. He represents all of those whackos who claim to be right and better than us. How many times did we hear words of arrogance and judgment coming from Republican politicians only to see them fall from grace? We've all heard about people who live in glass houses. Well these religious leaders and politicians have built and placed themselves on glass pedestals, and these same people need to be wary of where and who they throw their stones against, for if they do not break their own pedestals, there are some bitches in our own GLBT community with a mean pitching arm!!!

In closing, let me say this. Love IS a Christian value. Jesus spoke of love wherever he went. The love that Doug has for his special guy is beautiful. It is right, and it is good. Make no mistake about it my friends. In the end love will always win, and we have already won.

4-5-07: Well here I am just past the middle of the week after living in the new house that Keith and I purchased. What I have going on inside is truly a mixed bag of emotions. Let me start off by saying that I absolutely LOVE this house!!! It's spacious (especially after having lived in a 1 bedroom apartment for 9 years) and it's located in the most charming little subdivision in the central/west area of Phoenix. It's unbelievably quiet, except for the occasional sounds of freight trains sounding their horns as they pass alongside the nearby Grand Avenue which is only about 1/4 of a mile away.
I said that my emotions were mixed. Well let me start off by saying that the moving process was probably the single most unpleasant moving experience I've ever been forced to endure. I will not going to go into details as I'm going to leave that to Keith in the days to come. However, I will say that the moving company involved will never be used by either of us ever again.

Then there are all of the horror stories that I am reading about homes going into foreclosure all over the country. Granted this is largely because the homeowners bought their houses using subprime mortgages. This is something that Keith and I did not do. We got ourselves a prime mortgage which has given us a good interest rate that's locked so we don't have to overly concern ourselves with that. However, it has woken in me a need to be ever more frugal and diligent when it comes to saving money. I've tried my best to be responsible as I know Keith has as well, but after having such a terrible moving experience, coupled with the fact that Keith and I absolutely LOVE our new home, has caused me to almost obsess over our financial situation. We make enough money to pay all of our bills along with our mortgage and still have some cash left over for fun. Nonetheless I feel a great responsibility to make sure that all of my financial ducks are in order every month, that all of my bills are paid promptly (something I've been doing for quite some time) and that I do my best to save any left over money in the event that the "unforeseen" should happen. I realize that I'm probably being an alarmist and that this is nothing more than a knee-jerk reaction on my part, but with the economy being what it is I feel that I can never be too secure.

Lastly, I need to sing the praises of two wonderful guys. For years now Keith and I have been blessed to have as best friends a fantastic gay couple named Brendan and Gordon. This is a friendship that was destined to be. We have been there for each other during dark and difficult times, and last weekend was their turn to be there for us.

As mentioned earlier, the move last weekend was highly unpleasant. Again, I won't go into the details, but this was causing great stress with me and Keith. When I had a few seconds I sent off a text- message to Brendan informing him briefly of what was going on. They weren't supposed to help until sometime in the afternoon, but upon receiving my message they both promptly came over with a variety of supplies and helped us out like absolute troopers. They were supposed to go to a symphony concert that night, but when they saw what was happening they elected to actually stay and help us out insuring that our move would be complete by the end of the weekend, something that would not have happened without their assistance. These two guys went above and beyond the call of duty and for me there simply aren't enough words to convey my gratitude. Because of them Keith and I have been blessed.

So here it is on a Thursday. The cats (neither of which took the move well) are roaming about becoming more comfortable with the home. Many household items are still in boxes, but that's okay as there is plenty of time to go through those and find what we need or still want. I have bad memories of the past weekend which keep resurfacing whenever I do any unpacking, and I'm always concerned with being financially responsible so that we can keep this house. However, when I do go through either here or in our patio, while I may experience frustration because of what happened during the move, I still find a joy and excitement because this house belongs to US!!! While I may not be sure where to place an unpacked item, just wandering throughout the house looking for that elusive place gives me a peace like I've not felt in a long time. This is a good house and it's filled with good energy.

I am happy.

3-26-07: Well everything is still on track with the new house! As reported in my previous blog entry, Keith and I just bought a house and we are set to move this coming Saturday!!! Everything is packed up and all of the last few details have been taken care of. Now I had planned on not posting any blog entries until after getting settled in the new home, but I came across something so humorous that I had to share it with all of you... ENJOY!!!

2-18-07: Wow... So much has happened that I don't quite know where to begin.
Let me start off by saying that I'm yet again having some really bad computer problems. Keith and I are not quite sure what the problem is, but one thing we are sure of is that it's terminal (Get it? Computer? Terminal??? BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!!!!)... Ahem... Okay, so it wasn't that funny and neither is my computer problem. We're fairly certain that it doesn't have much life left in it. As a result I'm hardly ever online because it only operates for a few minutes at a time before locking up in some strange manner and that is why I haven't posted anything lately. Believe me, I've wanted to, but computer problems made that difficult. As a result I'm getting a brand new laptop! However, because I've got some good external speakers, a really great ergonomic keyboard and awesome flatscreen monitor, I'm going to also get a docking station so that I don't have to get rid of any of my neat "accessories." The new laptop should arrive by mail (Keith ordered it from Dell) sometime this coming week, and I'm looking forward to having it!!!

Now, why am I writing? It is to show how amazing God can be in one's life (If you want to read Keith's story on this just go to Happines is..... a painless home buying experience on Myspace.). For several years we've talked about owing our own home. We currently rent an apartment, and while it's been great, it's still not ours. We've looked at houses and condos, but the time was never right to own a home. At least, until now. Last Sunday we were talking to a real estate agent at our church and just wanting some advice and answers to some questions we had. We told her that we were only shopping around and not ready to really buy. She said that this was the time to do it and put us in contact with a mortgage broker. He helped us to get any last and lingering blemishes on our credit reports (we scored ratherly nicely afterwards) and on Tuesday we actually qualified for what is called an "A Paper Loan." Our real estate agent then e-mailed us a listing of homes for us to consider. We looked at all of them and none of them really did anything for us. They were somewhat within our price range and definitely within our geographical parameters, but we didn't like what we saw. Then, on Wednesday she called Keith to say that she did have one that, even though it was outside of our desired geographical area, was pretty good and that we should look at it. So, after I came home from work we all got together and were shown this really wonderful townhouse. It was a beautiful two bedroom, 1.75 bath townhouse that really spoke to us. It was a couple of miles outside of the area we wanted to stay in, but for the price it was selling at it seemed like a dream too good to pass up. That afternoon we made an offer. By 8:00 PM the owner made a counteroffer and by 9:00 Wednesday night we signed the contract.

It's been a very dizzying week. For most people house shopping can be a somewhat daunting and lengthy process. For us, the whole thing came together in a matter of days. The home is now in escrow and is scheduled to close on March 30 meaning we can move in anytime after that. Keith and I (along with our real estate agent) are convinced that God had a hand in this. It shouldn't have been this easy or this painless, yet it was. The home is ours and in less than two months we will be living there (we'll still be living in Phoenix if anyone is interested). The point of this is to tell everyone out there how wonderfully God can work in anyone's life. Once we did all the things that we were responsible for (cleaning up credit, lowering debts, etc.) we gave it over to God, believing that when the time was right God would help us find the perfect home. That has now happened. If God can work such a miracle in our lives then God can work one in yours.

We will be having a housewarming party shortly after we're settled in our new "digs." We also know that we have more friends who live outside of Arizona than we do who live here locally. Now, for those of you who wish to do something for us we are actually registered with Home Depot!!! If any of you wish to contribute something to our new home the URL to our online registry is Keith Lane and Ben Ragunton Housewarming Registry. Now let me emphasize that NOTHING IS REQUIRED FROM ANYONE!!! This is simply a way for people, who should they so wish, to be able to purchase some desired items for our new home. We will not be upset or angered if no one purchased anything for us. All of you out there are still our friends and family and will always be so.

Well that's about it. I don't know when I'll next post anything here because even though I'm getting a new laptop, the next several weeks are liable to be completely insane as we start the moving process. Packing, transporting, unpacking, etc... I'm sure all of you know how unpleasant a task that can be. Nonetheless, once we're settled I'll be online again to share some more of my political, social and religious rants. I'll also try to post some pictures of the new home once everything is in its place. In the meantime, keep your head up, keep the faith, and know that all of you are continuously in the mind and heart of God.

1-3-07: Well in my last blog entry I said that I would be back soon... I'M BACK AND WITH A VENGEANCE!!! What's more is I have another piece of evidence as to the damage done in Iraq compliments of our own Administration.
This morning as I was going to work I heard on Sirius' OutQ In the Morning an interview with a gay Iraqi living in England who was a member of "Iraqi LGBT." Their mission has been to try to help relocate within Iraq gay Iraqis who are targeted for kidnapping an execution by the new government there. Apparently, while Saddam was in power, he really had no problems with the LGBT community, so long as they did not pose any kind of a threat to his political power. Saddam was a secular leader, not a religious one. The young man interviewed said that there were restaurants, coffee shops, and even bars where they could congregate. While they didn't have the social acceptance that one might find in San Francisco's Castro District, they were at least able to move about freely without fear of any sort of repercussion. Now there is a religious government put into place. On top of that there are the other religious sects that are trying to grab for any power they can and they are of a fundamentalist nature. The interviewee said that the current leadership was like a Taliban, an extremely fundamentalist Islamic organization that kidnaps suspected LGBT people, some of them as young as teenagers, and beheading them. It should also be noted that not only does this affect the LGBT community. While women didn't experience many of the freedoms that are found here in the US, it was not a completely repressed society either (which is one of the many lies President Bush told regarding the removal of Saddam). Now women are facing the same restrictions that were seen in Afghanistan before the fall of the Taliban government.

Now you may be asking yourself why I'm bring this all up. Let me assure all of you that I did not like at all Saddam Hussein. The man was a tyrant and a monster, and there is no doubt as to the war crimes that he had committed against both Iran and his own people! The man did have to be removed!!! What I am opposed to is the manner in which this was done. President Bush ordered our military in there under completely false pretenses and forced the removal of this man after bombing Baghdad back into the Stone Age. On top of that our own government was instrumental in setting up the current regime which in many ways is far worse than what Saddam could ever have been, for there is nothing more terrifying than radically fundamentalist religious group with full political power over its citizens. These politically empowered religious leaders are executing the rule of law from an extremely fundamentalist view of the Koran, and anyone who does not conform to that is subject to whatever punishments they see fit to implement. Again, what distresses me most about this is that our own government played a role in putting them into power, and as a result of that women no longer hold the same rights and freedoms they once had and LGBT people are systematically being hunted, kidnapped, and executed for simply being who they are.

Now, before I conclude this particular subject, let me leave you with some food for thought. There are radically fundamentalist people who call themselves Christians. Now as a Christian myself I find their beliefs to be downright terrifying. While I believe God to be a God of love and peace (all one needs to do is look at the teachings and lessons that came from Jesus Christ), they believe God's finest attribute is His ability to hate, to cause His people to wage war, and to even murder innocent people because of the so-called "sinful nature" of those who live here in the US. These same right-wing Christians have even expressed a desire to see the death penalty automatically re-instituted and carried out against anyone found to be homosexual. That's right. If these people get their way it means that my days are numbered!!! Sounds outrageous? Well it isn't. It may be a way off (the mid-term elections certainly put the brakes on any of the current plans they might have had), but the stage is clearly being set. We must be ever vigilant for when it looks like this will happen. How can we stop it? By first addressing the situation in Iraq. It can be done by contacting your Representatives and Senators and letting them know as to what is happening there. If we can stop it from happening in Iraq, then maybe we can prevent it from happening here.

Sign My Guestbook

View My Guestbook

Avis Rental Cars

...people have visited this web site since May 17, 1997!!!

This HTML document was updated on 5/27/07 5:15 PM.