'A boy has a natural sexual attraction to a girl. It is not a moral choice. It is an instinctive choice.'

Error in gay priest's view, says Catholic preacher

Lover Boy: Catholic preacher Rufus Bruno Pereira gave his interpretation of the scriptures and that's his interpretation. What I am looking at is the trend in the world today. A few years ago, an openly gay bishop, Gene Robinson, was consecrated by the Episcopal Church in the United States.

With that backdrop, I think it is pointless to quote scriptures or verses in the Bible condemning homosexuality. I feel sad that the Catholic Church choose to see homosexuals as "morally disordered". If you say that the creation of man is by a perfect God, that is all things good, compassionate and love, and if his creation is "morally disordered", then are you not questioning whether your creator is that perfect after all?

I am no gay, but I would like fellow humans be treated fairly, and their sexual orientation should not deprive them of a place under the Malaysian sun.

Equinox: This man called Ouyang Weng Feng, who rounded up a group of people around him in a setup he calls a church, is not a priest. I am not sure he can be called a pastor either, and he is certainly not a "reverend".

The Church has a 2,000 year history and has been tested by many trials and tribulations, including the sex scandals of late. It will likely last another 2,000 years. I doubt if Ouyang's ‘church' will endure beyond his own mortality.

Bebas2fikir: As a Christian, I believe that God made man and woman. It is our own fleshly desires that want what we like. But while I believe that homosexuality is wrong, I also believe that we should treat our friends of the "gay" persuasion with love and dignity.

Patriot: Everyone has his or her own interpretation of what religion or religious text should be, and such interpretations are not necessarily right or wrong.

The Catholics are fighting tooth and nail for the use of the word 'Allah', claiming among other things that it is their right to use it. What is the difference between this right and the one expressed by the gay community leader? Do not discriminate against them for something beyond their control. Change what you can and accept what you cannot.

Some of the main problems and trouble in the world today are due to religion: too many experts on religion claiming this is right and wrong or good and bad, can do and cannot do, etc. So much so that every major religion is fragmented, each claiming they are the true one, gifted directly from above.

But freedom of expression should also be respected. Conflict occurs when they attempt to 'impose' their line of thinking or interpretation on others and expect us to follow it like sheep.

The Sodom and Gomorrah episode is often used as 'proof' that homosexuality was condemned. For the sake of argument, if the men surrounding Lot's house had acceded to Lot's request to take his two daughters instead, would we now be condemning 'heterosexuality'? Surely not! The episode suggests that the men outside wanted to rape the guys.

Again it is a question of language; they wanted 'to know' those two men in Lot's house as the original King James version tells us. We have interpreted 'to know' to mean having anal sex! Isn't that an interesting extrapolation? There is no sexually explicit description of what went on in Sodom and Gomorrah. The term ‘sodomy' is derived from this Biblical episode but there is no evidence that anal sex took place there.

Raping someone is morally wrong, be it homosexual or heterosexual. We must separate sexual identity from sexual immorality. Nobody for one moment should believe that Reverend Ouyang is condoning homosexual rape or promiscuity.

Victor Johan: With the exception of the Sikh guru Granth Sahib Ji, none of the world's main religious scriptures had been compiled by the founders of their faith during their own life time. All those scriptures were written many hundreds of years after the departure of these 'founders'. The scriptures were written in an original language of the writer(s) and then translated into many of the world's languages by linguistic 'experts'.

Emotional substance and parables are prevalent, while logic is usually sparse. The message through these processes and the text is greatly reliant on the perceptions and emotional feelings of the writers/translators/interpreters.

MW: Ask 10 pastors, deacons, etc, a question, and you'll get at least five to six different interpretations of almost any verse... But at least, the interpretation and opinion of both party so far has been expressed in a mature and civil manner. I remember one church member, an ex-colleague of mine, told me that in his church they were taught 'God created man to be perfect' so accepting there are gays meant accepting God is imperfect.

Wira: The pastor can serve God in many ways. However, he should not lead the congregation if he is gay.

Proarte: I think the problem arises when we take the Bible or the Quran literally and do not read it through lens of historical, cultural and linguistic context. There was no concept of a homosexual 'identity' or a homosexual 'gene' all those years ago.

Our concept of Creation and our understanding of the world has changed dramatically since Biblical times and continues to evolve. To impute a moral aspect to sexual identity per se is not logical.

A boy has a natural sexual attraction to a girl. It is not a moral choice. It is an instinctive choice. Similarly a gay boy has a natural sexual attraction for the same sex. Again, it is not a moral choice, it is an instinctive choice.

We have to read and interpret the Bible armed with the knowledge which was not available to St Paul or the Old Testament scribes. When Paul talks about 'unnatural' sexual desire, he saw it as a 'heterosexual' man indulging in perverse sexual fun. He was equally condemnatory of heterosexual fornicators.

Temenggong: Rufus, to put it in another way, nobody gives a damn about your or anyone's interpretations. We'll live the way we think is right and just. Stories from the past must stay in the past. I'm not gay but I wish I was bisexual. Why forsake half of humanity?

'MB must seek exco's okay to receive bonuses'

Justice seeker: I am really fascinated by Faekah Husin. Every word of hers speaks volumes. Despite being a newcomer in the political scene, she daringly takes on the mighty and powerful Umno scoundrels. March on, my fair lady!

Wfworker: When greed is the guiding principle, all irrational reasons can be given. Dr Mohd Khir Toyo, are you suggesting that those government agencies that collect the most revenue have the right to seek bonuses like investment bankers?

If the majority of Malaysians are still not convinced that they had been taken for a 30-year ride, then they deserve to pay since they have happily voted to be led by their noses.

GoingHuh? Mohd Khir Toyo doesn't even know the meaning of the word "good governance". Is it a bonus or a kickback? May Khir Toyo and his bunch of corrupt agents never ever get back into power.

Gen2: Khir Toyo took the bonuses and also our tax money to pay for his family trip to Disneyland. This month of Ramadan is coming to an end. You still have five days to bertaubat (repent) and pay back the money.

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