I wanted to see it, but I didn't want to see it. I'm talking about the "gay cowboy" movie called Brokeback Mountain (even though I read Jake Gyllenhaal, one of the two major actors - "Jack Twist" - wants it to mean much more than that to its audience).
I didn't want to see Brokeback Mountain because I felt it could be considered some type of tacit approval of two men "falling in love," which goes against my Christian grain and biblical beliefs, but I wanted to see it because I am humanly "gay all the way." However, I am not a practicing homosexual (some would say I'm a professional one), sober and celibate by choice, so help me God, because of deep spiritual convictions.
I went and ran errands with a gay friend (who knows my beliefs and knew me wild and now knows me tame), visiting his "lover" in the Bowling Green, Ohio jail where he's doing ten days for a drunk driving, donated an autographed copy of my book Beyond Babylon: Europe's Rise and Fall to the main library in downtown Bowling Green (since I was born there 46 years ago, but never lived there), we picked up some fast food and visited my friend's mother where we ate and then he asked if I wanted to see Brokeback Mountain that would be showing at Franklin Park Mall (now called Southfield or something since the Brits took it over) in Toledo shortly, so I said yes and we rushed to get there and made it — ten minutes late. He had seen it a week earlier up in Michigan with some gay and lesbian friends, thinking it wouldn't be shown around here — wrong!
Immediately you have to stand in awe (or sit and watch) the scenery that is most spectacular and moving, especially as the sheep are being herded and moving on the big screen in front of you like you could reach out and pet one, and the mountains are majestic aspiring to reach Heaven with their snow-capped tops and trimmed with forests here and there, evergreens, and of course I couldn't help but think of the irony of nature playing such a prominent role in this film that the Apostle Paul would say is against nature....
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Article comments
— go to most recent comments1 - gkar
I hope you learn to stop hating yourself some day.
2 - David
I genuinely feel sorry for you.
Your head's so full of the Old Testament and righteous condemnation of lesser human beings that you have no room left in it for love.
3 - Ian
I too feel sorry for you and I don't say that in a patronising way. Your beliefs and your sexuality must cause a lot of difficulties for you. I am a gay man, happy and intend to stay that way. I disagree with many parts of what you say in the article, but particularly in relation to Old Testament theology. You come from the point of view that homosexuality is sinful and one must control their feelings. I come from the point of view that many things in the bible simply are not true, including what the book of Genesis has to say on a whole matter of issues, not least the way we were created. That said I do believe Jesus was real and is the son of God. He never actually describeD homosexuality as sinful. That is my solace.
4 - Silas Kain
Actually, David seems to be carrying out his beliefs in a way I have to respect. There's no tacit condemnation of gays who are active sexually. There's no judgement passed on entire segments of society. I don't agree with David and the reasons for his celibacy; However, I'll fight to the death on his behalf to maintain those rights. Why? Because he's done it in such a way that it doesn't attack or destroy people, reputations and families.
5 - Matthew T. Sussman
For the record, Franklin Park Mall is now called Westfield Shoppingtowne at Franklin Park.
Two minutes from my house.
And this probably isn't the thread to throw around stereotypical words, but that's a rather ... um ... "fabulous" ... name for a mall.
6 - T
I think that while you're very well-written and seem to be highly intelligent, you may have missed the point of that movie. I agree that it was difficult to watch the men cheat and not feel some sort of anger for the wives and children involved. The point is that for their own safety, they needed to pretend that they were not "sinners". I don't think that that necessarily means that they did not love their wives and children, they just had a different kind of love reserved for them.
Had they been living in a more open-minded environment, they may have made different choices. The ending of the movie proves that it was a life or death decision.
Also, I would just like to say that it must be a whole lot easier to live life in black and white terms, that way you never have to make the difficult decisions, but you also may lose something in the process. In other words, the bible is a wonderful tool for guidance, however, the world is a whole lot of shades of gray rather than black or white. I just hope you know that it's ok to love yourself for who you are, instead of beating yourself up for not being who you're "supposed" to be.
7 - Ron
Not very convincing. I hope that some day you will be able to love yourself.
8 - David Ben-Ariel
Hello Ian,
You said Jesus "never actually described homosexuality as sinful." As the I AM - the Preexistent Word (who became flesh and blood and dwelt among humans) - He is the One who spoke to Moses and gave the Torah to Israel, which includes the prohibition against practicing homosexuality.
As Jesus, He clearly stated that He did not come to destroy the Law and the Prophets (whom He inspired), but to magnify or fulfill them, making them even more relevant in attitude and in action, in word and in works.
It is because our loving Creator God wants the best for us, that He instructs us to avoid certain things like the plague. This is revealed within God and the Gays: What the Bible Really Says About Homosexuality.
Those of us who are learning, through the conversion process, how to properly love God and our neighbors as ourselves, trust Father knows best.
9 - David Ben-Ariel
Thank you Silas Kain for recognizing I'm not about condemning people but practices, although everybody must learn for themselves and I maintain friendships with my "gay" friends who disagree with me on this issue. Such is life, eh?
Thanks Matthew T. Sussman for identifying the former Franklin Park Mall by its new name of Westfield Shoppingtowne at Franklin Park.
I also appreciate each and every comment posted, even while disagreeing with parts of some. Isn't the internet a marvelous thing?
10 - David Ben-Ariel
"T" wrote:
"I don't think that that necessarily means that they did not love their wives and children, they just had a different kind of love reserved for them."
In other words an "open relationship" that was kept secret? Aren't you basically saying the cheatin' fellows were victims, focusing on them rather than their victims? Even if "society" accepted them, would they accept themselves, due to that nagging thing called conscience? Is that why they drank so much in the film? Trying to drown out uncomfortable thoughts? What if they went and lived alone somewhere, would they continue to drink heavily or become alcoholics (if they weren't already) and beat each other and then get bored with their abusive relationship and decide to have an open relationship or just cheat on each other as is "normal" in 9 out of 10 "gay" relationships I've known? Who could be blamed then? The unhappy gays....
11 - Steve S
Instead of wrong desires that only lead to self-destruction
I feel for you, that you believe the desires within your own self are destructive.
I'm in a 20 year relationship with anothe rman, raising a child and couldn't be happier with my own world, which is positive, affirming and instead of destructive, is actually full of love and energy.
I'm sorry you feel that being gay is self-destructive, because it is actually the outside forces/pressure that make life for gay people destructive. Love between adults is not destructive, the denial of love is.
You make the assumption that because the two characters marry, they are capable of being sexually stimulated by their spouses. That is an assumption and you acknowledge that they marry due to external pressure but refuse to look at the concept any further, when it clearly runs very deep. It's possible they really didn't love their spouse at all, but were simply too weak to withstand the massive amount of societal expectations placed upon them. Expectations that were often enforced with violence.
12 - Steve S
Even if "society" accepted them, would they accept themselves, due to that nagging thing called conscience?
You don't have to limit the concept to just gay people. You can look at any oppressed minority in this world and see that outside condemnation creates self-loathing. Drug abuse, promiscuity, the inability to maintain relationships, all these factors and much more like alcoholism increase in any oppressed group. In areas where homosexuality is more tolerated (people are allowed to marry for example) you can see a reverse of this trend and an increase in self-respect.
Please look at the world and the facts around you before you jump to conclusions.
13 - David Ben-Ariel
Steve S. -
You've jumped to the conclusion that if everybody would just accept homosexuality as normal, everything would be peachy-keen. Not so. Many would still have that nagging thing called conscience (unless they're IN DENIAL) reminding them that something "just ain't right." If they continued to harden their heart against such common sense, then they'd become reprobate, as is evident among many, whether practicing homosexuals (in denial) or those who promote abortion or pimp for a "Palestinian" state.
As I mention within Beyond Babylon: Europe's Rise and Fall, quoting John Underwood from the Boston Globe: "In a society where anything goes, every thing will." Ever hear of Sodom and Gomorrha? It wasn't just queer folk engaging in every abomination, but "straight" people too, if folks would read all the accounts about it in the Bible and not just focus on the homosexual aspect. It revealed a society that was immoral and amoral.
God save us all. :-)
14 - maphere
I am a straight male, married with 3 kids. There are women who I emotionally loved in my past and at the time could not make a move to marry them. Now happily married for 7 years, I still long for them at times and if I was put in the wrong situation could be intimate with them both physically and emotionally. Relationship Love is a combination of emotion, passion and commitment and all three needed for an ideal relationship. Out of the three two are subjective and one, being commitment, is objective. Sometimes I hate having to be committed but it is the foundation that keeps stability in a healthy anything. Relationships based on passion or emotion are straw houses.
My problem with the movie was the cowboys were shown as victims. Take the gay theme out of the picture and you have a human condition that we all face which is the pasture always seems greener on the other side and sometimes we don't care what boundaries or hearts we break to get there.
The story ends in death but there could have been a BM2 where the guys lived together and found out they couldn't stand each other.
My hat's off to the above reviewer for staying committed to his beliefs.
15 - gonzo marx
well David...i must disagree with you assessment that folks would have "that nagging feeling" if the outside societal pressures were removed
many folks i know, of all persuasions, that have been brought up in an accepting environment have NO such "nagging feeings" because they were never oppressed by forces which painted their behavior as "wrong"
that fits for many circumstances ...as varying as racial, religious and sexual
check outside the restrictive boundaries apparent in your writings Viewpoint and you might find the same
you have the inherent Right to live as you see fit (as long as it does not harm others, of course)...and so does everyone else
matters such as these are quite difficult to discuss between folks when some have a restricted Opinion stemming from Dogma rather than Knowledge
just a Thought
Excelsior!
16 - Vic
David,
Well written piece and the comments in response were VERY predictable for this site.
How someone can read that and pull out of it that you are a self-loathing person is beyond me. To most commenters here vows and promises do in fact seem to mean nothing and self-discipline is a sign of self-hate.
Most accomplishments in life come THROUGH self-discipline, not in SPITE of it and failure usually comes from a LACK of it.
Vic
17 - Steve S
Steve S. - You've jumped to the conclusion that if everybody would just accept homosexuality as normal, everything would be peachy-keen.
actually, after I posted my comment I thought that it would be better worded as being brought up to the level of heterosexuals and how they view their relationships, which is far from perfect.
I disagree with this nagging conscious that you think everybody has. If that were the case, there would be far more people trying to enter ex-gay ministries than there are. Most people learn to accept themselves.
To Vic, I would just say in friendly disagreement that self-discipline is not a sign of self-hate. Denial of part of one's self is though. Sexual orientation is not like a preference for hamburgers or golfing.
18 - bgjohn
I find it funny that the justification for hatred and religious based discrimination is based on three lines out of this booked called the bible.
If you really followed the bible you would be living in a dirt hut (because to have money means you will not get into heaven), not eating cheese on you hamburger, selling your daughters into slavery, stoning the whore down the street and married to your dead brothers wife.
So before you sling rocks at someone you should pick up your “holy book” (that was written by men and rewritten by other men over and over again) and take a look at your self first. But maybe you have and you see something you don’t like so you need to point at others and make them the problem.
Brokeback Mountain is a mirror of the truth about the 1960’s. Like it or not. It’s a great movie because Mister Lee had the guts to tell it like it is.
One final note: To have religious faith is to relinquish logic and do as you are told.
19 - Vic
bgjohn,
Dirt hut: It's not MONEY that's evil, it's the LOVE of money. When it takes over your life above everything else.
As to your other examples, you'd need a Jew to respond, since Christ boiled everything down to a much simpler level (although I'm really confused about the "cheese" comment).
The bible was NOT rewritten. In fact it is the most well documented ancient document that exists, with literally thousands of copies (at least of the New Testament) in existance that only differ from each other by less than 5%.
As to your final note, I disagree. I've heard it stated before that it's "blind faith", but it's not. Nothing I say will convince you otherwise so I won't bother trying, but thanks for trying to educate us poor, ignorant believers.
Vic
20 - maphere
"I find it funny that the justification for hatred and religious based discrimination is based on three lines out of this booked called the bible."
With all due respect and some sarcasm, maybe anyone with a disagreeing opinion should go in the closet for fear of being said he was full of hatred. Your understanding of hatred is clouded by your personal emotions.
If it's not possible to have strong differences of opinion with other people without being labeled as a hater then I guess we all hate each other. This of course is absurd and not logical.
21 - Max
David,
Now that I see your personal understanding of the bible, I can tell that for sure the analysis that the book migh include is far from accurate. It amazes me how much damage can a series of bad translations make in narrow minded/victim people who is educated to repeat wihout questioning for years and years.
Sadly your article could be reduced to> "repress yourself and buy my book". Coincidentally the same thing that the church says "repress yourself and buy my book". David and church: please stop "helping" people. And let "love as a force of nature" to "come out".
22 - grier
I would rather bring my partner to bed with me every night than an old dog eared King James Bible.
Jesus asked us to love each other. He didn't say that terms and conditions apply. And I'm disgusted, utterly disgusted, that you would dare to suggest that sexual love between people of the opposite or same sex is unholy.
What a lonely life you are living. What a sad, lonely life, you poor thing. I suppose the only communication you have with the world is to tel them all how much more sinful they are than you. Is that how you get your rocks off these days?
23 - yadih3
David,
May I suggest you spend all your abundant free time (no dates, remember?) reading the Bible instead of bashing other gays with it?
24 - David Ben-Ariel
John Adams
"We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion. Avarice, ambition, revenge, or gallantry, would break the strongest cords of our Constitution as a whale goes through a net. Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other."
25 - David Ben-Ariel
maphere:
You're right. Regardless of gay or straight, the two fellas in the movie CHEATED on their significant other, their partners, their lovers, their WIVES. Their wives and children were the victims who didn't ask to be a part of some experiment.
Thanks for the encouragement of remaining true to my personal convictions some would have me deny and live a lie.
Vic:
Many of the replies were definitely predictable, but my beliefs can weather such storms of protest and howls of discontent against those who dare to change or keep their appetites under control rather than be mindlessly controlled by them.
Cheers!