Read Online The God Box by Alex Sanchez - Free Book Online

they were all of openly gay stars: Elton John, k.d. lang, George Michael, Melissa Etheridge...During that first visit, I sat down in his desk chair and scanned a bulletin board jumbled with photos and notes. In the middle was a quote from someone named Lynn Lavner:The Bible contains six admonishments to homosexuals and362 admonishments to heterosexuals. That doesn't mean that God doesn't love heterosexuals. It's just that they need more supervision.Staring at the quote, I whispered, "Does your family know? I mean, about you?""I think so." A sheepish grin wandered across Manuel's face. "When I was in eighth grade, my dad caught me making out--with a boy."I sat up, trying to picture the scene. "What happened?""What could he say?" Manuel shrugged. "He squeezed my shoulder, all fatherly-like, and said, 'You know, mijo, boys don't normally kiss other boys.' Maybe he thought that would stop me. But it actually helped me to figure things out. The next night at dinner I announced, 'I guess I'm gay.'"Manuel's matter-of-factness put me at the edge of my seat. What64would my pa say to something like that? "Then what happened?"Manuel's grin grew wider. "I think Dad had already told my mom, because she said, 'If you are, that's okay.' Then Dad said something like, 'We'll always love you, no matter what.' My brother only said, 'Yeah, I figured you were.' And my sister was like, 'Really? That's cool.' It was all disappointingly undramatic."I didn't get that. "Did you want it to be dramatic?""I guess not." Manuel thought for a moment. "Well, maybe a little dramatic."His honesty could be disarming. Yet there was an aspect of his being gay that I still couldn't accept. One afternoon, between computer games, I asked, "But don't you realize it's a sin?"Manuel gave me a questioning look. "You mean being gay?"I nodded and folded my arms, bracing for an argument. "You understand you're going to hell, don't you?""No," Manuel said, his voice confident. "That doesn't make sense. Ever since I first started going to church nursery school, I was taught that God loves me just as I am, just as my mom and dad love me, no matter what. So . . . why on earth would a good and loving God create ten percent of people with a sex drive oriented toward the same gender, and at the same time condemn them to hell for it?"He raised his eyebrows, waiting for my answer. I stared back, uncertain. I'd always been told that gay people were godless. Obviously, Manuel wasn't.When I failed to respond, he filled in: "The logic of condemning people for how they were born is just... just... backward. It's like when they used to blame lepers or mentally ill people, claiming that God was punishing them. Why should I believe that I'm sick or sinful or going to hell for something I didn't choose and can't change? I don't buy that."It took me a moment to collect my thoughts. "It's not proven that people are born gay."65"Well," Manuel argued, "it's not proven that people are born straight, either, but no one challenges them about it.""But homosexuality is unnatural," I protested."Is it?" Manuel argued.
    "Do you know that homosexual courtship, mating, and parenting are scientifically documented in more than four hundred fifty animal species?""Is that really true?" I asked--even though I could recall times when I'd seen male dogs, or horses, or cattle mount each other."Look it up on the Web," Manuel replied. "What's unnatural is homophobia. Homo sapiens is the only species in all of nature that responds with hate to homosexuality."His comment made me think back to a psychology class where we'd studied how both hate and love were learned behaviors. And I remembered thinking how important it was that Jesus had come to teach us how to love."But what about AIDS?" I asked Manuel. "You don't think AIDS is God's punishment for gay people?""First of all," Manuel answered, "I don't believe in a sadistic God who thinks up ways to punish us. Is that what you believe in?""No. But I think he tries to