Manny Pacquiao, a professional boxer and candidate for public office in his native Philippines, is the latest famous person to publicly put his foot in his mouth by sharing his homophobic sentiment.
"It's just common sense," Pacquiao said in answering a question on a local TV station. "Have you seen any animal having male-to-male or female-to-female relations?" And, "if you have male-to-male or female-to-female (sex), then people are worse than animals."
Pacquiao uttering his view of homosexuality reminds me of when I once said something almost as ridiculous. I once questioned the existence of God. Based on me taking my week's pay of $400 cash and losing it playing pool in less than two hours, I said, "There can't possibly be a God if he would let me lose my money like this."
I could imagine God laughing so hard after hearing that equation to cause an earthquake. But in truth, I have never ever, ever ever doubted that there is a God. I simply incorrectly believed that God couldn't care less about me, because I was a homosexual.
A few years later and after lots of unmerited favor, God convinced me that he couldn't care less about me being a homosexual. It felt similar to when I told my father. "But Allen, I still love you," he said. My epiphany was a beautiful story but I digress.
God loves Pacquiao and in due time, I believe God will teach him; as he did me and countless teachable others, not to rely on man's interpretation of God's love, but God's demonstration of his love. Period.
I can appreciate this world boxing champion attempting to fight back, when Nike abruptly dropped him for his asinine, insensitive; or as Nike put it, "abhorrent" remarks. Nevertheless, I cringed at the scriptures Pacquiao posted and then took down from his Instagram account, where he tried to double down on his stated disgust with homosexuals.
Using the Bible as a foot-in-mouth removal tool, Pacquiao not only failed to extract his foot from his mouth, he managed to get the entire Bible stuck in his mouth as well. Suggesting we read Leviticus 20:13, which is a scripture that recommends homosexuals be put to death, was the world's poorest attempt to justify a point in the history of mankind.
I know there are a lot of evil people in the world who would not hesitate at the opportunity to kill homosexuals. However, common sense tells me that this boxer is not of that ilk. And though I believe he was expressing his sincere feelings on the subject, this was a typical gotcha moment for the press, who are no better for using their tools of influence to try and destroy instead of educate.
Pacquiao's hateful comments will no doubt allow him to be used as a punching bag for as long as he continues to fight the losing argument of homosexuals should be killed.
It is obvious that Pacquiao never heard the story about a decade ago about the male-to-male relations of Roy and Silo, gay penguins at the New York's Central Park Zoo, or the bisexual species of apes called bonobos, to mention a couple of the many animals that engage in same-sex relations.
Pacquiao is not the only one who has been misguided by reading the Bible without the aid of real common sense. We all are guilty of this sin.
How does a professor get paid to write a book about another book, but apparently, did not read the book, which he is writing a book about? Did you get that?
A biblical scholar suggested that due to an unfortunate mistranslation in the Bible, God did not create Eve from Adam's rib but rather from his penis. Common sense told me this professor and all his students deserve an F-minus for apparently not even bothering to open up the Bible for themselves.
As reported, Professor Ziony Zevit from the American Jewish University in Maryland has proposed his theory in a new book, What Really Happened in the Garden of Eden. According to Zevit, the Hebrew word "tsela" in the Old Testament does not translate as "rib." Rather, Zevit believes that tsela means a limb sticking out sideways from an upright human body, and contextually translates this to penis. Furthering this hypothesis, Zevit uses his new translation to explain why man is the only mammal without a penis bone �" because Adam used his to make Eve.
With common sense as my translator, it is obvious that this professor put his foot and his book in his mouth, or Adam had two penises.
Genesis 2:21-22: 21 "And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof;" 22 "And the rib, which the Lord God had taken from man, made He a woman, and brought her unto the man."
I claim that I read the Bible with common sense. I also claim that God guided me to stories of homosexuals in history like King James I, Alan Turing, Bayard Rustin, and Oliver Sipple, which have been my solid proof that God is love, which includes homosexuals, despite how some of these particular heroes of mine died.
Thank God that common sense is a chatterbox. It also tells me that, if God gave me ears, he has ears. If God gave me a mouth, he, too, has a mouth. Therefore, if I talk to God, he can listen to me and if God talks to me, I can hear him.
However, that can get tricky when someone asks the obvious and reasonable question, "When did you hear God's voice?"
The answer: Sign language.
I admit to being spiritually deaf at times. But of the countless prayers (signs) that God did answer for me in my 59 years of life so far, I offer one small and one bigger prayer that were clear signs for me:
I once asked God to help me buy a jacket when I knew I could not afford what I wanted. Less than an hour later, I paid $35 for a brand new $600 leather jacket that was not stolen.
Another time I asked God to help me purchase a car. A friend drove me to look at a car. Before I got out to look closer at it, I shouted, "That's the exact same car I saw in a dream." Three days prior, I woke up from a dream of me owning a silver Cadillac Eldorado with a half padded black top.
I love to apply the wisdom that I find throughout the pages of the Bible to my living today. And common sense, which also appears throughout this great book, commands me to use this timeless wisdom, not old biblical customs, as my daily guide.
People can quote as many scriptures as they want that they interpret as, "God hates fags," but this one fag sure looked good wearing his new leather jacket. Or driving in his new, used Caddy.
And if I need another new jacket or new car today, I could ask Pacquiao, Zevit, or I could ask God. This is the only time anyone will hear me affectionately tell my chatterbox and good friend, common sense, to shut up.
Allen Jones is a San Francisco resident. This op-ed was also published on www.gbmnews.com.