Bible vs. Homosexuality

See this great article.  Some key points:

Romans 1 is the only passage in the Bible where a reason is explicitly given for opposing same-sex relations, the Apostle Paul calls them “unnatural.”  But in 1 Corinthians, he also calls long hair on men (and short hair on women) unnatural.  So why do Christians focus on one and not the other?

"For the first 1500 years of Christianity, for example, marriage was deemed morally inferior to celibacy."  It was considered heresy to even suggest the kinds of "family values" that evangelical Christians preach about today.

"[T]he vast majority of Christian theologians and saints throughout history have not believed life begins at conception."  St. Augustine said a body must have senses, Thomas Aquinas said a body must have organs, before it can have a soul.

Christians try to use the Bible to justify/defend their own bigotry, but downplay the Bible when it's inconvenient for them.  As with divorce, which allows divorce only in cases of "unfaithfulness."  

Zen habits

http://zenhabits.net/archives/

Things to do in BKK

Great online guide to SE Asia:  http://www.travelfish.org/country/thailand

Where to stay:  Lots of people we know stayed in the Sukhumvit or Silom areas, but these felt too crowded for us.  We like hotels along or near Lang Suan Road, our favorite part of the city.  It’s convenient to the BTS Ratchadamri Station, and from there it’s easy to get anywhere you like.  We’ve stayed at a number of different hotels in the area that we liked, including:

·         Anantara Baan Rajprasong  -- on a relatively quiet alley, great breakfast buffet!

·         Urbana Langsuan – awesome rooftop pool

·         Grande Centre Point Hotel Ratchadamri – our personal favorite!

Eating:   BKK is an amazing place for food!  There are world-famous restaurants for so many cuisines, and your guidebook will cover those, so let me just suggest some off-the-beaten path options.

·         Central food court:  Central is a shopping mall, and its food court is amazing!  In fact, BKK is known for its unbelievable mall food courts.  They’re not like what you might think of when you think of “food court,” trust me!  You can get awesome food from all over the world. 

·         Soi Polo Fried Chicken place:  If you want to eat like locals!  It’s a dive, but the chicken is amazing.  Don’t eat here before you get your cholesterol checked at Bumrungrad, though!  (see below)

·         The Deck:  I don’t really remember the food, but it’s a great place to go because (a) you get to take a water taxi and (B) you have amazing sunset views of Wat Arun, just across the river.

Things to do:  Again, your guidebook will suggest the obvious things (wats, night/wet markets, Patpong, shopping, etc.).  Here are some things we liked to do when we visited.

·         Foot massages!  Thai massage places are everywhere, and they’re super cheap.  I always went for the “foot massage” – they actually massage your entire legs and some of your shoulders/neck/head, too.  It felt like a religious experience every time!

·         The Oriental Hotel – I stayed here once when I was single.  It’s worth visiting just to have a look and appreciate the history, even if you don’t stay there.  It’s a real treat to have drinks on the patio overlooking the river!

·         Lumphini Park in the morning – Everybody will be out exercising.  So fun just to walk and people-watch!  You will see Komodo dragons everywhere.

·         Bumrungrad Hospital – If you need a check-up, go here!  We went every year for the “executive check up.”  It takes half a day, but it’s amazingly efficient and comprehensive.  Since we had to fast beforehand, we were always starving by the time the process was finished, after which we’d walk around the corner to Soi Arab for cheap, delicious Middle Eastern food.

·         Monk Bowl Village:  As an artist, you'll probably appreciate this.  It's a little hard to find, but worth it.  We have a beautiful bowl from our visit there.

·         Tiger Temple:  There’s a place about 2 hours from BKK where some crazy monks live with tigers.  You can arrange for a tour where a driver will take you out there, and you can play with the tigers!  (FYI - We skipped all the other stuff on the usual itineraries and went straight to the tiger temple.)  It’s incredible.