The perverted again accuse the family-orientated of being sinners
I would never blame anyone for being sex-obsessed. Not everyone has had the possibility to prepare themselves like responsible therapists, spending hundreds if not thousands of hours reviewing and crying over every memory of theirs connected to sexuality in any way at all and any hurt inflicted there. But I take a stern approach to people who’re obsessed by sex and still declare themselves a beacon of moral purity. The Vatican, again, has condemned same-sex marriage as inherently sinful. Wim Kan said sharply: If you don’t play the sport, you should stay out of the rules.
Two things about that first. One, don’t blame the regular Catholics. They, on average, do with their religion what it’s for. To choose virtue over vice, love of people over hating people, being a source of goodness. When I say any harsh words to the Vatican, I don’t mean all Catholics. Two, traditional Christian theology has been obsessed with suffering and sexuality. You don’t need to be Freud to understand why. But let’s be clear that they are obsessed with sex and they read others the riot act? Unacceptable!
Classical Christianity got into trouble when it encountered the Hellenist world where everything centered around sex, and the more the better. So, understandably, they chose to see sex as dirty and sinful, only sort-of-allowed for making kids. With due permission, these theologians need to consult their original teachers. They are still around. They call themselves Jews. And Jews teach that random uninhibited sex is not a vice because it’s dirty but because it’s a violation of its inherent holiness. Food is not meant for entertainment, but rather, for maintaining our health. In the same way, sex is not meant for pleasure but for cementing a relationship. And then the pleasure (of the food and the sex) is G^d’s bonus on a good deed, and not sinful (or addictive) at all. Jesus didn’t abstain from sex because it was sinful but because he wasn’t yet married. The Sages tell us that the High Priest cannot even go into the Holy of Holies on Yom Kippur if he’s not married. The Messiah must be married. It’s an important ritual obligation.
I think that I know why so many gay men recognize themselves in the story of King David and Prince Jonathan. Not because there is anything overtly mentioned about sexuality between them. Rather, it’s all about deep love. Love, not sexuality, lies at the core of any sexual relationship.
The main failure of the Vatican is that they are so full of sexual frustration (I would be too if I were told that sex is dirty and abstention is holy), that they take same-sex relationships as centered around sexuality. Almost anyone happily partnered knows the depth and importance of sexuality. How it solidifies the couple, as the Bible teaches us, glues us together. But, at the basis of the relationship lie friendship, respect, love, closeness, cooperation, sharing, mutual giving, loyalty, safety, encouragement, etc. Sex is vital but only works as far as the basics have been taken care of.
In Argentina, the current Pope had a Jewish friend and his intuition is right (expressed early in his papacy) not to condemn homosexuals or their natural need for a sexual relationship. He lacks support and a theological basis to introduce respect for homosexuals including their sexuality.
This Pope, after he was elected, said: May G^d forgive those who voted for me. He’s a naughty man who knows how to think for himself. If he wants, let him ask the Cardinals why Leviticus forbids lying with a man as with a woman but does not outlaw intercourse with an animal as with a human. Clearly, homosexual sex is only forbidden to heterosexuals (for whom it would not cement a relationship and their goal only would be temporary pleasure). Let him not tell them. Let them wrestle with it. Enjoy!
All this constant chatter by conservatives against premarital sex, abortion, homosexuality, and for celibacy are signs of sex-obsessed minds. There is no reason in the world a healthy homosexual woman or man should take any preaching from people confused and obsessed about relationships.
I left out all reports about sexual child abuse in the Church and reports of a homosexual subculture at the Vatican since they’re both also the result of the official anti-sexuality doctrine and only related to their unwillingness to recognize homosexual love relationships via the adjective scandalous.
About the Author
MM is a prolific and creative writer and thinker, previously a daily blog contributor to the TOI. He often makes his readers laugh, mad, or assume he's nuts—close to perfect blogging. He's proud that his analytical short comments are removed both from left-wing and right-wing news sites. None of his content is generated by the new bore on the block, AI. *
As a frontier thinker, he sees things many don't yet. He's half a prophet. Half. Let's not exaggerate. Or not at all because he doesn't claim G^d talks to him. He gives him good ideas—that's all. MM doesn't believe that people observe and think in a vacuum. He, therefore, wanted a broad bio that readers interested can track a bit what (lack of) backgrounds, experiences, and educations contribute to his visions. *
This year, he will prioritize getting his unpublished books published rather than just blog posts. Of the 15 (!) books he has in mind, the next two are about homosexuality in Judaism and new rabbinics. Next year, he hopes to focus on activism against human extinction. To find less-recent posts on a subject XXX among his over 2600 archived ones, go to the right-top corner of a Times of Israel page, click on the search icon and search "zuiden, XXX". One can find a second, wilder blog that also may contain updates to Times of Israel posts, to which one may subscribe, here: https://mmvanzuiden.wordpress.com/ or by clicking on the globe icon next to his picture on top. *
He's getting ready to publicize books on: "Free Will, "Judaism and Homosexuality, "His parents in the Holocaust, "Judaism, "A New Torah Translation and "A New Hebrew Grammar, "Co-Counseling, "Vegan Facts, "Immortality, and more. *
Like most of his readers, he believes in being friendly, respectful, and loyal. However, if you think those are his absolute top priorities, you might end up disappointed. His first loyalty is to the truth. He agrees that in a post-truth world, that's irrelevant, but then this is for the record. He will try to stay within the limits of democratic and Jewish law, but he won't lie to support opinions or people when don't deserve that. (Yet, we all make honest mistakes, which is just fine and does not justify losing support.) He admits that he sometimes exaggerates to make a point, which could have him come across as nasty, while in actuality, he's quite a lovely person to interact with. He holds - how Dutch - that a strong opinion doesn't imply intolerance of other views. *
Sometimes he's misunderstood because his wide and diverse field of vision seldomly fits any specialist's box. But that's exactly what some love about him. He has written a lot about Psychology (including Sexuality and Abuse), Medicine (including physical immortality), Science (including basic statistics), Politics (Israel, the US, and the Netherlands, Activism - more than leftwing or rightwing, he hopes to highlight reality), Oppression and Liberation (intersectionally, for young people, the elderly, non-Whites, women, workers, Jews, LGBTQIA+, foreigners and anyone else who's dehumanized or exploited), Integrity, Philosophy, Jews (Judaism, Zionism, Holocaust and Jewish Liberation), the Climate Crisis, Ecology and Veganism, Affairs from the news, or the Torah Portion of the Week, or new insights that suddenly befell him. *
Chronologically, his most influential teachers are his parents, Nico (natan) van Zuiden and Betty (beisye) Nieweg, Wim Kan, Mozart, Harvey Jackins, Marshal Rosenberg, Reb Shlomo Carlebach, and, lehavdil bein chayim lechayim, Rabbi Dr. Natan Lopes Cardozo, Rav Zev Leff, and Rav Meir Lubin. This short list doesn't mean to disrespect others who taught him a lot or a little. One of his rabbis calls him Mr. Innovation [Ish haChidushim]. Yet, his originalities seem to root deeply in traditional Judaism, though they may grow in unexpected directions. In fact, he claims he's modernizing nothing. Rather, mainly basing himself on the basic Hebrew Torah text, he tries to rediscover classical Jewish thought almost lost in thousands of years of stifling Gentile domination and Jewish assimilation. (He pleads for a close reading of the Torah instead of going by rough assumptions of what it would probably mean and before fleeing to Commentaries.) This, in all aspects of life, but prominently in the areas of Free Will, Activism, Homosexuality for men, and Redemption. *
He hopes that his words will inspire and inform, and disturb the comfortable and comfort the disturbed. He aims to bring a fresh perspective rather than harp on the obvious and familiar. When he can, he loves to write encyclopedic overviews. He doesn't expect his readers to agree. Rather, original minds should be disputed. In short, his main political positions are among others: anti-Trumpism, for Zionism, Intersectionality, non-violence, anti those who abuse democratic liberties, anti the fake ME peace process, for original-Orthodoxy, pro-Science, pro-Free Will, anti-blaming-the-victim, and for down-to-earth, classical optimism, and happiness. Read his blog on how he attempts to bridge any tensions between those ideas or fields. *
He is a fetal survivor of the pharmaceutical industry (https://diethylstilbestrol.co.uk/studies/des-and-psychological-health/), born in 1953 to his parents who were Dutch-Jewish Holocaust survivors who met in the largest concentration camp in the Netherlands, Westerbork. He grew up a humble listener. It took him decades to become a speaker too, and decades more to admit to being a genius. But his humility was his to keep. And so was his honesty. Bullies and con artists almost instantaneously envy and hate him. He hopes to bring new things and not just preach to the choir. *
He holds a BA in medicine (University of Amsterdam) – is half a doctor. He practices Re-evaluation Co-counseling since 1977, is not an official teacher anymore, and became a friendly, powerful therapist. He became a social activist, became religious, made Aliyah, and raised three wonderful kids. Previously, for decades, he was known to the Jerusalem Post readers as a frequent letter writer. For a couple of years, he was active in hasbara to the Dutch-speaking public. He wrote an unpublished tome about Jewish Free Will. He's a strict vegan since 2008. He's an Orthodox Jew but not a rabbi. *
His writing has been made possible by an allowance for second-generation Holocaust survivors from the Netherlands. It has been his dream since he was 38 to try to make a difference by teaching through writing. He had three times 9-out-of-10 for Dutch at his high school finals but is spending his days communicating in English and Hebrew - how ironic. G-d must have a fine sense of humor. In case you wonder - yes, he is a bit dyslectic. If you're a native English speaker and wonder why you should read from people whose English is only their second language, consider the advantage of having an original peek outside of your cultural bubble. His posts are spell, grammar, and style polished by AI, but all written by himself. *
To send any personal reaction to him, scroll to the top of the blog post and click Contact Me. *
His newest books you may find here: https://www.amazon.com/s?i=stripbooks&rh=p_27%3AMoshe-Mordechai%2FMaurits+van+Zuiden&s=relevancerank&text=Moshe-Mordechai%2FMaurits+van+Zuiden&ref=dp_byline_sr_book_1
