Wow, back from the holiday and house move and I am going straight for a touchy subject, but one I feel quite strongly about. Homosexuality, or rather the total hypocrisy Christianity has when preaching how "wrong" it is to be gay.
I have copped flack any number of times from family, friends and people in general for my support for the gay community, but that hasn't changed my stance and never will. I fully support equal rights for all, regardless of sexual orientation, race, gender or other descriptive label we may place on another human being.
Growing up I had a number of friends that were obviously gay. They may not have known it, they may have struggled with it, but I knew, and to me, even as a younger kid, had no problem with it. I didn't believe it was a choice, I knew it was the way they were. Honestly I felt really happy when they finally admitted to themselves that they were gay because I knew it would make them happier. Some others, I have to admit, came as a complete shock, but I was happy for them none the less. It is hard enough to define your place in the world and if you are struggling against the perceived "norms" of society it is even harder, I myself am dealing with a smilier issue with my atheism. It isn't exactly an overly accepted way of life, not in my family or in the country I live in.
Anyway, enough about how I feel, lets get straight to the hypocrisy shall we!
What the Bible says (and thus what Christians spew forth)
In the Old Testament the rules and laws were set down in the books of Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. This is pretty much were our Christian friends get their ideas on homosexuality.
In the book of Leviticus it says:
When asking a Christian to justify these verses they often quote the "commandment" of god in Genesis:
To me this argument really holds little water, particularly when held up to the other laws we no longer obey. To me it says "I, the Lord your God, created you in my image, yet, in the womb, before you were ever born and through no fault of your own, I made your mind and soul such that it was only compatible with someone from the same sex, but if you act on those urges I will send you straight to hell after having you murdered by your friends and family." What else could it possibly say? I know most Christians believe that homosexuality is a choice, but lets just ignore that because they are simply wrong. People are born homosexual, some people fight it, others accept it, but being born gay is no different than being born with blonde hair or brown eyes, it is just the way we are.
BUT, and this is where it gets good, this little law is right smack dab in the middle of a lot of other laws, laws that we no longer obey because, well, society and our understanding of human nature, anatomy and science has moved on. To throw away those other "wonderful" (read the preceding word with immense levels of sarcasm) laws and yet cling to this one is totally hypocritical, or rather "Very Christian".
Lets look at some of the discard laws:
Kill your kids if they disobey or cause you trouble.
Kill your whole family if they try to lead you from the path of god.
Here is one of my favourite absurdities: Menstruating women are unclean, touching them or anything they have touched will make you unclean, and once they are done menstruating they must make both a blood and a burnt sacrifice to God to make themselves clean again.
I mean COME ON. Thankfully this has been done away with as humankind has moved forward. I pose the following challenge to any Christian women reading this that stand against Homosexuality: When was the last time you followed the above passages? When was the last time your husband did?
Lets speed things up a bit, here in rapid succession are a few more lovely laws that no one follows anymore:
A man with injured testicles or who has lost his penis in accident cannot be accepted by god:
A bastard (someone born out of wedlock, incidentally ME) cannot be accept by god, nor 10 generations of his children (all of whom are innocent BTW. They are to go to hell for something their great, great, great, etc. grandfather/mother did!)
Can you say "Racism"?
God can't stand the sight of handicapped people. The blind, the lame, dwarfs, people with funny noses or blemishes, with damaged testicles, or broken hands or feet, crooked backs, or who have scurvy or scabs, or who have anything superfluous must not approach the altar of God.
Honestly I could go on for days! There are enough stupid laws listed that one could write any number of books about it. It is obvious that these laws were not written nor even inspired by some supreme being, but by an ignorant primitive people who hardly knew their ass from a hole in the ground.
If you want to do some more reading on the subject and read some of the absolute corkers, like how long to hang a man, how to deal with poop and how to properly handle semen then I am happy to provide you with some good resources. May I suggest "The Brick Testament" section on "The Law" for a funny lego look at these laws (however, be warned, the author doesn't think it is funny, he is a preacher and believes every word!!) or simply read The Skeptic's Annotated Bible.
In finishing, I know plenty of Christians would say "But this is the old testament, it doesn't really apply now that we have the new testament." Well to them I would say this: If that is so, then quit quoting the old testament to push your hateful agenda against gays! I would also add the words of Jesus as quoted by the Disciple Matthew in the Gospel of Matthew:
So sorry there good Christian buddy, your ass is burning in hell with mine because I don't know one of you who has kept the law.
What the Bible says (and thus what Christians spew forth)
In the Old Testament the rules and laws were set down in the books of Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. This is pretty much were our Christian friends get their ideas on homosexuality.
In the book of Leviticus it says:
Leviticus 18:20
Do not lie with a man as one lies with a woman; that is detestable.
Leviticus 20:13
If a man lies with a man as one lies with a woman, both of them have done what is detestable. They must be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads.
When asking a Christian to justify these verses they often quote the "commandment" of god in Genesis:
Genesis 1:28So, this is their argument? In my reading of the above it seems that god has no problem with lesbians, he only refers to men in those passages. This, of course, probably has a lot to do with the fact that women, in the biblical sense, are treated as little more than property, but that really is a discussion for another time.
Be Fruitful and Multiply
To me this argument really holds little water, particularly when held up to the other laws we no longer obey. To me it says "I, the Lord your God, created you in my image, yet, in the womb, before you were ever born and through no fault of your own, I made your mind and soul such that it was only compatible with someone from the same sex, but if you act on those urges I will send you straight to hell after having you murdered by your friends and family." What else could it possibly say? I know most Christians believe that homosexuality is a choice, but lets just ignore that because they are simply wrong. People are born homosexual, some people fight it, others accept it, but being born gay is no different than being born with blonde hair or brown eyes, it is just the way we are.
BUT, and this is where it gets good, this little law is right smack dab in the middle of a lot of other laws, laws that we no longer obey because, well, society and our understanding of human nature, anatomy and science has moved on. To throw away those other "wonderful" (read the preceding word with immense levels of sarcasm) laws and yet cling to this one is totally hypocritical, or rather "Very Christian".
Lets look at some of the discard laws:
Kill your kids if they disobey or cause you trouble.
Deuteronomy 21:18 -21Well I guess your daughter can get away with murder huh. I really pity the male kids with A.D.D., or who are going through the "terrible twos" or the ever common "teenage angst" period of their life. I am really glad that we have decided to move beyond this little law.
If a man has a stubborn and rebellious son who does not obey his father and mother and will not listen to them when they discipline him, his father and mother shall take hold of him and bring him to the elders at the gate of his town. They shall say to the elders, "This son of ours is stubborn and rebellious. He will not obey us. He is a profligate and a drunkard." Then all the men of his town shall stone him to death. You must purge the evil from among you. All Israel will hear of it and be afraid.
Kill your whole family if they try to lead you from the path of god.
Deuteronomy 13:6-9This is really bad for us Atheists or Agnostics who try and help our family see reason. Actually there are many Christians who use this little law still, not to kill people, but to justify banning things such as Yoga, Trantra, meditation and so on because they originated in other religions. While we may still use this rule to justify petty intolerance's, at least society has thrown away the idea of murdering people for something so petty.
If your very own brother, or your son or daughter, or the wife you love, or your closest friend secretly entices you, saying, "Let us go and worship other gods" (gods that neither you nor your fathers have known, gods of the peoples around you, whether near or far, from one end of the land to the other), do not yield to him or listen to him. Show him no pity. Do not spare him or shield him. You must certainly put him to death. Your hand must be the first in putting him to death, and then the hands of all the people.
Here is one of my favourite absurdities: Menstruating women are unclean, touching them or anything they have touched will make you unclean, and once they are done menstruating they must make both a blood and a burnt sacrifice to God to make themselves clean again.
Leviticus 15:19-23
" 'When a woman has her regular flow of blood, the impurity of her monthly period will last seven days, and anyone who touches her will be unclean till evening.
" 'Anything she lies on during her period will be unclean, and anything she sits on will be unclean. Whoever touches her bed must wash his clothes and bathe with water, and he will be unclean till evening. Whoever touches anything she sits on must wash his clothes and bathe with water, and he will be unclean till evening. Whether it is the bed or anything she was sitting on, when anyone touches it, he will be unclean till evening.
Leviticus 15:28-30
" 'When she is cleansed from her discharge, she must count off seven days, and after that she will be ceremonially clean. On the eighth day she must take
two doves or two young pigeons and bring them to the priest at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. The priest is to sacrifice one for a sin offering and the other for a burnt offering. In this way he will make atonement for her before the LORD for the uncleanness of her discharge.
I mean COME ON. Thankfully this has been done away with as humankind has moved forward. I pose the following challenge to any Christian women reading this that stand against Homosexuality: When was the last time you followed the above passages? When was the last time your husband did?
Lets speed things up a bit, here in rapid succession are a few more lovely laws that no one follows anymore:
A man with injured testicles or who has lost his penis in accident cannot be accepted by god:
Deuteronomy 23:1
No one who has been emasculated by crushing or cutting may enter the assembly of the LORD.
A bastard (someone born out of wedlock, incidentally ME) cannot be accept by god, nor 10 generations of his children (all of whom are innocent BTW. They are to go to hell for something their great, great, great, etc. grandfather/mother did!)
Deuteronomy 23:2
A bastard shall not enter into the congregation of the LORD; even to his tenth generation shall he not enter into the congregation of the LORD.
Can you say "Racism"?
Deuteronomy 23:3
No Ammonite or Moabite or any of his descendants may enter the assembly of the LORD, even down to the tenth generation.
God can't stand the sight of handicapped people. The blind, the lame, dwarfs, people with funny noses or blemishes, with damaged testicles, or broken hands or feet, crooked backs, or who have scurvy or scabs, or who have anything superfluous must not approach the altar of God.
Leviticus 21:16-20
The LORD said to Moses, "Say to Aaron: 'For the generations to come none of your descendants who has a defect may come near to offer the food of his God. No man who has any defect may come near: no man who is blind or lame, disfigured or deformed; no man with a crippled foot or hand, or who is hunchbacked or dwarfed, or who has any eye defect, or who has festering or running sores or damaged testicles.
Honestly I could go on for days! There are enough stupid laws listed that one could write any number of books about it. It is obvious that these laws were not written nor even inspired by some supreme being, but by an ignorant primitive people who hardly knew their ass from a hole in the ground.
If you want to do some more reading on the subject and read some of the absolute corkers, like how long to hang a man, how to deal with poop and how to properly handle semen then I am happy to provide you with some good resources. May I suggest "The Brick Testament" section on "The Law" for a funny lego look at these laws (however, be warned, the author doesn't think it is funny, he is a preacher and believes every word!!) or simply read The Skeptic's Annotated Bible.
In finishing, I know plenty of Christians would say "But this is the old testament, it doesn't really apply now that we have the new testament." Well to them I would say this: If that is so, then quit quoting the old testament to push your hateful agenda against gays! I would also add the words of Jesus as quoted by the Disciple Matthew in the Gospel of Matthew:
Matthew 5:17-20
Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.
So sorry there good Christian buddy, your ass is burning in hell with mine because I don't know one of you who has kept the law.
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