"If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor. If an elephant has its foot on the tail of a mouse and you say that you are neutral, the mouse will not appreciate your neutrality." --Bishop Desmond Tutu

Tuesday, December 09, 2008

The separation of Christ and his bigoted followers

Newsweek has an important article this week on same-sex marriage and what the bible really says about it.

Sometimes the hypocrisy is more than I can stand. Take religious fundamentalists, for instance (please!). The ongoing brouhaha over same-sex marriage is predicated, from their side, on the adherence to scripture. Now, it has been pointed out repeatedly that Christian scripture, as defined in the bible, is at significant variance to the way these people live their lives. For instance,
Shall we look to Abraham, the great patriarch, who slept with his servant when he discovered his beloved wife Sarah was infertile? Or to Jacob, who fathered children with four different women (two sisters and their servants)? Abraham, Jacob, David, Solomon and the kings of Judah and Israel—all these fathers and heroes were polygamists.
Polygamy was rampant in ancient Israel. In fact, it was the norm. It still is in Islamic countries who share many of the same cultural foundations with so-called Judeo-Christian culture. But what's more fascinating is what the New Testament has to say about marriage!
The New Testament model of marriage is hardly better. Jesus himself was single and preached an indifference to earthly attachments—especially family. The apostle Paul (also single) regarded marriage as an act of last resort for those unable to contain their animal lust. "It is better to marry than to burn with passion," says the apostle, in one of the most lukewarm endorsements of a treasured institution ever uttered.
Hardly a ringing endorsement of marriage, is it? For Paul, it was a "last resort." Yet our fundamentalist friends seem to think that the bible is all about the "traditional" definition of marriage.
The argument goes something like this statement, which the Rev. Richard A. Hunter, a United Methodist minister, gave to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution in June: "The Bible and Jesus define marriage as between one man and one woman. The church cannot condone or bless same-sex marriages because this stands in opposition to Scripture and our tradition."
TEH FAIL!!!!! How special that this so-called Reverend doesn't even know what his own holy book says or doesn't say. Amazing, isn't it? I think so. So special to use non-existent concepts in your so-called "holy" book to justify your own hatred and bigotry and then to preach that hatred and bigotry from the pulpit.

Go read the rest of the article for the full scoop on what the bible really says.

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