You can purchase an autographed copy of Anything But Straight by sending a $35 check or money order to:
-------------------------
Wayne Besen
PO Box 25491
Brooklyn, NY 11202
There is an 800 pound gorilla sitting prominently in most fundamentalist churches today. But nobody seems to notice. These churches claim to demand a strict, literal interpretation of every passage in the Bible. But there are some Biblical passages that will literally curl your hair! And fundamentalists don't dare demand a strict interpretation of them. For example:
A man who divorces his wife and remarries commits adultery (Luke, Chapter 16, Verse 18). And those who commit adultery must be put to death (Deuteronomy, Chapter 22, Verse 22).
If a woman is not a virgin when she marries she must be put to death (Deuteronomy, Chapter 22, Verses 20 and 21).
If a son is rebellious and out of control, he must be put to death (Deuteronomy, Chapter 21, Verses 18 thru 21).
And yes, there are a few passages in the Bible that are critical of physical love between men. Interestingly, there are no passages in the Bible that are critical of physical love between women. So presumably lesbian love is acceptable to the hard-liners.
Rational people do not advocate the death penalty for people who divorce and remarry, or for women who are not virgins when they marry, or for rebellious sons, or for men in loving gay relationships. They ignore these passages and others like them because they are contrary to the Bible's central message of love and compassion.
People who use the Bible as a weapon to bludgeon gay men also ignore the passages about divorce and non-virgin wives and rebellious sons. But they seize upon the passages that are critical of gay men and trumpet them to the world. Could it be that these hard-liners are picking and choosing which passages they will recognize, in order to cater to their own prejudices?
3 Comments:
If they killed all the women in the western world who werent virgins when they got married, there would be a female holocaust. Just how do the fundos justify this cherry-picking of Scriptures? Or do they even try?
posted by Anonymous, at
5/08/2008 3:02 PM
I agree - there are rules that are followed and others that are overlooked. The problem is that when someone interprets the bible in such a way as to think that they have the perfect understanding and then impose that on others.
posted by Anonymous, at
5/08/2008 7:42 PM
'Interestingly, there are no passages in the Bible that are critical of physical love between women. So presumably lesbian love is acceptable to the hard-liners.'
No, because it would count as fornication. Sex outside marriage is unacceptable in Biblical terms, and marriage is between males and females.
posted by Anonymous, at
5/08/2008 7:48 PM
