Fries or onion rings; Shake or Soda; Ten Commandments or only Sixish. As time has progressed, society evolves and people become more intelligent. However the crutch of religion in people’s lives has remained. Despite being a beacon of hope for many millions, the people whom follow the Holy Scriptures, no longer follow them to the letter. More so these individuals view religion as a fast food style buffet. Picking and choosing what they like and what they can live without.
Following Gods holy text is held in belief by many to be a gateway into Heaven. However if you follow the law of the Bible only 75 percent of the time, is it still going to get you through those Pearly Gates? One of the most hot topic issues in today’s society revolving around religion is gay marriage. Leviticus 20:13 states that "If a man lies with a male as with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination; they shall surely be put to death; their blood is upon them." Clearly this passage from the English Standard version of the Bible states that if an individuals engages in homosexual acts you are an abomination against god and thus must be killed. Therefore, based on the Bible, if you are gay you die. If you are a true follower of “God’s Word” than this abomination must be stopped and death must be brought to all gays. Right? Wrong!
The religious right of American politics has touted this passage as the word of God, stopping marriage between two men and using this passage as a political tool. But if these individuals who believe God’s words are infallible and one must follow the word of the bible if they wish to enter Heaven, I pose these questions and relate them to prominent individuals;
1) Have you, a family member or a friend of yours ever committed adultery? If so yourself, or you family members or your friend must be put to death! Leviticus 20:10 states that “If a man commits adultery with the wife of his neighbor, both the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death.” SEE: Bill Clinton, John Edwards, John Mccain, Rudy Giuliani, Mark Sanford, Eliot Spitzer…Do I need to continue?
2) Do your children ever disobey your parental authority? If you do, I’m sorry but your kids must be put to death. Deuteronomy 21:18-21 states, “If someone has a stubborn and rebellious son who will not obey his father and mother, who does not heed them when they discipline him, then his father and his mother shall take hold of him and bring him out to the elders of his town at the gate of that place. They shall say to the elders of his town, "This son of ours is stubborn and rebellious. He will not obey us. He is a glutton and a drunkard." Then all the men of the town shall stone him to death. So you shall purge the evil from your midst; and all Israel will hear, and be afraid.” I guess when parents say I gave you life, I can take it away, they must really mean it, if of course they wish to get into Heaven. SEE: George W. Bush (daughter charged for being in possession of alcohol under 21) and even back a generation George H.W. Bush (W. was arrested for drunk driving)
3) Do you have a weekend job? If you do, be prepared for an eternity in hell. Exodus 20:8-11 states “Remember the sabbath day, and keep it holy. For six days you shall labour and do all your work. But the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God; you shall not do any work—you, your son or your daughter, your male or female slave, your livestock, or the alien resident in your towns. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but rested the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day and consecrated it.” SEE: EVERYONE!
4) Do you, your children, your family, or your friends have disabilities? If you do prepare to burn in hell. Leviticus 21:16-23 states “the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, "Speak to Aaron, saying, None of your offspring throughout their generations who has a blemish may approach to offer the bread of his God. For no one who has a blemish shall draw near, a man blind or lame, or one who has a mutilated face or a limb too long, or a man who has an injured foot or an injured hand, or a hunchback or a dwarf or a man with a defect in his sight or an itching disease or scabs or crushed testicles. No man of the offspring of Aaron the priest who has a blemish shall come near to offer the LORD’s food offerings; since he has a blemish, he shall not come near to offer the bread of his God. He may eat the bread of his God, both of the most holy and of the holy things, but he shall not go through the veil or approach the altar, because he has a blemish, that he may not profane my sanctuaries, for I am the LORD who sanctifies them.” SEE: Sarah Palin (no I am not inferring that Sarah Palin is handicapped, but if you tell her that her son can't get close to god, she may shoot you!) . Apparently God, much like the insurance companies, don’t like pre-existing conditions. How does God define a blemish, does acne mean someone can’t be near god? Injured foot or hand, does a sprain count? What defines dwarf in Gods eyes, in America a dwarf is considered anyone shorter than 4’10. Based on the Bible, anyone who needs glasses is cast from God’s grace.
5) Are you a woman? If you are, get ready to go back in time. Deuteronomy 22:13-21 requires that a woman be a virgin when she is married. If she has had sexual relations while single in her father's house, then she would be stoned to death. "If any man take a wife, and go in unto her, and hate her, And give occasions of speech against her, and bring up an evil name upon her, and say, I took this woman, and when I came to her, I found her not a maid....if this thing be true, and the tokens of virginity be not found for the damsel: Then they shall bring out the damsel to the door of her father's house, and the men of her city shall stone her with stones that she die: because she hath wrought folly in Israel, to play the whore in her father's house: so shalt thou put evil away from among you." Deuteronomy 22:28-29 requires that a virgin woman who has been raped must marry her attacker, no matter what her feelings are towards the rapist. "If a man find a damsel that is a virgin, which is not betrothed, and lay hold on her, and lie with her, and they be found; Then the man that lay with her shall give unto the damsel's father fifty shekels of silver, and she shall be his wife...." Deuteronomy 24:1 describes the procedure for obtaining a divorce. This can only be initiated by the husband, not by the wife: "When a man hath taken a wife, and married her, and it come to pass that she find no favour in his eyes, because he hath found some uncleanness in her: then let him write her a bill of divorcement, and give it in her hand, and send her out of his house." SEE: If any woman actually believes this is the way things are/should be I feel sorry for you…
These questions are just some of the many outrageous passages from the bible. The question I pose to you is this; do you feel that homosexuality is a sin and those sinners deserved to be punished? Should that punishment be death, or simply preventing them from marriage? If you believe that homosexuality is a sin and your actions are based on that belief, which stems from the bible, than make sure you follow the other passages from the bible as well. I will make a bold claim that most people don’t follow every passage from the bible, but still refer to themselves as ‘good’ in God’s eyes. As society has evolved and changed, this thing that once was held as a must has transitioned to more of an option. So the question I pose now is, if society can make the decision to only follow some of these passages, why does Gay Marriage spark such outrage? By not following one of these many passages, you have already broken God’s will, thus based on the belief that homosexuals will be punished, you will also be punished for the crimes against god you have committed.
This article is not a stance for or against gay marriage; I am simply using gay marriage as an example. This article is a stance against religious groups trying to control the masses with the things that are convenient to them, while leaving out the rest. The rationalization that religious groups make that one thing is ok because in their hearts of hearts they know it’s what God “really wants.” Gay marriage is stopped by the American political system because we follow a text that clearly people don’t take seriously. We as a country have created laws by disregarding other passages in the Bible such as Women’s rights, Civil Rights, Abolishing Slavery. However, as a country we still reference the Bible as the decision maker when trying to create new, progressive social legislation rather than taking culpability onto ourselves for not wanting something simply because we don’t like it.
So take it all or leave it all. Take progress or leave progress. It is both unfair to God and unfair to society to take one but not both. Rather than taking a walk through the buffet, taking what you like and leaving what you don’t, think to yourself…If this is wrong, couldn’t it all be wrong?
