And via David Mixner, from the I'm From Driftwood blog, here's the result of this kind of oh-so-holy teaching - decide for yourself who's being truly evil:
Also, listen to Dan Savage's description of the horrific beating his first boyfriend got as a young teen when he came out to his ultra-religious father, beginning at the 2:50 mark:
My late husband's first partner was likewise thrown out of his parents' house at age 16 and walked or hitchhiked all the way from northern Oklahoma to the home of a kindly aunt in New Orleans, with no money and his few belongings in a plastic garbage bag.
And these religious motherfuckers have the gall to say WE are intrincially evil? What's wrong with this picture, I ask you.
It's not that religion is necessarily a bad thing - it's the monstrous, ignorant, self-righteous misuse of religion as a weapon of control that is evil. Which human beings are awfully good at.
FYI, there was just as much discussion over the "naturalness" of homosex back among the ancient Greeks and Romans as there is today - the difference being, nobody back then had a Bible to beat people over the head with, so most folks just shrugged and minded their own business.
Until the Christians came to power. One of these days, I'm going to write a nice big post about all that, but in the meantime I highly recommend Louis Crompton's monumental historical survey Homosexuality and Civilization, among others.
3 comments:
Cardinal Burke is a brown-noser - asshole...
What do you want to bet that Cardinal Burke has never had an impure thought about a woman? I don't think he has.
I appreciate that the post focused on specific leaders to challenge and discuss. Religion is a pool of compassion, with some never swimming, and others only helping those they judge worthy. Yet, for many, there is more splashing around and making noise than anything else.
So, refining the discussion to specific examples, which we can site in discussions later on, is wonderful. I have found some Catholic priests that struggle with their leadership, just as I do. I am happy that they do not walk away. The only way to change the course of a ship is to stay on it.
While my voice and desire for accountability can help make my communities awareness; awareness will only change the religious power if leaders willing to create change stay in the church. So rock on and speak the hate Cardinal, it helps the peacemakers know who to watch, discuss, and hold accountable to the doctrine they speak from.
While not a Catholic, I recognize the influence they have, and how differently it is given.
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