Thursday, May 30, 2013

Blasphemy, idolatry and sodomy


Elsewhere, Facebook is telling me that it is right and proper for Jews to fight gay marriage, while tolerating shell fish, because the famous Seven Noachide Laws permit non-Jews to eat crabs, while forbidding them to engage in sodomy.

Ok, Facebook, counterpoint: The big Seven also prohibit non-Jews from engaging in blasphemy and idolatry. This suggests, rather strongly, that all three - blasphemy, idolatry and sodomy - are moral crimes of the same caliber. But here's the interesting thing:  Blasphemy and idolatry are both protected rights under the US constitution. And (a) no one cares and (b) nothing bad has happened.

In fact, let me restate (b) with a bit more power. Not only has nothing bad happened, but the same sort of people who routinely insist that US morality will go down the tubes if gay marriage is legalized, are also the sort of people who think America is currently the greatest country ever. So two huge moral failings and we can still be awesome, but let a third moral failing receive the official OK and its all over?

Is the country's morality really so porcelain--thin that it is mortally threatened by the possibility that gay men might sodomize each other, but not by the blasphemy and idolatry that already occur with the full and complete sanction of US law?

If anti-gay activists were the sort of consistent, principled, totally non-bigoted gentlemen that they say they are they would be working concurrently to repeal the First and Second Amendments of the US Constitution. They would be holding up as moral exemplars such blasphemy, sodomy and idolatry banning republics as Saudi Arabia. Instead of breaking bread with questionably idolatrous Christians, they would be seeking common cause with hard core anti-idolatry Muslims.

Now, I admit that none of these examples of their hypocrisy are puzzling to me as I have already concluded that anti-gay activists are bigots and hypocrites, but perhaps someone in the audience can offer an argument that might shake me of this conviction.

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