One sure sign of a made-up God is that the people who make Him up invariably ascribe their own prejudices and biases to Him, in order to make them officially binding on everyone else. Christians and their Jewish predecessors demonstrate this by their traditional portrayal of God as a virulent homophobe and bigot who does not wish merely to deny gays the right to get married, but wishes to deny them life itself, if they are ever so presumptuous as to become intimate with each other as heterosexuals do.
A genuine divine spirit would have no need of such arbitrary and unfair discrimination against gays. Homosexuals are no different from anyone else except in one thing: they fall in love differently than heterosexuals do. And this is not a difference that does any harm to anyone. It does not rob, or lie, or assault, or kill. It does not damage the environment or crash the stock market or start a war. It’s two people falling in love. What’s to hate?
Homophobia is a carnal impulse, an almost instinctive reaction. It might be explainable as a by-product of human evolution, favoring individuals who direct their sexual energies towards actual reproduction. That doesn’t make it right, of course, but it does help us to understand our carnal nature better so that we can restrain it where necessary in order to behave in a civilized manner.
God, meanwhile, should not be subject to this kind of carnal urge. He does not reproduce. He allegedly has not evolved. There is no point in having Him arbitrarily single out gays just to discriminate against their sexuality and to deny them the same right to love as heterosexuals enjoy. No point, that is, except to validate the prejudices and phobias of the people who invented their God to serve as a sock puppet for their own hatred.
Thus, the human frailties and injustices ascribed to God by believers themselves betrays the fact that He is a fictitious reflection of the people who invented Him, and not a genuine deity. In their mindless crusade against marriage equality and their “traditional” support for discrimination against innocent people, Christians are exposing the mythical nature of their faith.
Some believe that the homophobia in the Judaic laws (and by extension, Christianity) was somehow related to the fact they lived surrounded by other societies, some of whom were sure to ignore if not outright condone homosexual behavior. Similar to the not eating shellfish or pork, actually. It was a way for the early Hebrew peoples to differentiate themselves from the societies around them.
Sort of a “we’re different because our god looks down on gay people, shellfish, and clothes of multiple fibers.”
Right. Among the practices of ancient Canaan were both male and female ritual prostitution/temple prostitution in celebration of fertility gods.
Typo alert in the first line: invariablY.
Fixed, thanks.
Homophobia still appears to be a cultural phenomenon in my experience. Many cultures accept, or even revere homosexuality. In my travels to many parts of the planet I have seen this for myself.
India has a large and openly gay community. I was startled to find myself crossing a street faced with a crowd of brightly cross-dressed men one day. They certainly stood out from the more conventionally attired people.
I live in the Philippines where homosexuality, at least near my home, is treated as a curiosity; much like having big feet or owning an exotic pet would be in North America. I have met several openly gay children who live perfectly normal lives. Nobody seems to care about their sexual orientation and they don’t appear to hide it in any way.
I have a little friend who walks with me around the local village. She is definitely a tomboy but she has slowly become more and more masculine. She refuses to wear the official uniform for girls to school and recently had her hair cut very short, like the boys. She still has the same friends and does all the same things she used to do. Her parents have obviously accepted her and her preferences. I have a step-daughter who is much like that and my wife has always accepted her as she is – a normal, loving, caring daughter who is like a son to her. My wife refers to her son and her daughter, who live together, as “The Cowboys”.
It’s a pity that the Abrahamic religions can’t get past their bigotry to see there is nothing wrong with being homosexual.
I recently heard a great take on god’s intent for man’s sexuality. It was on one of the many podcasts I listen too, but can’t remember which one right now, sorry.
Anyway – god plops Adam down and proceeds to populate the garden with all manner of other animals, maybe horses, dogs, chimps, chickens, sheep, snakes of course, etc. None of them proves to be a suitable companion for Adam, so god finally creates Eve to be Adams mate. So obviously beastialty was god’s original intent, which makes homosexuality pretty damned benign by comparison.
Your post reminds of this…
When he was in his 20’s, my husband was distinctly anti-gay; he had a very negative emotional reaction to the idea. Now that he’s older, more thoughtful, and has met and come to respect some actual gay people, he’s no longer anti-gay, he’s anti-civil-marriage. “Let churches perform marriages,” he says. “The state should only recognize civil unions — for everyone, gay or straight.” Interesting evolution.
Your logic here is flawed I think. It appears to run as follows
1. I think that homosexuality is a morally acceptable behavior
2. The Christian God disagrees
3. The reasons he disagrees don’t make sense to me
4. Therefore, he does not exist.
This is a non sequitur. God’s nonconformity to your ideas for human sexuality does not prove or even imply that he does not exist.
Hello Interested theist. Your logic appears flawed to me as well. It seems to run as follows:
Cheers.
Deacon Duncan, I very much appreciate your sense of humor!