Interesting article from the Daily Beast. Read it and share your thoughts.
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/05/03/is-dan-savage-the-gay-santorum.html
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Is Dan Savage the Gay Rick Santorum?
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From the article:
This is what is called a false dichotomy, and it’s strange that the author, Jay Michaelson would try to pass that off as Savage’s intent, unless you realize that Michaelson wrote a book that says that the Bible does not condemn homosexuality. He falsely accuses Savage of saying the Bible is bullshit, when all he said was that, …well, here’s his quotes with the words: You decide.
Savage did not say “The Bible is Bullshit”. Savage was not telling his audience that they had to choose between their sexuality and religion,. He was telling them that if they have any sense that there is something wrong with homosexuality, they should not use their Bible to justify it, unless they are willing to use that same Bible to justify a lot of other things the Bible appears to proscribe, like eating shellfish or picking up sticks on Sunday; or endorses, like slavery and stoning.
In other words, don’t cherry-pick your bigotry from the Bible. And don’t be hypocrites.
In answering your question, “Is Dan Savage the gay Rick Santorum”, I’m going to be nice.
No. Hell no he’s not.
Dan Savage has a brain.
He may be crude with his language at times–as too many people are–but hell no.
Rick Santorum is a demagoguing idiot of some measure.
Nearly every person who acknowledges an aversion to homosexuality does so on the basis of what he or she believes the Bible has to say. In their mind, there is no doubt whatsoever about what the Bible says and what the Bible means. Their general argument goes something like this: Homosexuality is an abomination and the homosexual is a sinner. Homosexuality is condemned in both the Old and New Testaments. Therefore, if we are to be faithful to the clear teachings of Scripture we too must condemn homosexuality. Needless to say, this premise is being widely debated among evangelicals today and seriously challenged by biblical scholars, theologians and religious leaders everywhere.
It rarely occurs to any of us that our reading of Scripture is profoundly colored by our own cultural context and worldview. In light of the post above and since I happen to speak and write on this very topic, I thought you might find some of these posts of particular interest and relevance. I would particularly recommend the following:
“Genesis 19: What Were the Real Sins of Sodom?
“Leviticus 18: What Was the Abomination?”
“Romans 1: What Was Paul Ranting About?”
“Romans 2: Paul’s Bait and Switch”
“Genesis 1: Turning the Creation Story into an Anti-Gay Treatise”
“Why No One in the Biblical World Had a Word for Homosexuality”
“Exegesis: Not For the Faint in Heart”
(Links to these and more may be found by simply clicking the link below and then selecting the “Archives” page.)
-Alex Haiken
http://JewishChristianGay.wordpress.com