Rabbi Dr Jonathan Romain, said that Christians and Jewish people who oppose homosexual relationships on biblical grounds were applying double standards unless they also believed in some of the more obscure commands in the Old Testament.... He told the debate that Christians could not take references in the Old Testament to homosexuality as an âabominationâ literally unless they also practised circumcision or adhered to the Jewish food laws.
âNo Christian or secularist can quote those passagesâor certainly not with any credibility,â he said. âFor if they do suddenly start getting pious about verses in the Bibleâby which I mean the Hebrew Bible or Old Testamentâthen they can only do so if they adhere to other verses in it such as circumcising all your male children, as it also commands; abstaining from pork or prawns, as it also commands; not wearing garments in which wool and linen is mixed, as it also commands. If you donât keep up these, but do object to homosexuality, then you are just doing a pick and mix job, and are driven not by religious beliefs but by gay prejudice."
He added: âIf you take this approach to scripture you should also not object to stoning rebellious children or nailing your slaveâs ear to the door post.â
As we saw this week in Kansas and last week in North Carolina, evangelical Christian pastors in the United States are citing the Old Testament not just to block gay marriage, but to justify the mass murder of gays and lesbians. Michelangelo Signorile wants to know if prominent evangelical Christian leaders also believe that gays should be put to death:
If the answer to that question is no, then they'd better start speaking up loudly and clearly. Because over the past few weeks, evangelical pastors have made headlines urging parents to beat boys who seem gay, calling for gays and lesbians and "queers" to be put inside an electrified pen and left to die, and urging the government to begin killing gays.
These declarations have been backed up by these pastors' followers, who've organized protests to support them and who've gone on national television to defend them (as have the pastors themselves), a proud hate movement going public. They're being whipped into a frenzy against President Obama's coming out for marriage equality and they're emboldened by the passage of Amendment One in North Carolina. They've been met with outrage and protest from LGBT people and pro-gay supporters, and from the many mostly non-evangelical Christian leaders who support LGBT rights.
But where are the prominent evangelical leaders who condemn homosexuality and don't support any rights for gays, but who claim they have nothing against gay people? Where is Tony Perkins, of the Family Research Council? How about former presidential candidate Gary Bauer of American Values? I've seen nothing about this on Pat Robertson's 700 Club. And how about Bryan Fisher of the American Family Association, who is often overflowing with moral condemnation? Where is Franklin Graham, who said the president has "shaken his fist at God" for supporting marriage equality? Do they agree with the pastors calling for gays to be put to death, using the very same biblical literalism that their own denominations often espouse, or are they just afraid to speak out and say that the biblical condemnations are wrong?d
While we're at it, where is Mitt Romney, who accepts the endorsements of evangelical leaders who've remained silent, and who recently spoke at Jerry Falwell's Liberty University in trying to shore up the evangelical base?
