Gay Protestor Makes a Good Point
If you’re going to make an argument, no matter what it is, you’d better argue well. The protestor above is responding to some pretty weak arguments from Christians with a reply that shows he has better Bible knowledge than those who have been protesting homosexuality through obscure Old Testament verses.
The problem comes from a passage in Leviticus 18:22 which says, Do not lie with a man as one lies with a woman; that is detestable.
That seems pretty straightforward, but the very next chapter says that I can’t eat steak that are medium-rare and I can’t trim my beard in certain ways. Does your anti-homosexual protest sign explain why you are cherry picking obscure Old Testament references to observe while ignoring others? (For the curious, a simple answer to why the Bible includes obscure laws that are not part of Christianity – a very good question – read this.)
Radio personality Dr Laura, a practicing Jew, has also used this argument. A listener took this to its logical extreme and sent her an email asking some follow up questions, including “I have a neighbor who insists on working on the Sabbath. Exodus 35:2 clearly states he should be put to death. Am I morally obligated to kill him myself?” and “I know from Lev. 11:6-8 that touching the skin of a dead pig makes me unclean, but may I still play football if I wear gloves?“
So we see that when we do not study logical fallacies before engaging in dialog we are prone to make embarrassing errors. (Read this, and especially this and this, for more information how to avoid making poor arguments.) What the protestor in the above picture has shown us is that there are called Christians employing illogical and poorly thought out tactics to fight homosexuality who have only succeeded in making every Believer look foolish. Thanks, a lot, for making us all look hateful and stupid at the same time.
We don’t minister to people by shouting and griping at them – we can only minister by reflecting God’s love.
“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus replied: ” ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” – Matthew 22:35-40
(More articles at www.ThinkingThroughChristianity.com)
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3 Comments
Well, unfortunately, the argument against homosexuality extends well into the New Testament as well as the old.
Very good article.
It’s sad that so many people that speak loudly are so stupid. There is possibly a correlation between the two. I can’t imagine the anguish that blacks feel when they see Jessie Jackson or Al Sharpton speaking for them.
I especially like the links that you provided on logical fallacies. They seem common sense to me, but many people can’t grasp these concepts. (I have a feeling that your audience already understood them, but might not have known that they have names.)
I spent an hour explaining the differences in valid, invalid, and sound arguments to another student. He attempted to “get philosophical” with me about simple addition. I wanted to punch him.
Kinda off topic but Deuteronomy 22:13-21 doesn’t say that. It shows more that he’s better at the propaganda game. The passage is actually not obscure at all, it’s probably I’d imagine one of the most frequently quoted sections of the Torah, especially by those who read sites dealing with “problems with the Bible”, right up there with ones on genocide, Nadab and Abihu, and the passage on forcing rape victims to marry.