Killing Gays

Killing in the name of God: it’s been done for centuries and continues to happen today. But killing people because they are gay? That’s a phenomenon unique to the “Abrahamic God of the desert”, writes Richard Rodriguez. The most recent example of that was the massacre in a gay club in Florida, the worst mass murder in the US since 9/11.

But what’s the connection of the “desert religions” to homophobia? Is it just coincidence? No, says Rodriguez:

“In such a place, the call to belief was tribal, not individualistic. Sexuality was an expression of faith to increase the tribe. Allegiance to God and to one’s ancestors was fulfilled by giving birth.”

Rodriguez also raises a very interesting point about context being very important in how we perceive the same (or similar) actions:

“(Florida murderer) Mateen might have been offended by the sight of two men kissing in Orlando, but one wonders what he have would made of Arabian and Afghan societies, where men stroll arm in arm and enjoy the night at cafes without women.”

The satirical mag, The Onion, described this press conference God called for:

“I guess I figured I'd left no real room for confusion after putting it in a four-word sentence with one-syllable words, on the tablets I gave to Moses. How much more clear can I get?”

But don’t the holy scriptures have passages that call for killings, asked a reporter?

“To be honest, there's some contradictory stuff in there, okay?" God said. "So I can see how it could be pretty misleading. I admit it—My bad. I did My best to inspire them, but a lot of imperfect human agents have misinterpreted My message over the millennia. Frankly, much of the material that got in there is dogmatic, doctrinal bullshit. I turn My head for a second and, suddenly, all this stuff about homosexuality gets into Leviticus, and everybody thinks it's God's will to kill gays. It absolutely drives Me up the wall.”

And then God lost His cool:

“Humans don't need religion or God as an excuse to kill each other—you've been doing that without any help from Me since you were freaking apes!" God said. "The whole point of believing in God is to have a higher standard of behavior. How obvious can you get?”

Try telling that to the Taliban, ISIS, and the crusaders. But wait a minute, if God is omniscient, couldn’t He just strike them all down? Or just change their views by snapping His fingers? Religions have been tieing themselves in knots when faced with such questions; so I wouldn’t hold my breath on getting any answers, in a tablet or a book… or a press conference.