Worry about Wickedness, Part II

The wickedness might actually be Christian conservatives

Trump's announcement to bar transgender individuals from serving in the army is bringing great joy to the hearts of socially conservative Christians all over the US this week. The National Organization for Marriage (NOM) seems to think this shows "courage" and Lance Wallnau thinks our 45th president is "a walking political nightmare for the devil." I'm not sure how that works. How could a mere mortal pose any danger to a supernatural demon? And I didn't know the devil cared about trans people's service in the military. Meanwhile, Linda Harvey thinks that "anal sex is demonic." I... don't believe that has any Biblical basis at all.

Conservative Christians seem to be obsessed with gay sex and abortion, and their obsessions around LGBTQ focus on two letters: G and T these days. The focus is on anal sex and "men who dress as women." Generally, there is no concern about women at all in this equation and trans men don't seem to exist. One must wonder if the problem is not the Bible but toxic masculinity...

But I digress.

We hear about the couple of Bible verses that justify Christians' thinking that "gay sex" is evil, and the only real verse I've heard that talk about trans is the Genesis line of Yahweh creating a man and a woman. But, Genesis also talks about Yahweh strolling the garden, a talking snake, and a magic apple that can change your consciousness, so it's hard to take that story very seriously. Frankly, it's hard to be concerned about the abomination in Leviticus 20:13 of a man lying with another man since the same book also says Yahweh he will turn against people who turn to spirits through mediums (verse 6) and men shouldn't lie with a woman during her menstrual period (verse 18). I don't see much preaching of those problems. Leviticus 19 talks about treating foreigners well: "When a foreigner sojourns with you in your land, you shall not do him wrong. The foreigner who dwells with you shall be to you as one born among you, and you shall love him as yourself for you were foreigners in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God" (Lev. 19: 33-34).

I'm not saying anything new. The problem is Leviticus for Christians is the big book of pick and choose, and they don't concern themselves with most of it. In terms of New Testament justification, there is Paul's letter to the Romans, but Paul was not said to be god in any form, so I'm not sure why he should carry so much weight.

What I find interesting is that Christians do not seem to take after Jesus' ministry at all. Please show me all the passages where Jesus scolded people for their sexuality.

I only want to underscore here that Christians are deciding what they think Christianity means and preaching their personally-selected message. There is no Biblical basis to obsess over homosexuality. It seems that Jesus might have at least mentioned something in his Sermon on the Mount, but he actually spoke more about being generous and helping the unfortunate. I don't see any concern about that at all among the professional yacking class.

As an atheist, of course, I reject the Biblical bases for anything about sexuality, and as I've already posted, I don't accept thecategory of "sin." Science is working on various issues concerning sexual orientation and identity. Sometimes reactionary types like to pretend the "settled science" is on the side of two genders with a natural orientation toward the opposite one, that sexuality is always and only for reproductive purposes. Nature disputes that. I'm not trying to make an appeal to nature here and say that because it occurs in nature it's good. The point here is to say that you cannot argue that it is unnatural to be LGBTQ. There is good science showing that people and animals are in fact born that way.

Whether or not it is moral is a separate question. For me, this comes down to is it causing harm? Frankly, I haven't seen the harm that Christian yackers see, and the harm can't be "I find it icky." I mean, I think most people having sex is icky. I really don't want to imagine straight sex that does not involve myself.

I also find surgery "icky". Does that mean people shouldn't have their appendix out?

Most of the harm I see involving LGBTQ has to do with harassment, othering, demonizing and marginalizing. Many of the mental health issues (like substance abuse or depression) are related to the way society treats them. But the behavior itself does not appear to harm society in any way.

Now, my attitude is in part due to my experience with LGBTQ individuals. Basically, I've known gay people my whole life. And in that time, I haven't noticed any particularly evil action on their part, no demons hanging around or any smell of sulfur. And surprisingly, a number of these people are religious: various forms of Christianity and Judaism.

I myself am a cis-het woman, but I really want for these wonderful people to have the same basic rights I enjoy. I remember when I read the Supreme Court decision on marriage equality. It was a cause for celebration. This week, I mourn that the White House, on the prompting of Christians who think we are displeasing their deity.