Tuesday, May 10, 2011

How WBC Fails: God H8's 3/19

The Westboro Baptist Church (or WBC) is an Independent Baptist “church” known for its extreme stance against homosexuality, other religions, and anything else that tickles their fancy. They are also known for their greatly offensive protest activities against fallen service men/woman and high profile aka popular people. In this special section, we will explore their hateful and distorted “divine” teachings and expose them for what they truly are, a hate group who uses religion for personal power.



Part: 3/19
Name: Eating Shellfish is the same sin as being a fag- Pt3 WBC's GOD H8S
Link: http://www.twitvid.com/B9NRS
Update: Videos have been removed. Blog now shows video of all of them combined. 

Bible verses mentioned: 
Acts 10:9-17: A story about when Peter was hungry.
1 tim 4:4: For everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with  thanksgiving. 
Eph 1:23: Which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way. 
Matt 19:4-5: And he answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female, And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh?
Jude 1:7: In a similar way, Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding towns gave themselves up to sexual immorality and perversion. They serve as an example of those who suffer the punishment of eternal fire. 
Rev 22:15: Outside are the dogs, those who practice magic arts, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.




Language.

According to Wikipedia;
Language refers either to the specifically human capacity for acquiring and using complex systems of communication, or to a specific instance of such a system of complex communication. The approximately 3000–6000 languages that are spoken by humans today are the most salient examples, but natural languages can also be based on visual rather than auditive stimuli, for example in sign languages and written language. Codes and other kinds of artificially constructed communication systems such as those used for computer programming can also be called languages. A language in this sense is a system of signs for encoding and decoding information. The English word derives from Latin lingua, "language, tongue." This metaphoric relation between language and the tongue exists in many languages and testifies to the historical prominence of spoken languages. When used as a general concept, "language" refers to the cognitive faculty that enables humans to learn and use systems of complex communication.
Also included in this is change. Language change or the evolution of language is the phenomenon whereby phonetic, morphological, semantic, syntactic, and other features of language vary over time. The effect on language over time known as diachronic change. Two linguistic disciplines in particular concern themselves with studying language change: historical linguistics and sociolinguistics. Historical linguists examine how people in the past used language and seek to determine how subsequent languages derive from previous ones and relate to one another. Sociolinguists study the origins of language changes and want to explain how society and changes in society influence language.



When we speak with people, when we try to convey an idea or solution, when starting a fight or selling a lie, language is what we use to do this. In previous videos produced by this "church", WBC members attempt to use language in a perverse way to assure their message is believed. Truth is something that can be subjective and twisted. What they don’t take into account is… well accountability. When one uses any type of source as evidence, one must keep in mind that this source can be checked. Also keep in mind that sources begin to loose creditability when translated and “creatively” translated over, over and over again. Perhaps they should have checked as to why the King James Bible was once referred to as "the evil bible". Meanings of words and sentences one day can have a dramatically different meaning the next. Take into account what the British thinks of the word fag. Today's video address the issues about how eating shellfish is the same sin as being a fag.

.
..

….
…..O.o




There is no shame in being confused with this one, for it is one of the many examples of worky translations and silliness in the bible. The concept of seafood being a sin stems from a few outdated verses of the bible.  The verses in question are Leviticus 11:9-12 and Deuteronomy 14:9-10. The first of the verses state “These shall ye eat of all that are in the waters: whatsoever hath fins and scales in the waters, in the seas, and in the rivers, them shall ye eat. And all that have not fins and scales in the seas, and in the rivers, of all that move in the waters, and of any living thing which is in the waters, they shall be an abomination unto you: They shall be even an abomination unto you; ye shall not eat of their flesh, but ye shall have their carcases in abomination. Whatsoever hath no fins nor scales in the waters, that shall be an abomination unto you.” The second is shorter and more to the point “These ye shall eat of all that are in the waters: all that have fins and scales shall ye eat: whatsoever hath not fins and scales ye may not eat; it is unclean unto you.”

Back in the day all sewage flowed into the Mediterranean, and as such anything that lived in such waters would feed on said uhhh… expelled contents. If we take a moment to explore this further by both biblical and historical standards, we see that many of the animals that the ancient Jews considered unclean carried parasites. Pigs that weren’t cooked properly might have the parasite Trichinella which can cause Trichinosis. By chance, this is also the reason why many poor men of the day kept their beards short; the more hair you have the higher the chance at getting a parasite. Who else here hates ticks! I DO! Thankfully with the advancement of technology and hygienics, this isn't much of a problem anymore.

What he said: "No dummy eating feces is the same sin as being a fag. Eating fesses is the same as being a fag"

The titles displayed in both text and the video is dealing with how shellfish was a sin or the same as being gay. Why then change the tone and invalidate what the message has to say? More so I am compelled to point out that even Jon's overly gross condescending tone can cover up the fact the "church" just made a big mistake. Why would anyone use the title, the first thing people see of any video, as a cheep grade school attempt to make a insult? At this point, many would just stop watching, not wanting to waste any more time on a supposed "informational video". Many one the internet would leave a #fail and be done with the whole lot. When one can not stick with the facts and must then resort to insults, then their message is lost wrong or not. Seriously, any professional hopes the cult had for this video, just ended here. If not content enough with just a glaring error, Jon continues on and recalls the story of how Peter was hungry after praying but could not eat the seafood presented to him from the divine-




…wait what again?

After not only correcting your audience on having accepting your title, but also insulting said people for even thinking this, you have the audacity to continue on with the whole shrimp thing? What is this... I don't even. Sigh again. As you wish then.

Acts 10:9-17 is the story of how, at noon the following day, Peter stopped for a few moments to pray. He because hungry and was in bad need of a snack pack. I guess praying takes a lot out of you. Anyway, the story goes on to say how the heavens opened up, provided some nice drive threw foods and placed them before Peter. The sheet (plate, slab or thingy) was said to have all kinds of four-footed animals, as well as reptiles and birds. Didn’t know they had shish kabob back in the day, but hey FREE food is food *2! But Peter objected to free food, stating how this was in violation of the dietary laws of Moses. God, being slightly upset over spending all this time making some nice eats only to be rejected said “Do not call anything impure that God has made clean” and took everything back. Peter got trolled man, he got trolled. When we take this, as well as the next verse mentioned 1 tim 4:4, I think we might actually have the origins of the “say grace” prayer. But that’s writing and thinking for another day. Ephesians 1:23 is then mention of how Jesus satisfied all the dietary and spiritual needs of his people. So how does this justify what he has to say, that is gays are sin? Well it doesn't really...


What he said: "But a fag is still a fag"

After utterly failing to connect this seafood story to some form of sexual orientation sin, and probably realizing it at this point, this guy throws out a “A fag is still a fag”. When he first spoke this, I was reminded of my very early childhood day. During times when I knew I was wrong, or more wanted something I couldn't/shouldn't have, I would throw a hissy fit, cry, hold my breath and probably say something to the effect of "because I say so!" While this my be temperately tolerated behavior in a child, when one is making a informational video the "I say so" argument should never be used. Not only is there no way of backing up such a statement, it does nothing more than to make the presenter look rather childish. While we are on the subject of such a childish statement, I would like to point out another mistake. Using verse 1 tim 4:4 which reads For everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving. If we recall in the very first book of the bible, God did create man, and was pleased with it. How can one call anything bad to which God himself called good?

No man has power of God, so no man can over rule his words. 



What he said: “And he answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female, And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife. Two fags can not be one flesh." ... "Sodom and Gomorrah are set forth as examples of suffering the vengeance of eternal fire, there are no fags in heaven their eternal home is in hell."

Oh really now WBC?

Nearing about 3/4th of the way; we are finally presented with some passages that apparently have to deal with homosexuals. Matt 19:4-5 is this first followed by the WBC once again sets forth the story of Sodem and Gomorrah (Jude 1:7) as to reason why being a homosexual is an automatic ticket to hell. Not only that, but Rev 22:15 as proof is offered as well. Jon in his closing statements then ends with “feces no, shrimp yes” Once we rid ourselves of the needless crap, we come to the main message of the video. Apparently homosexuality is a sin and is against the law of God and nature. Considering homosexuality is prevalent in all of nature and only some of ONE raise think it is evil, I would questing that any day.

So what does the bible say on homosexuality anyway? After taking some time to Google everything (to which my eyes are now bleeding) you can find twelve, and only twelve, mentions to this. Two refer to instances of rape, five refer to prostitutions within cults, one refers to prostitution and pederasty, and finally four are rather general and nonspecific about it.

Old Testament:
The first mention of homosexuality in the Bible is in Genesis 19:1-13. Related here is the story of Sodom and Gomorrah, and it's rather fiery and explosive end. During the course of the story we learn that various people from the story attempted to rape two messengers of God who had come to visit Lot. In a effort to save these messengers, Lot offered his two daughters in their stead. How nice of him. Later we learn that because of this and other widespread and unrelated sins, God destroyed the cities with fire and brimstone. The surrounding cities where also destroyed but where given no name.  We next move on to Leviticus for the next two mentions of homosexuality. Lev 18:22 says You shall not lie with a male as with a woman. It is an abomination. And Lev 20:13 says If a man lies with a male as he lies with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination. They shall surely be put to death. Their blood shall be upon them. *4

Before we continue on, we need to understand one important thing. Forced to become little more than hermits and exiles, the life of the Jewish people did not allow for prisons or rehabilitation. It also did not allow time to understand, expand one's mind or call into question social taboos. A very define order had to exist, and anything outside of that had to be destroyed. The old Testament commands death by stoning or worse for the crimes of murder, attacking or cursing a parent, kidnapping, failure to confine a dangerous animal, witchcraft (KJV only), sorcery for harmful ends, sex with an animal, doing any work on the Sabbath, incest, adultery, homosexual acts, prostitution by a priest's daughter, blasphemy, false prophecy, perjury in capital cases and false claim of a woman's virginity at the time of marriage. One could even face death for not being a proper woman and slave. However, for anyone who claims faith in Christ, such harsh treatments are no longer required or tolerated (John 1:16-17, Romans 8:1-3, 1 Corinthians 9:20-21). The concern with punishment is now secondary to Jesus' message of repentance and redemption. It’s all God (and Jesus) are love, and we all know what love is.

One final note concerning homosexuality and the old testaments; homosexual actions as stated in the bible are  associated with idolatrous cult prostitution. You can see an example of this in 1 Kings 14:24 and 15:12. If we refer to the original texts, we see the Hebrew word for these acts (as stated in Leviticus) is tow’ebah. Tow’ebah bears the meaning of “morally disgusting”, but what is lost in the translation is “with very strong idolatry undertones”. Thus, many Bible scholars believe the condemnations in Leviticus are more a condemnation of the idolatry than of the homosexual acts themselves.

New Testament:
While Christ paid more attention to his message of salvation than concerns with earth bed pleasures, he did mention a few things on sexual immorality. Reading Mark 7, you will come across a verse that states “What comes out of you is what defiles you. For from within, out of your hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. All these evils come from inside and defile you." The problem with this is no definite description of what is "sexual immorality" is given. Could it refer to homosexuals? Could it refer to prostitutes? Women who have sex and birth children outside of marriage? The million and one different sex positions humanity has come up with over the years? Or could it mean none of these...

In Corinthians 6:9-11 Paul speaks to his Christian followers Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. Doing a quick Google search, one can quickly find the bible has been translated in many different ways, and as such, things that where once clear as day become clouded and confused. The word for male prostitute or the act of, literally means "soft to the touch". In biblical times, such a word was used as a slur to refer to Catamites. This was done in much the same way we use various slurs for other nationalities today. Arsenokoites is another word for sodomite or a person who engages in any kind of unnatural sex, aka a Catamite. Perhaps Peter was throwing out there that these people who kept Catamites boys and slaves where the sinners here. Just a thought…

The final verses to be addressed are Romans 1:25-27 and 1 Timothy 1:8-10. Speaking plainly about the evils of homosexuality (this time for both sexes), such verses once again in the context of idolatry. In this case, we are referring to a old practice in the old pagan faiths. Such women mentioned in this verses where engaging in a cheapened form of what is referred to as “sexual knowledge awaking”. I more than likely got the name of the act wrong, but it gets the point across. Before the times of Christ, religious women where considered the holders (or gatekeepers) of universal knowledge. By a man (one who has great power) having sex with said High Priestess, he could be awakened to the universe.

If you pardon this already long entry, I would like to bring your attention to one last note section;
  • Are consensual (as in agree upon by two willing adults) homosexual acts prohibited by the Bible, or were the Bible passages intended to apply only to homosexual acts of rape, prostitution, pederasty and idolatry? This is not examined or referenced in the bible.
  • While consensual homosexual acts are never specifically addressed (you would think an all knowing God would be detailed), would they be prohibited under the more general prohibition of "sexual immorality?" In the over nine thousand pages of the bible, this is never explored properly so no definite answer to this question.
  • Is the supposed New Testament prohibition against homosexual acts an important spiritual law for all times? Or was it just a warning against creating a scandal that was taboo for the day? Other such out-of-date laws would be slavery (1 Corinthians 7:21-22, Ephesians 6:5-6), the role of women (1 Corinthians 14:33-35), dress (1 Corinthians 11:4-7). Consider the female members of their church are preachers, and they would (I hope) not keep slaves, where does one draw the line?
  • Assuming for a moment homosexuality is a sin like the WBC states, how can we judge the seriousness of said sin? Is it really that serious of a sin that it would force a God to destroy nations, again like the WBC suggests? Or perhaps is it a minor one, could the seriousness of said sin be overstated and embellished? If we look to the bible we can see some interesting conclusions. Homosexual acts are not listed in the Ten Commandments or by Christ during his time with us. In the entire text of the bible (which has over 9000 pages >_>) homosexuality is only mentioned twelve times. In comparison, the sin of hatred is mentioned 21 times, lying and false testimony 30, greed, avarice and covetousness 40, theft 42, adultery 52, murder 57, self-righteousness 79, and idolatry 169 times.

  • In previous videos and “preaching”, the WBC has stated that simply being gay, or homosexual, is a grievous sin. The bible itself does not condemn people for having homosexual tendencies, in fact it only goes after (all) sex acts that are done for a cult, idolatry, or some perverse rump.


Now, my good readers, I will end this tl;dr with the following:

1 Gen 26-28 Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. And God blessed them, and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth."

1 tim 4:4 For everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving.

See what I did there?

Yea I went there.










*1 I really have no idea what song this is.
*2 On a side note, this entry is making me VERY hungry.
*3 This is what the bible used for gay or homosexual.
*4 I sure you’re sick of translation 101 so I’ll spare you.

3 comments:

  1. You ask the question, Why would an All knowing GOD not be specific with details on it. I say HE was specific about what is truly important. It was a persons spirit and heart Jesus was concerned with, not their sexuality.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Indeed Rich, and thank you for proving my point ^_^. If the Christ was so concerned with "oh so evil gay people" he would have more outright with it. Instead his true (and actual message) was printed threw out the bible, that being exactly what you said.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Reposted, cleaned up, and reformatted to current adopted standard as of 10/8

    ReplyDelete