A Missive to Bible Cherry Pickers
by S. Amores
“As Christian, bawal naman ‘yung same-sex marriage. Ginawa ang babae para sa lalaki, ginawa ang lalaki para sa babae (As a Christian, same-sex marriage is not allowed. Woman was made for man, man was made for woman),” he said.
“Kasi para sa akin ito lang, common sense lang. Makakita ka ba ng any animals na lalaki sa lalaki o babae sa babae? Mas mabuti pa ‘yung hayop. Marunong kumikilala, kung lalaki o lalaki, babae, babae. (For me, it’s common sense. Will you see any animals where male is to male and female is to female? The animals are better. They know how to distinguish, male or female).”
“Ngayon kung lalaki sa lalaki, babae sa babae, mas masahol pa sa hayop ang tao (If we approve male on male, female on female, then man is worse than animal).”
“O ‘di ba? Hayop lang… hindi talaga pwedeng magsama ang lalaki sa lalaki, pero I’m not condemning them. ‘Yung marriage lang, ‘yung committing sin against God (Right? Even among animals… those of the same sex are not allowed to lie together. But I’m not condemning them. Just the marriage, the committing of sin against God).”
Hitting the media by storm is Manny Pacquiao’s remarks on
same sex marriage. People have divided reactions – some are in favor; the
others are repulsed.
First and foremost, let me start by disproving Pacquiao’s
claim about animals:
“Kasi para sa akin ito lang, common sense lang. Makakita ka ba ng any animals na lalaki sa lalaki o babae sa babae? Mas mabuti pa ‘yung hayop. Marunong kumikilala, kung lalaki o lalaki, babae, babae”
I love to research and read a lot so when I hear Manny’s
statement that homosexuality does not exist in animals – I am like, ‘Are you sure, Pacquiao?’ I bet a lot
of zoologists and researchers will refute him. There is a book that tackles
about the existence of homosexuality among animals; the notable one is Bruce Bagemihl’s Biological Exuberance:
Animal Homosexuality and Natural Diversity. There are also studies that are
readily available on the internet but I have found a good one to quote (from
this website: http://www.yalescientific.org/2012/03/do-animals-exhibit-homosexuality/):
“Currently, homosexual
behavior has been documented in over 450 different animal species worldwide.
For instance, observations indicate that Humboldt, King, Gentoo, and Adélie
penguins of the same sex engage in “mating rituals like entwining their necks
and vocalizing to one another.” In addition, male giraffes have also been
observed engaging in homosexual behavior by rubbing their necks against each
others’ bodies while ignoring the females. Yet another example is lizards of
the genus Teiidae, which can copulate with both male and female mates.”
Manny may be right when he said that the animals can
distinguish what is male from female but he misses a certain point – they don’t
discriminate.
While I respect Manny Pacquiao’s stance against same sex
marriage, I am upset by how he delivered it. It is true that he mentioned,
“I’m not condemning
them. ‘Yung marriage lang, ‘yung committing sin against God."
Okay, let us try to take that. He is not against the people
of LGBT, only against same sex marriage then what how do you describe this,
“Ngayon kung lalaki sa
lalaki, babae sa babae, mas masahol pa sa hayop ang tao O ‘di ba? Hayop lang…”
Let’s talk about that particular statement because I am
deeply disturbed about it. Let me illustrate a point; so if I say,
"You are a huge hypocritical jerk
who doesn't know how to rein his tongue! Where is your breeding?
But I am not condemning Pacquiao, only
his words."
Will I be excused for my harsh words? I don't think so.
Now, do you already understand why the LGBT community are offended by his
words?
Please don’t tell me that I should delve deeper or I should
understand what figure of speech is. Those are silly, really – especially when
what he says is rather straightforward. If Manny is only condemning the
marriage part, then why does his statement sounds like an Ad Hominem or a
personal attack on the LGBT people? If he is not condemning the people of LGBT,
then why did he classify them and their acts as something lower than that of the
animals? No matter how right he thinks his opinion may be, he does not have the
right to demean other people. He should realize that his truth may not be the
truth for other people. Anyway, I don’t think marriage exists among animals.
Why say that humans are worse than animals?
As we all know – and what Manny keeps on stressing – that
his hostile stance sprouts from the fact that he considers the physical sex
between two gay people as an abomination based on the Christian Bible. But why
should he focus on sex when, with or without marriage, gay people will still do
it – be it for love or lust? Why is sex – a topic that a conservative country like the Philippines considers as a taboo –
the very first thing that comes to people’s mind whenever same sex marriage is
mentioned? If he doesn’t like the idea
of physical intimacy between two people of the same sex, then the solution to
that is simple – do not think about.
There is more to sex to those people who push for same sex
marriage – mostly legal and financial. You can check on this insightful article
from iMoney’s website: http://www.imoney.ph/articles/financial-liberties-same-sex-spouses-enjoy-once-married-in-philippines/
Now, that I have expressed a bit of what I feel about Manny
Pacquiao’s anti-gay slurs, let us move to another thing. This is a shoutout to
all hypocrites out there!
Of all the things that I hate the most is the use of Bible
to hurt other people and also using Biblical verses to justify their hatred.
What makes things more ridiculous is that people suddenly become instant Bible
experts – like it is the only book that they’ve read and followed in their
entire lives – whenever the topic is about LGBT. Those people suddenly act like
they have not violated a single verse in the Bible – as if they have been
faithful and literal to the every word of God. These are the common Bible
verses that those self-proclaimed holier than thou religious zealots use to
hurt LGBT people:
1 Corinthians 6:9-11
Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men 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
Leviticus 20:13
If a man has sexual relations with a man as one does with a woman, both of them have done what is detestable. They are to be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads.
Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men 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
Leviticus 20:13
If a man has sexual relations with a man as one does with a woman, both of them have done what is detestable. They are to be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads.
Romans 1:26-28
Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural sexual relations for unnatural ones. In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed shameful acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their error. Furthermore, just as they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, so God gave them over to a depraved mind, so that they do what ought not to be done.
And let us not forget, the old-fashioned story of ‘Sodom
and Gomorrah's destruction’ found in Genesis 19: 1-13. To top it all, those
religious zealots proclaim that everything that is written in the Bible
is absolute and that there is no room for error or criticism in it. I am like,
seriously?
I have nothing against the people who stand for their
religion but to use it to hurt others is just inhumane. Oh, well, you know what
inhumane means. I clearly do not understand those religious zealots who claim
that everything in the Bible should be followed but then they are only cherry
picking verses that appeal to them or something that they can use to condemn
LGBT people.
Okay, let's not be close-minded. Not all Filipinos are
Christians. Those self-proclaimed zealots should not expect that every Biblical
verse that they utter are the absolute law for every Filipino that they
encounter. Not all Filipinos believe in heaven, purgatory and hell. The
Christian Bible is not the Philippine constitution. Always put into your minds
that the state is separated from the church – the Philippines is a democratic
country not theocratic. But if those religious hypocrites – er, zealots –
insist, then let me ask you, have you violated any of these?
Things that the Bible also prohibits:
- Watching porn, lusting or drooling over models, actors and actresses - Matthew 5:28
- Masturbating - 1 Corinthians 6:18
- Eating pork - Leviticus 11:4
- Wearing jewelry - 1 Timothy 2:9
- Wearing torn clothes or tearing your clothes - Leviticus 10:6
- Gossiping (YOU'RE ALL GOOD AT THIS) - Leviticus 19:16
- Eating a lot (fiesta, Christmas, there's always binge-eating during holidays - Proverbs 23:2
- Women speaking in church - 1 Corinthians 14:13
- Premarital sex or fornication - ehh. Duh.
- Wearing clothes with different fabrics - Leviticus 19:19
- Spilling your sperm on the ground (masturbating or wet dreams) - Genesis 38:9
- Eating Seafood - Leviticus 10:11
- Working on Saturday - duh. Sabbath. And no, Sunday is not the Sabbath. Research please.
- Round haircuts - Leviticus 19:27
- Trimming or cutting your beard - Leviticus 19:27
- Eating fat and blood. ALL FOOD involves fat. Oil is fat. No fried foods for you. Butter, vegetable oil, chicken fat, beef, pork, all types of meat. - Leviticus 3:17
- Women wearing men's clothes like pants and trousers.
- Adultery. Whoring, man-whoring. Cheating. Many are guilty here. Don't deny lol
Oh and BTW, IF YOU GET RAPED, YOU MUST MARRY YOUR RAPIST.
Deuteronomy 22:28-29
(NOTE: I am not the
one who compiled these so kudos to the person who diligently search those
Biblical verses.)
There is another insightful satire that I have found on
Facebook which is Miss Sasot's An Open Letter To Manny Pacquiao: Let’s Defend
Every Word Of The Bible! https://www.facebook.com/sassrogandosasot/posts/10153922840094085
Now, I am pretty sure many religious zealots are guilty of
violating one or more of what is on the list. So stop preaching and refrain
from using the Christian bible to hurt other people because you don't agree
with their lifestyle. You are only making a huge hypocrite of yourself.
Whatever they do in private is none of your business. Quit watching gay porns
in your head (LOL).
Don't demand for respect when you can't respect other
people. Don't think you are higher or holier
than everyone because you are a straight person who reads the Bible.
Don't also assume that those people who defend the LGBT community are gay too
(what kind of logic is that?) If you have nothing good to say, then don't say
anything at all. Get it?
Anyway, before I end this, let me quote this beautiful
verse that I have found in the Bible. I may not believe everything in the
Christian bible but I find this verse extremely practical,
John 8:7
When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.”
When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.”
P.S.
To the pastor who burned Nike shoes to show his support to
Pacquiao, your demonstration of support is utterly childish. Besides, you
already paid for them. It is a shameful act coming from a holy
person – if indeed you are a pastor – who
lives in a poverty-stricken country. Instead of instigating hatred, you should
have donated it to the needy. Not only that, you also added to the carbon
emissions in the country. What a shame! :p
0 comments