Ignorance
A story I love to tell is about my child and when I took him to a pride festival. He was probably about eight years of age and when we entered the event we were greeted by men holding hands with men, women with women and even elegant cross dressers and transvestites. I consider myself a very tolerant person but I couldn't help but look. "Wow, look at those guys." I thought, or "man, he is a good looking woman, check out the size of those hands though." My son on the other hand entered the event and went straight for a sticker table festooning himself with ribbons and stickers. The moral of the story is that he didn't see a thing. He didn't see two men hug or two women kiss. He didn't see the awkward transsexual or the flamboyant queen. All he saw was an opportunity to score some cool stickers and pins. Maybe snag some carnival beads.
I tell this story because it is an example of how much a parents attitudes are reflected by their children. Noah is light years ahead of me but he is like he is because he was taught from the beginning that it is okay to be different. That sex doesn't matter, only love. He was taught that kindness was more beautiful than hate and that tolerance was the most important thing of all.
This morning as I prepared his lunch for school he recounted the ignorance of some of his classmates. The nasty anti gay slurs and attempts to justify their attitudes by cloaking themselves in a Bible they have never read. This is South Carolina after all and in this state the Bible is the one book that everyone has read yet no one has opened. It is almost divine.
Noah told me that when his classmates were particularly virulently anti-gay the other day he told them to show him in the Bible where it says it is bad. He gave them a challenge. In truth, they will never look but Noah has been raised to critically think. He has been taught that every statement should have a reason. You can't make a claim without having something to support it. A product of an intellectual childhood and high school debate every statement I make typically comes with a reference. I read it in the Times or a medical study has shown... I was so proud when I realized Noah was emulating this. He was concerned that he had made a statement and what happens if they did produce something? What would he say? He didn't want to be wrong.
So, at the expense of being 15 minutes late for work I launched into a discussion with him. I did a quick internet search and we discussed some of the concepts. I explained to him how Baptists are literalistic. The Bible is the word of God. It must be taken word for word in their view. There is in fact a passage, Leviticus 18:6 that reads "you shall not lie with a male as one lies with a female. It is an abomination." Of course taken literally this says nothing about women so every man's lesbian fantasy is safe and secure. There it is, black and white. I could see his despair. His argument had been defeated not by his friends but by his own father. As if I was selling a wonder towel on TV I followed my statement with "wait, there's more." His head perked up.
I explained the problem with context. It is impossible to read a 3000 year old document with the same context that we read similar words today. They were based on different things. I could tell he was still worried. So I continued. Let's work through this Noah, if you are a Baptist and you take this statement literally as the word of God then you have to accept all of the Bible right?
"Well yes Pop, I guess you do."
Hmm.... lets take a deeper look. To do this we will return to the very same section of the Bible, Leviticus. Ahhhh Leviticus. What else does Leviticus tell us. To quote the Rev. Mel White, "The code of Leviticus also prevents round haircuts, tattoos, working on the Sabbath, wearing garments of mixed fabrics, eating pork and shellfish, getting your fortune told and even playing with the skin of a pig. (There goes fooball!!!)"
The Bible is filled with stuff like this.
"So how do I respond?" Noah asked me.
Well it has to be simple, their minds can't take much more. If you try, they will explode. Ask them if their Pop has a tattoo, likes spare ribs and watches college football. When they tell you that he does, pick up a rock and tell them that according to Leviticus they might have to be stoned and not in the good way. With that, Noah went off to school.
I tell this story because it is an example of how much a parents attitudes are reflected by their children. Noah is light years ahead of me but he is like he is because he was taught from the beginning that it is okay to be different. That sex doesn't matter, only love. He was taught that kindness was more beautiful than hate and that tolerance was the most important thing of all.
This morning as I prepared his lunch for school he recounted the ignorance of some of his classmates. The nasty anti gay slurs and attempts to justify their attitudes by cloaking themselves in a Bible they have never read. This is South Carolina after all and in this state the Bible is the one book that everyone has read yet no one has opened. It is almost divine.
Noah told me that when his classmates were particularly virulently anti-gay the other day he told them to show him in the Bible where it says it is bad. He gave them a challenge. In truth, they will never look but Noah has been raised to critically think. He has been taught that every statement should have a reason. You can't make a claim without having something to support it. A product of an intellectual childhood and high school debate every statement I make typically comes with a reference. I read it in the Times or a medical study has shown... I was so proud when I realized Noah was emulating this. He was concerned that he had made a statement and what happens if they did produce something? What would he say? He didn't want to be wrong.
I explained the problem with context. It is impossible to read a 3000 year old document with the same context that we read similar words today. They were based on different things. I could tell he was still worried. So I continued. Let's work through this Noah, if you are a Baptist and you take this statement literally as the word of God then you have to accept all of the Bible right?
"Well yes Pop, I guess you do."
Hmm.... lets take a deeper look. To do this we will return to the very same section of the Bible, Leviticus. Ahhhh Leviticus. What else does Leviticus tell us. To quote the Rev. Mel White, "The code of Leviticus also prevents round haircuts, tattoos, working on the Sabbath, wearing garments of mixed fabrics, eating pork and shellfish, getting your fortune told and even playing with the skin of a pig. (There goes fooball!!!)"
The Bible is filled with stuff like this.
- DEUTERONOMY 22:13-21
If it is discovered that a bride is not a virgin, the Bible demands that she be executed by stoning immediately. - DEUTERONOMY 22:22
If a married person has sex with someone else's husband or wife, the Bible commands that both adulterers be stoned to death. - MARK 10:1-12
Divorce is strictly forbidden in both Testaments, as is remarriage of anyone who has been divorced. - LEVITICUS 18:19
The Bible forbids a married couple from having sexual intercourse during a woman's period. If they disobey, both shall be executed. - MARK 12:18-27
If a man dies childless, his widow is ordered by biblical law to have intercourse with each of his brothers in turn until she bears her deceased husband a male heir. - DEUTERONOMY 25:11-12
If a man gets into a fight with another man and his wife seeks to rescue her husband by grabbing the enemy's genitals, her hand shall be cut off and no pity shall be shown her.
"So how do I respond?" Noah asked me.
Well it has to be simple, their minds can't take much more. If you try, they will explode. Ask them if their Pop has a tattoo, likes spare ribs and watches college football. When they tell you that he does, pick up a rock and tell them that according to Leviticus they might have to be stoned and not in the good way. With that, Noah went off to school.
Hi Pat,
ReplyDeleteYou are a wise and caring father: raising your son to be a critical
thinker.
Biblical literalists use a "pick 'n' pluck mentality when
interpreting the bible. Just like the foam in Nikki's camera case --
take out what you don't want -- leave in what you do want.
In early Christianity history the Torah (old testament) was
translated from oral, old Hebrew, and aramaic into Greek. It was
called the Septuagint. Once --ordinary people were able to actually
read it -- they were both astounded and repulsed. The early
Christian evangelists stop focusing on the old testament and preached
more about the love and kindness as taught by Jesus. It was the only
way they could get converts. Later in the third and fourth centuries
-- the later gospels and letters were connected to the old testament
to establish a sense of connectivity from Adam &Eve to Christ.
If a Christian quotes old testament scriptures -- tell them to read
the Talmud (Rabbinic discourse) for the correct interpretation.
After all -- the old testament (Torah) is a Jewish book.
Of course even the Jews have have different opinions:
http://www.religionfacts.com/homosexuality/judaism.htm
God bless you my son.
Dad