“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. (Leviticus 20:13)”
And this little gem from the Quran:
“Slay them wherever ye find them, and drive them out of the places
whence they drove you out... If they attack you (there) then slay
them. Such is the reward of disbelievers.--2:191”
I don’t have to respect books that promote this. Is there good stuff in the
Bible and the Quran? Sure, but there was good stuff in Nazism too. For
example, Hitler was very kind to animals. Nazis made the first highway. I
liked Nazi attitudes towards the working man, too. But that doesn’t mean I
have to respect Nazism, and it doesn’t mean I have to respect the Holy
Trinity. A line must be drawn so that religions cannot back people into a
corner, hiding safely and offensively behind their phalanx of respect. Too
easily and too widely is that formation arranged.
Respect Humanity not Theocracy
We weren’t respecting religion when DOMA was broken as made clear by the
Republican response nor were we respecting religion when we stopped
burning witches and if we are going to continue to break down the restrictive
walls religion has built, we need to do a lot more disrespecting. I am NOT
saying we should get out our torches and set fire to churches while chanting
“atheism rules!” We need to handle this calmly, rationally and politely.
Education and debate; those are the atheist weapons, and it is only with
those weapons can we make people see the folly of religion. We need to let
the religious in power know they do not have the right to lord their religion
over us. If they want to go without sex, alcohol or gambling, that is their
choice—but don’t make it so other people have to do the same.
Because there is nothing quite like drunken fornication on a poker table….
Yes you have the right to a belief, and I have the right to criticize it.
P a g e | 274