http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Niankh.jpg |
So where does strong opposition
to gays originate? It most likely stems from the few occasional anti-gay
references in the Bible. The most well known statement often cited from the Old
Testament states that, “if a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a
woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to
death; their blood shall be upon them” (Lev. 20:13 KJV). With the Bible having
such a powerful influence on the western world, it is understandable that it
would have a pivotal effect on the acceptance of sexual orientation. Subsequently,
issues surrounding homosexuality have been integrated into many areas including
medicine, psychology (up until the 1970’s being gay was considered a disease),
and even politics - in the current US republican
primaries, views on same sex marriage and gay rights form a part of the debate
in candidates’ campaigns.
Like many radical anti gay groups, The Westboro Baptist Church
bases their hostility toward gays on various excerpts in the Old Testament. They
aim to follow the moral laws of the Mosaic Code which claims that partaking in
sodomy is a sin. On their website, they proclaim
they “have a Bible basis for recognizing that homosexuality is a
particularly heinous sin in the eyes of the God of Eternity”. They are quite thorough
in providing quotes from the Bible that indicate homosexuality is a sin, giving
examples, such as under the Law of Moses being gay resulted in punishment of
death, as well as the already cited famous excerpt by Leviticus.
To view the Westboro group from an anthropological
perspective it is important to understand where their beliefs stem from, this provides
a deeper understanding of their cause. While they explain that their anti-gay
convictions come from the Old Testament, they leave out the broader biblical
context; any act that interrupts the production of offspring was considered a
sin – including masturbation, and intercourse with menstruating women. It is
interesting that they focus exclusively on homosexuality and leave out the
other offences included in the Old Testament. On their website they explain
that their goal is to preach the word of God and to save those who may be
condemned. The various tactics they use to achieve their goal, will be outlined
in my next post.
In the mean time, here is an interesting
video that has a pro-gay critique on the Westboro group, and introduces one of
the main ways Westboro protests.
Works Cited:
Sullivan, Michael K.
2003 Homophobia, History, and Homosexuality: Trends for Sexual Minorities. Journal of
Human Behavior in the Social Environment 8(2/3):1-13.
2003 Homophobia, History, and Homosexuality: Trends for Sexual Minorities. Journal of
Human Behavior in the Social Environment 8(2/3):1-13.
Westboro Baptist Church website
http:// www.godhatesfags.com/faq.html#Fag,
accessed 16 March 2012.
1974 Holy Bible
New American Library
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