Two words for which I have to check the spelling...... Blasphemy and paedophilia.
Religion is a vehicle. That’s all it is. If it doesn’t serve the purpose of aiding in the transport of the believer into a relationship with the Divine then it fails.
It’s the dogma attached to religions which leaves me worse than cold and the idea of Blasphemy could only have been conceived by someone with no sense of the Divine.
This wouldn’t matter if it weren’t for the fact that people die today for the sake of this ill conceived belief.
If the Universe is created then the real possibility of insulting the Creator is a nonsense - a mosquito piss within an ocean of galaxies - and yet man takes it upon himself to interfere with a freely ordained relationship with the Divine by thinking that the Divine needs protection from insult...... that very notion is the only blasphemy that exists.
Being rude, of course, is commonplace but people generally don’t die because of that human failing.
Homosexuality is not something with which I have any problem. The consenting adults - of both sexes - whom I’ve met have the same frailties and delightful aspects as heterosexuals. In other words, they are no more or less human than the rest of mankind.
Homosexuality gets a thumbs down - as does the eating of shellfish - in Leviticus but then again, the present day Bible was put together under the stern eye of Constantine who needed a state religion which wouldn’t threaten the status quo.
The eating of shellfish - which tend to grow close to the shore - is dangerous to health if sewage flows directly into the sea. Homosexuality threatens the survival of the tribe and, of course, this matters when tribes are small in number.
Sodom and Gomorrah weren’t destroyed because of homosexual behaviour but because the inhabitants of those cities regarded any traveller as fair game and were debased enough to force themselves on anyone who entered the city.
Paedophilia doesn’t get a mention in the Bible and yet, my own experience as a child gives me the knowledge which allows me to clearly state that this practice does huge harm. The damage caused isn’t reflected necessarily in the warping of a child’s sexuality but rather in the destruction of trust, the hesitation in the forming of relationships and in burdens of shame and guilt which properly belong solely to the adult and not the child.
‘Honour’ is a concept like ‘respect’ which disturbs my sensibilities but that can wait...... after all, neither can be demanded.