Wednesday, March 12, 2014

Selective sins

The current argument concerning "religious rights" is pretty simple: Should a photographer be obligated to take photos at a gay wedding? Fill in the blank with caterer/florist/DJ. Some even contend public employees have the right to decline filing paperwork associated with a gay wedding.

All of this is, of course, a steaming pile of dung that has nothing to do with religious rights and everything to do with bigotry.

I'll start with the obvious: religious rights apply to your own person. You think eating meat on a Friday will send you to hell, fine. Keep your hands off my burger. And when you're in the catering business, your business is to cater, not to judge the people eating the food. You are not "contributing to a celebration" or "supporting" anything.

You are at work, contributing to your paycheck and supporting yourself.

Another shocking truth: while their doctrine forbids birth control and divorce, plenty of Catholics make with the Ortho-Novum and get divorced ... oops, I mean get an annulment.

Furthermore, you don't hear about many Catholic-owned businesses indignantly refusing to offer goods and services to divorce lawyers or doctors that write BC prescriptions or the drug stores that dispense said prescriptions.

Ever see this play out:

Happy fortysomething at cocktail lounge with a slew of her homies: "We'll have drinks all around!"

Waiter: "Terrific! What's the celebration today, ladies?"

Happy fortysomething: "My divorce is final!"

Waiter (smile sliding from face): "Oh, I'm sorry. My faith does not allow me to support the sin of divorce."

Or try this ...

Public employee: "You'll have to wait until tomorrow when Marge is in. I don't handle any paperwork associated with divorce."

Hm. Nope. Never happens. I guess the "religious" set only boycotts sins they don't dabble in.

You want to support the "sanctity" of marriage? Rail against divorce. The rest of you are just holding up your Bible in an attempt to hide your bigotry and we all know it.

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14 comments:

Tony Rugare said...

Ironically, these same "religious" people insisted on modifying the Pledge of Allegiance to read "one nation under God, indivisible,with liberty and justice for all". I guess they meant with liberty and justice for people like us.

Anonymous said...

+1

RJ

Michael Lawless said...

When the Great Change came upon the Catholic Church, they ruled that eating meat on Friday was no longer a mortal sin...I protested. They said absolutely nothing about those billions already in hell for that sin or if it would be retroactive.

philbilly said...

When the Catholic Church sells, on Ebay, all those centuries of grift, and uses the proceeds to really feed the poor, I'll giv'em another look. That includes the funny hats, walkin sticks, incense burners and gilt man-dresses. Okay, you can kep a incense burner for the weekend blowouts.

This goes for all high-falutin high roller religiosity types. Except those Tally-ban douchebags, who got squat. Mud hut livin motherfuckers.

When I was about 8, the chief high muckety-muck priesto gotta Cadillac. I think it was a gift of a car dealer parishioner. It was big, blue and beautiful. After all us sinners had stood in the parking lot gawking at it, I asked the Old Man, as we drove home in the mighty Falcon, could we get a Caddy someday? The Old Man, who with my Mom busted their asses to send us to that school and still have money for the vigarish envelopes come Sunday, just said "God willing, son, God willing."
And so the seeds of dissent were sown.

Mind you, I do not criticize the parishioners who do a lot of good in this world after the Vatican skims their tribute. And I thank every day the good Ursuline women who taught me to read and thereby question authority.

Bill said...

A private business owner has the right to refuse to do business with anyone and for any reason. If someone feels discriminated against or harmed they have the right to sue and, in California, they do that all the time. I don't really get why a baker cares whether there are 2 male dolls or 1 male a 1 female doll on top of the cake but, that's the baker's decision. Remember the soup Nazi? Public employee's are paid by the taxpayer and have to perform their job for the public. They don't have a choice to refuse. They shouldn't be able to strike, either but, that's another matter.

Why all the hate for Christians? I don't get it. Are they really harming you? I'm not sure who's being more judgmental here. Also, I've never met anyone who was jealous of a Cadillac owner. Seeds of dissent? Really? I used to have a Ford Falcon. Piece of crap.

Joe said...

I agree with the caveat a Baptist minister or a Catholic priest or Iman should not be forced to perform the marriage. A Jewish rabbi should not be forced to do a Christian marriage.

Voluntarily, not my business. Forced -- no.

Anonymous said...

"Why all the hate for Christians? I don't get it. Are they really harming you?"- Bill

Because they attempt to impose their values on Non-Christians. I'm all for Live and Let live as a societal standard but it's got to be unconditional. The Christians don't agree because God. Ergo, conflict.

RJ

Bill said...

They attempt to impose their values on non Christians? Like the teenage Mormon kids on their mission, knocking on your door? Not that imposing, in my opinion. Christians are being murdered throughout the world because of their beliefs. (please don't drag out the crusades) Is anyone seriously negatively impacted by the hoards of proselytizing Christians?

philbilly said...

Not gonna feed the troll, not gonna feed the troll....

philbilly said...

I did have crab bisque from the Soup Nazi, and it was spectacular.

Bill said...

Not going to feed the troll but no problem feeding the lions?

Anonymous said...

True Story. A well known life long resident of my little town, teetotaling evangelical christian, and former city Alderman recently addressed a government meeting and complained that the ordinance prohibiting alcohol related advertising being visible through the windows of storefronts was being poorly enforced. He said he could see the signs from the street while driving by. This fellow and his constituents also opposed an ordinance passed about a year and a half ago reducing the distance from a church to a store selling beer from 1500 feet to 800 feet. The Beer Board will not issue a license to a business to seek a beer if the store is closer to a church tha 2 football fields. Hint: They aren't Mormon. I thought about complaining that I could see pictures of Jesus while driving by churches but decided against it.

RJ

Anonymous said...

@Bill
..........There are sundry institutions who, because of what they say they believe, claim to have corralled the especial care and concern of the putative Creator of the universe, and who nevertheless poor-mouth legislatures on every level that they will go under unless they are exempted from the payment of taxes; we call them churches. I shall be perfectly willing to stipulate that a business owner has the right to turn away the custom of anyone whom he chooses, if you will stipulate that churches (synagogues, mosques, et cætera) should lose their exemption from taxation.
«Senex Ægypti Parvi»

Anonymous said...

ATTN-Tony Rugare-the 'under God' clause in the pledge only became commonplace during the Cold War, as another way to differentiate between us and those pagan pinkos. The pledge was often accompanied by the "Bellamy Salute," named after the Pledge's author. Use of that salute ended during the early 1940s when it was co-opted by adherents of a central-European socio-political movement of some notoriety.

As far as an assertion above that a private business owner can refuse service to whomever he chooses at any time, no. Title II of the Federal Civil Rights Act sharply curtails discrimination as it relates to access to public accommodations, ie, if you're open to the public, you've got to be open to all of it. As written, Title II does not currently apply to sexual orientation, although many state and local statutes do address it.
==================================

As far as hating Christians? Yeah, there are a small number of people who hate Christians and Christianity for the sake of their own religious beliefs or simply for the sake of hating it, but that's a pretty small problem. My opinion here is that the anger, resentment, hate or what have you is directed at the
very small number of persons in prominent places or with big microphones who, on a regular basis and for absurd reasons, behave as if the 73% of the population who profess Christianity are a tiny oppressed minority. Fox News' annual 'War against Christmas' is the most obnoxious and visible manifestation, but it's far from the only one.

A lot of the people who find this willful misrepresentation odious are Christian: I'm one of them.

MR