FORGET PHIL ROBERTSON (WHOEVER HE IS, NEVER SEEN THE SHOW) HAVE LOST THE BYLINE OF THIS AUTHOR
"It's time to address religious fundamentalism as a major source of intolerance in a changing world.
Our nation has come a long way in the past few years when it comes to homosexuality and LGBTQ rights. There was once a time in this country when the legalization of lesbian and gay marriage would've been literally unthinkable; now it's legal in 17 states. And while we still have a ways to go in the arena of public opinion, it's a pretty indisputable fact that we're a lot further along now than we were back then.
Nevertheless, every now and then we'll see a scandalous furor erupt over less-than-progressive comments from some public figure or another. The most recent of these was the much-buzzed-about interview given by Duck Dynasty patriarch Phil Robertson to GQ magazine; by now, I'm sure you've read/heard/debated about his comments until you’re nauseous.
But this issue is much bigger than Phil Robertson. As much I think he and all the male members of his backwoods family are ignorant buffoons with highly unsanitary hirsute issues, I also think we need to look at the bigger issue. When it comes down to it, the man was abiding by the tenets of his faith-just as the Muslims do.
The elephant in the room that the media doesn't want to discuss is the fact that the Judeo-Christian tradition, on which Western culture has been based has lasted for nearly two millennia.
Just as it has in issues of race and gender, our culture is now starting to move past centuries-old biases against sexual orientation, but organized religion has not-and cannot-do the same without abandoning scriptural teachings. For all the outrage, pundits continue to ignore that the very faiths the majority of them were probably raised in contain anti-gay prohibitions, and very few have the balls to come out directly against organized religion.
The fact of the matter is that the faiths that most of us were raised in taught us to think that homosexuality is wrong. In instances like the Robertson debacle, many of us seem to ignore this basic fact. It's not as if Robertson is just spouting some stuff from the top of his head; he's quoting from the most widely published and read book in the history of the world.
To be clear, I'm not justifying what he said--far from it--I'm merely pointing out from where his words and opinions are derived, something that is rarely done in the arena of public "debate" over issues like this. Robertson isn't saying anything radical; if anything, his comments are actually toned down from what you'd find in the major Western religious texts. Consider 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 in the New Testament, which reads, "Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God." Or Leviticus 18:22 in the Torah: "With a male you are not to lie (after the manner of) lying with a woman, it is an abomination." Of course he might also re-read Leviticus 10:15, “Let not your hair become unkempt.”
I have yet to see a public commentator in the mainstream media acknowledge the fact that Judaism, Christianity and Islam all support Robertson’s statements. It's as if the truth is too hard to handle.
To be sure, the implications are there. It's definitely implied in the media's response that archaic thinking like this should be abandoned. The unspoken message is that this aspect of organized religion's message is out of step with where modern culture is headed, but no one wants to come out and explicitly state it. They'd rather deal with each specific controversy, like Robertson's, on a case-by-case basis, acting as if the opinion came from one individual and pretending to be baffled that anyone would still hold these ideas.
The Koran, Torah and New Testament all vilify homosexuals. The first two, in fact, call directly for their death. The Koran 7:80-84 says, "...For ye practice your lusts on men in preference to women: ye are indeed a people transgressing beyond bounds.... And we rained down on them a shower (of brimstone)." For every Phil Robertson out there, there are millions more who feel the same way but only because their religion tells them to.
Let's address the larger issue: If our culture is to advance, we may need to more openly question the ancient Middle-Eastern documents on which we still base it. There are certainly other prohibitions and rules mentioned in scripture that have been abandoned by the religious mainstream over time (Got a tattoo? Leviticus 19:28 reads, "Ye shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor print any marks upon you."), and it seems like homosexuality is headed that way, too. It's just a rocky road to get there, made all the more rocky by this collective amnesia that refuses to properly acknowledge from where the thinking is coming. And let's not even talk about pork and shrimp.
When Robertson seems so able to conflate intolerance for gays with universal love for all mankind, all he's doing is repeating the message of his faith. I think some of the shock that arises when statements like his come to light may come from people who haven't cracked open a Bible in a while, and maybe aren't even all that familiar with what their own religion teaches at its core. There are plenty of people who do read and follow scripture who are quite familiar with these teachings, and who echo Robertson's opinions as a matter of course.
Granted, it's easier to lash out against one person or a group of people rather than take on a major world religion. But I'm not calling for the rejection of all organized religion-I happen to be a practicing Catholic who struggles with these conundrums on a regular basis. All I'm calling for is open discussion. It's time to address religious fundamentalism as a major source of intolerance in a changing world. It's a tough nut to crack, no question about it-but scripture is already so full of contradiction and outmoded beliefs that questioning its absolute infallibility is not such a radical idea.
The crude intolerance Robertson expressed in the GQ interview is pretty run-of-the-mill Christian thinking. Rather than giving more press to Robertson and Duck Dynasty, and A&E’s bowing down to the almighty dollar, let's talk about that."