The purported basis for the religious right’s so-called moral crusades is such a hypocritical sham that it ought to be dismissed by anyone with an iota of principle. Why, for example, do they fixate on homosexuality while ignoring so many other dictates of biblical law? Everyone loves to point to Chapter 18 of Leviticus in regard to homosexuality: “You shall not lie with a male as one lies with a female; it is an abomination.” No question, it’s in there. But if you keep reading Chapters 18 and 19 of Leviticus you will find these commandments, too. “You shall not steal, nor deal falsely, nor lie to one another.” “The wages of a hired man are not to remain with you all night until morning.” “You shall not … wear a garment upon you of two kinds of material mixed together.” “You shall not round off the side-growth of your heads nor harm the edges of your beard.” (New American Standard Bible (NASB))

Why the selectivity? Because the rabble-rousers on the right, and the uncritical followers who give clout to their ignorant bigotry, do not actually follow the bible, but rather look to it to find support for existing prejudices. They like clean-shaven faces and neatly cut hair. It would be an annoying encumbrance for a businessman to pay wages to his employees every damn day. You can’t beat the comfortable no-wrinkle convenience of cotton-poly. And lying can be either good or bad, depending on whether it is Bill Clinton or George Bush (or Dick Cheney, or Mark Racicot) doing it.

Put that blatant selectivity together with Christ’s well-known views on hypocrisy and being the first to throw stones, and it’s a real stretch to call the religious right either principled or Christian.

It would be easy to go on and on. But for now, suffice it to say that the day the hysterical witch hunters of the religious right denounce the clean-shaven, cotton-polyester wearing businessman who pays his workers twice a month as fervently as they do their gay neighbors who wish to live a life of peace and love is the day they can rightly claim the first shred of principle and credibility. Until then, the agitators of the religious right are better views as an angry bunch of intolerant zealots grasping at every straw they can find to support their bigotry.


Some may note that different versions of the bible use slightly different language.

In the New International Version (NIV), these same passages are written thus:

“Do not lie with a man as one lies with a woman; that is detestable.”
“Do not lie. Do not deceive one another.”
"Do not hold back the wages of a hired man overnight.”
"Do not wear clothing woven of two kinds of material."
"Do not cut the hair at the sides of your head or clip off the edges of your beard.”

The King James Bible (KJV) makes the same points this way:

“Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination.”
“Ye shall not steal, neither deal falsely, neither lie one to another.”
“…the wages of him that is hired shall not abide with thee all night until the morning.”
“…neither shall a garment mingled of linen and woollen come upon thee.”
“Ye shall not round the corners of your heads, neither shalt thou mar the corners of thy beard.”

The purported basis for the religious right’s so-called moral crusades is such a hypocritical sham that it ought to be dismissed by anyone with an iota of principle. Why, for example, do they fixate on homosexuality while ignoring so many other dictates of biblical law? Everyone loves to point to Chapter 18 of Leviticus in regard to homosexuality: “You shall not lie with a male as one lies with a female; it is an abomination.” No question, it’s in there. But if you keep reading Chapters 18 and 19 of Leviticus you will find these commandments, too. “You shall not steal, nor deal falsely, nor lie to one another.” “The wages of a hired man are not to remain with you all night until morning.” “You shall not … wear a garment upon you of two kinds of material mixed together.” “You shall not round off the side-growth of your heads nor harm the edges of your beard.” (New American Standard Bible (NASB))

Why the selectivity? Because the rabble-rousers on the right, and the uncritical followers who give clout to their ignorant bigotry, do not actually follow the bible, but rather look to it to find support for existing prejudices. They like clean-shaven faces and neatly cut hair. It would be an annoying encumbrance for a businessman to pay wages to his employees every damn day. You can’t beat the comfortable no-wrinkle convenience of cotton-poly. And lying can be either good or bad, depending on whether it is Bill Clinton or George Bush (or Dick Cheney, or Mark Racicot) doing it.

Put that blatant selectivity together with Christ’s well-known views on hypocrisy and being the first to throw stones, and it’s a real stretch to call the religious right either principled or Christian.

It would be easy to go on and on. But for now, suffice it to say that the day the hysterical witch hunters of the religious right denounce the clean-shaven, cotton-polyester wearing businessman who pays his workers twice a month as fervently as they do their gay neighbors who wish to live a life of peace and love is the day they can rightly claim the first shred of principle and credibility. Until then, the agitators of the religious right are better views as an angry bunch of intolerant zealots grasping at every straw they can find to support their bigotry.


Some may note that different versions of the bible use slightly different language.

In the New International Version (NIV), these same passages are written thus:

“Do not lie with a man as one lies with a woman; that is detestable.”
“Do not lie. Do not deceive one another.”
"Do not hold back the wages of a hired man overnight.”
"Do not wear clothing woven of two kinds of material.
"Do not cut the hair at the sides of your head or clip off the edges of your beard.”

The King James Bible (KJV) makes the same points this way:

“Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination.”
“Ye shall not steal, neither deal falsely, neither lie one to another.”
“…the wages of him that is hired shall not abide with thee all night until the morning.”
“…neither shall a garment mingled of linen and woollen come upon thee.”
“Ye shall not round the corners of your heads, neither shalt thou mar the corners of thy beard.”

A parable.

One day, your friend comes to you and asks to borrow your brand new Lincoln Navigator. You overcome your reluctance and convince yourself that your friend will be responsible. But the next evening, you receive a phone call from him and learn that your treasured SUV is gone. He tells you that he drove the vehicle to a neighborhood that is well known to be very dangerous and crime-ridden. More than that, he tells you that he left the car on a deserted street overnight with the doors unlocked and the the keys in it. When he went to get it in the morning, the Navigator was gone.

Needless to say, you are furious at your friend.

Your friend, however, is not apologetic. He turns on you angrily and scolds you for attacking him. He declares that you are a disloyal friend for accusing him of misbehavior. He points out that he did nothing wrong. He parked the car on a public street. Do we not have the right to park on public streets? The only wrongdoer was the miscreant who stole the car.

Yes. The thief was the lawbreaker. The thief committed the crime. But the thief is not your friend. You have no expectations that the thief will act in your interests. You do expect that your friend, in whom you place your trust, will look out for your best interest.

And yes, when bad things happen to our country, we may criticize not only the enemies who harmed us, but also those among us whose actions, decisions, and leadership fell short of protecting our interests.