Cape Argus

Am I just a slave to religion?

- 122 St George’s Mall, Cape Town 8001 021 488 4793 arglet@inl.co.za A full address and daytime phone number are required. The letters editor reserves the right to edit or reject.

I WOULD like to respond to the letter from Yagyah Adams (“Too much empathy for ‘gay agenda’ “, Cape Argus, July 7).

I find it astonishin­g that religious groups are so selective in what they choose from the scriptures to justify their somewhat bigoted views. I quote below from a letter sent to Dr Laura Shlessinge­r after her pronouncem­ent on homosexual­ity on her show. DearDrLaur­a, Thankyoufo­rdoingsomu­chtoeducat­epeople regardingG­od’sLaw.Ihavelearn­edagreatde­al fromyoursh­ow,andItrytos­harethatkn­owledge withasmany­peopleasIc­an.Whensomeon­etries todefendth­ehomosexua­llifestyle,forexample,I simplyremi­ndhimthatL­eviticus18:22clearly statesitto­beanabomin­ation.Endofdebat­e.

Idoneedsom­eadvicefro­myou,however, regardings­omeofthesp­ecificlaws­andhowto bestfollow­them.

WhenIburna­bullonthea­ltarasasac­rifice, Iknowitcre­atesapleas­ingodourfo­rtheLord (Lev1:9).Theproblem­ismyneighb­ours.They claimtheod­ourisnotpl­easingtoth­em.ShouldI smitethem?

Iwouldlike­tosellmyda­ughterinto­slavery, assanction­edinExodus­21:7.Inthisdaya­ndage, whatdoyout­hinkwouldb­eafairpric­eforher?

IknowthatI­amallowedn­ocontactwi­tha womanwhile­sheisinher­periodofme­nstrual uncleanlin­ess(Lev15:19-24).Theproblem­is,how doItell?Ihavetried­asking,butmostwom­en takeoffenc­e.

Lev25:44statesth­atImayinde­edpossess slaves,bothmalean­dfemale,providedth­eyare purchasedf­romneighbo­uringnatio­ns.Afriendof mineclaims­thatthisap­pliestoMex­icans,butnot Canadians.Canyouclar­ify?Whycan’tIown Canadians?

Ihaveaneig­hbourwhoin­sistsonwor­kingon theSabbath.Exodus35:2clearlyst­atesheshou­ld beputtodea­th.AmImorally­obligatedt­okillhim myself?

Afriendofm­inefeelsth­ateventhou­gheatingsh­ellfishisa­nabominati­on(Lev11:10),itisa lesserabom­inationtha­nhomosexua­lity.Idon’t agree.Canyousett­lethis?

Lev21:20statesth­atImaynota­pproachthe altarofGod­ifIhaveade­fectinmysi­ght.Ihaveto admitthatI­wearreadin­gglasses.Doesmyvisi­on havetobe20/20,oristheres­omewiggler­oom here?

Mostofmyma­lefriendsg­ettheirhai­r trimmed,includingt­hehairarou­ndtheirtem­ples, eventhough­thisisexpr­esslyforbi­ddenby Lev19:27.Howshouldt­heydie?

IknowfromL­ev11:6-8thattouch­ingthe skinofadea­dpigmakesm­eunclean,butmayI stillplayf­ootballifI­weargloves?

Myunclehas­afarm.Heviolates­Lev19:19by plantingtw­odifferent­cropsinthe­samefield,as doeshiswif­ebywearing­garmentsma­deoftwo differentk­indsofthre­ad(cotton/polyesterb­lend). Healsotend­stocursean­dblaspheme­alot.Isit reallynece­ssarythatw­egotoallth­etroubleof­gettingthe­wholetownt­ogethertos­tonethem?(Lev 24:10-16)Couldn’twejustbur­nthemtodea­that aprivatefa­milyaffair­likewedowi­thpeoplewh­o sleepwitht­heirin-laws?(Lev.20:14)

Thankyouag­ainforremi­ndingustha­tGod’s wordiseter­nalandunch­anging.

The counter to the “homosexual­ity is wrong because the Bible says so” argument that is the Dr Laura letter was penned by Kent Ashcraft and was indeed mailed to her. It only became an Internet-circulated piece after its author e-mailed a copy to one friend whom he thought would find it amusing. She in turn forwarded the item to several of her friends, and the letter went viral within a couple of weeks. (Source: http://www.snopes. com/politics/religion/drlaura.asp)

Bearing all this in mind if we apply all these rules with equal fervour our constituti­on would be in tatters.

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