God Hates You, But I’m Not Judging

So a former middle school associate of mine turned pastor posted a status on Facebook today, basically saying “Hey if you’re gay, I don’t hate you, but God does.” That’s definitely a paraphrase, but it’s pretty much accurate. 

Under the post, several people commented, most agreeing with him, and a few that did not. I of course, was one who did not. I pointed out the book of Leviticus (which is the most often cited verse condemning LGBTQ people) also condemns eating shellfish, wearing a mix of two fabrics at the same time, cutting your hair, or shaving your face. 

The majority of Christians who I debate about this issue all pivot to the same point. “Leviticus is the Old Testament, we follow the New Testament now because Jesus brought the new covenant.” 

I just want to say, that this is the most ridiculous argument ever. EVER. The reason being, that when you go to church, why do pastors still teach LESSONS out of the Old Testament? They never teach it as if it’s simply the history of what was going on before Jesus arrived and fixed all his Dad’s mistakes. They present them as if there are valid lessons that still apply in today’s society. So that negates the whole “that’s old bro, we on a new type of time now” argument.

The other thing I want to bring up is the fact Jesus literally NEVER said anything about gay people. He didn’t condemn it, he didn’t support it, he completely left the topic alone altogether. As a matter of fact, there were only 6 references in the entire New Testament, and it was Paul, not Jesus who spoke about gay people. 

Final thing, people say it’s wrong because it is impossible to produce life through gay sex. Let’s accept that premise (even though there’s adoption, artificial insemination, and plenty of other ways for LGBTQ people to have children). So by that standard, should heterosexual people who have medical issues that prevent them from producing children not be allowed to have sex? Are old people who still get it in sinners? What about people who are married, were both virgins and waited until marriage to have sex, but choose not to have children and use condoms? Are they sinning too? This is dumb.

I’m not saying whether or not you should believe in God, Jesus, religion, or any of that. That’s on you to figure out the truth for yourselves. All I’m here to do is make you aware of one of MANY things in the book that’s premise falls apart with even the slightest bit of scrutiny. In other words, a lot of this shit makes no sense when you really think about it.

Final Final thought, as a straight man, I believe it is my responsibility to treat sexual/gender minorities with respect, dignity, and to show others that they deserve everything that we take for granted. 

Also, stop saying things like “You’re going to hell, God hates what you’re doing, but I’m not judging.” 

Yes the fuck you are.

I Hate Ben Shapiro

I can’t stand Ben Shapiro. 

I basically hate everything about the man. I hate his political ideology, I hate how religious he is, I hate his voice, and I hate the stupid look he always has on his face. 

But most of all, what angers me the most about Ben Shapiro is his Trump-like ability to be a complete and utter hypocrite without even the SLIGHTEST thoughts of irony when making his statements, as well as his Trump-like ability to be arrogantly incorrect. Let’s go thru a few quotes, which I will then debunk/rebuttal with ease. You can listen to him talk fast and confidently (which is basically his whole strategy for conning the masses), or you can read his quotes and after, read my correct viewpoints and see for yourself who has a more compelling/accurate argument.

“This is the most important moment in Black American history. Not Martin Luther King, not Frederick Douglass, not the Civil War, not the end of Jim Crow — none of that — not Brown v. Board, the most important thing is that Chadwick Boseman puts claws on his hands and a mask on his face and runs around jumping off cars in CGI fashion.”

Alright, first and foremost Ben, you are purposely being dense. You are acting as if it’s simply the fact that a superhero movie has a black protagonist that had black Americans so excited. No dumbass, it’s the acknowledgement that we are rarely represented as anything other than savages and criminals in movies, so to have a black man as the hero shows that we too can be the good guy who all children look up to (as evidenced by the number of white kids who dressed up as Black Panther for Halloween last year.) It’s also about the fact that all of those people and events you named are events children read in history books, not something they could ever see for themselves. Black Panther was a modern day representation of black excellence, and that is what bothers you Ben.

“We heard this about Barack Obama when he was elected, too. ‘Now that Obama has been president, Black Americans will feel like they too can be presidents. It’s a transformative moment.’ Yet, all we hear now is that America is deeply racist and that Black people are still systemically discriminated against and that Black people are still victims in America society. So, it turns out it didn’t mean anything.”

Ben, both things can be true at the same time. Is it true that Barack Obama becoming the first Black American President gave hope to hundreds of thousands of young people of color that they can do anything they dream? Yes. Is it also true that man white Americans let their bigot flag fly? Of course, how do you think Trump became President (remember he got his major political start as the main champion of the birther movement)? Having a black President did not “fix” America’s racial issues, it simply magnified them in a way to show we haven’t come as far as we all would like to think. Also, it’s PROVABLE that black American’s and other people of color are systematically discriminated against. 

“How about the idea that if you’re black in America there’s a white supremacist hierarchy that is keeping you down? 

(Continued) The idea that black people in the United States are disproportionately poor because America is racist; that’s just not true, at least not in terms of America’s racism today keeping black people down. It’s just not the case.”

Oh? Let’s look at some numbers and see if that’s the case. 

According to NPR, “The Federal Housing Administration, which was established in 1934, furthered the segregation efforts by refusing to insure mortgages in and near African-American neighborhoods — a policy known as "redlining." At the same time, the FHA was subsidizing builders who were mass-producing entire subdivisions for whites — with the requirement that none of the homes be sold to African-Americans.” 

So, in other words, black people returning from the armed services were not given the same economic opportunities as their white counterparts. No property to pass down, therefore no wealth to build on. And also considering the fact that between 35-45% of all wealth is passed down generationally, you can probably see why the previous acts of discrimination have created challenges that we still face today. 

Then of course we have the ACLU, who found that “Blacks are 3.73 times more likely than whites to be arrested for marijuana.” 

OR the fact that currently (rather, as of July 2018) there are 1135 black death row inmates, compared to 1153 white death row inmates. Also, in multiple studies (here, here, and here) show that A. Black people are more likely to receive the death penalty than white people for the same crime, and B. When the victim is white and the criminal is black, the criminal is way more likely to be sentenced to death than the reverse scenario.

And lastly…

“Freedom of speech and thought matters, especially when it is speech and thought with which we disagree. The moment the majority decides to destroy people for engaging in thought it dislikes, thought crime becomes a reality.”

Now go read everything he’s said about Rep. Ilhan Omar on his Twitter. I rest my case. 

Hypocrite to the max, and egotistically stupid.

#JUSTICEFORANTONIO

The following videos were taken at the #JusticeForAntonio protest at Tempe City Hall. Antonio was 14 years old and was shot in the back as he ran from the police. He had a toy gun that he may or may not have stolen.