With the holidays approaching, chances are you might be challenged by a relative about your “lifestyle choices”.
A recent post on Reddit asked, “What is the best way to respond to a person who says ‘Homosexuality is a sin’?”
It prompted hundreds of responses, ranging from the serious to the deliciously bitchy. Below are some of the best-liked comments.
“Then don’t be homosexual. It’s your religion. Not mine,” was offered up as the perfect response. It easily earned the most likes.
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In a similar vein, someone suggested: “Tell them religion is unnatural. It’s not found in nature, while homosexuality is rampant.”
Some suggested bringing up other parts of the Bible.
“You know the same book you use to condemn me also says you can stone your wife for disobedience and sell your daughter into slavery. Also, anything unnatural such as glasses and manufactured medicine are also a no-no. Don’t practice those rules? Huh, it’s like you’re picking and choosing what works for you…”
Or: “Are you wearing multiple types of fibers in your clothes?”
One said they liked quoting scripture back to the person. “I always tell them, ‘It says straight to hell, not gay to hell, so I guess you’re the one with a hot destination in your future.’ It gets them every time.”
Related: Dear Religious Right: Stop using The Bible as a weapon of homophobia
“Honey that hair is a sin”
Then things got a little shadier.
“Honey that hair is a sin,” was one fierce reply.
“If you don’t sin then Jesus died for nothing” was another.
“Say ‘Hate the sin, love the sinner.’” suggested someone else. “If you want to make it awkward, you can emphasize the last part and wink.”
On the same topic, a tweet went viral earlier this week. It shows his pastor talking to his flock about the story of Sodom and Gomorrah. He forcefully argues that the destruction of the Biblical city “is not about same-gender love, it’s about violence and rape.
“And when you talk about same-gender love, if you equate same-gender love to violent acts, you have disrespected the conversation.”
The tweet has had over 26,000 likes and prompted plenty of thoughts and comments. It might be something to share with someone calling your life a sin.
The black church needs to hear it. pic.twitter.com/MInixTKEvQ
— Sampson (@OfficialSampson) December 7, 2022
Related: MAGA supporters tricked into agreeing with school Bible ban
WBrianG
…so many Christians (followers of Jesus Christ) and evangelicals (followers of the Gospels of Jesus) have it wrong —- Jesus says NOTHING ABOUT HOMOSEXUALITY. He challenges other ills (such as hypocrisy and hate) more than anything else. He throws people out of the temple and condemns those who put money BEFORE GOD. Yet he says nothing about homosexuality. Hmmmmmm. Two faced Republicans just don’t seem to get the message. They would easily trample another human being to make a buck and steal from the poor. Jesus would be right there to slap the shit out of them
Mack
The Republicans only “Preach” the religions so they can get the Scamvangelists votes.
Phillip
If the Jesus of the Bible walked up to any of these Republicans and asked them for a glass of water, they’d tell him to “Get a job and earn it like the rest of them have to do!” Then they would give him the bum’s rush to the curb.
Rikki Roze
Add my “like” to the first response. It’s fab.
Leo
“Homosexuality is a sin.”
Only if you believe in sin.
dave3137
I also think it relates to which “version” of “God’s Word” you happen to prefer. Apparently “God” told King James that for a millennium or so, people have been believing some wrong stuff. And then there’s the Standard Version and the Revised Standard Version, and the Douay Version. Am I missing any?
Kangol2
Isn’t the Jerusalem Bible version the standard for Roman Catholics? For about 50+ years?
trell
….also, don’t forget that the many translations and half-arsed compilation/editing of 140+ books written over the space of 1000+ years, from Aramaic & Persian, to Greek & Hebrew, and then re-written several times over, and in some cases, passed down only by word of mouth for a few generations like the world’s longest game of chinese whispers until they too are written down by someone half-remembering the stories told by their ancestors, then finally compiled into the modern King James version we now recognise….that there is absolutely no shadow of a doubt that the final outcome is going to be 100% faithful to the source material, right?
That’s like insisting that Disney’s version of its fairy tales is exactly like the original source material of old folklore.
But still, people seem to insist that the King James version is the definitive, exact and accurate ‘word of God’. Whatever gets you through the day, I suppose.
MISTERJETT
when they start quoting the bible, i just refer them to this quote: that same bible says if your child disobeys you, you can have him killed: Deuteronomy 21:18-21
“If a man has a stubborn and rebellious son who does not obey his father and mother and will not listen to them when they discipline him, (19) his father and mother shall take hold of him and bring him to the elders at the gate of his town. (20) They shall say to the elders, “This son of ours is stubborn and rebellious. He will not obey us. He is a profligate and a drunkard.” (21) Then all the men of his town shall stone him to death.” then i ask them have their kids ever disobyed them and if they have, did they have them killed because the bible says you have to. you can’t pick and choose what to believe in the bible.
bachy
I’m a sinner
I’m a sinner
I’m a sinner
I like it that way
I’m a sinner
I’m a sinner
Praise the Lord and I like it that way
Hail Mary, full of grace
Get down on your knees and pray
Jesus Christ, hanging on the cross
Died for our sins, it’s such a loss
Saint Christopher, find my way
I’ll be coming home one day
Saint Sebastian, don’t you cry
Let those poison arrows fly
Saint Anthony, lost and found
Thomas Aquinas, stand your ground
All those saints and holy men
Catch me before I sin again
I’m a sinner
I’m a sinner
I’m a sinner
I’m a sinner
I’m a sinner
I’m a sinner
I like it that way
You’re a sinner
you’re a sinner
You’re a sinner
you like it that way
We’re all sinners
we’re all sinners
We’re all sinners
I’m a sinner
I’m a sinner
I’m a sinner
And I like it that way
skyboy63
F**k off works too.
trell
…probably the only time when you’ll hear me say “Amen!” 😀
Archie
There’s this bible verse with a trans vibe:
Simon Peter said to them, ‘Make Mary leave us, for females don’t deserve life.’ Jesus said, ‘Look, I will guide her to make her male, so that she too may become a living spirit resembling you males. For every female who makes herself male will enter the kingdom of heaven’” (Thomas 114).
Kangol2
You’re going to make the anti-trans fanatics’ heads blow off!
sojerseybill
Most Bibles do not include the book of Thomas.
stephenbrown2
My bible certainly has the book of Thomas
stephenbrown2
I say: “face it straights, if we were not here to do your hair, nails, and makeup….design your clothes, formulate your colognes, perfumes, and cosmetics, sing almost all of your hit love songs, decorate and style your homes and furniture, none of you would ever get laid again, …… and that would be the end of humanity right there……..”
zephyr69
So many Christians and so few lions.
Old Prude
This is the very reason that some Christians are arrogant and aggressive! They know that their belief system is dysfunctional and inaccurate and so they are overcompensating or attempting to protect it? As Shakespeare wrote: “The Devil can cite scripture for his purpose”
LumpyPillows
My response? “I feel threatened”. Then I beat them in the face. Self defense. I mean, their Bible also says we should be put to death, so I would be justified. It was a threat.
dario717
So many Christians. So few lions.
basils_Herald
Once upon a time in the Kingdom of Israel there lived a prince named David. David loved to wander the countryside and eventually met the heir to the neighboring Principality of Judah, Jonathan. David and Jonathan became fast friends and spent most of their spare time in the wilderness together. David‘s dad was so impressed by their friendship that he invited Jonathan to stay at the palace. Once at the palace, Jonathan swore a covenant of love to David, stripped naked and gave David his ”bow, arrow and sword.“ At the end of his life, David recounted that his love for Jonathan was greater than that of any of his wives and his son, Solomon, went on to inherit the united Kingdoms of Israel and Judah.
If that isn’t a 3000 year old gay love story / propaganda from antiquity, I don’t know what is.
ZzBomb
I always go to: “Jesus was a gay man. What dude hangs out with 12 other dudes and 1 woman? Gay dudes. Jesus was a gay man. Deal with it… and you’re makeup is terrible.”
IvanPH
I also say… Sin according to who? Your genocidal, infanticidal, pestilential, megalomaniac, malevolent, sadistic, mass-murdering, slavery-approving, incest-condoning sociopath Biblical God?
IvanPH
I tell them that that God is non-binary and Jesus was gay
Tombear
I left the Catholic Church because my gay priest told me homosexuality is a sin.
Kangol2
He probably told you this right before he headed to a bathhouse or picked up rough trade or cruised a public park. I know a number of gay priests and ex-priests and thankfully none are right-wing, anti-gay fanatics and ALL are very happy to be with other gay men. But the number of hateful closet cases (and pedos) in that Catholic clergy is extensive.
stafcoyote
I’m a queer Religious Conformist. That is, I conform to the use of The Episcopal Church, which, as the Anglican Church, is the Church that is in England by law established. The Episcopal Church and I grew up coming to terms with our queerness concurrently. If you’re looking for a hot man with a good job, who is prosperous, and usually good company, you can’t go very wrong by attending an Episcopal church on Sunday.
trell
Homosexuality is barely mentioned in the Bible, but divorce comes up a lot more…and I do wonder about all these people resisting same sex couples getting married, quoting the sanctity of marriage. How many of them would campaign against divorcees, who after all, took their hoy wedding vows.
The whole Sodom & Gomorrah thing is also incorrect. The notion of the ‘sin of sodom’ is the implication that the residents of Sodom saw 2 angels visiting Lot’s house, and sieged his house demanding that he hands the angels over so that they can ‘know’ them. That’s the only connotation that the Sin of Sodom = Bumsex. (BTW, Lot tries to give the angry rapey mob his 2 virgin daughters instead. Nice parenting….and he is painted as a virtuous character!)
GeorgeMTL
Fake Right-wing Christians will say anything to back up their anti-LGBTQ+ hatred — and even while some actually believe what they’re saying… even more are simply using cut-paste comments from a badly translated book to support their political/social power.
Here are some bits of Bible info :
1. THE REAL SIN OF SODOM
Now this was the sin of Sodom: She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed and unconcerned; they did not help the poor and needy. They were haughty and did detestable things before me. Therefore I did away with them as you have seen.
—Ezekiel 16:49–50[105]
Instead of helping the stranger, the needy.. the mob attempts to rape them. And somehow, the concept of homosexuality (which didn’t exist in the same context as today) is the reason that these phonies stand up and point fingers, acting holier-than-everyone — and not violent rape.
This illustrates how so many Christian right-wing groups follow a sexist system where violence and rape are OK, but consensual sex between men is harshly attacked. For example, Liberty University ignored many reports of rape, repressing evidence and blaming the victims.
Meanwhile, you have televangelists declaiming the “prosperity gospel” and other pretend-Christians attacking the rights of women and LGBTQ+ communities.
Somehow, one of the most disgusting men who commits acts that are totally anti-Christian — Donald Trump — is held up as the saviour of the US by these same phony-believers.
2. HOSPITALITY (from Virtual Jewish Library)
In ancient Israel, hospitality was not merely a question of good manners, but a moral institution which grew out of the harsh desert and nomadic existence led by the people of Israel. The biblical customs of welcoming the weary traveler and of receiving the stranger in one’s midst was the matrix out of which hospitality and all its tributary aspects developed into a highly esteemed virtue in Jewish tradition. Biblical law specifically sanctified hospitality toward the ger (“stranger”) who was to be made particularly welcome “for you were strangers in a strange land” (Lev. 19:34 and see Ex. 12:49). Foreign travelers, although not protected by law (Deut. 15:3; 23:21), could count on the custom of hospitality. It was also the duty of the elders of the *cities of refuge to succor, as well as to protect, the unwitting killer who sought refuge in their cities until the death of the high priest (Num. 35:9–34). Isaiah states that one of the duties of the pious is to “deal thy bread to the hungry,” and to “bring the poor that are cast out to thy house” (Isa. 58:7).
3. LEVITICUS PROHIBITIONS
These include sexual relations with one’s mother, step-mother, sister, step-sister, sister-in-law, aunt, granddaughter, daughter-in-law, with a woman as well as her daughter, with a ritually unclean woman, with the wife of a neighbor, with another man, or with an animal.
They also include more rules that are equally important (but almost always ignored by those who use the “it is abomination” quote to attack others) :
– not wearing mixed fabric
– not eating shellfish
– instructions on offering sacrifices
– prohibition of unclean animals (pig, rabbit, snake)
– women being unclean for 7 days during menstruation / to be avoided by men
This often-quoted part of the Bible, used to justify anti-LGBTQ+ hatred falls in the “Holiness Code” — and these guidelines are aimed at the Levitical PRIESTHOOD.
4. IT’S A SIN
Apparently, according to these very specific cut/paste “Christians”, who mostly use these quotes for political/social power — homosexuality is a sin.
But, there are TONS of sins, if you read the Bible… and there aren’t better and worse sins. Yet how many of these LOUD phony-pious Pharisees are committing other sins and never even acknowledging their mistakes.
Somehow, this one particular quote is used to support their hatred — at the same time, they are committing multitudes of sins and ignoring all the previously listed prohibitions while claiming the moral high ground.
Josh in OR
As someone raised in a ‘Bible-Believing, warshed in th’Blood, Born Again Baptist’ church, I know a thing or two about the book fundamentalists like to use as a weapon.
Whenever I hear a right winger raging about immigrants, queers, the poor, I call them ‘Sodomite’. When they react in perfectly reasonable shock that I would call them the thing they think applies to me, I point them to Ezekiel and remind them that, as one of the Grewt Prophets, Ezekiel’s words are GOD’S words, and thus are the closest we have in the Bible to God’s opinion on things.
Ezekiel 16:49-50 (NIV) – 49 “‘Now this was the sin of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed and unconcerned; they did not help the poor and needy. They were haughty and did detestable things before me. Therefore I did away with them as you have seen.”
Arrogant. Like those who think they know the mind of God?
Overfed and unconcerned. As in ‘wealthy and out of touch’? The sort of people who wear (or cheer on) a jacket that says ‘I don’t really care, do u?’ to visit desperate, terrified immigrant children ripped from their parents arms by GOP policy…?
Did not help the poor and needy. Like, cutting Medicare, Medicaid, food stamps, housing assistance and other safety nets in order to funnel more money into their own pockets…?
Haughty? Like ‘I’m rich, bitch’…?
Detestable. As in ‘Hitler did some good things, too!’ or ‘Jewish space lasers caused the California wildfires!’ or ‘I’m going deathcon 5 on Jews!’…?
The modern GOP – ESPECIALLY the fundamentalist side – are perfectly described by Ezekiel as the sort of people who got Sodom and Gomorrah destroyed.
Call them what they are.
Claim it.
Name them.
ptb2016
The actual sin of Sodom was inhospitality and unkindness to strangers. Nothing to do with sex. How the name got linked with anal sex and homosexuality is beyond me. And there’s a great scene in the West Wing when Bartlett turns on a guest at a White House meeting who calls homosexuality an abomination on her radio show. “I don’t mr President she says, The Bible does.” He then quotes all the other things from the same chapter that are ignored by people, like the “should I stone my mother to death or does the whole town have to join in. And it tells us we shouldn’t touch the skin of pigs, but we have lots of football teams so should they stop touching the ball? Along with the others quoted above. But then it’s what other people do in bed that upsets and fascinates more than anything else. Why I’ve no real idea. Religion has caused more misery and deaths than anything else in history including wars. And if you didn’t agree with the powers you’d get burned at the stake, something Jesus, if he existed, would have been furious about. InIslam they cut off the heads of young boys caught playing with others experimenting as every young man does. Civilised, eh?
scotty
i dont engage nor interact with delusional (read religious) people. except here in the forums, of course, and then, only very sarcastically. see ?im doing it now.