Wednesday, October 25, 2006

Beware the Extremists - 2

Let's see if I understand this properly.


























 Same Sex (or being gay)Adultery (having sex with someone you are not married to)
Sin?Yes (mostly)Yes (most definitely, clear and unambiguously stated)
Destroys the institution of marriage?DebatableMost definitely.
Number of Canadians involved?Negligible portion of the populationSignificant portion of the population - and I am counting premarital sex, one-night stands, live-in, common law - all of which are 'sin', as defined by religion.
Number of protesters againstA lotZero
Number of politicians against?Quite a fewZero


This is where I stop understanding. If you are going to apply religion, why apply it selectively? Why not all of it? If you believe homosexuality is a sin and that is why you are opposed to gay rights in Canada you should also be supportive of legislation to punish adultery, as well as a host of other things your religion tells you to.

Conservatives will rally against a Muslim who wants allow voluntary arbitration by religious clerics but will endorse (and associate with) their own candidates who want to implement their version of Sharia. Calling it 'traditional' does not make it any less than an equivalent of Sharia - it is still religious law. A lot of it doesn't even make sense.

I am a definitely straight Muslim. I believe homosexuality is a sin and gays are living in sin and all that. There is no way around it, that's what God said to us and you are free to reject it if you like. At the same time, I know in Canada I have to live with people whose values and religious beliefs are a lot different than my own. I would not like my rights as a minority curbed, so why should I deny another minority their rights?

And why is that always the people to deny others the rights are always the same 'type' of people? First they supported slavery because the Bible allowed slaves. Then they didn't want Sikh RCMP officers to wear turbans in the name of 'tradition'. Now they are targeting gay rights. Will Harper become the first Prime Minister to take away a right?

And they call us religious fundamentalists.

See also:
Beware The Extremists - 1
Contraception and you

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1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Wow. Great point.