20050401

coming together

christians, jews, and muslims have finally found something they can agree on: opposition to homosexuality. from an article in yesterday's new york times (free registration required):

International gay leaders are planning a 10-day WorldPride festival and parade in Jerusalem in August, saying they want to make a statement about tolerance and diversity in the Holy City, home to three great religious traditions.

Now major leaders of the three faiths - Christianity, Judaism and Islam - are making a rare show of unity to try to stop the festival. They say the event would desecrate the city and convey the erroneous impression that homosexuality is acceptable.

"They are creating a deep and terrible sorrow that is unbearable," Shlomo Amar, Israel's Sephardic chief rabbi, said yesterday at a news conference in Jerusalem attended by Israel's two chief rabbis, the patriarchs of the Roman Catholic, Greek Orthodox and Armenian churches, and three senior Muslim prayer leaders. "It hurts all of the religions. We are all against it."


and, of course, my favorite quote: "This is not the homo land, this is the Holy Land." --Rabbi Yehuda Levin, Rabbinical Alliance of America

our good friends God and Paul also weigh in on the matter:

"Do not lie with a man as one lies with a woman; that is detestable. ... Everyone who does any of these detestable things--such persons must be cut off from their people." --God, in Leviticus 18:22, 29 (NIV)

"Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders... will inherit the kingdom of God." 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 (NIV)