not sure quite where in anyone's bible it says god hates "fags" (do they mean cigarettes?) lots of people point to sodom and gomorrah. that story actually is about people being unwelcoming, nothing to do with homosexuality. funny, the people who refer to that don't treat immigrants too well either!

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@genessa
Leviticus 20:13 “If a man practices homosexuality, having sex with another man as with a woman, both men have committed a detestable act. They must both be put to death by stoning.

@genessa The man in the picture is the late and unlamented Fred Phelps, fundamentalist (with emphasis on the mental) Baptist, nothing this hideous monster of a man ever did, was unable to be justified Biblically he had chapter and verse justification for everything.
His church was so fanatical that when he was on his death bed, his daughter (Shirley Phelps Roper) heard him praying for forgiveness and so assumed he had secret sins and excommunicated him.

@LenHazell53 more direct translation, admittedly similar "And if a man lie with mankind, as with womankind, both of them have committed abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them." keep in mind that leviticus also says "And if a stranger sojourn with thee in your land, ye shall not do him wrong. The stranger that sojourneth with you shall be unto you as the home-born among you, and thou shalt love him as thyself; for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt:" if they take this all so seriously they should be obedient to that as well. in fact it takes precedence because it is in the previous chapter and thus more important. it's all written by humans of course but if they're going to take it as the word of god, then cherrypicking is a bit cheeky!

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@genessa I agree, but the reason people cherry pick from scriptures is that almost every scripture is in direct contradiction to another scripture, leading to the fundamentalist censoring the text to fit with their own agenda, which is almost invariably evil.

Sure, I could have said jews, yet, acting like they did, is something the dogma of the christers put "value" on. I never read dogma like that in the Torah. I agree with your last statement, it is acting human. Too bad so many religion worshippers need a roadmap on how to do it.

@rabidazzle the torah doesn't have a whole lot of dogma. it's stories. some are more interesting than others. if you want intepretation you go to talmud. here is what jewish law says about charity, for example: [jewfaq.org]

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@genessa Thanks for the info. I assumed from what I understood for the torah, that charity was an inclusive activity, for Jews only. I see I was wrong.

@rabidazzle oh no, not at all! you're right -- that is probably a popular misconception. in fact, i think chosen people is a mistranslation or misnomer or something. i like to think of it as choosing people. (uh, you can't tell i'm jewish, right? but i am an atheist too. oddly, in judaism, that's not a dealbreaker! but i am jewish by culture, and while i like some of the customers and a good deal of the religion itself, nope, no gods, sorry, not my thing!) the deal was, god and the jewish people made a covenant and it cuts both ways. the jews could've said no, and then what? god goes out and finds someone else, right? so... choosing. but it is not written into judaism that only jews go to heaven, only jews are good, that jews are better than anyone else, or that everyone should be jewish. look at the commandments: jews have 613 to follow but only demand that nonjews follow seven! that does rather make it stand out among god-centered religions, most of which have some version of converting or killing infidels! that part DOES make it easier yet to continue to self-identify as jewish. it's a whole different ball game from christianity. still, while i am attracted to all that, it's certainly not the reason for me to try to be the best, kindest person i can be (the verdict is still out on my rate of success or failure there).

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@genessa Damnit you're making me re examine my understanding of the Jewish faith. I think it boils down to the fact that I've interacted and harassed information from believers of the other abrahamic religions, but have never had a chance to do the same with Judaism. I've been relying on only my own perspective to define it. Thank you, once again. You've taught me something, making me change a world view. I can't ask for anything more valuable to me than that.

@rabidazzle nooo problem! i am not the MOST educated person in judaism -- my cousin in new york knows a lot more than i do! i was raised quite secularly, as were many jews; sometimes i find myself explaining judaism to jews who aren't atheists! be that as that may, if you have any questions (and that link's whole site is pretty good i think) feel free to ask me. i might know! )

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@rabidazzle oh and i didn't mean only to share info about charity, which is material. there is more, even more important: [jewfaq.org]

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It pains me to defend nonsense, but here I go. You clearly haven't read their holy book. Heyzeus was a damn Marxist hippie, and didn't advocate for the murder of anyone. You are thinking of his crazy ass dad, and all the evil that POS visited on humanity before he sent heyzeus to be murdered for nonsensical reasons.
If you think all christians act like their hippy man god, then you are blind to all of the faux christers who use the proclamations of the old testament (before the sky daddy found prozac) to belittle and oppress those who they don't like. If all christers actually acted like heyzeus, this world would be much better off.

Finances trump compassion in this country. Homeless people lower property values, and these fools can't have that! At least someone is doing something, even if it is a church.