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richardf8Leviticus 18:22 is the bible verse most frequently cited to justify institutionalizing homophobia. I will leave alone for the moment, the fact that the people who cite it, do so while happily rejecting pretty much everything else in Leviticus as legalism superseded by Christ's death on the cross. That small matter of hypocrisy has been covered more wittily by better artists than me. I believe that a correct understanding of Leviticus 18:22, properly contextualized, can lead us to a grand unified theory of the Neo-Con agenda.
Leviticus 18:22 belongs to a set of laws governing sexual behavior. When combined with the laws regarding menstruation, one finds that the overall effect of the laws is to present ovulating women to sexually frustrated men. In short, the whole thing is a formula for breeding, and breeding quickly. If you doubt this, the effect can be seen in the story of Baalam, in which it is remarked upon how rapidly the Israelites breed. The book of Leviticus prescribes behavior, and unlike later works such as the Mishnah or the Gospels, does not care a whit about intent. A man can be fantasizing about Aaron, the high priest, for all the Torah cares, as long as he's sowing seed in a woman. It is a text that begins with the end in mind, and in this case the end is the conquest of Canaan. The Israelite military strategy can be summed up in the words of Jim Morrison: they've got the guns, but we've got the numbers.
Fast forward to today and the war in Iraq. It's going to be a long war, even though it's already over. We've got the guns, but they've got the numbers. The Neo-Cons, having very consciously placed us in this peccadillo, want to ensure that we can balance that inequity. They realize that they need guns AND numbers to win this war and any/every other war they intend to put us in. And that levitical prescription is a pretty good recipe for it. Hence the war on gays, the war on abortion, the war on contraception and the war on sex-ed are all part-and-parcel with the war in Iraq. The goal is to breed as many youngsters desperate enough to join the armed forces as possible. By prohibiting any sex that is not procreative, and ensuring that any sex is procreative, they seek to ensure that they have sufficient troops to conquer whatever countries they see fit to conquer.
So why the quest to conquer? Oh the usual reasons, markets, resources, blah blah blah. We already see the economics at work in Iraq, as Halliburton picks up contracts that it never really had to bid on, and other large Bush/Cheney contributors are awarded sweetheart deals for work that can be done for 1/10th the price by Iraqi contractors. The long and the short of it is that they seek to ban homosexuality, abortion, and birth control to make Dick Cheney rich. And Iraq is just a conduit from your paycheck to his pockets.
Leviticus 18:22 belongs to a set of laws governing sexual behavior. When combined with the laws regarding menstruation, one finds that the overall effect of the laws is to present ovulating women to sexually frustrated men. In short, the whole thing is a formula for breeding, and breeding quickly. If you doubt this, the effect can be seen in the story of Baalam, in which it is remarked upon how rapidly the Israelites breed. The book of Leviticus prescribes behavior, and unlike later works such as the Mishnah or the Gospels, does not care a whit about intent. A man can be fantasizing about Aaron, the high priest, for all the Torah cares, as long as he's sowing seed in a woman. It is a text that begins with the end in mind, and in this case the end is the conquest of Canaan. The Israelite military strategy can be summed up in the words of Jim Morrison: they've got the guns, but we've got the numbers.
Fast forward to today and the war in Iraq. It's going to be a long war, even though it's already over. We've got the guns, but they've got the numbers. The Neo-Cons, having very consciously placed us in this peccadillo, want to ensure that we can balance that inequity. They realize that they need guns AND numbers to win this war and any/every other war they intend to put us in. And that levitical prescription is a pretty good recipe for it. Hence the war on gays, the war on abortion, the war on contraception and the war on sex-ed are all part-and-parcel with the war in Iraq. The goal is to breed as many youngsters desperate enough to join the armed forces as possible. By prohibiting any sex that is not procreative, and ensuring that any sex is procreative, they seek to ensure that they have sufficient troops to conquer whatever countries they see fit to conquer.
So why the quest to conquer? Oh the usual reasons, markets, resources, blah blah blah. We already see the economics at work in Iraq, as Halliburton picks up contracts that it never really had to bid on, and other large Bush/Cheney contributors are awarded sweetheart deals for work that can be done for 1/10th the price by Iraqi contractors. The long and the short of it is that they seek to ban homosexuality, abortion, and birth control to make Dick Cheney rich. And Iraq is just a conduit from your paycheck to his pockets.
