Often, I post stuff that deals with Religion and Homosexuality over my my other blog, Queer Look at the Bible, but then, I usually feel compelled to try and sort out some theological commentary about it. Additionally, this seems to deal more with the Talmud, still a religious text, but not the Bible. So, for whatever reason I want to come up with, posting this here.

My friend on Twitter @mattincinci posted this, and I had to follow up. It generally seems as if it is just the crazy fringe Christians who blame natural disasters on gays- people like Pat Robertson- but in reality, there is  also a group of fundamental rabbis who are also in on the blame game.

Here is the thing about this blame game.  Anything at all can be attributed to God (or as the rabbis write, G-d). And there is no verification at all. It isn’t like Dick Cheney, who will go on TV to try and save his image. No way to get ahold of G-d and ask, for verification. So, no matter whatever happens,  claim that it was G-d! In some regard, this in the tradition of fundamental Judiasm. So much of the Hebrew Scriptures (Christian Old Testament) deals with just this sort of stuff: big catastrophes attributed to G-d’s happiness or upset with G-d’s creation, man.

But these old stories also come from an era where it was believed the sun moved around the earth, and the world was flat. And, if you pay attention, there are others gods in the Hebrew scriptures and many of the Biblical stories are about demonstrating that the Hebrew G-d was greater than the other gods.

Wow, this is writing itself as if it were over on the other blog…

So these rabbis are doing what the religious community leaders have always done. When faced with what were seen as attacks to their status quo, they spoke out  in an attempt to control, and keep the community following that status quo. This is different from the hateful Christians who blame everything on the gays. While conservative Judaism has not been supportive of homosexuality, it also hasn’t created a  history of persecution of demonization of gays. Maybe that is changing?

It isn’t useful to brand these rabbis as simple haters (one strategy some gays will want to take), nor is it helpful to dismiss this stuff as old fashioned quackery. I think though it is important to see it as another symptom of the way cultural changes are impacting the status quo, and those who see it as their job to protect the status quo are doing just that. That said, the linked post points out some great points worth noting.

Does Gay Sex Cause Earthquakes? – Jeffrey Goldberg.