# Why is a Gay themed magazine Offensive? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [September 4, 2002, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-a-gay-themed-magazine-offensive/126963 "2002-09-04T15:10:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2002, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-a-gay-themed-magazine-offensive/126963/81 "2002-09-05T20:57:49Z")
> [@](#): > > The reason people are so apprehensive about the gay lifestyle is that it IS IMMORAL! Now I know what is coming. I’m a bigot, right? Well, then so is God, evidently. Anyone remember the story of Sodom and Gomorrah? Well, let’s see. > [@](#): > > 1 The two angels came to Sodom in the evening; and Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom. When Lot saw them, he rose to meet them, and bowed himself with his face to the earth, 2 and said, “My lords, turn aside, I pray you, to your servant’s house and spend the night, and wash your feet; then you may rise up early and go on your way.” They said, “No; we will spend the night in the street.” 3 But he urged them strongly; so they turned aside to him and entered his house; and he made them a feast, and baked unleavened bread, and they ate. 4 But before they lay down, the men of the city, the men of Sodom, both young and old, all the people to the last man, surrounded the house; 5 and they called to Lot, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us, that we may know them.” 6 Lot went out of the door to the men, shut the door after him, 7 and said, “I beg you, my brothers, do not act so wickedly. 8 Behold, I have two daughters who have not known man; let me bring them out to you, and do to them as you please; only do nothing to these men, for they have come under the shelter of my roof.” 9 But they said, “Stand back!” And they said, “This fellow came to sojourn, and he would play the judge! Now we will deal worse with you than with them.” Then they pressed hard against the man Lot, and drew near to break the door. 10 But the men put forth their hands and brought Lot into the house to them, and shut the door. 11 And they struck with blindness the men who were at the door of the house, both small and great, so that they wearied themselves groping for the door. (Genesis 19:1-10) > [@](#): > > 44 Behold, every one who uses proverbs will use this proverb about you, ‘Like mother, like daughter.’ 45 You are the daughter of your mother, who loathed her husband and her children; and you are the sister of your sisters, who loathed their husbands and their children. Your mother was a Hittite and your father an Amorite. 46 And your elder sister is Sama’ria, who lived with her daughters to the north of you; and your younger sister, who lived to the south of you, is Sodom with her daughters. 47 Yet you were not content to walk in their ways, or do according to their abominations; within a very little time you were more corrupt than they in all your ways. 48 As I live, says the Lord GOD, your sister Sodom and her daughters have not done as you and your daughters have done. \*\*49 Behold, this was the guilt of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had pride, surfeit of food, and prosperous ease, but did not aid the poor and needy. \*\* (Ezekiel 16:44-49) > [@](#): > > 9 Their partiality witnesses against them; they proclaim their sin like Sodom, they do not hide it. Woe to them! For they have brought evil upon themselves. 10 Tell the righteous that it shall be well with them, for they shall eat the fruit of their deeds. 11 Woe to the wicked! It shall be ill with him, for what his hands have done shall be done to him. 12 My people–children are their oppressors, and women rule over them. O my people, your leaders mislead you, and confuse the course of your paths. 13 The LORD has taken his place to contend, he stands to judge his people. 14 The LORD enters into judgment with the elders and princes of his people: “It is you who have devoured the vineyard, the spoil of the poor is in your houses. 15 What do you mean by crushing my people, by grinding the face of the poor?” says the Lord GOD of hosts. (Isaiah 3:9-15) > [@](#): > > 14 And if any one will not receive you or listen to your words, shake off the dust from your feet as you leave that house or town. 15 Truly, I say to you, it shall be more tolerable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom and Gomor’rah than for that town. (Matthew 10:14-15) Only in Jude (and the parallel passage in II Peter) is “the sin of Sodom” equated with, well, sodomy: > [@](#): > > 6 And the angels that did not keep their own position but left their proper dwelling have been kept by him in eternal chains in the nether gloom until the judgment of the great day; 7 just as Sodom and Gomor’rah and the surrounding cities, which likewise acted immorally and indulged in unnatural lust, serve as an example by undergoing a punishment of eternal fire. (Jude 6-7) While there is clear evidence that gang rape of angels is something God has a low opinion of, it surely looks like prideful failure to provide for the poor and be hospitable to the stranger among you is the “sin of Sodom” for which it was destroyed. [Which means that in his notorious 9/11 assigning of blame, Jerry Falwell ought to have been condemning big business and its supporters! :eek:] Now, if you care to condemn all those who oppress the poor and those who fail to show hospitality to strangers, you might have a case. > [@](#): > > The sacred powers of procreation are to be employed only between man and woman, lawfully wedded as husband and wife. Cite? Don’t trot out “Thou shalt not lie with man as with woman” or “Thou shalt not commit adultery.” You’ve made an assertion; defend it with a quote that says, in essence, “Thou shalt have sex only within a heterosexual marriage.” > [@](#): > > So-called “homophobes” are usually just people who are attuned to hear the whispering of the Holy Spirit which reminds them of what an abomination homosexuality is to the LORD. The Lord is, according to the Gospels, substantially more pissed off by people who condemn other people and attribute their hatred to Him than He is by minor sexual peccadillos, much less committed loving relationships. And as for the Holy Spirit, He expressly commanded me to stand by His gay sons and daughters who are being demonized by pseudo-religious hypocrites speaking in the manner you do. ---
**Author:** ![gobear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8dc957/32.png) [@gobear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gobear)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2002, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-a-gay-themed-magazine-offensive/126963/82 "2002-09-05T20:58:53Z")
Actually, it would be amusing to take some of these fundie types to, say, Khajuraho in India and show them the temple wall carvings that depict the sexual hijinks of the Hindu gods, not to mention going to a Shiva temple and checking out the veneration of the _lingam_. It amazes me that there are so many people with such vast ingorance of human cultures and religions. ---
**Author:** ![gobear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8dc957/32.png) [@gobear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gobear)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2002, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-a-gay-themed-magazine-offensive/126963/83 "2002-09-05T20:59:02Z")
Actually, it would be amusing to take some of these fundie types to, say, Khajuraho in India and show them the temple wall carvings that depict the sexual hijinks of the Hindu gods, not to mention going to a Shiva temple and checking out the veneration of the _lingam_. It amazes me that there are so many people with such vast ignorance of human cultures and religions. ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2002, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-a-gay-themed-magazine-offensive/126963/84 "2002-09-05T21:02:41Z")
You guys were just too fast for me! ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2002, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-a-gay-themed-magazine-offensive/126963/85 "2002-09-05T21:05:39Z")
> [@](#): > > _Originally posted by grendel72_ > **I agree with you that most “in your face” christians are scary fundies.** Is there such a thing as a scary, ‘fundie’ gay who is “in your face” about his orientation? Or the **Polycarp** equivalent, who doesn’t make an issue of it but goes about quietly living his life as a gay? Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2002, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-a-gay-themed-magazine-offensive/126963/86 "2002-09-05T21:05:43Z")
**gobear** -wouldn’t work. They’d just say it’s proof that these people are evil and satanic. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2002, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-a-gay-themed-magazine-offensive/126963/87 "2002-09-05T21:13:31Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by MrMcPlad \* > \*\*The reason people are so apprehensive about the gay lifestyle is that it IS IMMORAL! Now I know what is coming. I’m a bigot, right? Well, then so is God, evidently. Anyone remember the story of Sodom and Gomorrah? > > The sacred powers of procreation are to be employed only between man and woman, lawfully wedded as husband and wife. > > So-called “homophobes” are usually just people who are attuned to hear the whispering of the Holy Spirit which reminds them of what an abomination homosexuality is to the LORD. > > Truth is truth. It is absolute, not subjective. Homosexuality has been immoral since the beginning of time and it won’t change just because it is now more socially acceptable. \*\* As a Mormon yourself and member of the LDS church which has historically been subject to high levels of persecution and ridicule of their beliefs by other, supposedly more “Christian” Christians, shouldn’t you be just a tad more sympathetic to gays regarding issues about biblical doctrine? ---
**Author:** ![Esprix](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/esprix/32/7899_2.png) [@Esprix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Esprix)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2002, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-a-gay-themed-magazine-offensive/126963/88 "2002-09-05T21:30:28Z")
> [@](#): > > _Originally posted by **MrMcPlad** _ > > The sacred powers of procreation… I am suddenly struck with a vision of me, standing hands on hips in some kind of god-like superhero costume on a rocky cliff with appropriate dark clouds and lightning behind me… > [@](#): > > Behold my Sacred Powers of Procreation AND TREMBLE BEFORE ME! I then have an image of me grabbing my… _appendage_ and raining my “sacred powers of procreation” down upon the unwashed masses. Then again, I’m a sick, sick puppy… Esprix ---
**Author:** ![Esprix](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/esprix/32/7899_2.png) [@Esprix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Esprix)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2002, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-a-gay-themed-magazine-offensive/126963/89 "2002-09-05T21:32:49Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Shodan \* > > Is there such a thing as a scary, ‘fundie’ gay who is “in your face” about his orientation? _{fans self furiously}_ I’m sure I wouldn’t know _what_ you were speaking of! > [@](#): > > Or the **Polycarp** equivalent, who doesn’t make an issue of it but goes about quietly living his life as a gay? Try most gay men and lesbians - nobody knows… Esprix ---
**Author:** ![grendel72](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/91b2a8/32.png) [@grendel72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grendel72)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2002, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-a-gay-themed-magazine-offensive/126963/90 "2002-09-05T22:02:27Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Shodan \* > \*\*Is there such a thing as a scary, ‘fundie’ gay who is “in your face” about his orientation? > > Or the **Polycarp** equivalent, who doesn’t make an issue of it but goes about quietly living his life as a gay? > > Regards, > Shodan \*\* Wow, cool. I step up to the bat to defend fundies and still get jumped on by the bigotted ones. **dreamer** , you’ve got your work cut out for you. ---
**Author:** ![grendel72](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/91b2a8/32.png) [@grendel72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grendel72)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2002, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-a-gay-themed-magazine-offensive/126963/91 "2002-09-05T22:13:17Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Shodan \* > \*\*Is there such a thing as a scary, ‘fundie’ gay who is “in your face” about his orientation? > > Or the **Polycarp** equivalent, who doesn’t make an issue of it but goes about quietly living his life as a gay? > > Regards, > Shodan \*\* Wow, cool. I step up to the bat to defend fundies and still get jumped on by the bigotted ones. **dreamer** , you’ve got your work cut out for you. ---
**Author:** ![MrVisible](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/46a35a/32.png) [@MrVisible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrVisible)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2002, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-a-gay-themed-magazine-offensive/126963/92 "2002-09-05T22:30:27Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by MrMcPlad \* > The reason people are so apprehensive about the gay lifestyle is that it IS IMMORAL! Now I know what is coming. I’m a bigot, right? Well, then so is God, evidently. Anyone remember the story of Sodom and Gomorrah? Isn’t that the one where your primitive deity killed thousands of people, as vengeance for minor transgression? There was something about a guy’s wife being turned to a pillar of salt, just for looking over her shoulder, too. Nice god ya got there. Keep him on a leash, please. Tell me, if you will, why your god’s law should have any impact whatsoever on my boyfriend’s life? Please note that my boyfriend is Native American. > [@](#): > > So-called “homophobes” are usually just people who are attuned to hear the whispering of the Holy Spirit which reminds them of what an abomination homosexuality is to the LORD. Nah, mostly they’re bigots with serious issues that use the scripture of a usually nice religion to try and justify their archaic and hateful attitudes. And that whispering you hear… how are you sure that’s not just in your own head? Religious delusions are one of the most common types, if I’m not mistaken. They may also be transmissions from aliens, or part of a government conspiracy. I hear tinfoil helps; here, try this hat on… ---
**Author:** ![MrMcPlad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e19b73/32.png) [@MrMcPlad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrMcPlad)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2002, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-a-gay-themed-magazine-offensive/126963/93 "2002-09-05T22:34:28Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by astro \* > \*\* > > As a Mormon yourself and member of the LDS church which has historically been subject to high levels of persecution and ridicule of their beliefs by other, supposedly more “Christian” Christians, shouldn’t you be just a tad more sympathetic to gays regarding issues about biblical doctrine? \*\* I never said anything negative about gays themselves. I was very careful of that. I do NOT believe that homosexuals are evil. I believe that homosexuality IS an abomination. It mocks God. Those that practice it should be treated with charity and love, but that does not entail condoning their actions. I know that what I say here will only be scorned at further, but it is my belief that the sinners take the truth to be hard and THAT is why any chastisement will be laughed at and dismissed. I apologize for saying what I said in such a proud, self-righteous way. Humility is something I’ve been trying to work on. Please forgive me. ---
**Author:** ![Esprix](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/esprix/32/7899_2.png) [@Esprix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Esprix)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2002, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-a-gay-themed-magazine-offensive/126963/94 "2002-09-05T22:50:56Z")
Ooo! Look! I’m mocking God! _{mock mock mock}_ Mmm, mockilicious… Esprix ---
**Author:** ![MrVisible](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/46a35a/32.png) [@MrVisible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrVisible)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2002, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-a-gay-themed-magazine-offensive/126963/95 "2002-09-05T22:52:11Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by MrMcPlad \* > I know that what I say here will only be scorned at further, but it is my belief that the sinners take the truth to be hard and THAT is why any chastisement will be laughed at and dismissed. > > I apologize for saying what I said in such a proud, self-righteous way. Humility is something I’ve been trying to work on. Please forgive me. \*\* No, actually, your statement will be laughed at because it’s freaking hysterical. Man, you should get a job writing for The Onion. That’s entertainment, man. Got any other ones? ---
**Author:** ![vanilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/f19dbf/32.png) [@vanilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vanilla)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2002, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-a-gay-themed-magazine-offensive/126963/96 "2002-09-06T00:22:11Z")
Esprix: Please rain your appendage somwhere else, okay/😉 ---
**Author:** ![Homebrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@Homebrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Homebrew)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2002, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-a-gay-themed-magazine-offensive/126963/97 "2002-09-06T00:38:16Z")
**Esprix** ’s rain is welcome in Texarkana. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2002, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-a-gay-themed-magazine-offensive/126963/98 "2002-09-06T00:44:31Z")
I thought he was raising his appendix? 😉 **McPlad** : > [@](#): > > Why look at the speck in your brother’s eye when you miss the plank in your own? How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me remove the speck from your eye,’ yet fail yourself to see the plank lodged in your own? Hypocrite, remove the plank from your own eye first; then you will see clearly enough to remove the speck from your brother’s eye. > [@](#): > > Be compassionate, as your Father is compassionate. Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Pardon, and you shall be pardoned. Give, and it shall be given to you. Good measure pressed down, shaken together, running over, will pour into the fold of your garment. For the measure you measure with will be measured back to you. Who said it? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Kirkland1244](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/dc4da7/32.png) [@Kirkland1244](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kirkland1244)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2002, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-a-gay-themed-magazine-offensive/126963/99 "2002-09-06T00:49:25Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by MrMcPlad \* > **The reason people are so apprehensive about the gay lifestyle is that it IS IMMORAL!** The gay lifestyle? No such thing. > [@](#): > > I’m a bigot, right? Yes. Most of you religion-obsessed nutjobs are. > [@](#): > > Anyone remember the story of Sodom and Gomorrah? Yes. Remember the story of the Good Samaritan? Be careful who you condemn just for being who they are, for being something they never chose to be. > [@](#): > > The sacred powers of procreation are to be employed only between man and woman, lawfully wedded as husband and wife. Damn. Someone should tell all those disgusting animals out there who are using their _sacred powers_ without getting married. > [@](#): > > So-called “homophobes” are usually just people who are attuned to hear the whispering of the Holy Spirit which reminds them of what an abomination homosexuality is to the LORD. One more time, boys and girls. The voices in your head ARE NOT GOD. Kirk ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2002, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-a-gay-themed-magazine-offensive/126963/100 "2002-09-06T05:12:58Z")
You know, I used to think, when I was young, that I was quite the open minded fellow. Then this church group I was working with put me in a position to witness a gay porn flick. It was all I could do to not run screaming from the room. “Stop that! _That_ doesn’t go _there!_ And thats _not_ what that is for!!” You know that scene in _Crying Game_ when he finds out she is a he and does the technicolor yawn? I totally relate. Is that homophobia? Well, no, I don’t think so. I’m an arachnophobe, spiders scare the living crap out of me. Gay people, on the other hand, I am more or less neutral in regards to, whatsoever shall float yer boat, and it doesn’t scare the horses, freak freely. I’ll take others word for it, the magazine involved is entirely a political one, and in support of a perfectly reasonable cause: no one should be made to suffer for the way they were born. That oughta be too obvious for statement… On the other hand, I find _Playboy_ very offensive, but not for the titties and honeypots, but for the way money and economic status is woven into the sex. Without a platinum card, the only way I’m talking to one of them is if I’m cleaning their windshield. I have also heard two women argue as to whether a prospective candidate to teach a Women’s Study course at Local University was sufficiently lesbian. But, perhaps, another exhaustive study of the relationship of Virginia Wolff and V. Sackville-West was thus avoided. One can only hope. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-a-gay-themed-magazine-offensive/126963.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-a-gay-themed-magazine-offensive/126963.md?page=6)