31 May, 2008

Using The Bible as an Elitist Bastard Weapon

by Karen Simon, special to En Tequila Es Verdad

Editor's Note: Karen Simon is one of our regular commenters here, and she's proven to be wise and wonderful and a boon to thought-provoking conversation. Alas, she hasn't a blog of her own. But she wanted to join the rest of us Elitist Bastards, and so I post her submission here. How could I resist after that title? Enjoy!

My naughty little indulgence is to disarm intolerant fundies with their own weapon , the Bible.

When I hear someone spouting intolerance in the name of God and a verse from the Bible to support said intolerance I can quickly come up with at least three or four verses that not only refute their argument but also condemns them as the bigoted assholes they are.

The beauty of the Bible is that the the authorship is so vast and the opinions expressed so varied that you can justify almost anything.

Why it is so useful for my purposes is that as a Christian I am not trying to tell them not to believe in God so they trust me. They can't call me a liar because I just quoted their divinely inspired owners manual, but I just trumped them.

What to do? Usually they just walk away stunned , angry and confused because they don't have the critical thinking tools necessary for a legitimate argument because they are taught never to search and never to question. It would be a much more tolerant and happy world if we allowed ourselves and others to be questioners and searchers.

5 comments:

JeffreyD said...

Nice Karen (smile)

OK, time to confess a dirty little secret. When faced with bible quoting fundie bumps, I have made up verses both from their own canon and from books like the Apocrypha. Funny thing is, only one person has ever called me on it, in about thirty instances over the years.

Anyway, enjoy the give and take here. Regret that I do not have enough time to write much myself. I am an elitist bastard by nature, but guess I do not qualify for the tee shirt. (sigh)

Ciao and best to all. Live on your feet, only fall to your knees for your lover, and question ALL authority and authoritarian statements, even this one.

JeffreyD

Anonymous said...

The Bible is a very important book out here in the Bitter Hinterlands, yet most people don't bother to read it, but allow others to tell them what to think. Lots of flocks out here being fleeced.

Thanks again Dana for including us in your Carnival.

Woozle said...

To all Bible-abuse-fighters out there: please feel free to make notes on your favorite Biblical quotes, verses, ideas, etc. in the Bible area of Issuepedia's scripture wiki pages. Content is still very sparse, so this is your chance to be the first to officially record some deadly Biblical contradiction you found on the internet 7 years ago, or prove with Absolute Certainty* how Jesus would have been horrified by George W. Bush and the Westboro Baptist Church.

If you're not sure where to put stuff, just stick it on the talk page and I'll sort it out ^_^

*Absolute Certainty™ is a trademark of Bible Abusers and Fundamentalists Unlimited, Ltd. Used with dispensation(alism).

george.w said...

Karen, I hope to get the chance to watch you do this - it sounds mighty entertaining.

Cobalt said...

A-frickin'-men.