Yup, the nonsense is insulting

My friend and debate partner did respond to my comments yesterday about a statement issued by Orthodox rabbis giving instructions on how to treat gays. He wrote:

I have no idea what Judaism of any stripe has ever said about sexual preference, although the usually cited gay-negative Biblical references are in the Torah. My (liberal Reform) Jewish development was completed (and abandoned) by the mid-1960s, when gays were in the closet and -- literally -- never mentioned.

Among Jews today, I expect one would find the broadest imaginable spectrum of opinion about this subject.

Many ideas presented as norms in the Torah are anathema today -- shall I mention polygamy, concubinage, slavery, animal sacrifice? None of that got any attention in my Jewish education either. Jewish and Christians fundamentalists suffer the same mind- and life-twisting schizophrenia in coping with ancient sacred texts.

Your source points [here] which describes these rabbis as "... mostly... Modern Orthodox rabbis, as well as educators and mental health professionals". The capital letters in "Modern Orthodox" suggest some organized movement that I know nothing about. "Modern Orthodox" needs explication to make sense of this "rabbinical statement". I did no work on that and won't bother, because...

I consider the whole bunch of them hypocrites. "Accepting" people on the condition that they never behave as themselves is the opposite of acceptance. It creates and demands mental illness. It criminalizes homosexuality (in religious law). We might as well welcome African Americans on the condition that they follow white norms of all kinds without fail (something we certainly don't ask of whites themselves). Gays living under these "Torah" strictures might feel like animals imprisoned in a zoo. This is just bigotry posing as religious "tolerance".

LGBTs and anyone who cares about human dignity should be insulted by such nonsense.

Of course, that these Jewish leaders think a loving gay couple is seen as sinful in the eyes of God is insulting to both gays and God. I heartily agree with my friend.

I had noted (in contrast to this statement says Jews shouldn't) that Fundie Christian denominations still think it appropriate to harass and demean gays, to demand the use of therapeutic approaches to become ex-gay in spite of the harm they cause and how ineffective they are, to shun gays from their religious community, and to coerce gays to marry a person of the opposite sex.

Even if Fundie churches changed their stance on any of these issues gays would be better off. There would be less harassment and less fiery language that inspires others to harass. There would be less pain from faulty therapy and from kids cast out by their parents. There would be less pain from families torn apart when a gay parent can no longer live with a straight spouse.

Is it all we need them to do? Of course not. But even these steps would be a help.