Monday School: Leviticus is on the house…

Welcome back to another session of Monday School!

Still the go to place for your “Rational Corrective To All That Nonsense They Tried To Teach You Yesterday!”

Today’s lesson is an interesting one: Do Christians have the right to complain to someone who may have broken God’s law if they themselves do not follow all the laws correctly themselves?

The inspiration for today’s lesson came to me over the weekend when I read an article online about an incident that occurred last month in North Carolina. After eating lunch, a restaurant owner handed a lesbian couple a letter as they were leaving his establishment. The letter pretty much condemned their behavior as ‘sinful’ as it’s stated in the old testament, and informed them that what they were doing was unnatural.

The couple were visibly upset by the letter, and I can’t blame them. This also pretty much guarantee that they won’t be spending anymore of their hard earned money at this douche bag’s place anytime soon. Within the letter were several references to God and Jesus so it’s clear to see his objection to their choice of lifestyle is influenced by religious bigotry. Since his letter was fueled by what he heard in church, it’s obvious the owner was referring to Leviticus, which is the only part of either testament that speaks badly on homosexuality.

Speaking of Leviticus, what I thought was very amusing was the restaurant in question, named The Stingray Cafe, happens to serve shellfish and lots of it. There is crab, oysters, clams and a lot of shrimp on the menu, which I find quite amusing since the exact same book (Leviticus) that he used to condemn this couple also outlaws shellfish:

“And all that have not fins and scales in the seas, and in the rivers, of all that move in the waters, and of any living thing which is in the waters, they shall be an abomination unto you: They shall be even an abomination unto you; ye shall not eat of their flesh, but ye shall have their carcases in abomination.”

This same place also serves pork, another big no no in Leviticus:

“And the swine, though he divide the hoof, and be clovenfooted, yet he cheweth not the cud; he is unclean to you. Of their flesh shall ye not eat, and their carcase shall ye not touch; they are unclean to you.”

What is even funnier is that people have reported that the owner has a tattoo, another thing that is also forbidden as Leviticus says:

“Ye shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor print any marks upon you: I am the LORD.”

The ironic thing about having a tattoo or serving pork and shellfish in your restaurant is that they are all outlawed by the same bible in the exact same book that condemns homosexuality. So if this person does not approve of this lesbian couple because of his beliefs, than he is a world class hypocrite for serving shellfish, pork and for having a tattoo which are all not allowed according to his own god.

Another thing that I thought was pretty terrible about the incident is that the owner waited for the couple to pay their bill before handing them the hate filled letter. Despite what the letter claims, he’s more than willing to take their money first before telling them to never come back. What a spineless hypocrite. He condemns this lovely couple for taking the time to give him business but doesn’t realize that he himself is just as guilty for not following the laws put forth by Leviticus.

When asked about the letter by the press, the owner tried to say his actions were out of love, but they were not accepted that way. Well, many people have taken the time to share their own ‘love’ with the Sting Ray Cafe, flooding the Cafe’s Yelp page with letters of their own attached to a scathing 1 rating, which is the lowest you can give on the site. Needless to say the Cafe’s rating has plummeted since this story broke. People are not impressed with how the owner has conducted himself and the loss of business his receives could come back to haunt him.

This brings me to the topic at hand, being the attempt to criticize someone for not following your God’s law, when it seems clear that you yourself don’t follow it either. If you’re going to condemn anyone for being gay, you had better not have a single tattoo, eat pork, be wearing clothing made out of two or more threads or serve shellfish on your menu… or you yourself are not following the same laws allegedly handed down from your own God.

In conclusion this guy is a hypocrite and a bigot for not letting his patrons eat at his place free of harassment. He’s going to lose a lot of business and he’s only got himself to blame for being a world class jackass. It’s early in 2013, but I think we already have a nominee for douche bag of the year.

Peter