About God Hating Shrimp

You've probably heard it before. It's one of the pettiest arguments on the internet and it says God Hates Shrimp. The gay rights advocates dumb down the Bible again, like Eve in the Garden of Eden. As you may recall, she said "God said" touching the forbidden fruit would kill you. She was hoping the fruit would bring her wisdom she obviously lacked.

So what about the seafood buffet a-la-lipitor?

According to the Old Testament of the Bible, these are the offenses which may have merited the death penalty for those living under the Jewish covenant and the Mosaic law.

Murder (Exodus 21:12, Exodus 21:15)
Kidnapping (Exodus 21:16)
Disobedience to parents (Exodus 21:17, Deuteronomy 21:18)
Juvenile delinquency - incorrigibility (Deuteronomy 21:18-21)
Bestiality (Leviticus 20:15)
Violations of the Sabbath (Exodus 31:15)
Adultery (Leviticus 20:10)
Abominations (Leviticus 20:2)
Blasphemy (Leviticus 24:16)
Incest (Leviticus 20:11)
Homosexuality (Leviticus 20:13)
Witchcraft (Exodus 22:18, Leviticus 20:27)
False prophecy (Deuteronomy 13:5)
Worshipping a false god (Deuteronomy 13:6-10)
Sacrificing to false gods (Exodus 22:20)
Sodomy (Leviticus 18:22, Leviticus 20:13)
Sex with a woman betrothed to another (Deuteronomy 22:25)
False witness in a capital crime (Deuteronomy 19:16-20)
Fornication by daughters of priests (Leviticus 21:9)
Failure to abide by a decision of the High Court (Deuteronomy 17:12)
Unchastity (Deuteronomy 22:21-24)
Cursing someone (Leviticus 24:14)
Negligence resulting in death (Exodus 21:29)

I'm sorry, but shrimp, crab, lobster, clams, and mussels are NOT on this menu.
Neither did mixed fabrics make the list of capital offenses.
Looking over the list again -- these things look pretty bad, and same-sex sex is on the list.
God hasn't changed His mind about these things either.

In Leviticus the God of the Bible said certain meats weren't fit to eat. His people could still eat food though.

http://www.godhatesshrimp.com/

And doctors warn their high-cholesterol patients to avoid shrimp, lobster, pork, and shellfish. That doesn't make doctors the bad guys does it? But then, gays won't listen to health professionals about AIDS either.

I kind of hate ignorance, myself.

Comments

Q: "One question, just for the record, the last time your child disobeyed you in any way, did you in fact kill them in accordance with Scripture?"

A: No, I did not fulfill your idea of the Mosaic law by violating two more commandments of the same law -- the commandment of due process (Deut 17:12) which gives the court the authority I don't have to execute someone, and the commandment against murder (Ex 21:12). Taking matters of the law into my own hands also violates the New Testament commandment that Jesus gave us -- which is to love and to forgive. A loving parent would not kill their own child. Jesus said that loving other people the way God intended it, fulfils ALL of God's laws, hence by default, homosexuality is not an appropriate form of Christian love, just like the other capital offenses on the list.

Jesus DID NOT command us to love sin, however, and I see no good thing in the list of capital offenses presented here. Do you?

Q: JB said...
"(The Jewish attitude towards Torah laws is that if G-d had wanted to be more specific, she would have been; therefore, where G-d doesn't say how something is to be done, the sages got to decide.)"

A: The Jewish attitude toward God has never been in the feminine gender. Consider that God created man first in "His" own image as stated in Genesis, then from man God created woman as a complement to man, to be equal in all respects. Consider that Jesus was born a male child. Also consider that Jesus will marry His bride "The Church" as mentioned in the book of Revelation. Jesus will not be marrying another Jesus.

Q:Dieppe said...
The irony of it all is that the Laws in Leviticus (well the Torah and Talmud) are Jewish Civil Law. As such, beyond the "10 Commandments", these "Laws" really don't apply to Gentiles. Even Gentiles of a Christian faith.

A: This really boils down (no pun intended) to two issues: 1) What is moral conduct? 2) What is the eternal penalty for doing wrong? Shrimp and mixed fabrics (dietary and dress code violations) received little if any penalty whatsoever, yet murder(a moral code violation) received the death sentence -- an eternal consequence. Even under the Mosaic laws it would be reasonable for a starving person to eat unclean food or a naked person to wear mixed fabrics if there was nothing else to wear. However, I see no reasonable excuse for any of the capital offenses presented on the list. I personally see no good thing on the list. You tell me which ones God changed His mind about.

For example: Did God think Jews deserved an eternal punishment for murder, whereas it was acceptable conduct for gentiles? Ask the same question for all the other items on the list: Was infant sacrifice wrong for jews but ok for gentiles (Lev 20:2)? How about bestiality? Kidnapping? Gay sex? Adultery? Negligence resulting in wrongful death?

Q: I believe that "God Hates Shrimp" is trying to show the ridiculousness of applying ancient law to modern life. Do it if it makes you happy, but stop trying to apply it to everyone else who don't believe the way you do.

A: I've pointed out what the "Bible says" about this issue, and it does not agree with your disrespectful view of the Bible. This blog is here to present the scriptures truthfully and in love. It appears that the "God Hates Shrimp" web site pulled a few verses out of context at the expense of the rest of the Bible, and twisted those verses unsuccessfully to justify their views about gay marriage. This seems to be a rather common ploy by gay-advocates, and apparently it is the only way they can argue against the scriptures -- making Eve's mistake -- allowing a serpent to dumb up God's word for her and then re-inventing the scriptures to justify herself.

Q: Ryland said...
I'm not sure I understand your reasoning. If something doesn't merit a death penalty, it's OK? It says in Leviticus that it's an abomination to eat shellfish, and in Deuteronomy it says it's unclean. Is that not a prohibition against eating shrimp? Or are they just, you know, letting you know? "You can go ahead and eat shrimp, but FYI, it's an abomination"?

A: We know shrimp, lobster, and shellfish contain cholesterol which can be a root cause for heart attack and stroke -- so, no it's not necessarily "OK." These probably aren't the healthiest foods, and God wanted only the best for His people. According to the Bible, the foods restricted by Jewish dietary code are now cleansed for human consumption (ref Acts 10: 10-16). On the other hand, gay sex continues to be unclean moral conduct as reiterated in the New Testament of the Bible.

Q: songofsongs said...
This is what Paul meant about 'the wages of sin is death'. The Lord revealed to me some months ago, that there were two types of penaties to the Mosaic Laws: death penalty which required death by stoning and the sin offering such as the grain, meat, oil and wine offering which is self explanatory. Your articule "About God Hating Shrimp" is spot on.

A: Thanks song of songs. Here's a point I made on another forum, along the lines of your thought process:

"In the day of God's final judgment explained in the Bible, can you imagine what it is going to be like for a righteous, fair, and just God in that day? This is a God that is no respector of persons and treats all men equally in judgment.

To the OT Jew that was stoned to death for having gay sex, God tells him to depart to an eternal burning hell, and gives him all the penalties for breaking His commandments. To the New Testament gentile God says well-done thy good and faithful servant for living the gay lifestyle the way I created you.

Does this sound like a righteous, fair, impartial, and just God to you?"

Q: The boy with the green tambourine said...
No. Nor does the God who ordered the massacre of the Amalekites. Or the one who killed the Egyptian firstborn. Or the one who slaughtered forty children. Or the one who required Jeptha to perform human sacrifice, and Abraham and Isaac to go through a disgusting masquerade.In fact, your God's a pretty nasty person, all told.

A: Well I'm sorry you feel that way about the God of the Bible. All He's ever done for me is give me blessings that I never deserved.

Q: Dieppe said...
This is the point of "God Hates Shrimp". You pick and choose the Bible verses that you are okay with, ("God Hates Man on Man Sex") but discard that you don't agree with (Unclean meat, PROPER Sabbath observance) because it fits your needs! And yet you are too blind to see it! Has Satan blinded you, or is this just pick and choose of your own doing?

A: Thank you very much for your response. This is a typical example of how people promote sin in the church body -- how it is spun, rationalized, and justified until nothing is sin anymore. And now we have a whole group of gay people counting on a petty dietary law to justify themselves before God. It's sad, really and it's a shrimp-sized excuse. It's like me pleading that a traffic code revision somehow justifes murder now.

In your list of counterpoints you mentioned the observance of a proper Sabbath. Personally I would be quite willing to observe Saturday as the Sabbath if the rest of the church body would like to change their day of worship. Historically the church adopted Sunday as the new Sabbath in celebration and remembrance of our Lord’s resurrection. This change occurred in biblical times, and I respect this decision made by our church founders. Whatever the case might be here, I really do think people should observe their Creator on a Sabbath. I also believe our Lord is most interested in the right heart when believers come to worship Him -- that was really His ultimate request in the Bible regarding worship.

In addition, grace trumps the law for believers that received God's grace through repentance as revealed in the New Testament of the Bible. Unbelievers have not received God's gift of grace through repentance and they are still under every part of the Old Testament law as Paul explained. That is why Jesus came, to fulfill the law, and die for our sins, so we could be forgiven for our transgressions of the law through personal faith that brings repentance.

With all that said, tell us why God supposedly loves gay-sex now, but Jews were stoned to death for gay-sex under God’s commandments to Moses. In addition, explain what God should do with those He sent to an eternal hell for their violations of the law -- now that God has supposedly changed His mind about gay-sex and God really made people that way all along (according to the Gay Christian Movement).

The Sin of "Gay Christian" Doctrine

On a Christian forum I was confronted by a gay so-called Christian that promotes "loving monogamous gay relationships." He said nobody needs to repent because Christ died for everyone's sins. He argued in favor of same-sex sex in the lives of so-called "gay Christians." He said it does no harm to other Christians, in particular the ex-gay ones. I present his questions and my answers:

Q: What proof do you have that same sex sex was "harming them" (ex-gay Christians)?

A:
[1.0] The damage is spiritual according to some of our (ex-gay) brothers and sisters in Christ by their own personal testimonies. Their personal (ex-gay) testimonies belong to them and not to you. You can not speak for them.

[1.1] It's not about what you believe, or even who you are, it's about what struggling Christian brothers and sisters believe as they try to live for Christ.

[1.2] You believe you are living for Christ, and so do other gays. I'm not debating that, but if I must choose (and I feel that I must), then I choose the group that makes the greatest personal sacrifice for Christ. That group is obviously the ex-gay group, and they are my Christian brothers and sisters that are being hurt by gay rights advocates.

[1.3] Case at point: Ex-gay Watch and Truth Wins Out. Apparently many gays that call themselves Christians are siding with these monstrous groups of hate-mongers headed by men like Wayne Besen (the head of Truth Wins Out). God have mercy on anyone that calls himself/herself a Christian and joins this persecution against believers. (Rev 1)

[2.0] I bring a Christian brother's testimony as a witness:
"I am a Christian man who has struggled with same sex attraction. I am not a practicing homosexual because I know that homosexuality is wrong, know that it is a sin, and know that the Bible is very clear in teaching that it is immoral. I do not try to spin it, rationalize it, or conveniently reinterpret the Scripture. Marital Status: Married."

[2.1] It is sin for a fellow-believer to go against the weakness in another-believer's life, as they have done on the forum on many occasions.

[2.2] On more than one occasion this ex-gay brother said his conscience was offended by his so-called "gay Christian" brothers on the forum. They said God made him gay and it was disobedience for him to refrain from the way God created him. He was supposed to participate in God's ordained gift of gay-sex according to these "gay Christians."

[2.3] Regardless of what you or anyone else believes about sin, it is wrong conduct to offend his weakness.

[3.0] I bring Ist Corinthians 8:12 to witness:

And when you sin against other believers[a] by encouraging them to do something they believe is wrong, you are sinning against Christ.

Q: No proof that gays and lesbians aren't your brothers and sisters in Christ.

A:
[3.1] It is incumbent on ANY believer to prove THEY ARE a believer in Jesus Christ. That is their job, not mine. So your objection is irrelevant to the point being made about gay-affirming doctrine, which is sin by definition in I Cor 8. Your objection is a non sequitor.

[3.2] Besides, I think your claim is irrelevant to Christianity anyway: Is someone my brother or sister in Christ simply because they are gay? Faith in Christ is the basis for Christianity.

[3.3] My point is that the gay-affirming doctrine is an open invitation for struggling Christians to go against their own conscience. The gay-affirming proponents claim to be Christians and this is a violation of conscience for the struggling group of ex-gay believers.

Q: "The kind of God you believe in" must be an arbitrary one, if one must obey an arbitrary rule.

A:
[4.0] I believe in a Holy God that brings life to ALL believers. The spirit of same-sex sex kills the spiritual life of ex-gay Christians according to them. The same spirit blesses the spiritual lives of so-called "gay Christians" according to Katherine Schori, the Presiding Bishop of the ECUSA that ordinated the openly-gay noncelibate bishop Gene Robinson. This can not come from the spirit of Christ, otherwise Christ Himself is a contradiction -- slaying the spirit of one believer and blessing the spirit of another. Therefore, the spirit of same-sex sex can not come from a Holy God.

[4.1] I call the entire ex-gay movement to the witness stand. Regardless of what you believe about them, they are making a tremendous sacrifice to please God, and frankly I think they are trying a lot harder than you are.

[4.2] By their own testimonies they can not be in a same-sex sex relationship and serve God too. That fact alone is sufficient proof, regardless of what you believe about sin.

[4.3] I'm sorry, but God does not have two standards for Christian conduct. You really have no debate as far as I see it.

[4.4] The SIN epitaph for "gay Christian" doctrine, ironically, is the lack of love for struggling believers in Christ that are ex-gay.

The apostle Paul explains it far better in Ist Corinthians 8 regarding Food Sacrificed to Idols (reference New Living Translation):

1 Now regarding your question about food that has been offered to idols. Yes, we know that “we all have knowledge” about this issue. But while knowledge makes us feel important, it is love that strengthens the church.
2 Anyone who claims to know all the answers doesn’t really know very much.
3 But the person who loves God is the one whom God recognizes.[a]
4 So, what about eating meat that has been offered to idols? Well, we all know that an idol is not really a god and that there is only one God.
5 There may be so-called gods both in heaven and on earth, and some people actually worship many gods and many lords.
6 But we know that there is only one God, the Father, who created everything, and we live for him. And there is only one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom God made everything and through whom we have been given life.
7 However, not all believers know this. Some are accustomed to thinking of idols as being real, so when they eat food that has been offered to idols, they think of it as the worship of real gods, and their weak consciences are violated.
8 It’s true that we can’t win God’s approval by what we eat. We don’t lose anything if we don’t eat it, and we don’t gain anything if we do.
9 But you must be careful so that your freedom does not cause others with a weaker conscience to stumble.
10 For if others see you—with your “superior knowledge”—eating in the temple of an idol, won’t they be encouraged to violate their conscience by eating food that has been offered to an idol?
11 So because of your superior knowledge, a weak believer[b] for whom Christ died will be destroyed.
12 And when you sin against other believers[c] by encouraging them to do something they believe is wrong, you are sinning against Christ.
13 So if what I eat causes another believer to sin, I will never eat meat again as long as I live—for I don’t want to cause another believer to stumble.

[5.0] So in the end:
- [5.1] it doesn't matter about sin definitions.
- [5.2] it doesn't matter what anyone believes about the gay lifestyle.
- [5.3] it doesn't matter about monogamous loving relationships.
- [5.3b] it doesn't matter that someone feels their gay relationship is without sin, because ex-gay Christians can not live that way and serve Jesus Christ too as they have attested.
- [5.4] it doesn't matter about bible translations.
- [5.5] it doesn't matter about who wants to call themselves a brother or sister in Christ.
- [5.5b] it doesn't matter if ex-gay therapy is a total failure and a fraud.
- [5.6] it doesn't even matter about sex at all.

[5.7] What matters is the body of Christ, and the spiritual damage caused by this so-called "gay affirming Christian" sin-pandering doctrine that says gay sex is not sin. Some Christians that struggle with their Christian beliefs are confused and tempted to go against their conscience. As long as any Christian brother or sister struggles with this issue it doesn't matter about those that don't struggle with it, or those that failed and then returned to same-sex sex.

[5.8] The whole "gay Christian" argument can be defeated with OUR Christian love for brothers and sisters in Christ that are being hurt spiritually by this doctrine that says gay-sex is not sin. The gay affirmers can argue all they like. It's done. The proof is iron-clad.

Summary

"Gay Christianity" is incompatible with Christianity, because it violates the conscience of brothers and sisters in Christ that left same sex-sex to serve Christ.

If that isn't enough proof then consider the following points:

1) God is the perfect creator and author of love and life. If gay-sex were His intention then why did He give gays the physical ability to reproduce, but not with each other in monogamous loving relationships?

2) No reputable translation or translator of the Bible says gay sex is ok -- period.

Revisions

(1) Section 1.3 revised per the first comment.

Comments:

GCMWatch,

Thanks for your information. Curiously, Wayne Besen calls his movement "Truth Wins Out", implying that people can't change, while in reality there are ex-gays that have changed or became celibate. The supposed "immutability of sexual orientation" wasn't supported by Alfred Kinsey, the father of modern sexuality theories:

"Kinsey himself avoided and disapproved of using terms like homosexual or heterosexual to describe individuals, asserting that sexuality is prone to change over time, and that sexual behavior can be understood both as physical contact as well as purely psychological phenomena (desire, sexual attraction, fantasy)."

Even the APA tip-toes around the facts, saying that no therapist should treat same-sex orientation under the a-priori assumption that it needs to be changed, however it's common knowledge that people have changed sexual orientation. Take Anne Heche as just one example of many.

By the way are you associated with the Gay Christian Movement Watch? I see you are. Thanks for the link up.