Shouldn't a basic understanding of the Bible be required to become Cardinal?
If so, you'd never know it after reading what Cardinal Francis George of the Archdiocese of Chicago has to say about the history of marriage (from both a scientific and a biblical perspective) in an anti-gay statement of support he's issued for Chick-fil-A.
Last week Chicago Mayor Rahm Emmanual stated that “Chick-fil-A values are not Chicago values. They disrespect our fellow neighbors and residents.”
Though that actually does sound like a statement Jesus™ would approve, Cardinal Francis George begged to differ in a blog posted to the Archdiocese's website:
“Recent comments by those who administer our city seem to assume that the city government can decide for everyone what are the ‘values’ that must be held by citizens of Chicago. I was born and raised here, and my understanding of being a Chicagoan never included submitting my value system to the government for approval. Must those whose personal values do not conform to those of the government of the day move from the city?
"Approval of state-sponsored homosexual unions has very quickly become a litmus test for bigotry. … Surely there must be a way to properly respect people who are gay or lesbian without using civil law to undermine the nature of marriage.”
First thing first: "My understanding of being a Chicagoan never included submitting my value system to the government for approval," writes George. Instead, he wants all Chicagoans to submit to his anti-gay interpretation of a few passages in Leviticus.
Secondly, what exactly is the true nature of marriage? Both the Bible and human history (George's sources for his homophobic blog post) exhibit a spectrum of definitions.
I guess it's a good time to post this fun "Biblical Marriage" infograph that has made the rounds before. Heck, it can be used as a study aid for Cardinal George as he takes night classes at the local Learning Annex to gain a better grasp of the Bible and human history. (Click on the picture to enlarge.)
And a great time to re-post this classic video from America's Best Christian, Mrs. Betty Bowers:
Don't even get me started on the myriad of ways in which human being have formed bonds throughout history and cultures—variations of marriage that one can learn about with a basic, low-level sociology or cultural anthropology community college course!
I politely reminded George of the myriad of ways in which marriage has been defined throughout the centuries and the Bible, but he quickly deleted my comment and turned off commenting capabilities on the Facebook post sharing his blog.
Not open to an intelligent discussion, huh, Cardinal?
Also, if George's name sounds familiar, it might be because he compared the gay community to the Ku Klux Klan in late 2011. "The rhetoric of the KKK and the rhetoric of some of the gay liberation people — Who is the enemy? The Catholic Church,” George said in an interview with Chicago's Fox affiliate in December.
