Per my last post, this series explores the credo behind the Seven Deadly Sins and the nearly comical manner that Christian based religion disobeys them. As a sober parallel to the Sin’s menace, all paintings are layered with the Eight Auspicious Symbols represented in teachings of the Buddha.
I have surprised myself that I am here so quickly to roll out Part 2 of this series. There’s just something about having a free space to fume about religion that keeps me invested. The order of selection in the Seven Sins is completely random here, so I’ve closed my eyes and chose whichever painting my finger landed on, so here we go, ready to discuss: Pride.
One very particular issue smearing it’s snot covered hands over society has come to light in the most non-threatening of places; bakeries. It felt like progress got tossed back decades, as headlines declared that a Colorado Baker was ruled in favor by the Supreme Court for the right to refuse service for a gay couple’s wedding, based on religious convictions.
In this situation, based on the highest court in the nation, this Christian bakery owner of Masterpiece Cakeshop, had the civil right to refuse his artisan skills to a couple that admired them. I mean, if a Nazi asked to commission me for a painting, I suppose I’d have a moral obligation to say no. It’s a little ridiculous that the only way I can imagine declining my services would be an unlikely scenario in which a Nazi admires my work and approaches me, but that’s the absurdity of this topic.
Many comparable stories of the wedding cake ban seem to assemble religious freedom as a firmer case than discrimination based on sexual orientation. Great. The most backwards way of thinking has now crept into our laws, making it clear that humanity is still too daft and arrogant to evolve beyond the Bible. Moreover, these Christians very unapologetically calling LGBTQ communties “sodomites’, are gaining ground, throwing Jesus around as a queer-hating spokesperson. Oh, just to remind ourselves, not once did Jesus mention homosexuality in the New Testament. I suppose if Christians are referring the the Jewish God from the Old Testament, then sure, they’ve got a little bite. Unfortunately, per this infallible book, history went down like this:
God makes us- God gives us rules- God gets pretty tight with the Jews- God angel fucks a virgin- God’s human son becomes a long haired beatnik- God has son brutally killed for the humans who can’t follow his unrealistic rules- so, clearly, the natural conclusion here is that God hates homos.
Rounding back, for a business owner, denying any service or products is a pretty heavy stand. As a Christian, did this baker believe his eternal soul was at risk if he was a complacent participant in this gay wedding? Or, does he have a perfectly accepted, seamlessly designed doctrine to permit a hateful action toward people he doesn’t understand? My logic points immediately to the unattractive sin of Pride. Too proud to lead with love, too proud to seek knowledge of the unfamiliar, too proud to celebrate love of any kind, in a very unloving world. My piece for Pride is layered, much like a cake. Behind the sugar stack is a pair of Conch shells, the next Auspicious Symbol taught by the Buddha. The well-known shape of the conch represents a horn, calling out the sound of Dharma, far and wide, to awaken those from ignorance. Ignorance plays a pretty important role in these cake-blocker’s argument. Immediately protesting a stranger's wedding is fairly peculiar in any other circumstance and to take this fight all the way to the Supreme Court is evidence of the pragmatism of religious extremists. As a final salute to all orientations, all definitions of love and sexual identity, behind the conch shells, is a wallpaper pattern of sexual organs, dancing around in rows. If homosexuality makes Christians uncomfortable, then perhaps they should pull down their drawers, look at the instrument that provides pleasure, love and life, and realize no one is above the reality that we are simply animals with genitals. When we humble ourselves to the basic family tree of the evolution of nature, it becomes much more difficult to look at other humans as less than. On that note, I’m making a reminder note to myself for the next time I have a few free minutes:
Call Masterpiece Cakeshop and ask if I can order one of those penis shaped cakes for a hetero Bachelorette Party. Since, clearly, the importance of what/where his customer’s genitals are penetrating after their legal union is rightly his top concern.