It's an abomination!

And it’s not only the keeping of slaves that’s endorsed by the Bible. Here are some other teachings of the Bible that you may not have been aware of:

* Children who swear at their parents should be put to death. (Leviticus 20:9)

* If a couple have sex while the woman is having her period, they should be deported. (Leviticus 20:18)

* It’s OK to keep slaves and make them your property. (Leviticus 25:44-45)

* Men are forbidden to have haircuts and trim their beards. (Leviticus 19:27)

* It is forbidden to eat pork. (Leviticus 11:7)

* You’re not allowed to plant two crops in one field and cannot wear combined fabric blends such as polyester/cotton. (Leviticus 19:19)

* It is an abomination to eat prawns (shrimp), lobsters, oysters and other shellfish (Leviticus 11:10-12)

* It is an abomination (same as eating prawns) for two men to have sex together (Leviticus 18:22, 20:13)

And we haven't even touched on the circumcision thing. I trust you’ve all been circumcised.

Why have we selectively discarded most of this and only retained the homophobic references?

Certainly, all of the above quotations are from the Old Testament. But Saint Paul also condemns homosexuality in the New Testament in his writings at 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 and Romans 1:26-27. It must be remembered that Paul was not one of  the original twelve disciples chosen by Jesus. He never knew Jesus. Paul converted to Christianity after Jesus had been crucified. Up until then, he'd been actively engaged in the persecution of Christians. It would appear that his default personality type was discriminatory and persecutory. If he had known Jesus personally, perhaps he may not have been quite so quick to judge and condemn.

The four Gospels are the true jewel in the crown of Christianity. It’s in the Gospels that we read the authentic message and very words of Jesus himself. And let us not forget that Jesus NEVER once mentioned homosexuality. If it is such an abomination, as claimed in Leviticus, why did Jesus never mention it?

The Insightful Peter Jensen

Sydney's Anglican Archbishop Peter Jensen has been making yet more of his inane, vacuous, homophobic pronouncements. I've said it before and I'll say it again - I wonder what Jesus would make of him.

Sarah Palin's Presidency

Another cartoon drawn at the time of the 2008 American Presidential election. Even though Sarah Palin has not yet thrown her hat into the ring for 2012, I understand she is presently touring the United States in a bus. No-one seems to know quite sure why. Will she be running again? If so, will she settle for second-best this time around, or will she be aiming for the Top Job? Maybe her bus tour is just a red herring and she has no interest in running again. I guess time will undoubtedly tell. This cartoon, with its defibrillator reference, was particularly relevant in 2008, when Sarah Palin was running with John McCain, a man with a cardiovascular history. I fear there may be many more of us requiring defibrillation if she is chosen as the GOPs contender in 2012. Surely they wouldn't do that! Would they? Fingers crossed!

Proud Ego

Gone Huntin' with Sarah Palin

I drew this cartoon at the time of the 2008 American Presidential election, when Sarah Palin first strode onto the world stage as John McCain's Vice-Presidential running mate. Most of us here in the far-flung antipodean south had not heard of her before then. And what an alarming picture of contemporary America she personified for us non-Americans. I remember being very concerned at the time about John McCain's well publicised heart condition, presenting the potential nightmare scenario of Sarah Palin being literally just a heart-beat away from the American Presidency, should John McCain happen to suffer a heart attack whilst in office. Which would arguably make Sarah Palin the most powerful person on earth. That's a prospect just too scary to contemplate, in my humble opinion. I acknowledge American Pulitzer Prize winning author, Annie Proulx, for the reference to balls and apples. It comes from her iconic short story "Brokeback Mountain", of which I am a great fan. The exact quote reads as follows:

"Shot a coyote just first light," he (Ennis) told Jack the next evening, sloshing his face with hot water, lathering up soap and hoping his razor had some cut left in it, while Jack peeled potatoes. "Big son of a bitch. Balls on him size a apples. I bet he'd took a few lambs. Looked like he could a eat a camel."

Jonestown

I drew a couple of satirical cartoons about Sydney radio shock-jock, Alan Jones, after reading Chris Masters' highly acclaimed exposé, "Jonestown - The Power and the Myth of Alan Jones".