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Being a gaytheist I’m well acquainted with the (often arbitrary) religion-based bigotry of the RRRW. There are, however, times they have no idea what they’re talking about when they try to justify their biases. Case in point:
Stephanie Conover, an actor, singer, dancer, and current Miss Canada Plus 2007, was asked about three weeks ago if she would be interested in judging the 2008 Miss Toronto Tourism contest on February 2. She accepted, and sent along a brief bio detailing some of her interests, including knitting, reading, yoga, reiki, and tarot card reading. Last Tuesday she got a letter from pageant organizers revoking her invitation because the latter two practices constitute “the occult’ and “witchcraft.” Reiki is a Japanese art that seeks to heal the body with energy, while Tarot cards are an ancient way of seeking spiritual guidance or entertaining friends when the cable goes out.
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The rest of the letter was similarly absurd, in that fundamentalist religious way that’s both comic and terrifying at the same time. It notes that reiki and Tarot are not only unacceptable to “Jews, Muslims, or Christians,” but to God Himself, who is no doubt even now cursing his bad luck that he doesn’t get to call down hellfire on the pageant, thanks to organizers who had the wit to dump their Jonah overboard before the Big Guy took matters into His Own Hands.
The letter goes on to quote Leviticus 20:6, where God states: “I will set my face against the person who turns to mediums or spiritists to prostitute himself by following them, and I will cut them off from his people,” although fortunately for Stephanie, she’s apparently been exempted from the requirements of Leviticus 20:27, which mandates that “A man or a woman who is a medium…shall surely be put to death; they shall stone them with stones.”
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The letter also hopes that “Stephanie Conover will turn from these belief systems and will repent from her practice of them.” However, in her conversation with Torontoist, Stephanie expressed no interest in repenting.
Ironically, one of the virtues that Miss Toronto Tourism trumpets on their website is their commitment to multiculturalism. Presumably they’re thinking of a limited kind of diversity, inclusive only of those who don’t engage in God-pissing-off practices like being gay, eating bacon, or believing in evolution. But hey, you can’t spell multi-culturalism without “cult.”
As I noted over on the Lavender Newswire, hypocritical fundie wingnuts aren’t just a United States phenomenon any longer. They’ve invaded Canada. They’ve got religion and by God they’re going to make you live by it! And it doesn’t matter whether or not they have a clue what they’re talking about.
Now Reiki has absolutely nothing to do with the occult or “witchcraft”. Reiki is a Japanese practice that is used by some to promote relaxation and healing. It is popular among people who utilize “alternative healing” therapies. It’s no surprise there’s an entire Webpage for those who must deal with Christians who jump to conclusions about Reiki without any knowledge about it.
As to Tarot card reading, while some people associate it with the occult and “mystics” it’s really nothing more than an entertaining parlor game for most people. If anybody truly thinks one can tell the future or contact “spirits” with a deck of cards then rationality is not their strong suit.
I have to wonder, by the way, why a group of fundaloons would want to be associated with a beauty pageant in the first place. I seem to remember Paul saying something about vanity somewhere in the Bible. Oh yes, that’s it:
1 Peter 3:3 Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes.
But then half the women in the average megachurch would be in violation of that one, wouldn’t they?
