Thursday, May 17, 2012

Manny Pacquiao on Liviticus 20:13

Some invisible and irresistible force made me read this article about Manny Pacquiao and Nike's sponsorship on him. The article states that Pacquiao gave a statement against same-sex marriage wherein he supposedly cited Leviticus 20:13.

Since I am not a fan of Pacquiao and I don't have much of a concern whether Nike continue it's sponsorship on Pacquiao or not, let's not talk about it in here.

My concern is the verse that was said to be cited by him on his talk. Leviticus 20:13 states "If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them." -King Jame Version


Here's another translation: "And if a man has sex relations with a man, the two of them have done a disgusting thing: let them be put to death; their blood will be on them." - Basic English Bible


I have nothing personal with the religion but the fact that this verse is found in the Bible made me think. There are two points that i find to be inappropriate in here. First is that this somehow encourages discrimination. The verse itself does not encourage discrimination against third sex but in conjunction with other teachings, this verse reinforces the discrimination towards other's sexual preference. Though this discrimination is already part of most Christian community that I know, I still don't find the idea of discrimination to be ideal. Some say that such discrimination is necessary to uphold what is "right" but I don't agree to this.


Another point that I want to discuss is the seemingly promotion of violence. As I see it, the verse has the potential of implying a message of being judgmental and promotion of death of another person. There may be a deeper meaning in it but the words used in the verse really has a tendency of negatively influencing someone who reads it.


These were also some of the grounds that was used in the petition regarding Nike's sponsorship on Pacquiao.


I recognize that these concepts are products of beliefs and principles that differs from one community to another. Though I may not be in accordance with their belief, I fully respect their's and I just want to add another dish on the table.


The opinions presented above are based on personal understanding of the subject matter. I would not conclude the discussion here. Let's see what others has to say on the comment box below. . . .

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