Addressing religious arguments against LGBT

Not only because it's Pride Month, but because there has been a recent increase in Baptist extremists that have been openly advocating the death penalty for gay people, I was compelled to make a video that actually addresses their arguments. Yes, they're bigots and they're awful, but I feel like I don't see enough people explaining exactly WHY they're wrong, and instead just opting for insults. While that can be cathartic, I'd still like people who may be on the fence to have something more to think about. So, I made this script recently and have been working on the usual animating process. So far I've just been creating the scenery, and haven't done the voices yet, so there's still time for suggestions if you have any. Thanks!

*Preacher looks in the mirror; his reflection stops accurately reflecting himself.*

Preacher - What...what’s happening? How did you do that? Who are you?

Mirror - None of that is important. We need to talk about the sermon you just gave, preacher.

Preacher - Wha...What about it?

Mirror - You just advocated the death penalty for gay people.

Preacher - So what?

Mirror - You so passionately speak out against gay people in your sermons.

Preacher - God says it’s a detestable abomination!

Mirror - You’re referring to Leviticus 18:22 and 20:13, a book by a very specific culture with very specific rules, many rules, yet you concentrate so much on that one.

Preacher - Yeah, but it’s not just the Old Testament. It's also in Romans 1:26-27. Paul said it’s unnatural.

Mirror -  By unnatural the bible simply means non-coital. We have a different conception of what is natural now. If your concern regards the modern context, consider that you drive a car and type at a computer. Is that natural?

Preacher - For people, maybe so.

Mirror - For people? Animals engage in non-coital sexual acts, even within their same gender, and sometimes even within monogamous relationships. So according to your modern standard of "natural", homosexuality is natural, but according to the bible, even heterosexual acts are unnatural if they're not for the explicit purpose of producing children.

Preacher - Oh we’re supposed to behave like animals now?

Mirror - No differently than you behave like an animal when you have sex with people of the opposite gender. No differently than when you sleep, drink, and breathe, just like the animals. Animals rape, kill, and steal from each other too. The fact that all of that is natural doesn't make it right. The fact that something is unnatural doesn’t make it wrong. To argue so is a fallacy. 

Preacher - Look, God said it. I believe it. End of discussion.

Mirror - You’re sure God said it?

Preacher - Yes.

Mirror - Do YOU think homosexuality is detestable?

Preacher - Of course!

Mirror - So, don’t you think others found it detestable too?

Preacher - Yeah, so?

Mirror - So, wouldn’t enshrining their opinion as the word of God be a valid way to make it authoritative, far more authoritative than just some random man’s opinion?

Preacher - Oh, so they just blatantly lied for no reason?

Mirror - Why does it have to be a lie? Maybe it was honest psychological projection. Or maybe they did have a reason.

Preacher - Yeah, they did. Same as my reason.

Mirror - Think again. Think about what it was like back then. There weren’t seven-and-a-half billion people in the world, like there is today. Having a lot of children was seen by many as a duty. The tribe not only needed to be replenished, especially during such a time of high mortality, but also needed to grow to compete with other tribes, lest they perish. So, of course certain people saw it as immoral to engage in sexual acts that wouldn’t result in children. According to the bible, God even killed Onan for having straight sex in such a way that wouldn’t result in children, yet you don’t give hundreds of passionate sermons about that. I find the reasons for your focus on gay people to be dubious, as if you’re trying to justify your feelings after the fact.

Preacher - Look, circumstances were different back then, sure, but God wasn’t. God doesn’t change. Morality doesn’t change.

Mirror - Maybe so, but that wouldn’t change the fact that the moral answer isn’t always the same given different contexts. Right now, there are billions of people, and we use complex systems of industry and infrastructure with a lot of automation, just to be able to maintain our huge population. Having many kids was an important issue back then, but is it now? 

Preacher - Homosexuality is still immoral.

Mirror - Immoral? Isn’t choice a requisite of morality?

Preacher - Of course.

Mirror - So, when you look at another man, you think it’s possible for you to choose to find him attractive, that it’s possible for you to choose to be aroused by him? You choose to get an erection when you see...

Preacher - Me? No! Absolutely not.

Mirror - Then why would you expect a gay person to be able to choose to be aroused by someone of the opposite gender? Is it a choice to find a joke funny? Can you choose to not like your favorite music? Can you choose to think your favorite food tastes bad? Can you simply choose your attractions, or can you just remain in denial of them?

Preacher - By that same logic, you can’t say it’s immoral to be attracted to children.

Mirror - But it is immoral to make the choice to act upon that attraction.

Preacher - Bam! There you go. I can say the same about gay people. Not immoral to be attracted, but immoral to act upon.

Mirror - No you can’t say that. What makes it wrong to act upon a child isn’t the same as what you’re saying makes it wrong to act upon an adult. The reason pedophilia is wrong is because of consent, but adults of the same gender can consent. The reason you think acting upon the adult is wrong is not because of consent, but because God supposedly thinks it’s detestable. You think pedophilia is wrong too, but ironically, the god of the bible never said pedophilia is detestable. In fact, the bible says nothing about pedophilia. As one who prides himself on using the bible as a moral foundation, it’s rather disconcerting that God has neglected to address that particular crime. Fortunate, then, that you managed to figure out that pedophilia is bad, even though many beloved biblical characters were of cultures that didn’t perceive sex with children as a problem, which is probably also why they never said God declared it wrong or detestable. Mary herself was believed to be married to Joseph when she was only thirteen-years old.

Preacher - Well...I mean...it’s just….

Mirror - You find homosexuality icky and you’re trying to impose your preferences on everyone else, same as other authoritarians who have come before you. Maybe, though, it’s deeper than that. Maybe because you were indoctrinated into this belief, you naturally feel ashamed of certain attractions you have, so you try to compensate for them.

Preacher - No, the bible…

Mirror - This isn’t about the bible. Let’s be frank. This is about you.