11 Jul 2008
The 'Good Book'?
I interviewed the film director John Waters
yesterday and the first question I asked him was about his reaction to the
death of Jesse Helms.
Waters was reluctant to be drawn on the
subject . “He had no effect on my life,” he said. “I could care less if he his
alive or dead. And anyway, he’s yesterday’s news.”
He may be yesterday’s news, but today’s
news is that a guy in America is suing the publishers of the Bible, which Jesse
Helms was always referring to, because of editing over the years which casts
homosexuality into an ever more negative light.
This is the first time I’ve realised that
the Bible is edited. As an editor, I know only too well how I can delete words,
or insert words to enhance the effects of a piece of writing, or even to change
its meaning (not that I would ever do such a thing!), so now I realise that the
Bible, which so many homophobes rely on to spread hatred, is actually not the ‘word
of God’. It’s the word of some editor. Some editor with an agenda.
The ‘good book’ has been edited to spread hatred. No, there’s a thought
for the day.