Getting Real About the Latest Mockery of the Nativity

So this is going to be short and to the point (shocking, I know). As it's gone viral in the last week or so, you've probably heard about the "gay nativity" featuring two St. Joseph's kneeling next to the infant Jesus. It's ridiculous for so many reasons, but it's clear that the secular world (and even Christians who support redefining marriage) are having  field day with this, with one same-sex attracted person commenting on Twitter that they are "beaming". Why though? Why does this bring joy to people? Others though, responding to Fr. James Martin's ineffective denouncement ("it's banal... [and] silly") of such a horrible and sacrilegious image, gave this opinion:

"What you’re missing here is, while the idea of Jesus having two fathers may seem silly to you straight people, to gay folks, it isn’t. It’s a powerful affirmation of their right to exist in religious space that has systematically excluded them. Don’t call it banal."

First off, it's much more than just a "silly" notion; it goes against all respectable sensibilities of the Christian, whether they are gay or straight. Here's the point I want to make to people who support this, and I'll use pop culture so it's crystal clear to secularists...You say that it's OK to depict Jesus having two fathers. You say "it's a powerful affirmation of their right to exist in religious space". It is not an affirmation; it shows that you either A) despise the Christian faith and wish to mock it and its adherents, or B) you are a Christian that does not understand the Incarnation or the basic tenets of the Christian faith; in other words, you have no idea what you're talking about. Jesus had a Father, our heavenly Father, and a foster father in St. Joseph. Call him a stepfather if you want, or a guardian. These are terms we use today, right? By displaying this imagery of a "gay nativity", you are implying that God the Father and St. Joseph are involved in a homosexual relationship and that Jesus' mother, Mary, has no role to play. This is straight up blasphemy; it's much more than just silly or banal. When anyone says that Jesus had "two dads", it's no different from saying that someone has a biological father who died or is far off for some reason also has a guardian in his step father or legally appointed guardian who happens to be male. Would it be fair to use such a child's situation as a platform to support (and make "powerful affirmation[s]" for) state sanctioned same-sex marriage? Of course not!

Adoration of the Shepherds- Lorenzo Sabbatini

Let's put it this way: in the TV show Full House, three girls are raised by three men. Their father, their uncle, and a family friend. They all live in the same house, and have done so since before the youngest girl, Michelle Tanner, even turned one. If we're going to say Jesus had two dads and use it as a rallying cry for "affirming" state sanctioned same sex marriage, then couldn't we hold up Danny, Jesse and Joey has paragons of the polyamory movement? I mean, they all live together, right? And they are all co-parenting Michelle. We might as well say that these three men make a "powerful affirmation" that a polyamorous "throuple" (and homosexual, to boot) can "exist in a religious space". (The kind of religious space which would call such actions gravely sinful mind you. Of course everyone is welcome in the Church, but conversion is a requirement to have a relationship with Jesus Christ.)

But of course, no one would say that, because the Tanner family are not revered as religious figures (because religious figures are always mocked), for one thing, and also, because that's not what their relationship is. Danny, Jesse, and Joey are not married to each other, nor are they in a relationship with each other. In fact, one of them (Jesse) is married; and not to a man, but to a woman, because he does not have same-sex attraction.

Do you see now why it is so ridiculous to campaign for this "gay nativity"? St. Joseph did not have same-sex attraction, and he was also married to the Blessed Virgin Mary. To acknowledge that Jesus had two fathers (an earthly and a heavenly one), and then twist that acknowledgement into some kind of affirmation of the legitimacy of same-sex sexual relationships, is absurd, deceptive and intellectually dishonest. If people are serious about turning this into a statement about the moral legitimacy of same-sex sexual relationships, then you might as well keep the lying and myth making going by supporting polyamory while holding up Danny Tanner and his two friends as the face of the polyamorous movement.