that traditional vision of man. That view of man was thernsource of ideas like individual rights, social justice, and thernsanctity of human life. It is from the mouth of Christ—notrnMalthus or Darwin—that we hear the injunction to feed thernhungry, clothe the naked, and tend the sick. Shall we reject Hisrnauthority on one occasion—sexual ethics—and invoke it onrnanother? Some have tried, notably the liberal Protestants whorninhabit both the National Council of Churches and the NationalrnCouncil of “Catholic” Bishops. These clerics, eager tornplease the unappeasable radicals in their ranks and the atheistsrnwho control the information flow in our increasingly totalitarianrncountry have thrown out the Baby—and are trying to drinkrnHis bath water.rnIt will not work. Let me prove this by the following thoughtrnexperiment: I cannot accept the idea that AIDS is a punishmentrnfrom God for sins against purity. In fact, I cannot acceptrnthe notion that sodomy and related actions are evil in themselves.rnI reject the traditional sexual ethics of the Church andrnthe biblical authorities that support them. And since Jesus said,rn”If you love me, do my will,” I must reject Him, too. The Biblernthat speaks of Him is little more than a beautifully written historicalrndocument filled with moral injunctions modern menrncannot follow. It forbids sexual behavior that our laws, our culture,rnour schools, and now our military have come to approve.rnWhen read aloud, certain sections of it could be consideredrnhate speech. It advocates opinions so extreme they could notrneven be printed in the ISIew York Times. I therefore renouncernChrist and all His works and all His empty promises. I am nowrna neopagan, and proud of it. Therefore, I no longer have a religiousrnreason to disapprove of homosexuals and their behavior,rnso I can look on AIDS as simply a tragedy.rnOr a comedy. Because strictly speaking, there is no reasonrnwhy I am obligated to feel compassion for anyone. What isrnmore, on a purely visceral, nonmoral level, I find / still do notrnlike homosexuals. The things they do to each other strike me asrngrotesque and repulsive. I would rather not have them around,rnsetting awful fashion trends, camping it up at night clubs,rnholding drag queen balls at Mardi Gras. I do not happen to likernmodern dance or Broadway musicals, and I get my hair cut byrnan old Italian grandfather from Palermo. In fact, as I look at thernobituary pages, filled with designers and choreographers andrnmime stylists fading away like dried flowers, felled by euphemisms,rnlaid waste by “a prolonged illness” and mourned byrntheir “long-time companions,” it is all I can do not to fall overrnlaughing or hoist a drink to the thought of all those job openingsrnwaiting for guys who are “straight like me.” (Just thinkrnwhat straight guys could do to, say, interior decoration! Wernwould bring back the overstuffed recliner and the prints ofrnpoker-playing dogs, find creative ways to frame Penthouse pinupsrnand Polaroids of our cars.)rnAnd why not? I have no obligation to love my enemies, or tornvisit the sick or comfort the afflicted. Those irritating obligationsrnvanished with the ghost of Christ. Now I am a differentrnman, empowered to follow my feelings. And my feelings leadrnme to chuckle, gently, over the sudden blight on the pansyrncrop. The only downside to the whole business is the incrediblernexpense of keeping all these festering lilies alive. That moneyrncould be much better spent. For instance, did you know thatrnhundreds of small breweries throughout America are on the vergernof closing? That’s right, America’s rich tradition of locallyrnbrewed beers is in grave peril. I would like to see some moneyrndiverted from the “AZT for Aesthetes” fund to something reallyrnuseful.rnThere is no reason for them to die painfully, of course. I amrnnot one of those guys who sits around watching mice die slowlyrnin glue traps, just for the hell of it. (Well, not anymore.) Wernmight as well save the gay-boys a slow, lingering death and savernAmerica’s endangered breweries with one clear, straightforwardrnsolution: euthanasia.rnIt worked in the 30’s when the Germans got tired of payingrnfor the upkeep of the mentally ill. You did not find homelessrnpsychos on the streets of Hitler’s Nuremberg, pestering peoplernfor money with stupid little limericks that rhymed “fast lane”rnwith “spare change.” No siree. Those neopagans knew whatrnthey were doing, and so does this one.rnThere is nothing ennobling about suffering, nothing valuablernin the lives of the weak and the unproductive. Neither thernunwanted fetus, nor the drooling retard, nor the old cancer patient,rnnor the AIDS-rotted old graphic designer—none ofrnthem is sacred. They are like sick pets, deserving of a mercifulrndeath and no more. If people may fornicate like beasts, thenrnthey must expect to be treated like beasts.rnOf course, you may disagree with me. You may like decayingrnsodomites, for whatever reason. (I myself would fork somethingrnover to keep the Pet Shop Boys alive, should they need it.)rnThat is your choice, and in my new neopagan faith I am nowrnpro-choice. But it is an arbitrary choice, with no more moralrnforce than my preference for endangered beers. Queers orrnbeers, the neopagan is free to choose, without the heavy weightrnof the Christian tradition pressing down on him, demandingrnthat he treat every life as sacred, pray for sinners’ conversion,rntend the dying, and try to see in human suffering some religiousrnmeaning. Once you leave Christ’s world and His Word, all ofrnthat is so much nostalgic hogwash. You cannot borrow Christianrncompassion for man without accepting the Christian viewrnof man; like a pig in a wedding dress, the trick will fool no onernand will irritate the pig.rnHad enough of neopaganism? It is all the rage in Europe,rnamong the skinheads. They admit that Christianity is therngreatest barrier in their quest to create a racist society, since itrnasserts the fundamental sanctity of all life, regardless of ethnicity.rnThey explicitly reject it as Hitler did, and for the samernreasons. The sexual radicals in our country do not realize it, butrnby chipping away at Christianity, they are helping to preparernthe way for similar movements in America. If they are not careful,rnthey may get more than they deserve.rnFor the Christian, AIDS is a summons to conversion, notrnmerely for those who have the disease, but for the whole corruptedrnmass of society, drunk with pride and lust and the lovernof power that comes with technology. It is God’s punishmentrnnot just for sodomy and drug abuse, but also for promiscuity,rncontraception, divorce, abortion, and all the other crimes wernhave committed against the natural law and God’s will. Thisrnplague is a challenge for us to hate the sin but love the sinner;rnto tend the dying without deceiving or scandalizing the healthy;rnto turn the Church into a hospital and hospice for sinners, unitedrnby their deep imperfections and fear of Cod and their hopernin His infinite mercy.rnWhich brings me back to the scapular, that little squarernbrown tag designed to scratch the flesh and remind the sinnerrnof his mortality, his obligation to repent, and the nettlesomernpersistence of Cod, His relentless desire for the salvation ofrneach and every soul. Perhaps it is not like the AIDS ribbon atrnall; it is meant to be felt and not seen. rnDECEMBER 1994/27rnrnrn