>He makes it a point to critique a text from the most obtuse
> perspective possible.
How is he critiquing a text? He's critiquing obtuse interpretations of a text. Besides, haven't our resident biblical scholars made a point of the bible not being "a text" but a multiplicity of texts?
>I'll merely point out that if he instead taken this approach to
>*Beowulf*, or
> *The Brothers Karamazov*, he would have been laughed out of
> polite society.
And I'll merely point out, again, that if Beowulf was taken as a guidebook for organizing society and people were saying we have to stamp out homosexuality lest we fall prey to dragons and monsters, and then if they started gaining some traction with people in power, then someone should say something about it.
That's what Parenti is doing.