Attempt at shortening it a bit
There are 6 passages in the bible which are usually used as anti-gay arguments: (Genesis 19, Leviticus 18, Leviticus 20, Romans 1, 1 Corinthians and 1 Timothy)
Aditionally, often people argue that God's natural design' is man and woman, using the creation of Adam and Eve as evidence.
If this interpretation is correct, then any gay person who wishes to be a good Christian must always reject love. Not just sex, but romantic love, family, having a spouse, children etc. They must live a life of loneliness.
Going back to Genesis, God made the heavens and earth, plants, animals, man and everything else. All of these he said were 'good' or 'very good'. The FIRST thing ever said to be not good in the Bible is "for man to be alone" (Gen 2:18), thus God made Eve as a companion for him. What we get from this is that all men need a companion. The fact that Adam's comanion was Eve doesn't necessarily translate that ALL men need a woman as a companion. The only thing the Bible says is that a companion is needed.
Genesis 19: Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. Two angels in the form of men seek hospitality in Sodom with Lot and his family. Men of Sodom gather outside Lot's house and demand he hands over the men so they can have sex with them. Instead, he hands over his virgin daughters. God destroys Sodom with fire and brimstone.
Set in historical context, gang rape of men by men was used by societies of this place and era as a tool of agression and humiliation in warfare. Every other mention of Sodom in the Bible refers only to the arrogance and selfishness of its people, not homosexulaity. The story is illustrating that Sodom is violently agressive to strangers, and that this act is against God's wishes. The male/male rape is used to show this, but this isn't what God was angry about, it was the xenophobia.
Leviticus: this is a huge book of Laws for Jews; 613 of them in total. Leviticus 18:22 says "you shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination" and Leviticus 20:13 says that the penalty for this is death.
The thing is, none of these rules apply to Christians. Sure, some of the more common-sense ones are still followed, but Christians happily eat pork and shellfish, wear mixed-fibre clothing and cut their hair. So Leviticus 18:22 is no more relevent.
Also, the term 'abomination', put in correct cultural context, simply means "not Jewish". it doesn't make it a sin, it's just not the Jewish way. In addition, while the death penalty may make it seem that this is a particularly strong rule, loads of rules in Leviticus have astonishingly harsh punishments, simply being put to death is actually not as bad as many of them. So we need pay no attention to Leviticus.
Romans 1:26-27: This speaks of God's rejection of people who turned away from Him and abandoned their 'nature' for 'unnratural relations'. However, if the verses are placed in context it is shown that God rejects these people because they CHANGE their nature. They used to be heterosexual, and they hav decided to be homosexual. They have turned away from how they naturally feel. This is bad, God rejects them. The correct ting to do is to follow your nature, stay true to it, and God will support you.
In addition, the word 'natural' in this passage is used elsewhere but translated as meaning a cultural norm. So Romans 1:26/27 is not saying that homosexuality is 'unnatural', only that it is not the cultural norm.
Consider too, that in this place and era, sexuality didn't exist as a the concept we see it today. Instead, men were expected to take an 'active' sexual role, and women the 'passive' role. This was the cultural norm, so an active female or a passive male would be culturally 'unnatural'. This has been translated by later scribes as 'shameful', but this weight to the word is not there in the original text.
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Seventh is somewhat subdued, Sun 26 Aug 2012, 15:28,
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cheers for the abridged version
but why does he want to be defined as a Christian/follower of the bible?
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HappyToast Groat froth, Sun 26 Aug 2012, 16:19,
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in his own words,
because he loves Jesus and God.
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Moon Girl Technologies horrendous beanbag, Sun 26 Aug 2012, 16:35,
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has he met them?
or just what someone tells him they are?
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HappyToast Groat froth, Sun 26 Aug 2012, 17:05,
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He can read the Bible for himself, I guess,
and he seems to have done his research.
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Moon Girl Technologies horrendous beanbag, Sun 26 Aug 2012, 17:11,
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