homosexuality as a sin
i'm not exactly convinced that homosexuality is a sin. i know it's named as being "unlawful" in leviticus, but many of these laws must be placed in a socio-cultural context. a society that had a high ratio of women to men would naturally want to discourage exclusive sexual relationships between men. it's interesting to consider this, as i believe the leviticus verse forbids fornication between men, and fails to mention that between women. does anyone happen to know the verse? i wonder what the gender breakdown within the tribes of Israel were in the time of the book of leviticus?
an earlier post mentioned that the Bible is contradictory. i agree. the messages of the OT and the NT are, at the very least, of radically different tone, if not downright contradictory. given that this is the Word of the same God, at the very least, God changes the emphasis of God's message over time. is it not unreasonable to think that; if God's priorities change, actions that were sins in the past, may be less sinful now?
or perhaps God's message does not change, but simply develops, and as time passes, it becomes more sophisticated. it doesn't take a hardcore biblical scholar to see the paralells between the 10 Commandments of the OT and the Beatitudes of the NT. perhaps the NT message is more concerned with the personal values and characteristics that make a person good. perhaps it is time we stopped worrying about what things are sins, and focus on acts of good.
i consider the Beatitudes a far more modern and christian set of moral guidelines.
but that's just me.