A Challenge to Those Who Condemn
THIS IS LONG, EVERYONE. BUT FOR ALL THOSE WHO PREACH AGAINST HOMOSEXUALITY, IT IS A CHALLENGE. AND I THINK IT IS A CHALLENGE YOU SHOULD ACCEPT. SO READ IT ALL, AND IF POSSIBLE, OPEN YOUR MINDS FOR A MOMENT.
I do not set out now to insult Christianity in any way. I am respectful of all religions and all believers, and I see no reason why there should be a bias or any other form of exception for Christianity. I only post this here to make a statement that I believe is valid, and to be challenged...though I know not by what. To begin, I will state firstly that I do not believe homosexuals are to be condemned by the Bible, and furthermore, that I see several sad instances of the misuse of religion here. Please listen, and listen carefully. I challenge you to reply, and reply with logic, and see if your statements can truly stand.
What you all must understand is that the Bible's verses themselves are very vague, subject to endless interpretations. Any person that thinks the many mesopotamians that wrote down the Biblical text over the many years of its development wanted to create a document that did not allow room for interpretation is a fool, and should really study history a bit more.
What you fail to recognize is that no matter how much you nitpick at particular verses, you really cannot claim to know the original intent of the text; and thus you must make informed deductions. You could, for example, take 'love thy neighbor' literally--in that you would physically love your neighbor--but that, as most of you will agree, is idiotic.
Then how is one to make such deductions? Well, the smartest of Christians make these deductions based off the general direction of the text, and the recurring themes. To make interpretations contrary to this is foolish. So, what is the most often recurring theme in Jesus' teachings? Love, of course. Love of your fellow man.
The texts you cite can be interpreted as condemning homosexuality. However, this is not only a stretch, but runs contrary to the underlying themes running throughout the bible. The bible calls out for understanding and diversity...not condemnation over misinterpreted verses. In other words, by nitpicking so much, you're missing the point.
Why does this happen? To answer simply, xenophobia. It can be observed althroughout history. Man is inherently skeptical and often hateful of those different from himself. What is pitiful, however, is that man is willing to twist around the well-meaning advice of their religious leaders(namely, for christians, Jesus) in order to justify their own fears.
Years ago, man interpreted the Bible to condemn blacks and make slavery permissible. Before that, man said the Bible gave them the right to kill not only those of other religions, but those of differing viewpoints inside of the Christian faith.
Now, it is homosexuality. This movement to condemn homosexuals is, in reality, another in a long stream of movements aimed to satisfy the xenophobic tendencies of man. In fearing those that are different, men turn to loathing those that are different, and feeling overwhelmed with this fear, they twist the benevolent words of their Master to make hate permissible.
Hate is not permissible. Condemnation of benevolent human beings is not permissible. And your fear, loathing and Biblical justification of the evil nature of homosexuality is not permissible.
You will turn, of course, to your text and point out remote passages. You will talk yourself to sleep with such blind blathering. But your interpretation will ultimately go against the flow of love that Jesus wanted in the first place. I do not need to cite anything to prove this...it is the most obvious theme existing in the Bible. Love your fellow man. Do not hate him. Jesus spoke against xenophobia--the most terrifyingly intrinsic destructive urge of man--not for it.
So, you see, though you claim to follow Jesus, you are in fact straying from the path he paved for you. Granted, I'm not saying you're heathen. You obviously love God, and trust the Bible.
But you succumb to your fear, and the hate that spawns from it...you succumb to the venom that lurks deep inside the Id that Jesus wanted man to suppress, to overcome. And so you stray, if only in this area.
Do not stray. Do not misuse your religion to justify your fear, for the fear is a perversion in itself. Of course, as is obvious by the existence of the anti-homosexual movement, many are not strong enough to do this. And those that are not strong enough to do it will hand their fear and their weakness down to their children, forbidding all deviations from their teachings.
And so what Jesus wanted to suppress only grows, poisoning us all. It is a pity. And those that are unable to stop it, to get past what their fathers have programmed in them, to get over their hate...in their own way, deep inside, they are pitiful.
Not so pitiful, though, to stop change. I only wish that I will live to see it.