Another reply on homosexuality
Your last post was hard to follow. I am glad you pointed out the bolded section in the beginning section of Leviticus 18. “You shall not do what is done in the land of Egypt where you lived, nor are you to do what is done in the land of Canaan where I am bringing you; you shall not walk in their statutes.” The Leviticus laws we see were established to distinguish the Israelites from the pagan cultures around them.
Regarding the Sodom story, I am also glad you point out Ezekiel 16:48-50 which plainly states the sin of Sodom. Other scriptures that talk about Sodom include: Isaiah 1:10-17 and 3:9, Jeremiah 23:14, Zephaniah 2:8-11, and apocryphal Wisdom 19:13. And let us not forget Matthew 10:5-15 where Jesus compares potential inhospitality the diciples might face with Sodom and Gomor'rah.
You state: “The obvious reason same sex relationships are not addressed in Scripture is that God stated that such relationships are an abomination that carried the death penalty.” God never stated such. Read the whole Leviticus law, and understand it in its context.
You so easily assert that I am “rationalizing and interpreting Scripture as you want and exactly how gay theology has interpreted Scripture since Troy Perry founded the UFMCC in 1969.” Let me tell you, this interpretation is not of my own, but rather what the Holy Spirit has revealed to me through years of study. I could say the very same thing about your position, that you are buying into a contextually shallow interpretation of Scripture because you would rather accept that homosexuals have something wrong with them than confess that the Church has been wrong on this issue, just as she has been misguided on so many issues. For example, did you know that the Church supported slavery based on Biblical texts for centuries? Did you know that Galileo was condemned by the Church because he purported that the earth moved around the sun, which the Church said was contrary to Scripture. Clearly Scripture explains that God made the sun “rise” up over the earth. Let me tell you, those who support amendments banning gay marriage and who write books condemning homosexuality will be just as ashamed of their actions 50 years from now as those who supported slavery would be if they were here today. Here’s some food for thought for you taken from “The Children Are Free: Re-examining the Biblical Evidence on Same-sex Relationships”…
"Searching Christians often ask: "Why have scholars, preachers, and teachers been mistranslating and misunderstanding these passages for so many years?" The answer lies in the fact that people have a natural tendency to care most when their ox is being gored. Let us explain with a story:
A few years back Jeff's spouse, David, was diagnosed with an acoustic neuroma. Probably very few of you know what an acoustic neuroma is, even though you may be able to make an educated guess. For most of you that is all you will ever care to know about acoustic neuromas, but Jeff can tell you specifically that it is a tumor on the acoustic nerve, which runs from the brain stem to the inner ear. He has read a few articles on the subject. But, of course, David knows quite a bit more about the condition than even Jeff does, because when he was diagnosed he spent hours studying everything
he could about it.
It's the same with biblical translation and interpretation. For centuries, people have known little about what some of these more obscure biblical words mean. When translators come to a list like the one in 1 Corinthians 6, they might spend some time researching the possible meanings of the words (looking at their roots, looking in more than one dictionary). But unless they have a particular interest at stake, they will probably not study the subject deeply. It wasn't until gay and lesbian theologians and their friends were able to step out of the cloest and practice their craft as openly gay and affirming people that some of these more difficult passages were looked into at greater depth. Now, thanks to the scholarship of these people, we have a better understanding of the precise meaning of these passages. The good news is that none of the clobber passages condemn loving, committed same-sex relationships..."
---Justin
www.truthsetsfree.net