Homosexuality is not a debate

If you’ve happened to read a newspaper, political blog or tuned into radio or television, you are undoubtedly aware that California recently granted homosexuals the long-awaited and overdue liberty of marriage. While the uproar and protest by organizations such as the American Family Association and Family Research Council pretending to protect “family values” was relatively quiet compared to past incidents, it seems they have decided to focus on passing a constitutional ban against LGBT marriages on the November ballot.

The Christian Right has succeeded in convincing many Americans that homosexuality will bring down the moral fabric of the country. As Pat Robertson so eloquently states, “If the widespread practice of homosexuality will bring about the destruction of your nation, if it will bring about terrorist bombs, if it’ll bring about earthquakes, tornadoes and possibly a meteor, it isn’t necessarily something we ought to open our arms to.”

Viewpoints like Robertson’s and other followers are the result of accepting a wholly biased and rarely debated interpretation of text. Studying these texts one will learn they can be construed in several ways but that those holding power choose these traditional interpretations because it is convenient and suits their agenda of power and control.

Numbers: 32-36 of the Bible cites explicitly that a man who works on the Sabbath day is to be put to death. Does the Christian Right want to add an amendment banning work on Sundays into the Constitution as well?

Within the Bible there are two passages most commonly brought up in an effort to excuse and defend bigotry toward homosexuals, the story of Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 13) and

Leviticus 18: “Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination.”

As with all stories, these passages are open for debate on the interpretations one may have of the text. In regard to Leviticus 18, according to religioustolerance.org, there are linguistic translations that claim the text actually states, “Ritual anal sex between two men in a Pagan temple is forbidden.”

Tyler Fisher, a gay Christian, dismisses the Sodom and Gomorrah story as a ridiculing of homosexuality, “The way in which the citizens of Sodom greeted (with intentions of rape) the angels was not one of homosexual lust. Rape was at the time a common way to show extreme disrespect of an enemy. The real crime of the people of Sodom wasn’t homosexual desire but rather a desire to disrespect God’s messengers.”

It is beyond sad and pathetic that the debate about homosexuality being immoral or against god is still going on. Alas, all that people can hope for is that in the future the deliberation over this will be scoffed at in the same way women’s suffrage, segregation and other hate-based discriminatory practices are today. But for that to happen, people will have to stop being afraid to open their minds and think for themselves regarding their spiritual beliefs.

PHILLIP BODE
Guest Opinion

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4. Homosexuality is not a moral issue
5. Film challenges what the bible told us