Why is it so hard for gays to understand that if they are having gay sex then they are going against the bible?
the_ambusher asked:
Why do you think Straight folks who believe in the bible should condone gays who are having gay sex, According to the bible having gay sex will keep you out of heaven just as much a s murderer, rapist, mugger, Would you condone those folks to and invite them to live next door to you also?
badboysfilms.com
October 18th, 2009 at 7:47 am
why is it so hard to understand that the bible is a book of fables? honestly people, learn to think for yourselves.
October 20th, 2009 at 1:40 pm
Gosh, I never have found that any of my gay friends had any difficulty telling how the Bible reads.
They and I differ with some of our brothers and sisters as to what the Bible actually says, however.
The Bible is a poetic, metaphorical text. A large amount of its text (perhaps even most of it) is in poetry.
You don’t read poetry the same way you read an engineering manual.
Any junior high school student with an ounce of common sense and a decent lit teacher knows that. Why so many adults don’t realize you can’t read this text literally is something I still have difficulty understanding, since it’s not at all controversial until you get into the 20th century, and the ill-advised fundamentalist movement goes full-bore.
Yes, we know how the Bible *reads*. It’s what it *says* (what it actually means) that is at issue. And that’s not something that can be read literally out of the text.
If you really think that literal reading of the Bible is the only way to go, read a few texts and then we’ll talk:
_Who Wrote the Bible?_ — Richard Elliot Friedman
_Understanding the Old Testament_ — Bernhard Anderson
_Same-sex Unions in Premodern Europe_ — John Boswell
Boswell, by the way, gives some very useful information to those who think that a text in one language can easily and readily (and reliably) be rendered in another language. Excellent food for thought, since we’re talking about Hebrew a “saddle-bag” language, as my language prof used to call it, that is constructed very differently from English.
October 21st, 2009 at 12:22 pm
you know what your bible is about as legible as DR. Susie
and i take it the this is Leviticus isn’t it yeah it is
if you choose to follow only some parts of Leviticus then your just a dick follow all of it or none of it
October 22nd, 2009 at 8:14 pm
Maybe because it doesn’t make since to them to forbid that while Jesus himself didn’t have a female companion.
October 24th, 2009 at 12:18 pm
1) Why is it so hard for gays to understand that if they are having gay sex then they are going against the bible?
I don’t think that it is difficult for them to understand. For those who claim that they do NOT understand, it is clear that they are intentionally *refusing* to understand.
2) Why do you think Straight folks who believe in the bible should condone gays who are having gay sex
The usual claims are that this is their right or that the biblical proscription against homosexual acts is “homophobia”. It is, in fact, a right in many countries. However, the bible is not going to suddenly change itself, and Christians are not going to suddenly alter their beliefs for the sake of “political correctness”.
I think the problem stems essentially from the idea, preached to the public by politicians and lawyers in modern times, that there is nothing wrong with homosexuality. The problem is the perception that just because something is legal means that it is not morally wrong. One obvious counter-example is the former legality of slave ownership. “Legal” does NOT equate with “morally correct”.
Jim,
October 26th, 2009 at 3:24 am
That is YOUR interpretation of the Bible. That is not MY interpretation.
The verse you are suggesting in your question is 1 Corinthians 6:9. That verse is used a lot against homosexuality. The problem with it is that Paul uses the Greek word “Arsenokoitai”, which is not found in any extant Greek writings until the second century when it apparently means “pederast”, a corrupter of boys, and again in the sixth century when it is used for husbands practicing anal intercourse with their wives. “Arsenokoitai” is made up of two parts: “arsen” means “man”; “koitai” means “beds.” Although the word in English Bibles is interpreted as referring to homosexuals, we can be fairly certain that this is not the meaning that Paul wanted to convey. If he had, he would have used the word “paiderasste.” That was the standard Greek term at the time for sexual behavior between males. We can conclude that he probably meant something different than people who engaged in male-male adult sexual behavior. Some scholars think probably the second century use might come closest to Paul’s intention. If so, there is no justification for translating the word as “homosexuals.”
The Bible isn’t as cut and dry as people tend to think it is. God is much greater than the box people want to put Him in. Salvation through Christ is for ALL who believe, not just heterosexuals.
October 29th, 2009 at 12:48 pm
For the obvious minority on R&S who try to derive their values from the Bible, it definitely speaks against homosexual conduct —
If you don’t accept the Bible, so be it. But it’s impossible to deny that, for those who do accept it, the Bible is abundantly clear on the subject of homosexual conduct being wrong.