Gays and Religion???

Question

Correct me if im wrong but im sure there is something in the bible or christian religion that says gays are unacceptable or along those lines. But im also sure that the religion states to treat everyone as equal. So what is it, treat gays equally or deem them unacceptable?

Answer 1

You're wrong.

Answer 2

The Bible does say to treat people equally, the trouble is that many Christians have searched for and seemingly found Bible verses that support their view that homosexuality is wrong. They use (or misuse) about 5 or 6 such verses to back them up, but do not really search for the true meaning behind these verses. There is an organisation in the USA called Soulforce that uses non violent means to show that the Bible is not anti-gay and produce a leaflet explaining this which you can read by following the reference below.

Answer 3

The fact that the swedish priest Ake Green, who justified some awful things he publicly said about gays by claiming it had support in the bible, was freed with the argument that he was merely (freely) quoting the bible, proves that it is generally thought to be a reasonable interpretation of the bible that it clearly condemns the gay lifestyle. If gays truly can't change the way they are, it means their whole lives are going to be condemned by the bible. What's the difference between that, and the bible condemning the gays as persons? I mean, according to christians, people who are gay for life go to hell anyway, don't they? Many christians say you don't have to interpret the bible literally, but if that's the case, you may as well interpret the bible any way you want, and you'll find support for the most insane morals if you want. So the bible is worthless as a book of guidelines for moral behaviour. It may be valuable as a source of ideas that you might not otherwise have come to think of, but to draw moral conclusions from it is always dangerous. If you want to use the bible as a set of moral guidelines and still function in today's society, you have to read the bible so selectively and avoidingly, interpreting all of its insane stuff as something so completely different from what it is, that it would be better to make a new version instead, with all the insane stuff removed. Then maybe gays and the bible might go together. Today they don't.

Answer 4

The problem here is that the 'bible' (from greek for 'the book') is a self-contradictory load of psychological Spin produced by a gorup of men who wanted to use the word of 'god' to make themselves powerful.
I do not deny the existence of a god of some form, i just believe that Christianity is founded on Patriarchal power and spin - the true word of god would surely not be so ambiguous so easy to interpret in whatever way the individual wants.

People always ask what religion thinks about Homosexuality - I am Bisexual, but i do not subscribe to ANY organised, totalitarian religion, and therefore what a book - which was put together nearly 2000 years ago from a specific selection of the most useful stories of jesus - has to say about my lifestyle is irrelevant to me.

Answer 5

The norm when Jesus was around that gay people were crucified. I'll probably get reported and thumbs down but its true. When the film the last tempataion of Christ was released, their was global uproar from the Vatican and other religions (Christianity, Church of England, Islam) that all recagnised Jesus as a holy person.
Gay priests are now being accepted into the church, but that took a struggle. The truth is with old establishmnets like the church, it is difficult for them to change their ways.
Maybe they should stay traditional, I can think why this may be a good idea, but also why not.

Hope this helped

And please don't give me too many thumbs down about the crucifixes bit!

Answer 6

It depends on the denomination. Many denominations (I think of the United Church of Christ, The Church of the Brethern, The Metropolitan Community Church; and so forth) together with many non-Christian faith groups (Reform Judaism, Correllian Natavist Church, North American Spiritualist Church, etc.) accept homosexuals withour any reservation at all. Other churches are struggling with the issue, and some, primarily conservative evangelical churches -- are engaged in attacking, and if they can, destroying gays.

As for the Bible, it is a myth that has nothing to do with the foundations of Christianity, despite the lying declarations of those who turn it into an idol. Christianity is about believing in Jesus Christ -- Eucharist is far more important than a book created by the Council of Carthage on a suggestion from the Synod of Hippo to give written backing to the Nicean Creed -- the book as we know it not existing until almost 400 years after Christ.

Regards,

Reynolds Jones
http://www.rebuff.org
[e-mail]

Answer 7

Personally I feel that this is open to interpretation. Some say it is bad, some have no problems. I was a committed church goer until I told my pastor that I was gay and I was kicked out of the church. That sort of made me feel that I dd not want to be part of the whole religion thing, although it does keep nagging me that I should be doing something.

I think that if you feel it is right for you then it is. I have found that a lot of 'born again' christians are hypocrytes anyway.

Be yourself, be honest, consider others and you wil not go far wrong.

Answer 8

Well, it depends on the religion. There are religions in which homosexuality is considered acceptable. But, if you are referring specifically to the Christian religion, the Bible really says very little about homosexuality at all. The few quotes in the Bible usually presented are from Leviticus, which also states that eating shellfish and wearing cloth made out of two different kinds of material are abominations as well. Since Christians do not listen to those rules anymore and consider them outdated, it seems likely that they simply quote this one law out of Leviticus because it suits their own pre-existing prejudice against gays. Other statements that are often interpretted as being about homosexuality (all from the Old Testament) have been interpretted in various other ways throughout history, usually using whatever scapegoat the culture of the time wants to present in a negative light. Usually they are interpretted outside of the cultural context of the time. Sodom & Gomorrah were destroyed because of their breaking of hospitality rules, rather than because of homosexuality for example (since when are angels sexed anyway?)

In the New Testament, Jesus never says a thing about homosexuality. If Christians believe that Jesus undid the old law as they often claim, and he never found homosexuality to be something to speak out against, by what means do they currently believe homosexuality to be against god? Apparently Jesus did not find it to be of concern.

Answer 9

The Bible's teachings are unacceptable as it is a flawed, man-made book. You need not go to a book of nonsense to open you eyes to the gay question. Nature shows that gays are freaks and abnormal. They should be treated as handicapped individuals. They should be allowed to practice their gay activities but should never be allowed to be "married". That's a tradition for normal couples.

Answer 10

Kabbalah, which pre-dates Judaism, is very clear that the Bible is not to be read literally. The terms used within are references to things in the spiritual world. So any supposed condemnation of homosexuality is quite simply wrong. It's what happens when you let idiots run the show. See George W. Bush's interpretation of the US Constitution for other examples of how people can mess up a good thing for everyone.

Answer 11

my understanding of the Bible re homosexual acts between men, in thosedays,like 2000 years ago, it was considered to be an abomination, it was also an abomination to eat shrimps or shelfish,also to wear garments made of mixed cords. times have changed! I dont think Jesus would still be living to those rules somehow. we are all equal infront ofGod and as Christians, we are commanded to forgive, forgive each other, if we dont, then God will not forgive us of our sins.It is not for us to judge others, we are not perfect. we are born sinners and all fall short of the Glory of God. Anyway, Jesus never preached anything on homosexuals. Jesus is all about love, peace, justice.