Selective religiousness(?)?

Question

Im not sure where I stand, spiritually speaking but I am doing my best to try and find out.
What I have noticed in my research is how selective people are of the rules they choose to follow. I spoke to my priest last month and he was telling me the reasons why Catholics are opposed to homosexuality. It's closely linked to the rules on abortion, that every beginning of a life deserves an equal chance. So with gay men the sperm is wasted. But most "Catholics" I know don't frown upon masturbation. But surely that's as big a crime? And why do they care when women are lesbians?
Then there are people who claim to follow the Bible implicitly but pick and choose which parts they find most attractive. In the old testament Leviticus says: we can sell our daughters into slavery for a fair price; that men may not contact a woman while she is menstruating; that if you have a defect in your sight you may not approach the alter of God.. etc. There are more but the point is these are largely ignored.

Help me understand please. I am not judging, I am just interested.

Answer 1

Great question, but kinda deep! Israel back then is not today's world. God adjusted their world to His standards back then, and even with the doing away of the law, local culture was still reflected in the New Testament. The book of Hebrews may give you some more insight on this. However, keep in mind that even in the New Testament, this cultural content does not revolve around salvation itself, therefore is open to interpretation and adjustment for our own time. And this means an entire spectrum of denominations that practice or do not practice specific beliefs (women in the ministry, for example), and maintain that they are correct.