Since according to many Christians we are to avoid homosexual conduct, does that means we are also to avoid eating pork, which is also stated in Leviticus along with homosexuality as being wrong? Also, do I have to stone my sister since she talked back to my parents (also in Leviticus)? Should I insist that women not be allowed to preach in church (Paul mentioned it somewhere in the New Testament)? How do we pick which laws we follow and which ones we don't?
2007-04-25 17:18:20 · 27 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Cultures & Groups ➔ Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender
It is funny that people will say that homosexuality is wrong and that the Bible says so. The reasons this is so humorous is 1. There is no word for homosexuality in biblical Hebrew 2.The Bible is a translation of ancient texts and there is no one definitive meaning for any one word. 3.What many evangelical Christians will do is pick and choose parts of the bible and quote those only without explaining the context that it was put in. Take Leviticus which is the "holiness code" for the Israelites given to Moses on Mt. Sinai. This text does say "You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination." But after that it says "You shall not let your animals breed with a different kind; you shall not sow your field with two kinds of seed; nor shall you put on a garment made of two different materials." So when someone had the idea to mate a donkey and a horse to get a mule, that was an abomination as well and they are going to hell, as well as ANYONE that wears polyester and cotton. NO 50/50 here. You have to plant the corn separate from the wheat, don't dare mix them. I am just trying to prove a point, you cannot take a text written thousands of years ago and apply it today, there are too many implications when you do that.
2007-04-28 07:31:36 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
The injunction against homosexuality is repeated in the New Testament.
The reason why people criticise the Bible is because it is written in a heterosexual tone and they are gay and they don't want to change. The whole of the Bible reflects heterosexual values through and through.
Stoning your sister might not work. Try it if you like and see what she does. I bet your arm would seize up if you actually tried. Get a soft teddy and see if you could. Or maybe you would have to get a real stone. Your right arm seizes up if you self-hypnotise over things like that.
As for women preaching in church, they're not supposed to. If men could get up for even 1-2 hours per week and teach non-stop, then perhaps they would have some respect for the work that women do with their children, which is a lot more than 1-2 hours a week.
2007-04-26 04:13:30 · answer #2 · answered by Christian person 3 · 1⤊ 2⤋
Amen to that!!! It's insane how hypocritical organized religion really is. The way "religious" people judge others is amazing to me, especially since it seems to be a pretty big biblical no no. People will honestly say anything to back up their own POV. It's ridiculous. For example, they claim if homosexuality is natural, it would be found in other species. When you inform them that it is in fact found in other species, they then say "why would you want to act like an animal?" etc, etc. Honestly, the whole idea of picking and choosing what you will and will not follow in the bible (the way pretty much every Christian does) is what completely drove me away from organized religion. I can't handle that level of hypocrisy. What really gets me is the fact that they chose to follow things that lead to intolerance and hate. For an institution based (supposedly) on love to take this path is amazing.
2007-04-26 02:37:06 · answer #3 · answered by T 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Alright people, this is sarcasm here.....hopefully it's funny, but still retains a bit of truth.
As individual issues, ignore them.
BUT, if your homosexual sister talks back to your pork-eating parents, then you should destroy the whole friggin' lot.
Try stoning them while sucking on an oyster shell. Then when you are done, go sleep with your two daughters. And when you're finished with that, go seek counsel from that heathen, witch-doctor of a woman that heads your church. Perhaps she can tell you which lamb to sacrifice to cleanse your impure soul. And remember to not wear anything that has a cotton/polyester blend, because it stains really badly.
Or, you could just go about your day as it is, and enjoy what limited time we have on Earth.
2007-04-26 00:27:20 · answer #4 · answered by art_is_my_religion 3 · 5⤊ 0⤋
The Bible says homosexuality is a sin only because in that times they saw it as if a man had to have the feminine role, in fact, seen the misogyny of the bible, raping women is okay (if they aren't property of another man) but raping men is a sin, for istance.
The God of the Old Testament is arguably the most unpleasant character in all fiction: jealous and proud of it; a petty, unjust, unforgiving control-freak; a vindictive, bloodthirsty ethnic cleanser; a misogynistic, homophobic, racist, infanticidal, genocidal, filicidal, pestilential, megalomaniacal, sadomasochistic, capriciously malevolent bully.
Richard Dawkins, The God Delusion
2007-04-26 03:36:29 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
You don't have to be so irritated. The Christians who are giving you crap don't know what the Hell they are talking about. I'm a Christian myself. But the thing is, as you have pointed out, there are lots of things that people do and have accepted as 'normal' that are against Levitical law. Like wearing cloths that use two different kinds of fabric, eating pork, etc.
So the Christians who give you crap are not making the sacrifices at the temple, don't they know that there is a commandment to bring their sacrifices to the temple? When was the last time they sacrificed a bullock to God, NEVER?
One thing that they are missing (amongst many others) is the fact that if they need the Law to tell them that being homosexual is something they ought not do, then why don't they also think that in order for them to live by that same law, that they must do all the Law, or be condemned by God?
That 613 commandments, not 10.
I'll leave you with a truth, that Jesus Christ is the reason why those laws no longer are for us to attempt to fulfill, because He has fulfilled them all, the first and only man to do so in all history.
2007-04-26 01:53:32 · answer #6 · answered by Christian Sinner 7 · 1⤊ 4⤋
Remember that when God gave the laws to the Israelites, they were leaving Egypt. They were no longer under the laws of the Egyptians. So God gave them laws to help them see what a holy God they had, and how high His standards were. God did not want His people to live as the people around them did. The laws were God's perspective of ungodly customs around them, such as homosexuality.
Since we are not in the kingdom of God, but in a country that has laid down its own laws, we abide by them. We don't stone people because it is unlawful to do so. If anyone has done wrong, we tell the authorities. If someone has done something morally wrong, but has not broken any civil laws, then that is another matter, and you must pray about what to do.
In the matter of homosexuality, it is a moral code that still stands. For instance, Paul warns against sexual sins in his epistles to the churches. Please note that being homosexual is not a sin, but giving into homosexual urges is a sin. It is no better or worse than a man lusting after a woman, or a man committing adultery with a woman. Christians focus much attention on homosexuality, but do not address enough the adultery, pornography, and fornication in its midst. So the church is powerless against homosexuality when it has not yet pulled the pole out of its own eye.
2007-04-26 00:41:42 · answer #7 · answered by Steve Husting 4 · 3⤊ 3⤋
I only wish to address your very last question.
How do we pick which laws we follow and which ones we don't?
The answer is: democratically, according to the political process. Voters and legislatures make laws according to majority rule.
For example: the Bible condemns killing, stealing, and lying. Legislatures have also passed laws to ban murder, theft, and perjury and fraud. On the other hand, the Bible also condemns "coveting." Has any legislature ever tried to ban that? No.
Legislatures can "pick and choose" whichever moral values they do and don't wish to codify in the law.
2007-04-26 02:59:58 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I think I love you. I know I love this question!
And I can't answer it because I think that the misinterpreted and often wrongly translated passages supposedly relating to homosexual contact don't refer to anything of the sort and I further believe that God is fully supportive of homosexuals.
And nothing anyone else says here will dissuade me, people have tried, so just don't bother ^_^
2007-04-26 01:20:17 · answer #9 · answered by Callisto 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
The bible is like watching re-runs of old TV shows. It's funny because it's out of sync with the modern times!!! Some stuff you may not even get becaus the jokes are so old.
Gays and lesbians are trained to listen to their gut, or God-self, and be who they are despite the world telling them they are wrong... This takes courage...
Who is anybody to deny any one else's experience?
2007-04-26 00:51:38 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 0⤋