| Show MISSED M I SS E D CONCEPTIONS CO NC E PT ION S r N x oJ L Arguments Against The Biblical Arguments Against Gay Marriage Barry s I. I THE DEBATE The subject of California's recent Proposition 8 S surfaced ina in ina a conversation between myself and a beloved going church-going family member the other day The dialogue itself began politely enough but soon developed into an impassioned debate very much like the thousands of related conversations going on across the country Should two people of the same sex be allowed to have and hold holda a legitimate marital union The electoral majority had just spoken an and their answer was No Why not I asked simply I Iwas Iwas Iwas was told that God hates homosexuality as being perverse and immoral unmoral I was also informed that the institution of marriage can only be sanctified between a man and a woman Those words have probably been uttered a million times throughout history by people of great and noble import But this time the words were uttered from one beloved brother to another each knowing full well the many family members and friends we share who are both lesbian and gay As a humble heterosexual Christian I will profess that I personally love God I also love my family so before the same turmoil confusion and passion which has wound its course throughout time and history came swirling 1 f I y k over me I decided to end the conversation with this simple challenge Show me chapter and verse The challenge I Iwas was met and I was soon presented with bibi biblical cal passages many churches use as their arguments against gay marriage Some responses herein are directed specifically from arguments presented by Pastor Jim Feeney PhD from his located here http www http org html THE GENESIS Not surprisingly the old Sodom and epitaph can always be counted on as the first rabbit to be pulled out of the biblical hat Of course it is the oldest tried and true argument not just against gay marriage but against homosexuality period And why not The rhe story has been around forever It may be a little rusty but this timeless fire and brimstone scare tactic still holds much effect We must pause here to realize that the Sodomites and themselves had become so submerged in their own self-barbarism self that God saw no other choice for their ultimate demise Sure homosexuality played a role in their behavior but much more than that these communities turned completely against God evolving de-evolving into what can only be described as subhuman subhuman subhuman sub sub- human heartless soulless godless and wholly without t conscience so degraded in th their ir own decadence we can only imagine the sadistic perversions they regularly practiced as a society Sodom and may have been completely destroyed from the face of the earth but homosexuality itself was not eliminated from humanity's ongoing march through time Unfortunately the whole event somehow became synonymous with being homosexual Calling it simply gay is a term only recently accepted asa as asa asa a euphemism for a much deeper more complex actuality Gays and lesbians have been around since the dawn of man in every single period of history and andin andin andin in every culture country and continent on Earth I cannot truly believe they are some defective human product by-product of Gods God's holy work nor are they all faulty human machinery that should be automatically automatically- labeled wicked and summarily discarded from Gods God's master plan Comparing all gays and lesbians to the people of Sodom and Gomorrah is in and of itself unholy and abhorrent at best Unfortunately some cultures have perpetuated the myth by labeling and shunning them as such and Germany for example 0 There are cultures in this world however that do not just tolerate homosexuality they actually treat gays r 1 and lesbians as perfectly normal and sometimes very special people a delightful addition to the whole human epitome affording them due respect for their diversity contributions productivity and purpose Although most history books dont don't highlight the facts there were some fearless American Indian women who rode into battle as warriors right alongside the men There were also effeminate indian men who stayed in camp tending the children and weaving fantastic baskets This is just one small example They are people by God just like everyone else Just because they may be attracted to those of their own gender does not make them any more or less human Its It's really not such sucha a hard concept to grasp Lets Let's face it there always have been and always will be gays and lesbians among us This world would be an unnatural place without them We may ask Where do they come from Certainly not other gays and lesbians You'd think if that were the case they'd have all died out generations ago The truth of the matter is that they all corrie cone from a MOTHER and a FATHER Mothers and fathers can canall canall canall all be traced back to Gods God's original creations THE CORINTHIANS QUOTE The term homosexual offender is not found in 1 Corinthians 69 as quoted by Pastor Jim Feeney in his sermon as y f previously referenced or anywhere else in the Bible That particular phrase was simply added by Pastor Feeney to the original King James text for the purpose of effect Read 1 Corinthians 6 61 1 20 in context from an actual Bible Its It's all about maintaining our physical bodies as temples of the Holy Spirit Even if the phrase were to actually exist it can still be interpreted in many ways If If you offend a homosexual are you not nota a homosexual offender If you are anybody who hates or commits an act of violence against a homosexual can you still not fall fail into that same category Sure that may just sound a bit irreverent but when people like Pastor Feeney decide they have the authority to add to or subtract from original Bible verse at atwill atwill atwill will I tend to disregard everything else they have to say or write Although not a new c concept people who twist Gods God's word around to suit their own own purpose or agenda are well documented in the Bible Just read the last few verses of Revelation BETWEEN A MAN AND A WOMAN Every single one of us both men and women have our masculine and feminine selves Some women truly are more masculine and some men are actually very feminine in heart mind and spirit No matter what the scientific cause and whatever God Gods God's s 's rea reasoning f I r its it's true Each one ofus of ofus ofus us at some point in our lives usually puberty struggles with questions explores and eventually comes to terms with our own sexuality We all have to deal with it within the parameters of our own physical social and environmental restrictions If anybody proclaims at atone atone atone one point or another in their lives they have never been physically attracted to another person of their own gender its it's a safe bet to say they are lying Its It's a simple fact of life So when we eliminate the physicality aspect which is only temporary anyway who is isto isto isto to say that a gay or lesbian marriage is not a legitimate union between a male and anda a female in the eyes of God and should not be allowed sanctification as such Certainly not m me me Should we deny the legitimate righteous sanctity of the love between two soul mates that may have otherwise been destined to lifelong devotion and friendship only because they have the same body p parts God forbid Even Jesus said that when we weare weare weare are married we become one flesh So we must seriously ask ourselves What the hell is the difference Think about it Editor Editors s s Note Part two vo of oj Mr s s op-ed op will be published in r Thursdays Thursday's edition of The Globe k ii-I ii I |
