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[gr8whitewaychic]

I just recently watched a very interesting documentary called "The Bible Told Me So", which basically claims that the Bible's stance against homosexuality is really a surface interpretation (and misinterpretation) of ancient cultural norms

Comments

Re: may I?

[gr8whitewaychic]

I totally agree. I feel like the people who are the most eager to outlaw gay marriage are also the first people who want to kick the "Big Brother" government out of our lives. You can't have it both ways!

I feel like the law was created to protect people, which is why we condemn the theft of property and the destruction or harm of life. Denying a couple the right to get married doesn't protect anyone. Not the "poor children" they could adopt, not the straight marriages that are going to be terribly threatened by having married gay neighbors, nobody! I don't understand it.

[annaes]

One of my favorite quotes: "Take the Bible seriously, not literally." Marcus J Borg

GREAT post. this is what I always cite when people bring up the (excuse me) fundamentalist bs. you really hit the nail on the head. It's so much easier to just say "this is what the Bible says" without questioning/thinking. but what about how the Bible takes a passive stance on slavery, encourages not eating certain varieties of meat, and considers women unclean and property, etc...? furthermore, there are usually health or political reasons for what is written in the Bible (we must remember it was written by PEOPLE and assembled by PEOPLE -who had their own agendas-, not written or assembled by God/Jesus). In the Disciples of Christ/UCC denomination, we 'lovingly' refer to those churches as "check you mind at the door churches" where thinking is not required, in fact it is discouraged.

[gr8whitewaychic]

Exactly! If the writers of the Bible could have even known what the world would have been like outside of their own culture and time, it would be impossible to word their texts in such a way that it could be literally applied to the entire world, over a several-thousand year period. Many of the truths in the Bible are universal, and many of the laws were written to address specific needs and weaknesses in the community.

I hate it when people try and say they take the whole Bible literally, and then when I bring up an obscure passage about not letting women cut their hair or something, they immediately jump into "Well, see that specific passage was addressing the church in blah-blah-blah". No. As soon as you do this, you stop taking the Bible literally. I don't know anyone who takes the whole Bible at face-value, and yet some people think it's okay to pick and choose how to read the book so that others are discriminated against. I don't understand it.