Christians who disagree with gay marriage, and who think homosexuality is wrong, are not bigots. I want to address this issue first as I start a series of articles on the subject. There is that one hate filled "church" but they are so ridiculous they don't count.
I am more interested in exploring what the Bible says than promoting an opinion or agenda. The Bible does not make homosexuality a priority. It is not a major issue in the scriptures, so perhaps it should not be to Christians either.
The charge of bigotry or homophobia however is bogus. While I do think Christians could try harder to understand Gay people, I think Gay people need to back off the racist charge. Both sides could benefit from some honest discussion instead of just throwing rhetoric at each other.
The reason Christians are not bigots can be easily found in the scriptures. There is absolutely no Biblical basis for racial discrimination. Actually there is no Biblical justification for even saying there are different races of people.
The Bible says we all came from Adam and Eve, so the idea of race itself is not a biblical concept by any means. Those that practice racism, or have racist attitudes, have no biblical basis for their hatred.
It is different when it comes to homosexuality.
The Bible is rather clear that homosexuality is a sin. That is not bigoted, that is just what it says.
The Old Testament is pretty clear. The Old Testament law condemns it harshly. The New Testament is not so harsh, but still considers it wrong.
Even so, there are many things the Bible says are wrong. Sins such as gluttony, lying, backbiting, slander, gossip, greed and idolatry are mentioned much more than homosexuality is.
The scriptures, and God, do not want to condemn homosexuals, and Christians should not either. There are Christians who interpret the bible differently, and say the Bible does not even condemn homosexuality as it exists today.
I want to examine some of these issues in the next few articles. What does the Bible actually say, and how should we interpret that. A few more articles will touch on those issues.
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