Simple Debate: The Bible says nothing about homosexuality

Leviticus 18:22 can have more than one interpretation. Some people have suggested what is condemned in this verse is pagan rituals, which involved homosexual acts. This fits in with the context of the verse, as Leviticus 18:27-28 specifically says that the pagans defiled the land with such acts. The fact that homosexuality is so rarely mentioned in the Bible should be an indication to us of the lack of importance ascribed it by the authors of the Bible. [1]"You shall not lie with a male as with a woman. It is an abomination. " (Leviticus 18:22 NKJV). The Hebrew literally says: "You shall not lie with a male [on] the bedding (or bed) of a woman (or wife), it is a despised thing (or despicable act). " The Bible doesn’t always tell us why something is “despised,” so we have to use reason. Most likely there were two men having sex on the bed of the woman, to rub it in her face to show she wasn't good enough. God would not ask or expect Christians to ever choose between their compassion and their faith. [2]What cannot be denied is that "Christians" have caused a great deal of pain and suffering to gay persons, by: Banning their participation in the church, thus depriving them of the comforts and spiritual fruits of the church. Banning their participation in the sacrament of marriage, thus depriving them of the comforts and spiritual fruits of marriage. Damaging the bonds between gays and their straight family members, thus weakening the comforts and spiritual fruits of family life for both gays and their families. Using their position within society as spokespersons for God to proclaim that all homosexual relations are disdained by God, thus knowingly contributing to the cruel persecution of a minority population. "Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her. " — John 8: 7"Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law. The commandments, "You shall not commit adultery," "You shall not murder," "You shall not steal," "You shall not covet," and whatever other command there may be, are summed up in this one command: "Love your neighbor as yourself. " Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law" — Romans 13:8-10"Here there is no Gentile or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all. Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you" — Colossians 3:11-13"Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former. You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel. " — Matthew 23: 23-24"Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. " — Matthew 7:1-2"Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when you yourself fail to see the plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye. " — Luke 6:41-42 Questions that need to be disputed by Con: A. "The Bible isn't a rulebook, and Christians cannot lift out of its context any passage from it, and still hope to gain a clear understanding of that passage. "B. "Using the four Old Testament passages to condemn all homosexual acts is not in keeping with any Christian directive from God, nor with the practices of contemporary Christians. " C. "In the clobber passages Paul condemns the coercive, excessive, and predatory same-sex sexual activity practiced by the Romans—and would have condemned the same acts had they been heterosexual in nature. "D. "The Bible's clobber passages were written about same-sex acts between heterosexual persons, and do not address the subject of homosexual acts between a committed gay couple, because the concept of a person being homosexual did not exist at the time the Bible was written. "E. "Because there was no concept of gay marriage when the Bible was written, the Bible does not, and could not, address the sinfulness of homosexual acts within the context of gay marriage. "F. "Being personally repelled by homosexual sex doesn't make homosexual sex a sin. "G. "The greatest of these is love. "Sources: [1] . http://goo.gl...[2] . http://goo.gl...