Homosexuality with a twist

== My argument using Christianity == "Some Christians believe that marriage is the union of two people and that homosexual behavior is not inherently sinful." [1] "Following the lead of Yale scholar John Boswell, it has been argued that a number of Early Christians entered into homosexual relationships, and that certain Biblical figures had homosexual relationships, despite Biblical injunctions against sexual relationships between members of the same sex. Examples cited are Ruth and her mother-in-law Naomi, Daniel and the court official Ashpenaz, and, most famously, David and King Saul's son Jonathan." [1] "Desmond Tutu, the former Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town and a Nobel Peace Prize winner, has described homophobia as a 'crime against humanity' and 'every bit as unjust' as apartheid: 'We struggled against apartheid in South Africa, supported by people the world over, because black people were being blamed and made to suffer for something we could do nothing about; our very skins. It is the same with sexual orientation. It is a given. ... We treat them [gays and lesbians] as pariahs and push them outside our communities. We make them doubt that they too are children of God – and this must be nearly the ultimate blasphemy. We blame them for what they are.'" [1] "Others consider that Christ made the commandments to "love God and one's neighbour," and to "love one's neighbour as oneself" touchstones of the moral law; that these imply a radical equality, and that, by this principle of equality, the Law of Moses is to be adjusted or even abrogated." [1] Jesus wrote that loving one's neighbor was the most important rule. [2] This was unqualified. If Jesus wanted us to hate our neighbors under certain conditions, he would certainly have listed said conditions. We must show compassion to everybody. Al Sharpton, a Baptist minister said, "asking whether gays or lesbians should be able to get married [is] insulting: "That's like saying: . . . give blacks, or whites, or Latinos the right to shack up – but not get married [...] It's like asking 'do I support black marriage or white marriage'... The inference of the question is that gays are not like other human beings." [1] In Matthew 25.35-40, Jesus expounds God's passion for the oppressed and instructs his followers that they will be rewarded for interceding on behalf of the downtrodden. [2] In Matthew 5.3-12, Jesus said, "Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth ... Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you." [2] This passage clearly states that those that are persecuted have a special place in Heaven, which also means that we should seek *not to* persecute others. Matthew 7.1-5: "Judge not, that you be not judged." This passage literally tells us not to judge others: live and let live. This is the opposite of intervening in the lives of homosexuals and telling them what they can and cannot do. Matthew 7.12: "So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them." This is the Golden Rule. Supposedly, if we want to be persecuted and be denied marriage rights, then we have acted properly towards homosexuals. I'll refute my opponent's points, as per the rules, in the next round. [1] http://tinyurl.com... [2] http://tinyurl.com...