The debate over gay rights is one of the most controversial subjects in American politics today. Over the last decade, gays have made great advances in obtaining public recognition of their lifestyle. Multiple states have passed legislation allowing for some kind of civil unions, and several states now permit gay marriage. Just several months ago, President Obama signed a bill allowing gays to serve openly in the military. However, these advances have not come without a backlash from some elements of society. Conservative Christian groups regard the homosexual lifestyle as immoral, and they argue that society should not treat it as an acceptable lifestyle choice. In making these arguments, they point to passages from the Bible that they claim condemn homosexuality. Proponents of gay rights vigorously dispute these interpretations, but many people on both sides of the issue do not realize that the Bible has historically been used to argue many things in the past – including things that most people today would find repugnant. During the 1800’s many slave owners and apologists for slavery used biblical arguments to justify the existence of the “peculiar institution.” They pointed to passages in the Bible discussing the duty of servants to obey their masters as evidence that slavery was biblically sanctioned. Supporters of slavery also pointed to numerous mentions of slaves in both the Old and New Testaments as proof that slavery was a normal condition of mankind. This view was by no means universal – many northern abolitionists were evangelical Christians – but it served as one of the main arguments in favor of slavery until the end of the institution. Of course, discussing whether or not the Bible justifies slavery or gay rights is far beyond the scope of this paper. However, the comparison illustrates a point that many opponents of gay rights often fail to realize. Conservative Christians sometimes state flatly that the Bible treats homosexuality as immoral, and act as if their interpretation of the Bible settles the matter. History shows, though, that interpretations of the Bible have been used to support many causes. As the example above demonstrates, slavery is one of these causes. Many people in the 1800s claimed that the Bible condoned slavery. Virtually nobody today would make such a claim. Yet the actual words of the Bible have not changed in nearly two thousand years. What this history show is arguments based on the Bible almost always depend on those who do the interpreting. It also depends on the society and the conditions that they live in. Nearly 150 years after the end of slavery in the United States, slavery seems especially abhorrent to us. Nobody living today has actually witnessed slavery in the United States (although slavery does continue to exist in several other countries). In contrast, Southerners in the 1800s grew up with slavery as a normal part of their lives. Slavery had existed for virtually all of human history, so religious-based arguments in favor of the institution seemed plausible to some people. This is also true with regard to gay rights. Polls show that people who oppose gay rights are, on average, older than the general population. These people grew up with gays being an ignored, ridiculed minority. By contrast, polls show that those who support gay rights are generally younger. These people grew up with homosexuality being a subject of discussion