Christians - WAKE UP !

Its time to take you scriptural view of homosexuality more seriously and honestly study before using scripture to condemn homosexuals. Mainline Christian denominations are now understanding that traditional scriptural interpretation may be false when you understand the culture and the greek texts. 291 congregations have now joined their denominational groups fully accepting homosexuals in love as part of their Church - without trying to change them! These homosexual accepting programs are:

• "Reconciling Congregation" (United Methodist Church)
• "More Light Network" (Presbyterian Church USA)
• "Open and Affirming" (United Church of Christ)
• "Reconciled in Christ" (Lutheran)

An outstanding publication incorporating all 4 denominational programs is "Open Hands -Resource for Ministries Affirming the Diversity of Human Sexuality" The Winter 1993 issue has outstanding articles and lists 76 resources of Christian materials affirming homosexuals in the Church. It has a question and answer section with a question: "Doesn't the Bible say same-gender sex is sin?"

Answer paraphrased: This has been taught throughout church history. However, this tradition has been profoundly challenged by many biblical scholars over the last two decades. Just as the church has changed its interpretation of the Bible regarding other social groups (blacks, slaves, women, etc), so is its interpretation of homosexuality. The Bible teaches the love of Christ and never directly mentions homosexuality as we know it today. This love of Christ "to all persons in his society outweigh an exclusionary tradition built upon the interpretation of a few scattered Bible verses." Remember those that declared the earth was round, instead of flat, as the Bible indicated were once burned alive in the name of God, for their false round earth belief.

I suggest anyone serious about the issue get a copy. $5 from Open Hands, 3801 N. Keeler Avenue, Chicago, Ill 60641 (312) 736-5526 (will take orders by phone).

Take the Bible seriously and research the original greek texts meanings. Many Christian theologians and historians agree that loving homosexual behavior is nowhere condemned in scripture without mistranslating the greek and not understanding what was being discussed (pederasty) in the culture.

Even Catholic bishops are now recognizing the false teachings. For example, Bishop J. Terry Steib, svd has officially welcomed the 3 year old group GRACE (Gays Rejoicing & Affirmed in a Catholic Environment). In Memphis GRACE has a chaplain appointed from the chancery office who lovingly accepts and has an outreach to gays in the Diocese of Memphis.

Jesus gives us a parable of a sower in which he teaches us that the message we will receive from his words will be in proportion to the kind of soil we have in our hearts. Thus a man with kindness and goodness in his heart will study the Bible and focus on the way Jesus lived, and Jesus's tolerance, kindness and love. Where another man or women with poor self esteem or the need to control others will only focus on those verses that allow him to claim power or authority. Such as the verses that give him sanction to point out to others that they are wrong in their faith or are sinners. Or, the verses that allow him to claim exclusivity and elitism.

The way we view the Bible in regards to homosexuality reveals the type of soil in our hearts more than any other issue. In Leviticus God gave Moses laws to follow. Christians who claim that they believe in the inerrant Bible conveniently ignore all these laws - except the one they interrupt as being against homosexuality. Many scholars believe the law condemning homosexuality had to do with the unloving acts of pederasty, and nothing to do with loving homosexual relationships as we know them today. But Christians take this one, probably misstransliterated verse and go so far as to keep these people out of God's Churches for their perceived terrible "sin". Yet they allow others that break many more of the levitical laws in without any thought of even making them change from their sinful ways.

Lev 27:18-23 tells us no one with disabilities is allowed to make an offering to God. Lev 19:19 tells that we are not allowed to wear clothing made of two kinds of fibers. Lev 17-10 very clearly says that if we eat rare meat God will turn against us. Duet. 23:2 says if a child is born out of wedlock he and his descendants for ten generations shall not be part of the Lords people. Duet. 22:20 says that if a women has had intercourse before marriage she has done a shameful thing. That we must stone her to death in order to get rid of this evil.

So why do Christians allow their Churches to be full of descendants of the illegitimate, full of women who were not virgin brides, and full of people who eat rare beef? Why do most of these Christians who attend church go there wearing clothing made of two different fibers? And last why do they allow that all these sins but not the sin of the homosexual? Because they know in their hearts that these issues are from a time when men was not as civilized and had less knowledge. They recognize that these laws are barbaric or not needed today. But they still claim the law about homosexuality because they have hatred, bigotry and prejudice in their hearts. They use the Bible as an authority which then allows them the freedom to express their prejudices. After all they can or have committed the other sins but they do not have to worry that they will commit the homosexual sin.

The assumption that the creation of humankind through heterosexual union in Genesis and the subsequent emphasis on marriage throughout the OT demonstrates tacit rejections of gay sexuality is insupportable in a modern context, and it does not seem to have occurred to early Christians. First of all, man (male) was not created first. In Gen 1, male and female are created at the same time. In Gen 2, a genderless Adam (which means human being not male-Aner is the word for male) is created. Both genders are created simultaneously.

The "cleaving to wife" issue in Gen 2:23: The Hebrew "issa" means "women". In Gen 2:23 it has been incorrectly translated as wife. Women not wife is more true to the original text every time "issa" or "isha" appears in the OT. Therefore it means to cleave to women, not necessarily a wife, and it says nothing about men having only 1 women, as men clearly had many wives and concubines in the culture and God never rebuked their polygyny. David and Abraham about much was written were never rebuked for having multiple wives. Polygyny later started dying out probably due to economic factors after the captivity. The point is for heterosexual males they should cleave to women and procreate since this was needed for humans to survive. But it says nothing about those whose natural sexual orientation was homosexual, where cleaving to a women would not be natural.

It is obvious even to the most naive that in order to account for the origins of the human race the writer of Genesis would inevitably describe the creation of the separate sexes which produce offspring and would comment on the nature of the union which brings about procreation. One would no more expect an account of gay love than of friendship in Genesis: neither could produce offspring, neither had and neither would contribute to the story of the peopling of the earth.

The fact that is many heterosexual couples are unable to procreate. The Genesis creation story is telling how the human race was created, but does not imply any condemnation of homosexual orientation. Today we need less children and more loving relationships - whether heterosexual or homosexual. The purpose of the procreation story has long passed and continued procreation is in danger of wiping out a large amount of humanity by starvation. We need much less fruit then when Adam & Eve got things started! The result of homosexuals not having more unwanted children to feed could be argued is more Christlike today. Times have changed yet some still legalistically cling to a theme which at the time of creation was good, but today such rampant creation threatens to destroy Gods people. This is not the love that Christ taught in the Sermon on the Mount where he changed all the laws and the prophets into only love.

That was exactly the same "Christian" argument that said "keep slavery but love the slaves". Why are Christians today any different from those that justified slavery by the clear teachings of scripture that slavery was Christian. Homosexuality is no more condemned in the Bible than Slavery. Its only the bias of the translators and lack of understanding about the culture and pederasty that results in English translations that completely change the original greek/hebrew cultural meanings. Just like slavery!

Homosexuals are falsely oppressed and persecuted as were the slaves. Using any authority - government or religion - to subjugate gays, to deny them EXACTLY the same rights that "straights" enjoy is much more an abomination than their natural sexual orientation. These rights include not only the right to serve in the military, the rights to the same housing options, employment, to marry and raise children (artificial insemination, surrogate mothers, or adoption), to congregate in a restaurant or nightclub safely, without fear of harassment, the right to have private lives that stay private unless the individuals choose to make their sexual orientation public, and the right not to be called "sinners" simply for being born that way! Unless you are standing up for these basis civil and human rights you are an oppressor just like good godly folks supported slavery and oppressing slaves due to false interpretations of scriptures.