"The honest truth is that once you are done beating your wives, drinking to excess, passing judgment on others, misinforming your children (if you even pay attention to them), screwing your secretaries, shooting defenseless animals and cheating your taxes"
A bit harsh maybe, but yeah, that's how I feel too. I've seen people who have no problem "running a train" (basically, a gangbang where the woman is a willing participant) who think "***" ought to be killed. There are heterosexual men who hit their girlfriends or wives or even kids who absolutely hate homosexuality.
I believe it was a man of Nazareth who spoke, "Let the one who is without sin cast the first stone."
RELIGION
The Good Book and Gay Marriage
A faith-based debate over what Scripture teaches about same-sex marriage.
Dec 16, 2008
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Last week, Newsweek's cover story on the biblical case for gay marriage resonated on TV stations, throughout the blogosphere, and in the inboxes of many NEWSWEEK employees as Christians and nonbelievers alike sounded off on the editorial decision to run the story. Of the tens of thousands of letters we received, some argued that the Bible clearly proscribes homosexuality, while others applauded author Lisa Miller's argument on such a controversial subject. But many expressed a desire for a deeper exploration of the subject—a conversation among biblical scholars on both sides of the divide.
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NEWSWEEK's Kurt Soller found two experts to do just that, e-mailing throughout the weekend (even into the third Sunday of Advent!) about their conflicting viewpoints. On the pro-gay marriage side: Bill Wylie-Kellerman, a United Methodist serving as pastor at St. Peter's Episcopal Church in Detroit. His sparring partner: Dr. Barrett Duke, vice president for public policy and research at the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, an agency of the Southern Baptist Convention, which addresses how Christianity should be applied to life. Read on to see how each views the Bible, what they believe Scripture has to say about gay marriage and where they think this debate will be headed (at least, in church) in the next decade. Excerpts:
Bill Wylie-Kellerman: I found the cover story by Lisa Miller quite good over all, and stimulating, raising a number of things about which I'd like to talk, beginning with the very nature of marriage in church and society. That is actually a matter of some theological confusion. I love the Bible, and stake my life in the biblical witness, and it is that which calls me to the struggle for full inclusion of gay people and their gifts. I know we disagree.
Barrett Duke: Greetings. I look forward to our conversation. This is a very important topic, not only for the church but also for our culture. I believe Christians must submit to the Bible's teachings, and I believe the Bible is unequivocal in its teaching that homosexual behavior is sinful. That being the case, it is impossible for me to accept same-sex marriage, which legitimizes a sinful behavior.
I think Lisa Miller's NEWSWEEK article was atrocious. It was obviously biased in its attitude from the start. It is evident to me that Lisa already had her mind made up and was simply interested in trying to convince her readers that she was right. Of course, she is within her right to do that, but she was hardly honest in her treatment of the Bible in the process. She dismissed it without even giving it opportunity to speak. Her comment, "Religious objections to gay marriage are rooted not in the Bible at all, then, but in custom and tradition ..." was offensive and uninformed. My objections to same-sex marriage are very much rooted in the Bible. If NEWSWEEK actually intended to be an honest mediator of this issue, they should have published pro and con articles by respected Bible scholars rather than engage in such blatantly obvious opinion journalism.
Wylie-Kellerman: By laying out a clear argument, public conversations are invited. I also know it was a great breath of air for gay folks to read a theologically literate argument on their behalf. They are so constantly hit over the head with Scripture, to which we must surely come.
Ms. Miller called the mix of civil and religious elements of marriage an often "messy conflation of the two." I agree. On the one hand, a marriage is a civil contract between two people and the state with certain rights, responsibilities and privileges implied. On the other, it is also often an act of worship between two people before God, surrounded by prayer and support from a worshiping community and with the presence of ongoing pastoral care. It seems to me only over the former that the state should have authority. In the Episcopal Church, for example, marriage is one of the sacraments. In Methodism, it is a service of worship. This means we have the intrusion and participation of the state in a sacramental act of worship. That's more than messy.
Discuss