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From: John Rupkey
In response to my letter on gay love and marriage, Steven J. Beyers quoted several Bible passages which seem to suggest Christian homophobia is justified.
I believe Protestant fundamentalist extremists and those who follow Pope Benedict’s bishops on this issue are making the same mistake today that those of a similar mind-set made at the time of Galileo.
Back then, Cardinal Inquisitor Robert Bellermaine could quote all the passages that seemed to prove the earth was stationary at the center of the universe. The problem was the Bible never discussed the motions of the earth, because those who wrote and read the Bible were unaware of those motions.
Similarly, the authors of the Bible never specifically addressed the issue of gay love and the desire of some gays to be married, because they were unaware of it.
Even today, as in Biblical times, many fundamentalist extremists believe God created everyone nongay, and being gay is a choice that is contrary to a person’s human nature.
Pope Benedict’s bishops don’t even refer to gay people; instead they write about “persons with a homosexual inclination.” When it comes to civil rights and human rights for gay people, Catholic bishops aren’t even in the discussion.
Even though the Bible never refers specifically to gay people, there are places where it refers to people of the same sex who loved each other.
If Christians want to end their irrelevant sideline Biblical rant and get into the discussion of justice for gay people, perhaps they could quote the Bible about justice, and present Biblical passages from the stories of David and Jonathan, Ruth and Naomi, and Jesus and John.
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