On Sexuality

Research has shown that those who scream the loudest about homosexuality are the least secure in their own sexuality.

Maybe that's why I haven't addressed it here, at least not that I can remember.

Those who want to use the Bible to justify their anti-gay prejudice should be careful. Nowhere does the Bible explicitly condemn lesbian sex. For that matter, the Leviticus law does not forbid incest between a father and daughter. Funny thing, huh? At least I encountered that last observation in a mystery novel. I'll have to do further research on that before I start teaching my Old Testament class this fall.

The Leviticus law does condemn working on the Sabbath. How many of those who use the Old Testament to condemn homosexuality go shopping on Sunday? How many refuse to?

Marriage in the Bible was between one man and as many women as he could afford. Slavery was an accepted part of the world in which they lived, so no one in the Bible condemned that peculiar institution, either.

So be careful how you use--or misuse--the Bible. Remember Jesus: He said not one word about homosexuality in the Gospels. Instead he spoke verse after verse, chapter after chapter about money, and about the exploitation of the poor by the rich. I would like to keep the same perspective. After all, what would Jesus do?