Hika wrote:
I had a friend who told me something about the bible regarding homosexuals because I was highly curious.
I think she said that there was a town that someone had to purge if there was no order or something along those lines? That man went down to the town and noticed that men were having sex with men, women were having sex with other women, and things were chaotic, so the man burned the city down with his wife, and God told them not to look back. The woman looked back and she was turned into stone.
That's what I heard, not what I read.
EDIT: nah i think she was turned into sand or something actually
The story is talking about Lot. Lot, his wife, and I believe his daughters (I'm guessing because I know the story after it regards his daughters) were living in the town of Sodom that was very much not following God, and Lot is asked in Genesis 19:5 to have homosexual relations with the guests, and being angered at Lot's offering of his two virgin daughters instead. There's also stuff about like oral/anal sex, etc. Anyways, God says that he is going to destroy the town for not following his ways, but he will save Lot, since Lot and his family follow God deeply. However, God tells them to not look back when they run. They flee the town and go to the town of Gomorrah, which meets a similar fate and they flee in a similar fashion, but in Gomorrah they flee, Lot's wife looks back. Because she didn't follow God, she was turned into a pillar of salt. The story was meant to show that if one was not obedient to God's commands, they would be met with terrible consequences.
The story after it is when Lot's daughters get him drunk and have sex with him to continue their family line.
I've honestly never heard anybody quote that book, though. When most people quote homosexuality, they use these.
"'Do not have sexual relations with a man as one does with a woman; that is detestable." Leviticus 18:22
"'If a man has sexual relations with a man as one does with a woman, both of them have done what is detestable. They are to be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads." Leviticus 20:13
"Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men" 1 Corintians 6:9
"In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed shameful acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their error." Romans 1:27
So pretty much, it's an issue of Church and State. Homosexual activity, in a legal sense, has literally no economic downfall to society, and does not injure it directly. Unlike issues very similar to this (ie. Women's rights, Black rights, Immigration laws), the issue at hand won't really affect the workforce, it'll just make people allowed to have a cute little ceremony and get legal benefits such as Social Security.
However, in a Biblical sense, many believe that "Oh, well America should be crafted like a Christian country", because it's the "most popular and correct religion". Which is just silly. If anybody would try adding influence from the Quaran (I'm no good at spelling) or Torah or any other religious point, it'd be laughed at, even though there's supposed to be freedom to practice religion. But since it's Christianity, which has had so much influence in the past in America, the points of Christians still weighs so much politically.
It's also an issue with parents of exposure. It's kind of like why prostitution isn't legal. It's a perfectly profitable business, it supports the economy by circulating high amounts of money in the economy, and supporting groups who support brothel houses (ie. Hair Stylists, Make-Up companies, The government itself for purchasing a license to run a brothel house). However, parents would never want their kids to think that prostitution would be ok. They want to steer children out of the way by having the government help. As with gay marriage, parents don't want children exposed to the "horrors" of gay couples being supported by the government, so they wish for the government to hinder gay rights to help show their children how "wrong" it is to be a homosexual.
But it's silly, really, if you look at it from a country standpoint. If you want to make the laws after the bible, go live in a Christian country. Although I'm not even sure if one exists in the purest form. Ruh roh.
Miracle Lotus wrote:
You do know that marriage is a religious act, right?
Homosexuality is not allowed in any of the main religions as far as I know.
I think it's lost its impact as a religious act. Mostly because plenty of atheists get married without any hinderance. I'm not saying you're wrong, I'm just saying that the definition of what marriage has changed over time.
