It is disturbing to hear people quoting Leviticus as proof that God finds homosexuality an "abomination" while at the same time conveniently ignoring other "teachings" of Leviticus.
Are you clean-shaven? Forbidden in Leviticus 19:27! Do you eat shellfish? Forbidden as an abomination in Leviticus 11:10! Wear wool and linen blend clothing or plant two separate kinds of seed in a field? Forbidden in Leviticus 19:19! If you are blemished - blind, lame, etc., you are forbidden to approach the altar of God (Leviticus 21:18-20). Do you wear rabbit skin, or play football? Forbidden to touch things made from unclean animals (Leviticus 11:6-8)!
If you curse, you shall be stoned to death (Leviticus 24:15-16). If you commit adultery, you shall be put to death (Leviticus 20:10).
Many Old Testament "rules" have fallen by the wayside as civilized people have grown in knowledge. Our food supply has gotten cleaner (prohibitions against pork are no longer necessary). We accept that terrible human injustices like slavery, condoned by the Old Testament, can no longer be accepted by Christians who live by the New Testament teachings of Jesus Christ. We also know more about the genetic component of homosexuality than the writers of the Old Testament did.
Jesus came to change the harsh Old Testament messages. He went from a God of vengeance to a God of love, from "an eye for an eye" to "turn the other cheek." Anyone who needs to pull from the Old Testament to bolster his own prejudices has missed the point of Jesus' life. Picking and choosing over which passages to follow smacks just a little of religious hypocrisy.
ADVERTISEMENT
Jesus spoke out strongly against many things he felt were wrong. If he had felt as strongly about homosexuality, he would have preached against it.
Gays do not threaten marriage of heterosexuals. Adultery among married heterosexuals is far more destructive of the sanctity of marriage.
It takes tremendous energy, time and financial commitment to amend the Constitution. How about using that effort instead for a Constitutional amendment that states no child shall ever go hungry in this country?
Lorelei Kraft
Park Rapids
