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The linked letter to the editor is a good illustration of both where we currently are, and what is wrong with the debate over Gay Rights when we confront the religious argument. The question, isn’t, “Is the Bible Clear” or even “What does the Bible say” but rather, the right question is, “what relevance, if any should the Bible have when it comes to civil law and what rights people deserve?” If we live in a democracy that is based, even in part on a separation of Church and State, then what the Bible does or doesn’t say, no matter how clearly, just isn’t relevant today, in 2009 American government and politics. Period.

A common knee-jerk reaction to the use of the Bible as the authoritative source for government, is to counter that Jesus was all about Love, etc. And maybe in the context of a Sunday School class, that might be an interesting discussion, but in terms of laws- and what rights people should have today in 2009 America, it is a trap. The only useful response to any Biblical argument is to counter that the Bible is not relevant in the ways we craft laws and protect people or grant them rights.

The Bible was the source of justification for condemning Galileo when he claimed that the earth moved around the sun. The more we learn from Science, we will again and again, come up against the Bible as an authoritative source. And I’m not anti-Bible at all. I am however, against the bible being used as a basis for how we legislate and protect the rights of people. I think there is plenty of great stuff in that book, but our civil system of governance isn’t the place for it.

The Bible is clear that homosexual behavior as well as types of heterosexual behavior such as fornication, adultery, incest etc. are immoral and things Christians should overcome.

via Bible clear on homosexuality | BlueRidgeNow.com | Times-News Online | Hendersonville, NC.