Jack, I am aware of the many differing public and private opinions which run through the Protestant and Catholic churches. In San Francisco we have a lot of gay ministers, which I am sure doesn't happen as frequently as it does in the Midwest, for example. I know several of the more moderate Protestant denominations are currently having major debates about whether it is okay for ministers to be gay. There is a second debate about whether ministers can preside over, or even attend, the extra-legal blessing ceremonies of committed gay couples.
But what I was particularly hoping to do here with MSB was to draw out what passages in the Bible are interpreted as being anti-gay. There is a huge feeling, mostly in middle America, that homosexuality is a sin or worse, and of course there are a lot of hate crimes against gays, even killings. Even in San Francisco, groups of teenaged suburban boys sometimes drive into the city and single out a homosexual just walking in his own neighborhood, minding his own business, attack him with baseball bats or something.
So logically, I thought we should begin the discussion of this issue with some background on what the Bible says, even though I know the situation is much more complex.
Christine |
