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Culture War Roundup for the week of April 1, 2024

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Of course, we should not discount the possibility that the scripture might be irrationally and immorally hateful.

As NelsonRushton below pointed out, the condemnation of homosexuality in Christian traditions seems to stem from Mosaic law. If there is a chapter in the gospel where Jesus urges his followers to stone the sodomites, I must have missed it.

Almost no Christians strive to consistently follow Mosaic law. If a person with intact foreskin who likes his bacon and shellfish, talked back to his parents and works on Saturdays complains about gay sex being against the bible, I have a hard time taking them serious.

(Of course, I fully support the right of Christians, Jews and followers of weird atheist joke religions to not engage in gay sex for religious reasons, or for any other reasons for that matter.)

Perhaps I ought to reference this old comment I wrote.

To sum: not every commandment in the Mosaic law is doing the same sort of thing. We can divide them into moral, ceremonial, and judicial commandments.

Only moral laws apply to us today. If you like I can flesh that out more, but really, see the comment I cited above.

In the new testament, there are several passages that speak against homosexual sex:

Romans 1:26-27: "For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error."

1 Corinthians 6:9: "Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God."

Jude 7: "just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding cities, which likewise indulged in sexual immorality and pursued unnatural desire, serve as an example by undergoing a punishment of eternal fire."

Of course, we should not discount the possibility that the scripture might be irrationally and immorally hateful.

You are free to think so, of course, but, given that @NelsonRushton describes himself as a Christian, I think it's likely that he has a higher view of the scriptures than that. Jesus and the apostles, at least, took the scriptures very seriously.