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Homosexuality
Some conclusions from much of Biblical scholarship
1. all of these passages indicate that something is wrong
- 2. some of these passages not relevant for homosexual behavior in the context of a caring, committed relationship
- -genesis and judges passages reevant to sexual violent
- -deuteronomy passage may be more relevant for temple prostitution
3. Some of the passages do seems to have fairly general application (romans 1 suggest homosexual behavior is against God
4. In scripture, homosexuality was not held up as the ideal
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Homosexuality
Most common response to a picture that seem to be largely negative
- 1. Limited relevance of these passages
- -sexual practice confounded with idolatry in biblical times
- -concept of sexual orientation unknown during biblical times....may put new meaning on "against nature" used from some versions when addressing issues in Romans 1
2. parallel made with issue of slavery. Church changed position on slavery
3.Loving people as we love ourselves mean embracing other people with all their variations, therefore an inclusive stance toward responsible homosexual behavior should be adopted by the church
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homosexuality
Its simply natural for someone to be homosexual, therefore it is good at best and neutral at worst
this does make sense when it comes to food
it does not make sense when it comes to disasters and diseases...they are not "good" just because they are natural
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homosexuality
Its simply a matter of genetics and people are born that way-therefore it cannot be right or wrong
a variation of the argument of it being natural
typically tested using concordance rates
with identical twins, Bailey showed that it tends to run between 20-50%...this is not 100%
conclusion is that genetics may make a difference, but its not the whole story
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homosexuality
its not right to judge one another
what does it mean to judge?
we are not called to condemn
we are called to discern right from wrong
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homosexuality
for some people, this is what feels right or authentic. we must respect them and allow them to be true to themselves
Is truth relative or absolute?
putting the emphasis on how we feel sounds like "everyone did what was right in their own eyes"
humans are flawed and our feelings dont always tell the truth
making how we feel the measurement of right and wrong elevates ourselves
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homosexuality
if you love people, you will accept them how they are
there is a big difference between loving and accepting
acceptance of God calls us to affirm the value of a person regardless of their behavior, instead of accepting their behavior
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homosexuality
if you reject a person's behavior, you are condemning them
a persons behavior comes from character or enviornment
really, we are all condemned because we are sinners
recognizing homosexuality is wrong is simply affirming our brotherhood, we are both sinners
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homosexuality
depriving homosexual persons' of the possibility to be a loving committed relationship means that you are limiting their potential for love and as human beings
puts too much value on romantic relationships
if not being in a romantic relationship detracts from being human, this means Jesus missed out
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