The Bible supports the idea that gays could become clergymen and that their church should perform gay marriages.
In an article that appeared in The Detroit News back in 2006, We can find this very interesting account of how a Presbyterian minister changed his mind about the views he had on homosexuals being accepted in society and in his church:
I n 1993, Jack Rogers grudgingly agreed to serve on a task force studying whether his local Presbyterian church in Southern California should ordain gays. Quite frankly, he wasn't interested in giving the topic serious thought. "I opposed homosexuality reflexively -- that was just what I thought Christians were supposed to do," he recalls. But once he did embark on a scholarly journey, the Presbyterian minister found that his views changed 180 degrees: He's become a vocal advocate of ordaining gays and marrying gay couples in the church. "I am so convinced that Jesus and the Bible, rightly understood, support the equality of all persons, including gays and lesbians, and that the church cannot continue going against its central values," says Rogers, 72, a former Presbyterian Church U.S.A. "moderator," the denomination's top leader.
"We can't keep making a group of people pariahs. Jesus would never have stood for it," he stresses. How an evangelical Christian's views changed so dramatically on an issue that has divided his church since 1976 is mapped out in fascinating detail in "Jesus, the Bible and Homosexuality: Explode the myths, heal the church." His thoughtful new book, which recounts "how the church changed its mind on other moral issues," couldn't be more timely: Presbyterians will again weigh the place of gays in the church at their June 15-22 General Assembly. Rogers' turnabout came in part from his scholarly reading of the Bible verses mentioning homosexuality.
Presbyterian theologian Robert Dabney, laying out the slippery slope argument of his day, warned soon after the Civil War that allowing black men to be ministers would lead to race mixing. He later called the push for women's rights "a new attack on God's Word." Society - and the church - of course changed, not the Bible. "We changed our minds because we changed the way we read the Bible -- from proof-texting to looking at the Bible as a whole and especially through the lens of Jesus' life and ministry," Rogers says. "Most people don't pay attention to history. They say, 'Oh, that was different.' No, it is the same." Jack Rogers' Bible study led him to see the light about gay people. He has faith his beloved church will soon have a similar revelation. - The Detroit News
Not that religion should have a say at all as to what rights we have in this country. There's a little thing called "separation of church and state" enshrined in our Bill of Rights that dictates this.
ReplyDeleteI'd like to see what points Rogers makes, which parts of the bible back up his claims, since so many others are using the same book to argue against equal rights of gay people.
I see it all very clear: if we are to allow one religion define marriage then we are favoring that religion against what the Constitution prescribes.
ReplyDeleteThere are churches out there performing same sex unions.
saludos,
raulito
My first reaction is disbelief that anybody should be trying to prove or disprove anything based on the Bible, which to my mind is quite possibly whole-cloth fiction. I do appreciate his ability to open his mind while holding on to his beliefs, though.
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