Dammit I was planning on bludging out of writing an article by using this in a few weeks myself. Last time you get a fwd from me PB :>
I think people are arguing at a few cross purposes here.
PB I have to agree with messy and drmiler etc (stop the presses), that it shouldn't really matter to you what certain people who use the label Christian believe about you. For instance, your good online friends trina and Teegstar also happen to believe that the Bible outlaws homosexuality. Yet they love you, they love other gay friends that we have.
On the other hand, religious Right groups have been set up here and in the US who are extending their personal religious persuasions to being also their political views. And that's why PB is likely to get pissed off about this Christian belief. When they want to stop homosexuals from getting certain rights, and this is basically because they believe God doesn't see it as part of an idyllic society, then PB is quite understandably going to get pissed off not simply at the political view, but also at the religious view.
messy, I was very impressed by your citing of the NT. The argument of this letter is directed at Christians who don't know these quotes (and btw you are the first I've ever heard quote those quotes). Most Christians, particularly on JU can only quote Levitticus. And their interpretation of Leviticus is somehwat hypocritical as this letter points out.
So as with abortion, the main problem is people confusing their religious convictions with their political convictions, and then others assume that everyone who is religious does the same thing. That's how we get cross purposes. If Christians are prepared to accept that we believe differently to them and that they shouldn't get to make laws based on their religion, then I'm prepared to accept that they won't ever indulge in homosexuality themselves because they think it's a sin.
