Gay Marriage/Homosexuality

Hello Burgy,

Thank you for the reply. I will peruse the information available on your
website (probably during the weekend) before I reply in any detail. I
suspect, however, that my conclusions will differ from yours and that we
will disagree on this issue. I do very much enjoy your "Today's quips",
though. :-)

In Christ,
Mike

-----Original Message-----
From: John W Burgeson [mailto:jwburgeson@juno.com]
Sent: Monday, June 07, 2004 4:43 PM
To: mtharp@exammaster.com
Cc: asa@calvin.edu
Subject: Re: Shapes of a Wedge

>>How can any Christian advocate gay marriage when the Bible (both old
and new testament) so clearly speaks out against it? I understand that
you are not personally advocating that position, but you don't seem to
see such a position as contradictory to the Word of God. Please explain.
>>

Lots of material on my website, page 2, section 10, on all sides of the
issue. Some people here get bent out of shape when I mention this stuff,
so I will not go over already plowed ground.

The issue (#1) of whether ALL same-gender intimacy is sin is one issue.
The issue (#2) of Gay marriage is another issue. I have a position
statement on the first issue on my website, written after a several years
study in 2001; it is still my position.

I have not (yet) taken a position on #2, Gay Marriage, although I think
the arguments for permitting it are strong ones -- yes, "conservative"
strong ones. There is at least one argument against it which still gives
me pause; it is a variation of the so-called "slippery slope" logic.
Briefly stated, if I can approve Gay Marriage, on what grounds can I
still oppose polygamy? I have not (yet) worked through this.

In any event, the Bible does not speak at all to either issue, except by
strained interpretations. The material on my site will explain why I do
not see scripture as speaking "clearly" on either issue. There are quite
a number of Christian scholars, clerics and lay people who argue this
point quite better than I can. Is Paul, in Romans 1, speaking of ALL
same-gender intimacy, or only of the kind he clearly knew about, acts
which took place in a pagan temple between men and children?

One of the neatest example of this is a debate between Tony Compolo and
his wife, who hold differing views on issue #1. A link to this debate is
on my website.

Scholars Wink and Mauser have written position papers on issue #1, each
on a different side. Worth reading them both; links on my site.

The issues are not easy. The temptation to just "believe what one has
always believed" is great. I started there; I know.

Best

Burgy

Today's quip: They told me I was gullible -- and I believed them.
                                                                         
                                                 www.burgy.50megs.com

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Received on Tue Jun 8 15:26:30 2004