Lesbians seem to be ok with the MonoTheistic Religions.

Even the Catholic Church says nothing about Lesbians not being welcome to become Nuns. It seems that mainly male gays are the evil ones, eh?

he didn't act on his desires. just like a heterosexual. just stay celibate.

Being a pedophile was the problem because this is a crime. It is not a crime to be gay.

there legal or not.

... into an opportunity to attack gays.

Sick.

Very slick, in a rovian sort of way. But sick. :grr:

What the Bible really says about lesbians & gay men
Sodom and Gomorrah
(Genesis 19: 1-29)

After a careful reading of this story, the reader will probably wonder why it has been used to condemn homosexuals. The meaning of the story turns on the use of a Hebrew word that is translated "to know". Lot, a foreigner, lives in the city of Sodom. Two angels come to visit the city to investigate rumours of great evil and Lot offers them the hospitality of his home. When this ancient story was written, offers of hospitality were very solemn duties. They required the host to protect his guests and show them the greatest possible respect.
The men of the city, hearing that Lot has two strangers as guests, gather at his door and demand that the angels (who they take for ordinary mortals) come out. "Bring them to us that we may know them." Lot refuses and attempts to satisfy them with the offer that they may know his two virgin daughters instead.

The word frequently translated as "to know" has several meanings. Another translation of the demand of the men of Sodom is "Send them out to us. Let's rape them." Although the word sometimes means to have sexual contact, it is doubtful that the men of Sodom were inviting the visitors to the sort of pleasant contact that many couples today call sex.
Many writers consider the men's intention to be anal rape - one of the things the Criminal Code of Canada calls sexual assault.

Sodom is referred to many times in Scripture as a symbol of the utter destruction caused by great sin. But nowhere in Scripture is this sin identified as homosexuality. Jesus appears to call it the sin of inhospitality (Luke 10:10-12) Ezekiel calls it "pride, excess of food, and prosperous ease." (Ezekiel 16:49-50, NRSV) Isaiah says it is injustice (Isaiah 1:10 +ff) Jeremiah calls it moral laxity (Jeremiah 23:14) In the New Testament, Peter says it is licentiousness and ungodliness (2 Peter 2:6 ff. )

But nowhere in the Bible is homosexuality stated as the cause of Sodom's destruction.
& & & & &

The Holiness Code
(Leviticus 18:22 and 20:13)

These are the only two passages in the Old Testament where homosexual acts are mentioned. They are in a list of rules and prohibitions (known as the Holiness Code), which were written after the exile in Babylon, and were intended to distinguish Israel from her pagan neighbours.
Among Israel's neighbours, fertility rites were common, and worshippers used male and female temple prostitutes for this purpose. These sexual acts are forbidden as abominations, a word in Hebrew that does not mean morally wrong, but unclean or disgusting to the Hebrews -- like eating pork or having intercourse with a menstruating woman. However, the Holiness Code is not binding upon Christians. Both Jesus and Paul declared that under the New Covenant, it was not the external violation of Levitical law, but spiritual infidelity that made a person unclean.

In this short paper, we have examined all the references traditionally presumed to address the subject of homosexuality. A scholarly and reasoned approach shows that Scripture gives us no specific guidance on homosexuality that is applicable to our times. However, Christian faith proclaims God as the creator of all things (including homosexuals) and the lover of all things created (including homosexuals).
There is no record of Jesus having said anything on the subject. Any legitimate conclusion that can be reached about the place of homosexuals in God's Kingdom must come from a clear understanding of the Gospel message; the message of God's eternal love for all of us.

http://members.aol.com/DWFrancis/biblesays.html

Waging a campaign of hateful lies against an entire group of people based on their orientation is wrong, as should be obvious to anyone with a shred of decency about them. I'm just not a fan of citing dusty old religious tomes in order to construct an argument, even if in this case it's used to support a progressive point of view.

It's nice that you or I simply understand that homosexuals shouldn't be discriminated against, but some people haven't reached that place in their ethical development. This is especially important for young gays and lesbians brought up in Christian traditions that oppose homosexuality. A Biblical argument like this can be a lifeline for them.

Suppose that Baptist preacher who was recently arrested in Oklahoma trying to pick up male prostitutes had read something like this when he was fifteen or sixteen and taken it to heart... maybe he wouldn't have crashed and burned.

... bible-based hate in the first place, there'd be no need for a counter-argument based on alternate interpretations.

But, yeah... since the hate is out there, I suppose the re-interpretation can't hurt.