I think a more interesting discussion is that the Bible does not condemn homosexuality as greatly more evil than other sexual sins. In fact, in the NT it is generally listed as just one of numerous sins, sexual and otherwise. Right in the middle of the list.
Conservatives and Christians have, IMO, assigned a uniquely extreme sinfulness to homosexual acts that the Bible does not really support. Meanwhile, other sexual sins, which the Bible implies are similar in their degree of sinfulness, are treated by them in practice as merely venial or even not sins at all.
Protestants say that all sins are equally wrong, and Catholics (and presumably Orthodox as well) say that sexual sin is of the venial sort. The reason it appears that we assign a 'uniquely extreme sinfulness' to it is primarily because the surrounding culture has made it a hot-button issue; liars, drunks and thieves aren't organizing and trying to have their behavior given the church's mark of approval.
hmm ~ they had the death penalty for all of them at one time or the other ~ so the limits on this discussion are ........ and ............ or ...........
“Conservatives and Christians have, IMO, assigned a uniquely extreme sinfulness to homosexual acts that the Bible does not really support”.
Sure it does, in Genesis 18 - 19. The term “sodomy” is derived from Sodom.
“And the Lord rained upon Sodom and Gomorrha brimstone and fire from the Lord out of heaven”.
“I think a more interesting discussion is that the Bible does not condemn homosexuality as greatly more evil than other sexual sins.”
Hmmmm...
“They gave up God: and therefore God gave them up—to be the playthings of their own foul desires in dishonouring their own bodies. These men deliberately forfeited the truth of God and accepted a lie, paying homage and giving service to the creature instead of to the Creator, who alone is worthy to be worshipped for ever and ever, amen. God therefore handed them over to disgraceful passions. Their women exchanged the normal practices of sexual intercourse for something which is abnormal and unnatural. Similarly the men, turning from natural intercourse with women, were swept into lustful passions for one another. Men with men performed these shameful horrors, receiving, of course, in their own personalities the consequences of sexual perversity.” - Romans 1
As a personal sin - one person doing something wrong - homosexuality sends you to hell to no greater degree than any other sin. But it is singled out as a sign of those who utterly reject God, and a society that accepts it is a society that utterly rejects God and asks God to judge them. Or us.
In the 60s and 70s, and certainly at any date prior to the 60s, it would have been inconceivable to have any state in America approve of homosexuals marrying. I’m filled with dread for this country, not because I’m squeamish about homosexuals, but because I recognize the change in our country’s morals and understand that our acceptance of homosexuality is like giving God the Middle Finger Salute. And I’m not looking forward to being in a country that God decides to punish...
One of the reasons for that is that it is a sin that involves more than one person; and the other person may not always be as willing. Another reason stems from history: the taking of children for sexual purposes, or making them temple prostitutes from early childhood, which was more common in the middle east when the Bible was written, and is still practiced in many parts of Asia. These are heinous acts.
Which other sexual sins are taught in schools as normal? Which other sexual sins have civil rights organizations fighting for normalization? Which other sexual sins are being pushed as hard as this one?
Sex outside of marriage? Christians condemn that too
Except it's specifically set apart as "detestable" or an "abomination." That's pretty strong language, even for the Bible. Add to that the fact that, in our current culture, it's forcibly celebrated as normal and wonderful. There is no live-and-let-live with homosexuals and their proclivities. They and their sympathizers will continually try to push it into our faces and our homes.
They more they push, the harder we'll push back, it's that simple.
Your opinion on this subject is asinine. To say that conservatives assign more sinfulness to faggotry than the bible is completely off base. Have you ever heard of Soddam and Gomorrha? Of course you have, yet you still give us this drivel. You would be better off at DU.
No, they don't, but thank you for playing. The only reason the sin of homosexuality is such a contentious subject is the insistence that it is not a sin or used to be a sin but no longer is. If homosexuality is not a sin, there are no sins.
However pseudogamy is a current hot button for a pretty good reason, because it's at the point of being repackaged, relabeled, and mass-marketed as a postive good, meriting legal valorization, social celebration, and the honors of the altar.
At least ruinous moneylending isn't being promoted as a quasi-sacrament; and nobody's gong to be prosecuted for hate-speech if they say "Don't be a filthy usurer," "Don't screw people with debt."