Smash the Laser: yes.

A Question

I am a humanist ex-Christian of 18+ years (do not preach to me, i assure you, you will not change my mind) and I would like to ask a serious question to those who would know the answer. I hope in your responses, if you choose to write one, that you will be mature, and rational. Here is my question:

How is it that Christianity can frown so harshly upon homosexuality, a topic that is covered very little in the bible, that was not addressed at all by Jesus in his teachings, and still ignore the verses in Leviticus that are spelled out extraordinarily clearly by God himself. A few examples:

“Do not cut the hair at the sides of your head or clip off the edges of your beard.”

-Leviticus 19:27

I see plenty of men (including every pastor at the church I used to attend) with no sideburns or beard at all.

“…do not plant your field with two kinds of seed. Do not wear material woven of two kinds of material.”

-Leviticus 19:19

Most of the girls that attended my old church wore denim jeans and a silk blouses to services regularly.

Furthermore in Leviticus, just as God said that lying with a man as one lies with a woman is an abomination, he also says that eating fish is an abomination. Many esteemed bible scholars have stated that in the culture of the time the book of Leviticus was written, the word “abomination” simply meant it was unsatisfactory, not some horrible, terrible act.

How is it that Christians pick and choose the codes of conduct from this book to follow? I realize that it is a part of an older culture and time and that mankind as a culture has moved on from that state of mind (by “that state of mind, I am referring to 1 Timothy 2:12, “I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man; she must be silent.”) but as scholars say that Levitican law is outdated and not to be taken literally, Leviticus 18:22 is still taken quite literally, to the point of Westboro Baptist Church undermining the idea of God as a merciful Lord.

Again, I would like to re-iterate, I AM TAKING THIS QUESTION SERIOUSLY. I am not criticizing anybody, putting anybody down for any reason, I am simply asking a simple question to gather more information from both sides of the argument.

If you feel that you cannot respond maturely or rationally to this post, please refrain from commenting. I would hate to give you a piece of my mind.

8 months ago