We are exposed on a daily basis to people telling us that homosexuality is a sin. We are told that the bible and other holy books condemn it. If we examine the bible we see that homosexuality is actually rarely mentioned. Jesus himself never spoke against it. The texts quoted are either from the Old testament or from the teachings of Paul. We have to look at these in context. The Old Testament is based on law. If we wish to live by the teachings of the Old testament we should also be stoning adulterers and sacrificing animals. Jesus taught a new covenant of love which supercedes the law.
In the new testament it is Paul not Jesus who condemns homosexuality. Yet Paul also believed that women shoud not speak in church and supported slavery.The Bible has been used in the past to justify the exploitation of women and black people. Its very easy to interpret the bible in this way.
Christianity is based on the teachings of Jesus, who taught love and acceptance and not condemnation. Using the bible in this way is a corruption of the true spirit of Christianity.
I light of this I would appeal to all Christians leaders (along with all community leaders) to carefully consider before they speak against homosexuality. Consider the harm you are doing to young people. Your words carry an immense influence. Contrary to popular belief homosexuality is not a choice. We have no more influence over who we are attracted to than we have over the colour of our skin or which hand we write with. Imagine telling people that being black is a sin. This would not be acceptable and would be considered hate speech. By telling young people that something they have no control over is a sin, you drive them to despair-- lead them to think there is something wrong with them. ( I know because i along with untold number of young gay people grew up thinking this). The despair and isolation experienced by young gay people as a result of intolerance towards homosexuality is one of the leading causes of teenage suicide. Ask yourself: Are not those who continue to condemn homosexuality contributing to these deaths?? It is time we recognised the dangers of condemning homosexuality and brought an end to this form of hate speech.
Hey David - picked up your thread on the Mantashe story. I was raised in a Caucasian Methodist home, and still struggle with the damage done to my self esteem by the Christian church. As you say, there are other religions and sects that preach the same prejudices. All this does is ingrain these grudges and phobias is young peoples minds. In this day and age, and given the shocking track record by the Catholic Church on this very subject (and worse!), I am inclined to agree with your conclusions.
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