Re: Colorado Judge: Bakery Owner discriminated against gay couple [W:123]
They certainly did. Go look it up. People have been quoting the Bible to support their views on those very issues. They still do. Here is an example of a rebuttal.
Interracial Marriage | Segregationists Are Ignorant Bigots, Not Christians
And here is an article on how slave owners used the Bible to justify slavery.
How the Bible was used to justify slavery, abolitionism – CNN Belief Blog - CNN.com Blogs
And it isn't hard to see how the Bible was used to limit women's rights like the right to vote just by looking at many of the commonly used verses.
What the Bible says about women's rights
If you need more than that, then just go look up what was said by anti suffragists.
There are already many, many Christians who argue there is no direct scripture that speaks about the legitimacy of same sex relationships and many others who go so far as to argue that Jesus affirmed a same sex couple in the story of the Roman centurion. It is not unforeseeable that someday people will view your attempts to interpret scripture as supporting your condemnation of homosexuality as the same as the historical examples of people trying to use it to justify limiting women's rights and supporting slavery and segregation.
That is how scripture has always worked. Attitudes change and with them so do the interpretations, to the point that it becomes inconceivable to people that the Bible was ever directly quoted to justify certain actions. It is not hard to argue that the alleged Biblical condemnations of homosexual behavior need to be read in context of their times and are in reference to rape, exploitation, and sex outside of marriage. The latter of those is negated by same sex marriage.
1) The interpretation of the centurion story is inaccurate. What you are insinuating is that if Jesus really didn't approve of homosexuality then he would have allowed the centurion's servant or "pais" (which has many different interpretations by the way) to die. There is a difference between approving of homosexuality and allowing a person to die simply because they are a homosexual. Jesus was also forgiving and merciful towards prostitutes. Would you say Jesus approved of prostitution? I wouldn't. It simply means he set the example of not hating people but hating their sin. If we hate people due to their sin, then the hate will reciprocate.
2) I agree with you that there are some things in the Bible that popular opinion has evolved on. This doesn't necessarily mean it is all correct. The equivalent would be to say that the nation's belief of what the POTUS's role is has evolved and that is good as well. I think we could both agree that is not the case. A good example is the role of women. Nowhere in scripture I've read says that women aren't allowed to vote. Nor have I read that women are to be second class citizens. All it says is that women are to "submit" to their husbands. You have done what many do and excluded the scriptures that state what a man's role is in marriage.
Ephesians 5:25 ESV
Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her
Colossians 3:19 ESV
Husbands, love your wives, and do not be harsh with them.
Ephesians 5:33 ESV
However, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband
Men, in the eyes of God, are supposed to be the head of the household. That doesn't mean the dictator. It simply means the leader. Being a leader means being a servant to your subordinates ie providing for your family, being dependable, loving them even when it's not convenient, etc. Women, when it is said that they are to submit, simply means they are to follow the example set by the husband. The husband, when doing things the way he's supposed, should be someone who is to be emulated and followed. This doesn't mean he dictates how the children are raised either. It simply means that the husband and wife talk about things, compromise, and ultimately the husband will guide the direction they are to take.
I agree that scripture can be and has been twisted to fit the needs of men. So can the Constitution. Whenever any sort of guidelines for the lives of other men are published, man will inevitably attempt to twist those guidelines to fit his cause. If we are to say the Bible should be simply thrown out as a guideline for Christians we should also say the Constitution should be thrown out as a guideline for Americans. The proper thing to do, instead, is to fight to interpret those documents as they were meant to be interpreted. Jesus set an example of love, not tolerance. Tolerating something means you let something happen without protest. Jesus never set that example. He simply set the example that He could love someone despite their sin, which is what we should all do.
